During
the “Second Battle on Snowshoes”1 on March 13, 1758, Robert Rogers
and his Rangers ambushed, and were ambushed by, a larger French and Indian
force, along todays Trout Brook (then called by the French “Bernetz Riviere”,
about 3-½ to 4 miles (between 5.5 and
6.5 km) west of Fort Ticonderoga, or as French called it, “Fort Carillon”.
Rogers
and his force of 180 men had left Fort Edward and traveled north up the frozen
surface of Lake George, known to the French as Lac St. Sacrement, until they
had reached the southern slope of what the English called Bald Mountain and the
French knew as Mont Pelee, which after the events of March 13th,
1758, the English would rename as Rogers’ Rock.
Turning west and leaving the lake at this point, they marched along the
Native American path called by the French the “Route des Agniers”, or
the Mohawk Trail, into the woods along southern and then western slopes of Bald
Mountain, making for the valley of Trout Brook and the notch separating Bald
Mountain from Cook’s Mountain, a saddle where the daily patrol from Fort Carillon
reconnoitered. Once on the western
slopes of Bald Mountain, Rogers sent out a scouting party of three rangers along
the slopes of Cook’s Mountain above frozen surface of Trout Brook, the
remainder of the Rangers resting before continuing the march.
Unknown
to Rogers, six French allied Abenakis, returning from a scout to Fort Edward, had
discovered the tracks of their ice creepers on the frozen windswept surface of Lake
George and had rushed back to Fort Carillon to report to the French. The commander of the fort immediately sent out
a force of just over 300 French Marines, Canadian Milice and allied Indians to confront
him. They quickly advanced south along Trout
Brook, the same brook along which Rogers’ main party was advancing north.
The
three scouts, led by Ensign MacDonald, moved along the slopes of Cook’s
Mountain, spotted the advance party of almost 100 allied Indians below them in
a clearing, moving south down Trout Brook.
But in their hurry to race back and warn Rogers, they did not see the
main party of 200 mixed French, Canadians and Native Americans entering the
clearing a few minutes behind the advance party -- it was now about 3:30 pm.
By
the time the three scouts had returned to the main party, the Rangers had
marched about a mile and a half (approximately 2.5 km) further north along
Trout Brook, putting them just north of today’s Ticonderoga Country Club. It was now about 3:45 pm, almost an hour and
half before sunset.
Rogers
quickly ordered his men to leave their packs, face left and advance to the
eastern rim of the brook, where they lay in 100 yard long ambush behind trees,
logs and rocks.
Rogers Journal
-We kept close to the mountain, that the advanced guard
might better observe the rivulet, on the ice of which I imagined the enemy
would travel if out, as the snow was four feet deep, and very bad travelling on
snow shoes
- In this manner we marched a mile and a half, when our
advanced guard informed me of the enemy being in their view; and soon after,
that they had ascertained their number to be 96 chiefly Indians. We immediately
laid down our packs, and prepared for battle, supposing these to be the whole
number or main body of the enemy, who were marching on our left up the rivulet,
upon the ice, and would come within 15 Rods [about 250 feet, or 75 meters – Author’s Note] of My party by the Course they then Steered
I orderd Ensign [Gregory] McDonald to the command of the
advance guard, which, as we faced to the left, made a flanking party to our
right. We marched to within a few yards of the bank, which was higher than the
ground we occupied; and observing the ground gradually to descend from the bank
of the rivulet to the foot of the mountain, we extended our party along the
bank for enough to command the whole of the enemies at once
We waited until their front was nearly opposite to our left
wing, when I fired a gun, as a signal for a general discharge upon them;
whereupon we gave them the first fire, which killed about forty Indians, the
rest retreated. My party pursued them & Scalped about forty Indians in
about one quarter of an hour
The
advance force Native Americans was met by the Rangers, who fired first and ambushed
them. Many of the Native Americans fell in
the first volley, and the rest fled, quickly chased by many Rogers’ men, while
others stayed to finish off the wounded.
The French allied Indians retreated north along Trout Brook, taking further
losses, until they met the main body of the French, mostly Marines and Canadian
Milice, who alerted by the screams and musket shots, had spread out in a
crescent, before advancing down the brook.
The
ambushers were now the ambushed and the English were forced to fall back,
firing as they went, back to the main party of Rogers’ forces, with a loss of
about fifty men.
Rogers Journal
-The remainder I rallied, and drew up in pretty good order,
where they fought with such intrepidity and bravery as obliged the enemy to
retreat a second time; but we not being in a condition to pursue them, they
rallied again, and recovered their ground, and warmly pushed us in front and
both wings, while the mountain defended our rear."
The
Rangers were greatly outnumbered, but fought fiercely to maintaining the high ground
advantage, by lengthening their line to keep from being flanked and by slowly retiring
under the pressure of the French up the slope Bear Mountain, firing from behind
trees, rocks and log and using petite guerre, woods-fighting methods.
Rogers Journal
-Lieutenant Phillips informed me that about 200 Indians were
going up ye hill on our right to take possession of ye rising ground upon our
backs. . . I ordered him with 18 Men to take possession of ye rising Ground
before the Enemy, & try to beat them back. Accordingly he went, but I being
Suspicious that ye Enemy would go round on our left & take possession of
the other part of the hill, I sent Lieutenant [Edward] Crofton with 15 Men to
take possession of the ground there and soon after desired Captain Pringle to
go with a few men & assist Crofton, which he did with Lt. Roche & 8
Men. But the Enemy pushed So close in the front that the party's were not more
than 20 yards apart & oftentimes intermixed with each other.
Rogers Journal
-Upon finding that Phillips & his party was obliged to
Surrender, I thought it most prudent for me to retreat & bring off as many
of my people as I possibly could. Which I immediately did.
Rogers
acting in accordance with his own Rules of Ranging, had his men disperse and
retreat with each group of two to three men taking a different path the
pre-planned rendezvous point.
Robert Rogers’ Rule No. X of his "Rules for Ranging
Service":
-If the enemy is so superior that you are in danger of being
surrounded by them, let the whole body disperse, and every one take a different
route to the place of rendezvous appointed for that evening which must every
morning be altered and fixed for the evening ensuring, in order to bring the
whole party, or as many of them as possible together, after any separation that
may happen in the day; but if you should happen to be actually surrounded, form
yourselves into a square, or, if in the woods, a circle is best, and, if
possible, make a stand till the darkness of night favors your escape.
The
Indians and French, eager for the glory of capturing Robert Rogers, chased him to
the edge of a steep cliff face, extending 700 feet (215 meters) from the top of
Bald Mountain to the waters of Lake George.
During the chase Rogers threw off his regimental coat, which was later
discovered on the battlefield by the French. In a pocket was found his captain's
commission, dated 24 March 1756 and signed by Sir William Shirley. The French and Indians following him
discovered two sets snowshoe prints leading up to the ledge and assumed that
Rogers and another ranger had tried to escape by sliding down the smooth,
frozen, near vertical, east side of the mountain to the surface of Lake George
over 700 feet below. They assumed that he
had fallen and died, and so they gave up the pursuit, and the legend of Rogers’s
Slide was born!
But
Robert Rogers had survived and with his remaining men, reached the rendezvous
point by 8:00 pm, before limping back Fort Edward a few days later. But how did he escape?
Don’t forget to come back next week and read about how Robert Rogers
escaped from the summit of the mountain and how to follow his retreat to the
top of today’s Rogers Rock, yesterday’s Bald Mountain.
I
hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me
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That
is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!
Sources
Bearor,
Bob; The Battle on Snowshoes, [Heritage Books, Inc., Westminster, MD,
2007]
), 1910-1920, https://itoldya420.getarchive.net/amp/media/battle-of-rogers-rock-glen-falls-ins-co-cbf468, accessed August 16, 2025
The
Rogers’ Rock Hotel And Slide, Lake George, N.Y. Post Card, 1905, https://www.tuckdbpostcards.org/items/72819-the-rogers-rock-hotel-and-slide-lake-george-n-y, accessed August 16, 2025
Todish,
Timothy J.; The Annotated and Illustrated Journals of Major Robert Rogers,
[Purple Mountain Press, Fleischmanns, NY, 2002]
USGS;
“Ticonderoga 1894”, https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/ht-bin/tv_browse.pl?id=2202dc567c61fa316075743dd9492286,
accessed August 16, 2025
Zaboly, Gary; “The Legend
of Rogers’ Slide”, Muzzleloader, Vol. XXVII, No, 4, September/October
2001, page 74-79
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