Lake George: Fort William Henry
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I have always had an interest in battlefields and old homes. I am a history and genealogy addict. I have been to most of the Revolutionary War battlefields in NY- Fort Ticonderoga, Fort William Henry at Lake George, and the Battlefield at Saratoga.
I have ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War. One being Seth Pomeroy, my 2nd cousin, 7 generations back, who I wrote about recently.
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Last year, we went to Fort William Henry, which was an amazing look at life during the Revolutionary War.
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To refresh your memory, the battle was from July 3–7, 1757. According to Wikipedia:
In one of the most notorious incidents of the French and Indian War, Montcalm’s Indian allies violated the agreed terms of surrender and attacked the British column, which had been deprived of ammunition, as it left the fort. They killed and scalped many soldiers, took as captives women, children, servants, and slaves, and slaughtered sick and wounded prisoners. Early accounts of the events called it a massacre and implied that as many as 1,500 people were killed, although it is unlikely more than 200 people (less than 10% of the British fighting strength) were actually killed in the massacre.[5]
At the time of our tour, I did not know this history. I kind of went into the tour completely blind.
As we entered the main bunkhouse, I split off from the group (not crazy about groups during Covid time) and stood near a stairway that went into the 2nd floor of the bunk. The tour guide was talking extensively about life in the fort but I could not stop looking up to the 2nd floor.
There were no tourists up there but I felt very strongly that someone was peering down at me. I did not see anything but it’s like a feeling you get in the pit of your stomach.
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The tour continued and I took a lot of photos. We toured the fort and saw a cannon go off. But it was a continuous feeling of being watched that followed me until we left the fort.
I think it would especially spooky at night. Lake George overall is an amazing place, full of history and gorgeous beyond description.
