he Falls late in
the afternoon, and occupied the deserted encampment of the French.

[Footnote 618: _Abercromby to Pitt, 12 July, 1758._]

Montcalm with his main force had held this position at the Falls through
most of the preceding day, doubtful, it seems, to the last whether he
should not make his final stand there. Bourlamaque was for doing so; but
two old officers, Bernes and Montguy, pointed out the danger that the
English would occupy the neighboring heights;[619] whereupon Montcalm at
length resolved to fall back. The camp was broken up at five o'clock.
Some of the troops embarked in bateaux, while others marched a mile and
a half along the forest road, passed the place where the battalion of
Berry was still at work on the breastwork begun in the morning, and made
their bivouac a little farther on, upon the cleared ground that
surrounded the fort.

[Footnote 619: Pouchot, I. 145.]

The peninsula of Ticonderoga consists of a rocky plateau, with low
grounds on each side, bordering Lake Champlain on the one hand, and the
outlet of Lake George on the other. The fort stood near the end of the
peninsula, which points towards the southeast. Thence, as one goes
westward, the ground declines a little, and then slowly rises, till,
about half a mile from the fort, it reaches its greatest elevation, and
begins still more gradually to decline again. Thus a ridge is formed
across the plateau between the steep declivities that sink to the low
grounds on right and left. Some weeks before, a French officer named
Hugues had suggested the defence of this ridge by means of an
abattis.[620] Montcalm approved his plan; and now, at the eleventh hour,
he resolved to make his stand here. The two engineers, Pontleroy and
Desandrouin, had already traced the outline of the works, and the
soldiers of the battalion of Berry had made some progress in
constructing them. At dawn of the seventh, while Abercromby, fortunately
for his enemy, was drawing his troops back to the landing-place, the
whole French army fell to their task.

[Footnote 620: _N.Y. Col. Docs._, X. 708.]

The regimental colors were planted along the line, and the officers,
stripped to the shirt, took axe in hand and labored with their men. The
trees that covered the ground were hewn down by thousands, the tops
lopped off, and the trunks piled one upon another to form a massive
breastwork. The line followed the top of the ridge, along which it
zig-zagged in such a manner