s. The westernmost
of the line of forts was not far from what is now the site of the
college, and this, being the most exposed and most important, Williams
commanded in person.

After acting in this capacity for a time, and in a manner which gained
him much distinction in the colony, he was placed in charge of a
regiment of troops, designed to participate with other forces in an
expedition against the French; the special object being the capture of
Crown Point, a fortress on Lake Champlain. While on the way to Crown
Point a French force was met, near the head of Lake George. Williams,
with a detachment of troops, was sent against it. The movement was
successful. The French were repulsed, but in the encounter Williams lost
his life. A monument, erected in recent years by the alumni of the
college, marks the spot where he fell.

[Illustration: From HARPER'S MAGAZINE. Copyright, 1881, by HARPER &
BROTHERS.

CLARK HALL.]

While engaged in his military duties on the frontier, Williams became
much interested in the soldiers under his command. Through his
agency chiefly, two townships of land in the vicinity of Fort
Massachusetts--the name given to the most western fort in the valley of
the Hoosac--had been set off by order of the Legislature, and lots in
them had been disposed of to the soldiers on favorable terms. Williams
had also expressed the intention of still further benefiting his
comrades in arms. While resting for a day or two at Albany, on his way
to Crown Point, he bethought him of his purpose, the execution of which
had hitherto been postponed. Accordingly, he made his will on the spot,
by which he devised his property, after making some bequests to
relatives and friends, for the purpose of establishing what he termed a
Free School.

[Illustration: From HARPER'S MAGAZINE. Copyright 1881, by HARPER &
BROTHERS.

East College. EAST COLLEGE CAMPUS. Library.]

Such was the beginning of Williams College, for the school took the name
and form of a college in two or three years after its organization. It
was noble in purpose from the outset, but humble, indeed, in pecuniary
endowment. Some will smile, now that we think hundreds of thousands, not
to say millions, necessary for the establishment of a college, when
they are informed that the executors of Williams' estate were obliged to
allow the proceeds of it to accumulate for thirty years before they
ventured to organize the school or erect a building for its us