Robert McNee

Killed at Lake George in Rogers Fight, March 13, 1757

Twenty-six-year-old Captain Robert Rogers had marched with 200 men for three days from Fort Edward north, along Lake George.

During the trip, the French at Fort Ticonderoga (then known as Carillon) learned Rogers' men were in the area. An advance troop of approximately 95 men headed out from the fort to engage Rogers' Rangers, pushing forward approximately 15 minutes ahead of a larger 200-member force that followed from the fort.

NOTE: The U.S. Army Rangers claim that they revive the traditions of Rogers' Rangers (Wikipedia)

When Rogers' scouts spotted the first group, which was half the size of their force, Rogers' Rangers set up an ambush along Trout Creek, just west of the northern end of Lake George. With several feet of snow on the ground, the French and Indian forces traveled along the frozen surface of the brook, and as soon as they approached the rangers' location, many were shot where they stood. A vicious battle ensued, with rangers rushing forward to scalp the enemy and finish off the wounded.

Several rangers pursued their fleeing foes. But the French stopped, turned and started returning fire, having met the second, larger force from Fort Carillon. Rogers' Rangers were as surprised by the counterattack as the first group of French and Indian warriors had been when the rangers opened fire on them just a short time earlier.

The larger force attacked Rogers' Rangers with brutal force, particularly the Indian warriors who saw their freshly slain and scalped comrades on the battlefield.

The rangers were forced back and continued to fight throughout the day, even as the right flank troops were cut off from the rest of the rangers and captured.

Rogers and other survivors of the battle scrambled through the woods as darkness approached, heading back to the shores of Lake George in groups of just two or three. As many as 140 of Rogers' original squad of 200 men had been shot, stabbed, or scalped. The famed Rogers' Rangers had been beaten.