Montcalm, in the wake of his successful …

Years: 1757 - 1757
June
Montcalm, in the wake of his successful 1756 assault on Fort Oswego, has been seeking an opportunity to deal with the British position at Fort William Henry, since it provides the British with a launching point for attacks against Fort Carillon.

He is initially hesitant to commit his limited resources against Fort William Henry without knowing more about the disposition of British forces.

Intelligence provided by spies in London arrives in the spring, indicating that the British target is probably Louisbourg.

This suggests that troop levels on the British side of the frontier might be low enough to make an attack on Fort William Henry feasible.

This idea had gained further support after the French questioned deserters and captives taken during periodic scouting and raiding expeditions that both sides conducted, including one resulting in the January Battle on Snowshoes.

As early as December 1756, New France's governor, the Marquis de Vaudreuil, had begun the process of recruiting natives for the following summer's campaign.

Fueled by stories circulated by native participants in the capture of Oswego, this drive has been highly successful, drawing nearly a thousand warriors from the Pays d'en Haut (the more remote regions of New France) to Montreal by June 1757.

Another eight hundred warriiors have been recruited from tribes that live closer to the Saint Lawrence.

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