In the early morning of September 8, 1755, a force of French Regulars, Canadians and Indians crouched unseen in a ravine south of Lake George. Under the command of French general Jean-Armand, Baron de Dieskau, the men ambushed the approaching British forces, sparking a bloody conflict for control of the lake and its access to New York's interior. Against all odds, British commander William Johnson rallied his men through the barrage of enemy fire to send the French retreating north to Ticonderoga. The stage was set for one of the most contested regions throughout the rest of the conflict. Historian William Griffith recounts the thrilling history behind the first major British battlefield victory of the French and Indian War.
William R. Griffith IV is a native of Branchburg, New Jersey and a 2014 graduate of Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. His passion for the French and Indian War was born when he visited Fort William Henry as a child. Annual family vacations to Lake George led him to harbor a strong passion for the region's colonial history. Griffith is the co-founder of “The Great Task Remaining” history blog and has conducted historical lectures and presentations throughout New Jersey.