Before attempting to set out the events that followed the fall of Fort William Henry it should be mentioned that nobody, French, British, Native Americans, civilians or soldiers had the same values as we do today. In the case of the Europeans particularly the British, it was only 11 or so years since THE JACOBITE REBELLION and Culloden, a war that ended with considerable numbers of the beaten Scots army being Hung, Drawn and Quartered. For a beaten army although there was a highly sophisticated form of conduct, there was no such thing as the Geneva Convention and the actual treatment of a beaten foe was often arbitrary. In civilian life witches were still being burnt at the stake, a form of retribution that was only too readily meted out to rebellious slaves. Punishments for all offenders or captives was at best severe.

With the native Americans the subject of attitudes to captured foes is though at times extreeme it is little different than that of the Europeans. It is however further complicated by the fact that at the fall of Fort William Henry there were some 21 different tribes (NATIONS) represented (many of whom could not communicate with each other let alone their French allies. ) with cultures ranging from the highly sophisticated to primitive. Native Americans generally saw captured white personal as a means of earning reward---selling them to their French allies who would in turn would exchange them with the British. (Coloured slaves being treated by all sides as merely loss or capture of property). Between capture and exchange treatment varied from almost unbelievable care to that of abominable cruelty. What also seems to be the case is that amongst this large "Indian" grouping cannibalism was taken as a matter of course by a number of "tribes". Indeed after the "Massacre" at Fort William Henry one unfortunate was taken back to Montreal and there killed and eaten in full view, and to the consternation of the French garrison and citizens alike.

In short we would consider our ancestors whoever they may have been by TODAY’S standards and ethics as somewhat unpleasant. However despite biased literature (i.e. Last of The Mohicans), by the standards of the day and in the context of their own cultures French, British and Native Americans were perhaps little different from each other. This does not mean we should excuse what would be unacceptable today but maybe we should try to view historic events, particularly those concerning what happened after the fall of Fort William Henry in the context of the values of the era they occurred.