Atlas of Battles

siege, major, early modern

Siege of Fort William Henry

Siege of Fort William Henry was a siege conducted on 3 August 1757 at Lake George, in what is now New York, United States; it lasted 6 days. It was part of the Seven Years' War, which ran from 1756 to 1763. The recorded result: French-Indian victory. Recorded strength: 6,200 regulars and militia; 1,800 Native Americans against 2,500 regulars and provincials.

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Plan of Fort William Henry and Camp at Lake George.
Plan of Fort William Henry and Camp at Lake George.. W. Eyre. Eng'r, I. Heath. d'r., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought3 August 1757lasted 6 days
WhereLake George, New York, United States43.420N, 73.711W
OutcomeFrench-Indian victory
BelligerentsKingdom of France; New France; Odawa; Abenaki; Potawatomi; NipissingagainstKingdom of Great Britain; British America
Casualties and lossesLightand130–185 killed or wounded; 2,308 captured
Part ofSeven Years' War1756 to 1763

Where it sits in the Seven Years' War

Battle of Fort Beauséjour, 1755Battle of the Monongahela, 1755Battle of Petitcodiac, 1755Battle of Lake George, 1755Battle of Fort Bull, 1756Siege of Fort St Philip, 1756Battle of Minorca, 1756Battle of Fort Oswego, 1756Siege of Pirna, 1756Battle of Lobositz, 1756Siege of Schweidnitz, 1757Battle of Chandannagar, 1757Battle of Reichenberg, 1757Battle of Prague, 1757Battle of Kolín, 1757Battle of Studencem, 1757Battle of Hastenbeck, 1757Siege of Fort William Henry, 1757Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf, 1757Raid on Rochefort, 1757Battle of Moys, 1757Battle of Cap-Français, 1757Battle of Rossbach, 1757Battle of Breslau, 1757Battle of Leuthen, 1757Siege of Olomouc, 1758Capture of Senegal, 1758Siege of Küstrin, 1758Siege of Neisse, 1758Siege of Schweidnitz, 1758Battle of Cartagena, 1758Siege of Minden, 1758Battle of Cuddalore, 1758Action of 29 April 1758, 1758Raid on St Malo, 1758Battle of Rheinberg, 1758Battle of Krefeld, 1758Battle of Domstadtl, 1758Battle of Carillon, 1758Battle of Ostřetína, 1758Battle of Přepych, 1758Battle of Negapatam, 1758Battle of Mehr, 1758Raid on Cherbourg, 1758Battle of Zorndorf, 1758Battle of Fort Frontenac, 1758Battle of Saint Cast, 1758Battle of Fort Duquesne, 1758Battle of Tornow, 1758Siege of Kolberg, 1758Battle of Lutterberg, 1758Battle of Fort Ligonier, 1758Battle of Hochkirch, 1758Siege of Madras, 1758Capture of Gorée, 1758Battle of Condore, 1758Sieges of Kolberg, 1759Battle of Fulda, 1759Invasion of Martinique, 1759Invasion of Guadeloupe, 1759Siege of Masulipatam, 1759Battle of Bergen, 1759Battle of Peterswalde, 1759Battle of Himmelreich, 1759Siege of Quebec, 1759Raid on Le Havre, 1759Battle of Kay, 1759Battle of Ticonderoga, 1759Battle of Beauport, 1759Battle of Minden, 1759Battle of Kunersdorf, 1759Battle of Lagos, 1759Battle of Pondicherry, 1759Battle of Frisches Haff, 1759Battle of the Plains of Abraham, 1759Battle of Hoyerswerda, 1759Siege of Münster, 1759Battle of Quiberon Bay, 1759Battle of Maxen, 1759Battle of Chinsurah, 1759Battle of Meissen, 1759Battle of Wandiwash, 1760Battle of Udgir, 1760Battle of Carrickfergus, 1760Battle of Sainte-Foy, 1760Battle of Neuville, 1760Siege of Glatz, 1760Battle of Landeshut, 1760Battle of Restigouche, 1760Battle of Corbach, 1760Siege of Dresden, 1760Battle of Emsdorf, 1760Battle of Warburg, 1760Battle of Liegnitz, 1760Battle of Oschatz, 1760Battle of the Thousand Islands, 1760Siege of Kolberg, 1760Siege of Pondicherry, 1760Battle of Rhadern, 1760Raid on Berlin, 1760Battle of Kloster Kampen, 1760Battle of the Windward Passage, 1760Battle of Langensalza, 1761Siege of Cassel, 1761Battle of Grünberg, 1761Capture of Belle Île, 1761Battle of Villinghausen, 1761Action of 17 July 1761, 1761Battle of Cape Finisterre, 1761Siege of Kolberg, 1761Battle of Ölper, 1761Invasion of Martinique, 1762Bombardment of Arnsberg, 1762Battle of Wilhelmsthal, 1762Battle of Burkersdorf, 1762Battle of Lutterberg, 1762Siege of Almeida, 1762Battle of Grüningen, 1762Battle of Valencia de Alcántara, 1762Battle of Nauheim, 1762Battle of Signal Hill, 1762Battle of Brücker Mill, 1762Siege of Cassel, 1762Battle of Vila Velha, 1762Battle of Freiberg, 1762Siege of Fort Detroit, 1763Battle of Devil's Hole, 176317551763Siege of Fort William Henry, 1757
127 placed engagements of the Seven Years' War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date3 August 1757
to 9 August 1757
PlaceLake George, New York, United States
43.420N, 73.711W
KindSiege, early modern
Strength6,200 regulars and militia; 1,800 Native Americans2,500 regulars and provincials
Casualties and lossesLight130–185 killed or wounded; 2,308 captured; 69–184 British prisoners killed in captivity or missing
Commanders
Siege of Fort William HenrySiege of Fort William HenryBattle on SnowshoesBattle of Lake GeorgeBattle of Fort AnneBattle of WiltonBattle of Sabbath Day PointBattle of Fort AnneBattle of WiltonBattle of Sabbath Day PointBurlingtonAlbanyConcordWorcesterSchenectadyUticaWatertownPittsfield100 km43.420N, 73.711W
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Siege of Fort William Henry
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 50 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.

The recorded site stands at about 107 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 94 to 721 m, 627 m of relief, steep country and today it is 78% tree cover, 12% water, 6% built-up.

tree cover: 78%water: 12%built-up: 6%grassland: 3%tree cover 78%water 12%built-up 6%grassland 3%
west to east, 10.0 km96 to 701 mnorth to south, 10.0 km96 to 367 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 3 times between 1755 and 1758.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1757

Siege of Fort William Henry is one of 2,009 engagements of the 18th century in the atlas and one of 1,148 in present-day United States (57 in New York).

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q2080325, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Fort William Henry, revision 1383794850, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.