Siege of Fort William Henry

1954: Archaeologists Find Rare Cufflink at Fort William Henry

October 28, 2025 by Joseph W. Zarzynski 2 Comments

In the autumn of 1954, United Press, a news wire service established in 1907 and later known as United Press International, reported: “Old War Crime Found At Fort.”

The gist of the report capitalized upon Americans’ fascination with The Last of the Mohicans (1826) by James Fenimore Cooper. The news of a discovery made in 1954 of charred bones of two British soldiers uncovered by archaeologists excavating the cellar of the barracks of Fort William Henry at the head of Lake George. [Read more…] about 1954: Archaeologists Find Rare Cufflink at Fort William Henry

Fort William Henry’s Historic Well

September 22, 2025 by Joseph W. Zarzynski Leave a Comment

In August 1757, following a siege of several days and after defeating the British, the French burned Fort William Henry at Lake George. Nearly a century later in 1855, the first Fort William Henry Hotel, located adjacent to the grounds where the fort once stood, opened.

The palatial hotel was destroyed by fire in 1909. Two years later, a second Fort William Henry Hotel was built. Replica Fort William Henry opened in 1954 as a museum. Fifty-years later, in 2004, a facsimile of the second hotel was erected. Throughout all this time there was one constant at the site, that being Fort William Henry’s well, dug in 1756 by Roger’s Rangers. [Read more…] about Fort William Henry’s Historic Well

Fort Amherst & Half-Way Brook’s Bloody Background

September 11, 2025 by Bruce M. Venter 1 Comment

Tucked away between a car dealership and several corporate buildings at 25 Lafayette Street in Queensbury sits Hovey Pond Park, a serene oasis in the middle of suburban commercial development.

It’s a place for the jogger, the dog walker, the nature lover, and children seeking a playground. On a pleasant day, visitors may enjoy the park’s flower garden, fishing pond and wild life sanctuary, including a fast-running, bubbling creek that borders the park’s southern boundary. [Read more…] about Fort Amherst & Half-Way Brook’s Bloody Background

The British Surrender of Fort William Henry in 1757

September 7, 2025 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

In 1757, during the French and Indian War, a large French and Native American force led by the Marquis de Montcalm besieged Fort William Henry at the southern end of Lake George. The British garrison under Lieutenant Colonel George Monro surrendered after a six-day siege on August 9th.

Although Montcalm offered the British “honors of war” allowing them to march to Fort Edward with their personal belongings, his Indigenous allies attacked the withdrawing British column in a notorious event known as the “Massacre” at Fort William Henry. [Read more…] about The British Surrender of Fort William Henry in 1757

Lake George’s 1758 Land Tortoise Shipwreck

August 26, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The radeau (raft) Land Tortoise was built in 1758 during the French and Indian War as part of a British effort to regain control of Lake George after the loss of Fort William Henry in 1757.

Constructed by provincial militia forces under Captain Samuel Cobb of Falmouth (now Portland, Maine) the 52-foot long floating artillery battery was built in just over a month, launched, tested (“rowed well with 26 oars”) and then intentionally sunk. [Read more…] about Lake George’s 1758 Land Tortoise Shipwreck

1885: Colonial Relics Found Near A Lake George Church

August 22, 2025 by Joseph W. Zarzynski Leave a Comment

The July 19, 1887 issue of the Glens Falls Daily Times newspaper declared that Isaac Crandall had “no superior as a florist.” The greenhouse owner not only was renowned for his exquisite-flower arrangements, he also was incredibly lucky.

Two years earlier in 1885, Crandall accidentally uprooted rare artifacts while planting a tree near the Methodist church in Caldwell (now known as Lake George). [Read more…] about 1885: Colonial Relics Found Near A Lake George Church

The Returned Captive: Jonathan Dore

August 21, 2025 by Guest Contributor 1 Comment

The story of sieges and massacres of soldiers at Fort William Henry in August 1757 and two years later to residents of the Indigenous village of St. Francis (Saint-François-du-Lac, a community in Quebec, Canada, also known as Odanak by the Abenaki), are well-known by those with even a casual interest in the French and Indian War (1754-1763).

The story of Jonathan Dore is a small, but interesting tale of capture and self-redemption. His actions during both of those events shed a little more light on their impact on the individuals caught in this harrowing conflict. [Read more…] about The Returned Captive: Jonathan Dore

Archaeologists Return to Lake George 18th Century Military Sites

June 13, 2025 by Anthony F. Hall Leave a Comment

After an absence of several years, archaeologists returned to Lake George’s Fort George last summer, led by Dr. Siobhan Hart, chair of Skidmore College’s Anthropology Department. Hart and a team of students will resume their work at Battlefield Park this summer, expanding the project to include other important sites within Battlefield Park according to the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance. [Read more…] about Archaeologists Return to Lake George 18th Century Military Sites

French & Indian War Cannonballs Found In Lake George Over The Years

March 24, 2025 by Joseph W. Zarzynski Leave a Comment

On August 11, 1926, workers with Duplex Construction Company were prepping the ground for a new school being built on Canada Street in the Village of Lake George. At two feet below the surface, they uncovered a sizeable fragment of an iron cannonball.

The 18th century ordnance was unearthed from a famous French & Indian War (1755–1763) battle site, the August 1757 French siege of British-occupied Fort William Henry. [Read more…] about French & Indian War Cannonballs Found In Lake George Over The Years

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 claims on Indigenous lands, 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

The 1757 Siege of Fort William Henry & James Fenimore Cooper

July 27, 2023 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

James Fenimore Cooper’s novel The Last of the Mohicans tells a gripping tale of the bloody conflicts that roiled the Lake George region in the middle of the 18th century. In particular, the novel gives a stirring, if inaccurate, description of the Siege of Fort William Henry (August 3-9, 1757) during the French and Indian War and its immediate aftermath. [Read more…] about The 1757 Siege of Fort William Henry & James Fenimore Cooper

Siege of Fort William Henry

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