Vaudreuil's raid

In March 1757, a winter offensive struck at the heart of British supply lines in New York, an episode remembered as Vaudreuil's raid or the Battle of Fort William Henry. The operation formed part of the French and Indian War, itself a piece of the larger struggle between Britain and France for dominance over North America. Governor François-Pierre Rigaud de Vaudreuil led roughly 1,600 men, comprising regulars, Canadian militia, and Native American allies, across ice-bound country to assault the British post situated at the southern tip of Lake George. Major William Eyre commanded the garrison there, and his men held the fort against the attack. Even so, the French achieved a different kind of victory, laying waste to nearly every supply depot, boat, and outbuilding that sustained the fort's operations.

Background

During the cold season, Fort William Henry sat thinly guarded, and the combined British-American force nearby had shrunk in numbers because smallpox had swept through its ranks. Those holding the fort, rangers included, numbered somewhere between 300 and 400, drawn from five companies of the 44th Foot alongside three companies of Rogers' Rangers. William Eyre held command over this garrison, having risen from Captain to Major not long before on account of the resourcefulness he showed at the Battle of Lake George, where he arranged the artillery in a way that helped drive back the French and Indian force. Meanwhile Captain Robert Rogers led several ranger companies that had, since January, been pushing scouting missions and raids out from the fort into land controlled by the formidable French stronghold at Carillon.

As winter settled over the region in 1756 and into 1757, French commanders looked for ways to unsettle British defenses along the frontier and chip away at their grip on the corridor stretching from Lake George to the Hudson River. Aware that British forces generally scaled back operations once the cold arrived, Governor Pierre de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil, together with his brother François-Pierre Rigaud de Vaudreuil, put together a scheme for a surprise march by land against Fort William Henry. Their aim was either to crush the fort outright or push it into surrendering, and beyond that, to wreck the boats and supply depots that kept British efforts on Lake George running. The plan depended on moving quickly across the frozen expanses of Lake Champlain and Lake George, relying on snowshoes and sledges to haul supplies so that the French and their Native allies could descend upon the fort before it had time to react.

Battle

On March 15, troops departed Carillon equipped with scaling ladders and began the trek across Lake George's frozen surface. Two nights later, an advance party slipped near the fort without being spotted. Rigaud dispatched a scouting group made up of Iroquois warriors and Troupes de la Marine to assess how well the British had fortified the position. His plan called for three columns to push forward that evening and scale the walls, provided the scouts confirmed the defenders could be caught off guard. Banking on the notion that the garrison would be drunk or otherwise incapacitated after celebrating St Patrick's feast day, the French instead discovered soldiers on high alert with sentries already posted.

By March 18, British scouts had spotted Rigaud's men, dashing any hope of catching the fort unawares.

Rigaud then called on the garrison to surrender without bloodshed, but cannon fire and musket volleys answered him instead, forcing him to settle into an ineffective siege punctuated by raids on the countryside nearby.

Once it became clear that surprise was no longer possible, Rigaud moved quickly to torch the largest British sloops and the bateaux stockpile, though harsh weather combined with accurate fire from the fort blocked this scheme for the time being. His forces encircled the position and unleashed constant musket fire that continued without pause through the day and into the night of March 19.

Recognizing that the fort now faced a genuine siege, Eyre sent Rangers racing to Fort Edward to alert General Webb, who held overall command of British forces in the Lake George region.

Sounds on the ice returned during the night spanning March 19 and 20, suggesting another assault was underway. Grapeshot fired by the British toward the noise pushed the French back once more. They then attempted to burn two sloops along with numerous bateaux resting on the shore, succeeding only in destroying a handful of the boats. Throughout that night, skirmishing broke out between French raiding parties and British detachments sallying from the fort.

Come noon on Sunday, March 20, French troops emerged from the tree line and advanced across the ice in formation, scaling ladders in hand. An envoy approached Major Eyre with a renewed offer, this time promising generous terms for peaceful surrender while warning of a full assault and slaughter should he refuse. Eyre replied that he and his men had no choice but to defend themselves to the very end, and the envoy departed empty handed. These talks, however, served merely as a distraction for Rigaud, whose entire force had by then taken position and pressed forward as though preparing to storm the walls. Once the British realized the deception, they scrambled to meet the attack, though the episode amounted to little beyond another futile round of French gunfire.

Finally, during the night bridging March 20 and 21, French forces succeeded in setting multiple fires. They claimed to have destroyed upwards of 200 bateaux, several blockhouses, and one of the large sloops that night. All the British could do was direct harassing fire from within the fort, and by daybreak the surrounding landscape was consumed in flame.

The siege dragged on, with the French continuing their efforts to destroy what remained of the British vessels, until March 23, when Rigaud finally struck camp and pulled his forces back to Carillon ahead of the spring thaw that threatened to break up the ice covering Lake George.

Aftermath

Two days after the fort had been left in flames, help finally arrived. Lieutenant-Colonel George Munro led his men overland until the smoldering remains came into view on March 27. His column included five companies of the 35th Foot along with a battalion drawn from the 60th Royal Americans. Upon arrival, Munro took over command from Eyre and set his troops to work restoring what defenses could be salvaged.

In the wake of the fighting, Rigaud offered his own assessment of the fort's former commander, describing Eyre as an officer possessing consummate experience in the art of war.