Ticonderoga (1759)

As the major losses mounted, the French withdrew most of its forces from its Lake Champlain forts to protect Quebec City and Montreal. Strategically located on the main travel route between the Hudson River Valley and the Saint Lawrence River, Fort Carillon had eluded the British. In the summer of 1759, General Jeffrey Amherst led a massive force that placed cannon on the high ground overlooking the fort and prepared for a siege. The French quickly abandoned the fort but not before overstocking the powder magazine and setting a powder trail. The massive explosion destroyed the magazine and a few wooden structures, but the fort’s walls remained intact. The victorious British then renamed their prize Ticonderoga. The French also destroyed Fort Frederic, leaving the British in control of Lake Champlain. Amherst slowly led his forces north, but the fall of Quebec City to British General James Wolfe led him to dismiss his militia and returned his army to winter quarters.