On the fifteenth of January of the next year (1757) Captain Rogers, with seventy-four Rangers, started down Lake George to reconnoiter the French forts; travelling now for a time upon the ice, and by and by donning snow-shoes and following the land.  On the twenty-first, at a point half way between Ticonderoga and Crown Point, they discovered a train of provision sledges, three of which they captured, together with six horses and seven men.  The others fled within the walls of Ticonderoga and alarmed the garrison.  Feeling the insecurity of his situation he commenced at once his return.  By two o’clock in the afternoon, his party was attacked by two hundred and fifty French and Indians, who endeavored to surround it.  A vigorous fight was kept up until dark.  Rogers was wounded twice and lost some twenty of his men.  The French, as was subsequently ascertained, lost one hundred and sixteen.  The proximity of Ticonderoga rendered vain the continuance of the contest, and he availed him of the shelter of the night to return to Fort William Henry.

For this exploit he was highly complimented by General Abercrombie, and, at a later period of this same year, was ordered by Lord Londown to instruct and train for the ranging service a company of British Regulars.  To these he devoted much time and prepared for their use the manual of instruction now found in his journals.  It is clearly drawn up in twenty-eight sections and gives very succinctly and lucidly the rules governing this mode of fighting.

The campaign of 1757 contemplated only the capture of Louisburg.  To the requisite preparations Lord Londown directed all his energies.  Having collected all the troops which could be spared for that purpose, he sailed for Halifax on the twentieth of June with six thousand soldiers, among them being four companies of Rangers under the command of Major Rogers.  Upon arriving at Halifax his army was augmented by the addition of five thousand Regulars and a powerful naval armament.  We have neither time nor inclination to consider the conduct of Lord Londown on this occassion farther than to say that his cowardice and imbecility seem wonderful.  Finding that, in all probability, Louisburg could not be taken without some one getting hurt, he returned to New York without striking a blow.  If about this time our heroic commander of the Rangers used some strong language far from sacred, it will become us to remember “Zeke Webster” and think as charitably of his patriotic expletives “as we can.”  He returned to New York three weeks after the surrender of Fort William Henry, where with his Rangers he might have done something, at least, to prevent the horrible massacre which has tarnished the fair fame of Montcalm indellibly.

England and America both were humbled in the dust by the events of 1757 and 1758.  Failure, due to the want of sufficent resources is severe, but how utterly insufferable when, with abundant means, incompetency to use them brings defeat.  Still, we are under greater obligation to Lord Londown than we are wont to think.  His imbecility helped rouse the British nation and recall William Pitt to power, whose vigor of purpose animated anew the people of other countries and promised an early termination of French dominion in America.