During the year 1754 a young insignificant Lieutenant Colonel of the Virginia Militia by the name of GEORGE WASHINGTON managed, near the small French Fort Duquense, to provide the small spark needed to ignite the already smouldering frontier. By 1756 Britain and France were once again at war, locked in a conflict that quickly developed into a true WORLD WAR.

Amongst the earliest reinforcements sent to the growing American fighting, was the 35th Regiment of Foot. Embarking from Plymouth on the 11th of April in company with the 42nd Regiment (THE BLACK WATCH) the two Regiments headed for years of hard campaigning and their separate appointments with history.

The fleet, commanded by Admiral Holbourn arrived at New York in June, here both the 35th and 42nd disembarked and proceeded to Albany arriving there on June 25th. On the 29th of July the Earl of Loudoun arrived with reinforcements and took command of the assembled army. Taking one division, consisting of regulars and massed militia some ten thousand strong he marched to Fort William Henry standing at the southern end of Lake George, some fifteen miles from Fort Edward. Here the army remained until the middle of November. Leaving the Fort William Henry complex (Fort and entrenched camp) under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel George Munro and garrisoned by a strong mixed detachment which included the 35th Regiment of Foot, the Earl of Loudoun took his army into winter quarters.
 

During the spring of 1757 the French and their Indian allies commanded by their able commander The Marquis de Montcalm made a number of separate attacks on the Fort but were driven off by the garrison. However on the 3rd of August Montcalm invested Fort William Henry with a force, which consisted of some ten thousand men including the regular Regiments of La Sarre, Guienne, Languedoc, La Reinne, Royal Roussillon and  troupes de Terre de Bearn plus a powerful artillery train.

Colonel Munro had by now fewer than two thousand men consisting of the 35th, elements of the 60th Regiment and New Jersey, New Hampshire and Massachusett Militia. Despite these numbers he knew his position was serious, however he was also well aware that only fifteen miles away at Fort Edward, was a four thousand plus army under the command of Brigadier-General Webb.

Immediately Montcalm invested Fort William he called for Munro to surrender which Munroe (expecting at least some form of demonstration by Webb having sent him a calmly written report that concluded with “I make no doubt that you will soon send us reinforcements”) turned down saying he “would defend the place to the last extremity”.

Siege warfare now progressed from 3rd of August until the 9th during which Munro wrote a number of increasingly exasperated letters to his commander at Fort Edward assuring Webb that he "would therefore be Glad (if this meets Your Approbation) the whole army was marched”. And finally  “The Fort and camp still hold out, in hopes of a speedy Relief from you, which we hourly expect, and if that does not happen, we must fall into the hands of our Enemies”.

Some letters Webb never received and even his reply's were easily captured by the French (and used to good effect during surrender negotiations). Webb, it must be said believed he was facing some ten thousand troops and would have been leaving one of the few defensive positions protecting Albany and setting out on a journey along a road ideally suited to ambuscade which must have seemed almost suicidal. Webb’s final letter (intercepted by the French) included complaints on the Militia (one thousand of which he had called for only a week earlier). There is also the faint indication that he was at last ready to march as this letter included --”We wish most heartily that you may be able to hold out a little longer”.  However the siege had already progressed to the point under the rules of 18th century warfare Munro was obliged to hang out a flag of truce.

Although Montcalm had refused the honours of war to the Oswego garrison because of its poor (therefore dishonourable) defence, the defenders of Fort William Henry were to be given on paper particularly favourable terms (i.e. marching out with muskets carrying their standards with them). This would be the last time the French would offer a British garrison parole during the conflict, certainly in North America.