The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-06-30
HISTORY OF .xE c4AMpLAIN
Valuable Work from the Pen Of Wal
ter Hill Crockett

Hill Crockett of St Adams. Mr.
Crockett is a well known newspaper
man, secretary and historian of the
Vermont society, Sons or the Ameri-
can Reolution, an active member of
the Vermont Historical society and
he has been one of the prominent
; members both of the first and second
Vermont Lake Champlain Tercenten-
airy Commissions He has made
| careful study of Lake Cnamplain his
tor for many years and is well equip
| ped for such a task
The publishers take pleasure in an
nouncing that this history will be the
most thorough and complete treat
| ment of the subject ever undertaken,
| and its publication is an event of more
than ordinary importance. Although
written by a Vermonter, the book
| deals as fully with New York as with
Vermont events in tnis region. The
! history contains sixteen chapters and
covers the period from the discovery
of the lake down to the present time
Beginning with description of the
| size, the physical features and geol-
ogical history of the lake, the discov-
cry by Samuel Champlain is taken up,
| the battle with the Iroquois is describ-
| ed, the disputed points relative 10 the
| spot where the battle was fought and
! places where the explorer may have
stopped on his journey are discussed,
and the career and services of the
| great French explorer receive ade-
quate attention.
Then comes the spread of the Jesuit
missionary movement from Canada to
the south, the building on Isle La
Motto of Fort st. Anne the first set
Element within the present limits of
Vermont, the rendezvous for the
French expeditions under de Cour-
veilles and Marquis de Tracey against
| the hostile Iroquois, the abandonment
| of Fort ST. Anne and an Indian legend
| told by the Jesuit fathers.
Tnis is followed by a description of
! the border warfare between the
! French and Indians in Canada and the
British settlements of New York and
New England, aided by their Indian
allies, the war parties using Lake
Champlain as their natural highway
| Other subjects located in this PERIOD
are the French Seigniorial grants
around the lake, the unsuccessful at
| tempt TO found a Scotch colony in this
valley, the building of Fort st. Fred
eric at Crown Point by the French,
and description of the post by Pc
ter Kahn, a Swedish professor and the
| pioneer OF Lake Champlain tourists
| Considerable space is evoted to the
French and Indian war, for it was
with Champlain valley that much of
the contest waged between the French
and the English for the mastery of
| the American continent were fought.
and here Colonial officers and soldiers
| learned the art of warfare. a lesson
| that proved of great avantage later
in the War of Independence. The
campaign between Johnson and Dill.
akan, Montcalm's capture of Fort VIII
liam Henry, the building of Fort Cav
| illon at Ticonderoga, the death of
Lord Howe. Abercrombies desperate
but foolhardy assault upon the Ticon-
| deroga notifications and Montcalm's
brilliant Defence Amherst's campaign.
the French withdrawal. and the TAX
ing OF Ticonderoga, Crown Point and
Isle aux NoiX by the British. are Sc,
forth In graphic manner.
The book describes the first settle
ment made around the lake. and then
takes up in detail the events that led
up TO the capture of Ticonderoga from
the British by Ethan Allen at the out
break of the Revolutionary war. The
treatment of this first important ag-
sressive act of the American revolut-
ION Is very comprehensive. Gersham
Beaches remarkable journey of sixty
miles on foot in "a hours to summon
the Green Mountain boys, an exploit
far more thrilling than the more fam
liar ride of Paul Revere. the vain at.
tempt OF Beneict Arnold to secure
command OF the expedition. the can
ture of the Fortress I'm tn name or
the Great Jehovah and the Continent
tai Congress" and the bitter contro.
versy between Allen and Arnold fol-
lowing the surrender by Delaplacce.
and the proposition to abandon Ticon-
deroga are told in an interesting man.
ner.
Next in order comes the organizat-
ion of an army at Ticonderoga by
Schuyler and Montgomery for an in
vasion of Canada. and the return of
this force broken by defeat and weak
ened by disease. to the camp at the
southern end of the lake. One of the
most interesting chapters in the book
is that devoted to the battle of Lake
Champlain. the first important naval
engagement of the revolution. in which
Arnold in two brilliant and desperate
battles against overwhelming odds
lost his fleet, but in so doing prevent
ed the British army in Canada from
advancing to Albany and New York
that year, 1776, which was a real tri-
umph for the American cause.
The next chapter deals with Bur
goyne's invasion of 1777, the sweeping
bare of the scattered North Country
settlements before the spectacular ad
vance of the British commander, St
Claire's evacuation of Ticonderoga the
CONSERVATION that followed the en-
tanglement of the invading army in
| the forests and swamps between the