They covered the
ground with the slain and took many prisoners, among them being the
French commander, who was found leaning against a stump, having been
wounded in the second fight. He was alone, save for a companion, who was
shot down by his side. Seeing an American soldier approach, the Baron
felt for his watch, hoping probably to secure good treatment by
presenting him with it; but the soldier, mistaking the motion for an
effort to draw a pistol, shot him through the hips, inflicting a wound
from which he ultimately died. Johnson himself was shot through the
thigh, early in the action, and the command devolved upon General Lyman,
who conducted the battle to a successful issue, as narrated.
Thus was fought the battle of Lake George, September 8, 1755. The
brilliant victory gained here was greater than is apparent at a
superficial glance, for it checked the French advance upon the English
colonies; it probably saved Albany and other towns from destruction; it
was the means of driving the invaders back upon their defensive posts at
Ticonderoga and Crown Point, where they were eventually attacked and
overcome.
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