Baron Dieskau had been ordered to reduce the Fort of Oswego, on Lake Ontario, as the primary object of his campaign; but, on hearing that a British force was in motion upon Lake George, he determined first to check or destroy them, and pressed on rapidly against Johnson with 2000 men, chiefly Canadians and Indians. The English chief was apprized of this movement, but could form no estimate of the enemy's strength, his savage informants being altogether ignorant of the science of numbers: he nevertheless made every possible preparation for defense, and warned Colonel Blanchard to concentrate all his little force within the fort: that officer was, however, slain in the mean time by an advance party of the French. Johnson now summoned a council of war, which recommended the rash step of dispatching a force of 1000 men and the Mohawk Indians to check the enemy: Colonel Ephraim Williams was placed in command of the detachment. Hardly had they advanced three miles from the camp, when suddenly they were almost surrounded by the French, and, after a gallant but hopeless combat, utterly routed, with the loss of their leader, Hendrick, the Indian chief, and many of the men. The victors, although they had also suffered in the sharp encounter, pursued with spirit, till checked near the camp by Colonel Cole and 300 men, sent by Johnson in the direction of the firing. By this delay the British were enabled to strengthen their defenses, and to recover, in some measure, from the confusion of their disaster. The most vigorous efforts of the officers were needed to overcome the panic caused by Williams's defeat and death, and by their ignorance of the advancing enemy's force. After a brief pause, Dieskau made a spirited attack upon the British intrenchments, but his Canadians and Indians were suddenly checked by Johnson's guns;[47] they at once gave way, and, inclining to the right and left, contented themselves with keeping up a harmless fire on the flanks of the works. The French regulars, however, bravely maintained their ground, although surprised by the strength of Johnson's position, and damped by finding it armed with artillery. But they could not long bear the brunt alone; after several gallant attacks, the few remaining still unhurt also dispersed in the forest, leaving their leader mortally wounded on the field.[48] Early in the action General Johnson had received a painful wound, and was obliged unwillingly to retire to his tent; the command then devolved upon Lyman, who pursued the routed enemy for a short distance with great slaughter. The French loss in this disastrous action was little short of 800 men, and their regular troops were nearly destroyed.