GEORGE, LAKE, a long and narrow lake in the eastern part of New York State in the foothills of the Adirondack mountains, which rise more than 2,000f t. above it. Prospect mountain, rising some I,7ooft. above sea-level, and Black mountain, about 2,600ft. in height, are the most prominent. It has a maximum depth of about 400ft., is 3 2 5 f t. above sea-level and 2 24f t. above Lake Champlain, into which it has an outlet to the north through a narrow channel containing many rapids and falls. The lake is about 33m. long and varies in width from 4 of a mile to 3 miles. Its clear water, coming from mountain brooks and submerged springs, its clean, sandy bottom and its beautiful tints of green and blue make it a gem of beauty. It is also noted for its beauti ful mountain scenery and islands and is a favourite summer re sort. Lake steamers ply between the village of Lake George (formerly Caldwell), at the southern end of the lake, and other points along its shore to the northern end at Baldwin, whence there is rail connection with steamers on Lake Champlain. Geol ogists are of the opinion that Lake George is of glacial origin.
Before the advent of the white man the lake was a part of the natural trail over which the Iroquois Indians frequently made their way northward to attack the Algonquins and Hurons. During the struggle between the English and the French for supremacy in America, and during the American Revolution, this natural path way was still the best route of communication between New York and Canada and was of great strategic importance. Sam uel de Champlain explored Lake Champlain in 1609, and at that time heard from the Indians of the beautiful lake, called by them "Andiatarocte" (place where the lake contracts) ; but there are no records to show that Champlain ever visited Lake George. The first white man to see the lake (Aug. 18, 1642) appears to have been Father Jogues, a Jesuit missionary, who in company with Rene Goupil and Guillaume Conture was being taken by his Mohawk Indian captors from the St. Lawrence to the town of the Mohawks. In 1646 Father Jogues, while on a half-religious, half-political mission to the Mohawks, again visited the lake on the eve of Corpus Christi. He gave it the name "Lac Saint Sacre ment," in allusion to the day of his visit. This name it bore until 1755, when Gen. William Johnson renamed it Lake George in honour of the British king. James Fenimore Cooper refers to it in his novels as Lake Horicon.
In the French and Indian War the plan of the British for opera tions against the French in North America included an expedition by Gen. William Johnson against the French at Crown Point on Lake Champlain. When this expedition was in camp at the head of Lake George, Gen. Johnson learned that Baron Ludwig August Dieskau, with a force of French and Indians, was marching from Crown Point to Ft. Lyman (later Ft. Edward), some 14m. to the south of his camp. On the morning of Sept. 8 Johnson sent a detachment of about i,000 colonials, under Col. Ephraim Williams, and 200 Indians under Hendrick, a chief of the Mohawks, to the aid of Ft. Lyman. Dieskau prepared an ambuscade for this de tachment, and in the engagement that followed both Williams and Hendrick were killed. The survivors of the fight retreated to their camp, pursued by the French forces. A severe engagement followed on this same day (Sept. 8) in which the British colo nial forces, at first fighting behind hastily prepared defences, after wards counter-attacked their opponents and gained a signal vic tory. Both Johnson and Dieskau were wounded, and the latter was captured. Gen. Johnson now proceeded to build on the shores of Lake George, near the battlefield, a fort of logs and earth, which he called Ft. William Henry. In the meantime the French entrenched themselves at Ticonderoga on Lake Cham plain at the foot of the falls of the stream draining Lake George into Lake Champlain. Two years later, in March, 1757, the gov ernor of Canada sent an expedition of about 1,600 men to capture the fort, but the expedition failed to accomplish its mission. In August of this same year the garrison, in desperate straits because of loss of ammunition and supplies, surrendered to the Marquis de Montcalm. The terms of the surrender provided that the gar rison would be permitted to proceed under escort to Ft. Edward, but the strength of the escort was not sufficient to prevent the Indian allies of Gen. Montcalm from massacring or taking pris oner a large part of the force. Ft. William Henry was destroyed. Lake George was the scene of many other engagements during the French and Indian wars and during the Revolution. Gen. Aber crombie's large army marched from the lake to its defeat at Ti conderoga in July, 1758. Lord Amherst advanced along the lake en route to Ft. Ticonderoga, which he captured in July, 17 59. Near the site of Ft. William Henry, Gen. Amherst later built a new fort known as Ft. George. Its ruins still remain.
See H. Marvin, A Complete History of Lake George (1853) ; B. C. Butler, Lake George and Lake Champlain (Albany, 1868) ; B. F. Da Costa, A Narrative of Events at Lake George (1868) ; Francis Parkman, Historic Handbook of the Northern Tour (Boston, 1885) ; Elizabeth E. Serlye, Saratoga and Lake Champlain in History (Lake George, N.Y., 1898) ; Caroline H. Royce, The First Century of Lake Champlain (19o9) ; W. M. Reid, Lake George and Lake Champlain (191o) ; F. W. Halsey, "The Historical Significance of the Hudson and Champlain Valleys," N.Y. State Hist. Assoc. Proc., vol. ix., pp. 227-236 (Albany, 191o) ; and E. T. Gillespie, "The War Path," ib., vol. x., pp. 139-155 (Albany, 1911). (E. JA.)