the Mils with the
Artillira & we got near the Mils and we had orders to leave the
Artillira[40] their and go back & get our arms and we went down to the
Mils of our rigiment 2 Hundred were ordered to go over on the point to
keep the French from Landing their and we stayed while next morning
son 2 hours high & when we came in all our army and Artillira was gorn
back & the Mils fired and we marched back to the Landing place and had
to secure matter of 200 Barrels of Flour & we heard the French were a
coming upon us and we stove them all and come of us as soon as we
could and about 10 Ock we sot sail and & by Son down we arrived at
Lake George[41] according to all accounts the Engagement began about
10 clock and held 10 Hours steady and we lost 3 Thousand rigulars.

[Footnote 40: This was Abercrombie's fatal mistake.
He sent an engineer to reconnoitre the fort and
outworks. The engineer reported the latter to be so
weak, in an unfinished state, as to be easily
carried, without artillery, by the force of English
bayonets. The difficulties in the way of heavy
cannons, in that dense forest, were very
formidable; and Abercrombie was willing to rely
upon sword and bayonet, on the strength of his
engineer's report. That functionary was mistaken;
and when the English approached the French lines,
they found an embankment of earth and stones, eight
feet in height, strongly guarded by _abatis_, or
felled trees, with their tops outward. The English
made a furious attack, cut pathways through these
prostrate trees, and mounted the parapet. They were
instantly slain, and thus scores of Britons were
sacrificed, by discharges of heavy cannons. When
two thousand men had fallen, Abercrombie sounded a
retreat, and the whole British army made its way to
the landing-place at the foot of Lake George, with
a loss of twenty-five hundred muskets. They went up
the lake to Fort William Henry, and the wounded
were sent to Fort Edward and to Albany. At his own
solicitation, Colonel B