of all the forces. Against him
was pitted the acute and discerning Montcalm, in command of the French,
who, by the destruction of important forts, and checkmating Loudoun at
Louisburg, soon put the latter on the defensive. Instead, then, of
carrying the war into Canada, the British Colonials were compelled to
rest on their arms while Montcalm himself, taking advantage of the
depletion of the forces caused by Loudoun's futile expedition against
Louisburg, marched down from Montreal and made a demonstration against
the forts to the south of Lake Champlain.

Equally inefficient with Loudoun, the commander-in-chief, and in
addition cowardly as well (it would appear from the records of the
time), was General Webb, who commanded in the northern department, and
who, though he probably had intimation of the French army's approach,
allowed himself to be caught in a trap and lost thousands of his men. He
was warned by Putnam, who scouted to some purpose in the forest along
the lake shore, discovering the approaching hostiles; but he heeded not
the warning, and the result was a massacre.

CHAPTER VI

FIGHTING ON THE FRONTIER

Up to midsummer of 1757, the British had accomplished nothing of
account; the French, also, had little to show for all the marching and
counter-marching, fortifying, and skirmishing with their foes. But a
decisive blow was to be struck, and by Montcalm, who, having been
informed by his spies of the condition of affairs at the lakes, sent an
overwhelming force against Fort William Henry, at the south end of Lake
George. It happened that a few days before the French army arrived at
the lake, Major Putnam, with two hundred men, escorted his commander,
General Webb, from Fort Edward to Fort William Henry, his object being
to examine into the efficiency of the latter fortification. The fort
itself was a poor construction, but it was commandingly situated on
ground gently rising from the shore of the lake, and its approaches were
defended by felled forest trees forming an immense abattis deemed
impenetrable.

With his customary caution, Major Putnam suggested to General Webb that
he should be sent down the lake to ascertain if the enemy were
approaching, certain inexplicable signs having aroused his suspicions.
His commander reluctantly consented, and Putnam took with him eighteen
volunteers and proceeded down the lake, but had not gone far before he
discovered a company of Frenchmen on an island. Th