French And Indian War

The Whites of Their Eyes: The Life of Israel Putnam

November 26, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

“Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes” remains one of the enduring, and most stirring, quotations of the Revolutionary War, and it was very likely uttered at the Battle of Bunker Hill by General Israel Putnam.

Putnam’s renown as a battlefield commander and his colorful military service far and wide are explored in The Whites of Their Eyes: The Life of Revolutionary Hero Israel Putnam from Rogers Rangers to Bunker Hill (Stackpole Books, 2023) by Michael E. Shay. [Read more…] about The Whites of Their Eyes: The Life of Israel Putnam

The Road to Ticonderoga: The Campaign of 1758 in the Champlain Valley

November 24, 2023 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

The British campaign to capture Fort Carillon on the Ticonderoga Peninsula in 1758 resulted in the largest battle of the French and Indian War. Crafted by Prime Minister William Pitt, the scope and scale of the British effort was staggering, calling for their northern colonies to raise 20,000 men to rendezvous with the British Regulars at Albany.

The directive would test the patience, resources, and will of the colonial governments as well as that of the newly appointed the British commander-in-chief, General James Abercrombie. [Read more…] about The Road to Ticonderoga: The Campaign of 1758 in the Champlain Valley

Fort Ticonderoga Genealogy Initiative Goes Online

November 18, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Fort Ticonderoga has launched a new genealogy initiative, Ticonderoga Soldiers Project, launched as a result of a dramatic increase in genealogical interest and inquiries related to soldiers who served at Ticonderoga during the 18th century. [Read more…] about Fort Ticonderoga Genealogy Initiative Goes Online

To Distress the French and Their Allies: Rogers’ Rangers, 1755-1763

November 3, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

To Distress the French and Their Allies: Rogers’ Rangers, 1755-1763 (Black Dome Press, 2023) is the first volume in a new “Rangers of the French and Indian, Cherokee, and Pontiac’s War” series by Black Dome Press, that is expected to document for the first time the histories of all ranger units, from each of the colonies, that served in the French & Indian War and after.

Volume I begins with the most famous ranger unit of all ― Robert Rogers’ Rangers, which served in the major campaigns in New York and Canada, and then in the Caribbean, and continued to fight in the Cherokee and Pontiac’s Wars. [Read more…] about To Distress the French and Their Allies: Rogers’ Rangers, 1755-1763

300 Years of French Settlement at Prince Edward Island

September 6, 2023 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

On this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, Anne Marie Lane Jonah, a historian with the Parks Canada Agency, explores the history of Prince Edward Island and why Great Britain and France fought over the Canadian Maritime region.

2020 commemorated the 300th anniversary of French presence on Prince Edward Island. [Read more…] about 300 Years of French Settlement at Prince Edward Island

The French and Indian War: A New York Perspective

August 31, 2023 by Peter Hess Leave a Comment

In the early 1750s, the French were establishing trading posts and building forts along western the frontiers of the British colonies. In the fall of 1753, in part to protect his own land claims, Virginia Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie had sent 22-year-old George Washington (then a militia leader and surveyor) to deliver a letter to Fort Le Boeuf at what is today Waterford in northwest Pennsylvania, demanding they stop. [Read more…] about The French and Indian War: A New York Perspective

Early Inhabitants of the Finger Lakes Region

August 14, 2023 by Guest Contributor 2 Comments

According to archeological records, groups of nomadic Paleo-Indians traveled through the Finger Lakes region approximately 8,000 to 9,000 years ago. Small bands of these hunters and gatherers followed large game during the last stages of the Ice Age when the glaciers that formed the area’s notable lakes were receding.

Somewhat more recent early archaic archeological sites scattered across Western New York reflect a culture that was highly mobile and left little in terms of an archeological record. [Read more…] about Early Inhabitants of the Finger Lakes Region

Early Forts Near Old Saratoga: Some History

August 3, 2023 by Guest Contributor 2 Comments

Many of the descriptions about fortifications in the Upper Hudson Valley, close to New France, were written by soldiers, travelers and settlers during the wars in the 18th century and into the 19th century.

Since many of the North American colonies were defended by Independent Companies, the regular English and, later, British armies had little direct influence on fortification designs, which created a high demand for the assistance of military engineers. [Read more…] about Early Forts Near Old Saratoga: Some History

Crown Point Road: Opening Northern New England & Lake Champlain

July 17, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

After the fall of the forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point during the French and Indian War in the fall of 1759, General Jeffrey Amherst ordered the building of the Crown Point Road.

The road was to run across what is now Vermont between Crown Point and The Fort at No. 4 on the Connecticut River in what is now Charlestown, New Hampshire. [Read more…] about Crown Point Road: Opening Northern New England & Lake Champlain

Fort Ticonderoga Curator Dr. Matthew Keagle Interview

June 16, 2023 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

This week on The Historians Podcast, Fort Ticonderoga Curator Dr. Matthew Keagle discusses the Fort’s plans this season, which includes interpreting 1760 at Ticonderoga and see how British soldiers and American provincials ensured military dominance on Lake Champlain and deep into the heart of French Canada. [Read more…] about Fort Ticonderoga Curator Dr. Matthew Keagle Interview