So Mad at the Late Late Late Montcalm!! (1 Viewer)

[Fraxinus]

Fort William Henry is often mentioned as a desired release on our boards. Fort William Henry was construction in Fall 1755 (September - November). The engineer was a Captain William Eyre of the 44th regiment, but the command and labor was by the colonials. The place was a filthy unsanitary mess when manned by the colonial regiments. Under colonial command, it was highly disfunctional throughout the summer of 1756.

In late 1756, the colonial garrison was replaced by some of the 44th regiment under the command of Eyre (only 3 -5 companies of the 44th) plus 1 or 2 ranger companies under the direct command and pay of the British. The colonials left for the winter season and Eyre cleaned up the place. This garrison beat off the attack on the fort in March 1757, but the French were able to burn many of the outbuildings and boats including a British sloop. The french had scaling ladders, but no artillery.

The garrison was then transferred to Colonial Munro in April 1757. It seems Eyre and those companies of the 44th then left the Fort. Munro brought with him:

2 companies of the 35th,
1 company of Frasier Highlanders Those guys from Quebec !!!
2 new companies of the 44th Those guys from Western Pennsylvania !!!
and 2 companies of the 48th

The 48th and Frasier Highlanders did not stay too long at Fort William Henry. However, the 2 companies of the 44th remained at William Henry for at least some period of time, but were gone by July 1757. The fort surrendered in August 1757 after a 10-day siege.

Montcalm was very late getting mobilized that Spring allowing the the 44th and Frasier Highlanders to leave town. Imagine the possibilities if he had advance on Fort William Henry in early May instead of late July. Guys, we lost the diorama opportunity of some very snazzy british getting plastered by the french cannon (the big ones!!!) using historically correct figures that we already own. The french can be an annoying race

 

[marco55]

That's a real good one Ken.
Mark

 

[Fraxinus]

If deep into the French and Indian War, you might want to look at Relief is Greatly Wanted, The Battle of Fort William Henry by Edward Dodge (1998). Not a massive book, but the correspondence between Monro and Webb is presented.

What is more unusual is the placement of the colonial entrenchment camp. It is not where previous texts have located it. Because the fort could only accomodate 400-500 soldiers, three-quarters of Monro's force would be outside the fort proper in the entrenchment camp.

In the typical scenario, working west to east:

Montcalm's siege and ditch network, then the Fort, then a broad Marsh, then the Colonial Entrenchment Camp.

In Dodge's work, working west to east:

Montcalm's siege and ditch network, then the Colonial Entrenchment Camp, then the Fort, then the broad Marsh. The colonial entrenchment camp literally surrounded the fort to the west and south. The entrenchment camp was contiguous to the fort and not spacially separated.

The extension to the west was a considerable distance, maybe 400 yards beyond the walls of the fort and 65 yards in width to the south of the fort. The perimeter of the entrenchment was an earthen rampart, 6 foot -tall, 4 foot wide with a 6 foot deep ditch in front. Very minimal. It was not to the east, across the broad marsh.

To target the Fort, the french had to shoot over and through the colonial entrenchment camp. This scenario, although very different from the traditional texts, make considerable sense as it relates the extreme stress and desire to get out of there exhibited by the colonial troops. The colonials were not on a hill, a fair distance away from the fort, simply watching an artillery dual between the French and British Regulars. According to Dodge, they were literally in the middle.

For most of the siege, Monro and most of the 35th regulars fought from the colonial entrenchment camp and not from inside the fort. Monro did authorize at least two sortie attacks against the french trenches. Any attack by Monro would have been much more practical if the entrenchment were to the west.

Monro was taken prisoner as part of the capitulation and taken to Fort Carillon (Fort Ticonderoga). He was subsequently released and returned to Fort Edward under french escort on August 16th, a week after the surrender. Monro died of a heart attack in November of that year at the age of 57.