Battle of Carillon - Battle

Battle

While Abercrombie had expected the battle to begin at 1 pm, by 12:30 elements of the New York regiments on the left began engaging the French defenders. The sounds of battle led Haviland to believe that the French line might have been penetrated, so he ordered his men forward, even though not all of the regulars were in place, and Abercrombie had not given an order to advance. The result, rather than an orderly, coordinated advance on the French position, was a piecemeal entry of the regulars into the battle. As companies of the regulars came forward, they arranged themselves into lines as instructed, and then began to advance. The right column, with a shorter distance to travel, attacked first, followed by the center, and then the left. The 42nd had initially been held in reserve, but after insisting on being allowed to participate, they joined the action.

The French position was such that they were able to lay down withering fire on the British forces as they advanced, and the abatis (a word that shares derivation with abattoir, or slaughterhouse) rapidly became a killing field. By about 2 pm, it was clear that the first wave of attack had failed. Montcalm was active on the battlefield, having removed his coat, and was moving among his men, giving encouragement and making sure all of their needs were being met. Abercrombie, who was reported by early historians like Francis Parkman and Thomas Mante to be at the sawmill (and thus well away from the action), was reported by his aide, James Abercrombie, to be near the rear of the lines by the La Chute River during much of the battle, and to have approached the front of the French lines at one point early in the battle. It is uncertain why, after the first wave of attack failed, Abercrombie persisted in ordering further attacks. Writing in his own defense, he later claimed that he was relying on Clerk's assessment that the works could be easily taken; this was clearly refuted by the failure of the first charge.

Around 2 pm, the British barges carrying artillery floated down the La Chute River, and, contrary to plan, came down a channel between an island in the La Chute and the shore. This brought them within range of the French left and some of the fort's guns. Fire from cannons on the fort's southwest bastion's sank two of the barges, spurring the remaining vessels to retreat.

Abercrombie ordered his reserves, the Connecticut and New Jersey provincials, into the battle around 2, but by 2:30 it was clear their attack also failed. Abercrombie then tried to recall the troops, but a significant number, notably the 42nd and 46th regiments on the British left, persisted in the attack. Around 5 pm the 42nd made a desperate advance that actually succeeded in reaching the base of the French wall; those that actually managed to scale the breastwork were bayoneted. One British observer noted that "Our Forces Fell Exceeding Fast", while another wrote that they were "Cut Down Like Grass". The slaughter went on until nightfall, with a great many men retreating behind a breastwork that had been erected at the back of the battlefield.

Finally realizing the scope of the disaster, Abercrombie ordered the troops to muster and march down to the landing on Lake George. The retreat in the dark woods became somewhat panicked and disorganized, as rumors of French attacks swirled among the troops. By dawn the next morning, the army was rowing back up Lake George, reaching its base at the southern end around sunset. The humiliating nature of the retreat was immediately apparent to some of its participants; Lieutenant Colonel Artemas Ward wrote that they "shamefully retreated".