ain's commission in the early part of 1755,
and was employed by the New Hampshire government in building a fort at
the mouth of the Ammonoosuc River and in guarding its Northern and
Western frontiers until July, when he was ordered to Albany to join the
army of Major General Johnson. His first service there was in furnishing
escort, with a company of one hundred men, to a provision train from
Albany to Fort Edward. From this latter point he was afterwards
repeatedly despatched, with smaller bodies of men, up the Hudson River
and down Lake George and Lake Champlain to reconnoiter the French forts.
Some of these expeditions extended as far north as Crown Point and were
enlivened with sharp skirmishes. He was absent up the Hudson upon one of
these when the French were defeated at the battle of Lake George and
Baron Dieskan was made prisoner.

The efficiency of the campaign of the next year (1756), which
contemplated the taking of Crown Point, Niagara and Fort Du Quesne, was
seriously impaired by the repeated changes of Commander-in-Chief; Major
General Shirley being superceded in June by General Abercrombie while
he, about a month later, yielded the command to the inefficient Lord
Londown. The only occurrences of particular note during this campaign
were the capture of our forts at Oswego by General Montcalm and the
formal declarations of war by the two belligents.

Rogers and his men were stationed at Fort William Henry, and made
repeated visits to Ticonderoga and Crown Point to ascertain the power of
the enemy and to annoy him as they had opportunity. They went down Lake
George, sometimes by land upon its shores, and sometimes by water and in
boats. In the winter their land marches were frequently upon snow-shoes,
and their boats were exchanged for skates. On such occasions each Ranger
was generally his own commissary and carried his own supplies.

In his journal for this year (1756) Rogers notes thirteen of these
expeditions as worthy of record. The first was down Lake George on the
ice, in January, with seventeen men, resulting in the capture of two
prisoners and two sledges laden with provisions.

The second was made in February with a party of fifty men to ascertain
the strength and operations of the French at Crown Point. Having
captured one prisoner at a little village near by the fort, they were
discovered and obliged to retire before the sallying troops of the
garrison. With very marked sang froid he closes hi