The reenactment of the Battle of Carillon went into full swing as the British ascended the hill. They must not have known what kinds of barriers lay between them and the fort on the peninsula. The 30 to 40 musket-wielding men were a far cry from the 16,000 who would have really carried out the attack.
It didn't take long for the battle to begin, but the British, in spite outnumbering the French (with their Indian allies) by at least four times, would never come close to taking the hill, let alone the fort
| | French soldiers were ready to fire on the British with great efficiency. While one aimed and fired his musket, a line of other soldiers loaded more muskets behind him, passing them to the shooter one at a time, resulting in continuous fire all day long. During our recent teacher institute at Fort Ticonderoga, we read David Perry's account of the battle, in which he described details of being on the offensive as part of Roger's Rangers. His description is quite vivid: |
In the morning we had orders to move forward again, in a column three deep, in order to storm the enemy's breast-works, known in this country by the name of "the Old French Lines." Our orders were to "run to the breast-work, and get in if we could." But their lines were full, and they killed our men so fast, that we could not gain it. We got behind trees, logs and stumps, and covered ourselves as we could from the enemy's fire. The ground was strewn with the dead and dying. It happened that I got behind a white-oak stump, which was so small that I had to lay on my side, and stretch myself; the ball striking the ground within a hands' breadth of me every moment, and I could hear the men screaming, and see them dying all around me. I lay there some time. A man could not stand erect, without being hit, any more than he could stand out in a shower, without having drops of rain fall upon him; for the balls come by hands full. It was a clear day - a little air stirring. Once in a while the enemy would cease firing a minute or two, to have the smoke clear away, so that they might take better aim. In one of these intervals I sprang from my perilous situation, and gained a stand which I thought would be more secure, behind a large pine log, where several of my comrades had already taken shelter: but the balls came here as thick as ever. One of the men raised his head a little above the log, and a ball struck him in the centre of the forehead, and tore up his scalp clear back to the crown. He darted back, and the blood ran merrily; and rubbing his face, said it was a bad blow, and no one was disposed to deny it, for he looked bad enough. We lay there till near sunset; and, not receiving orders from any officer, the men crept off leaving all the dead, and most of the wounded.
You can read more about the teacher institute on my Fort Ticonderoga page.
