Fort Ticonderoga: A Short HistoryPell, Stephen H. P.
History
Fort Ticonderoga: A Short History
Pell, Stephen H. P.
Fort Ticonderoga (N.Y.) -- History
“The 8th. At dawn we beat the drums so as to let all the troops know
their posts for the defense of the entrenchment, following the above
arrangement, which was about that in which they worked. The army was
composed at the right of battalions of La Reine, La Sarre, Royal
Roussillon, Languedoc and Guyenne Regiments and two Berry and the one
battalion of the Bearn Regiment and also of 450 Canadians or Marines
which brought the total to 3,000 fighting men.
“At the left of the line they posted the Sarre and the Languedoc
battalions and the two piquets that had arrived the day before. The
volunteers of Bernard and Duprat were guarding the gap on the Chute
River.
“The center was occupied by the first Berry Battalion, by one Royal
Roussillon and by the rest of the piquets of the Chevalier de Lévis.
“Battalions of La Reine, the Bearn and the Guyenne defended the right
and in the plain between the embankment of this right [flank] and the
Saint Frederic River they had posted the colonial troops and the
Canadians, defended also by abatis. On the whole front of the line each
battalion had back of itself a company of grenadiers and a piquet in
reserve to support their battalion and also to be able to move where
they might be needed. The Chevalier de Lévis took charge of the right,
the Sieur de Bourlamaque of the left, the Marquis de Montcalm kept the
center for himself.
“This arrangement, fixed and known, the troops at once fell back to
work, some of them busy improving the abatis, the rest erecting the two
batteries mentioned above and a redoubt to protect the right.
“That day in the morning, Colonel [Sir William] Johnson joined the
English army with 300 savages of the Five Nations with ‘Tchactas,’ the
Wolf, and Captain Jacob with 140 more. Soon after we saw them, as well
as some Rangers, standing on a mountain opposite Carillon on the other
side of the Chute River. They even discharged much musketry which
interrupted the work. We did not bother answering them.
“At half past twelve, the English army debouched upon us. The company of
grenadiers, the volunteers and the advanced guards retreated in good
order and joined the line again. At the same movement and at a given
signal all the troops took their posts.
“The left was attacked first by two columns, one of which was trying to
turn the trenches and found itself under the fire of La Sarre Regiment,
the other directed its efforts on a salient between the Languedoc and
the Berry battalions. The center, where the Royal Roussillon was, was
attacked almost at the same time by a third column; a fourth attacked
the right between the Bearn and La Reine battalions. All these columns
were intermingled with their Rangers and their best riflemen, covered by
the trees, kept up a murderous fire.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account