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256 Correspondence of Governor Sharpe.
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Letter Bk. I.
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that General Abercromby has met with in an Attempt to force
an Intrenchment which the French had made at a small Dis-
tance from Ticonderoga. I understand that the General has
been much blamed for not giving himself time to look about
him & reconnoitre the Enemy & the Adjacent Country which
they say he might easily have done & that instead of marching
up his whole Army to the Face of the Intrenchment which in
the French Phrase was tout garni he might have landed some
of his Troops on the Eastern Side of Lake George or rather
of the Streight that joins the two Lakes & have raised a Bat-
tery there so as to have annoyed the Enemy greatly & divided
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p. 369
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their Force. He is also much censured for having ordered
the Retreat to be beat as soon as the Troops had been once
repulsed, but he is above all condemned for having brought
back his whole Army of 14.000 Men over the Lake imme-
diately after the Action when he was sensible by the Enemy's
not pursuing that there Numbers were much inferiour to those
whereof he had the Command; Had he encamped & in-
trenched himself they say on the Enemy's Side of the Lake
he would at least have been on an equal Footing with them
& would have kept them in Awe, he had the sole Command
of Lake George & had several hundred Battoes on it ready to
bring him Provisions or to bring back his Army when he could
stay there no longer but by retiring so precipitately as that
the Troops left behind them their Provisions & Baggage he
has made the Enemy confident & left them at Liberty to pour
down their Troops to the Ohio to oppose General Forbes or
to send Reinforcements to Cape Breton where they may be
landed on the Westernmost part of the Island & as some say
be able to throw themselves into the Town notwithstanding
the Precautions that have been taken by our Generals to pre-
vent the Success of such an Attempt. All that I have heard
offered in Defence of General Abercromby 's Conduct is that
the Attack was made agreeable to the opinion of a Council
of War, that after it was begun many of the Provincials
behaved very ill & that in particular one whole Corps of the
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p. 37o
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New England Troops peremptorily refused to take the Post
that was assigned them or to attack the Intrenchment not-
withstanding they were thereunto urged by three or four hun-
dred of our Indian Allies who were next them & who offered
to support them in such an Attack. The Consequence of this
Affair will I am afraid be severely felt by the Northern Col-
onies, they are again reduced to the Necessity of carrying on
a Defensive War only & by such a one We must be always
Loosers; God forbid that we should be again reduced to
that necessity in this Part of America I entertain hopes that
that will not be the Case but that in about a month I shall
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