In my eight years as a reenactor I have read numerous of these after action journals. Some have been very good; others have been, well, less than good. So by putting a pen to my thoughts and recollections I am opening myself up to the literary critique of my reenacting piers. With that being said I hope to hear back from anyone who has a reaction to this journal - whether it be positive or negative. I can only relate what I experienced in the small portion of the battle where I fought. I would be interested to hear perspectives from both sides to get a clearer perspective on the entire action.

In 2001, PBS and Fort Ticonderoga produced a  movie about reenacting at Fort Ti. We were filmed in it during the F&I Grand Encampment in 2000.  Frank Molander was interviewed extensively as a leading representative of the French forces. This video is a really lovely look at the fort and the events that go on there. Highly recommended. The video is available at the Fort Ticonderoga Museum Store.

The Battle on Snowshoes event has turned into one of my favorite annual events, indeed if not my favorite. It is an opportunity for French & Indian War reenactors to get out their winter gear and fight in a true tactical scenario with no spectators. This is the sixth (correct me if I'm wrong) year it has been held. The site has rotated from the Rogers Rock State Park to the Ticonderoga Country Club on the ground where the actual battle was fought to last year at Crown Point. This year a new site on the grounds of Fort Ticonderoga provided the backdrop to another showdown in the woods.

My day started off with the alarm going off at 5:00 am . After a quick walk around the block with my dog I was dressed and in the car heading north with a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee by 5:30 am . As I drove along the Mass Pike from Westfield, MA heading up into the Berkshires my thoughts wandered to what it must have been like 240 years ago to contemplate this journey to the southern end of Lake Champlain. I am always struck by the fact that I can make the trip to Ticonderoga in three short hours as opposed to the weeks it would have taken an eighteenth century traveler. It is subtle moments such as this that make me appreciate reenacting as more than just running around in the woods with a musket. Inherent in everything we do as reenactors is the opportunity to view our contemporary lives through the lens of history and seize that opportunity to evaluate the relative ease and comfort of life in the 21^st century.

The forecast called for a beautiful, sunny day with temperatures in the 40's. The only problem was that there was not a lot of snow, definitely not enough to require snowshoes - thus the title of this journal. I had spoken with Karl Crannell at Fort Ticonderoga earlier in the week and he told me that the ground was extremely icy. With the temperature having been above freezing for the past couple of days I hoped that the ice would have at least softened up. Nonetheless, I packed two sets of creepers, long and short, to go with my thick soled moccasins.

I pulled into the parking lot about 8:30 am to find the Rangers and other British units assembling. It looked like they had a good turn out with about 45 - 50 troops. On the French side things were not shaping up as well.  Larry Aiello was already there with a few guys from his unit, as was Deb Goodman with some of the Bearn troops. There were a few natives and some Milice but the overall numbers were clearly in favor of the British. I was not even out of my car when John Eric Nelson was handing me a map and asking if the French were meeting at some other location. I told him not to worry; I had spoken with Jon Soule two nights before and knew that we would have at least eight more from Roussillon. The "Quechee Caravan" soon pulled in with Jon Soule arriving on time and ready to roll. When all the French were assembled I looked down the line and counted 42 Regulars, Milice and Natives. On Friday night something told me to get both of my fusils ready and bring them both to the event. That thought turned out to be prophetic because John Aubin had snapped a screw on his gun that morning and did not have a replacement. So I gave John my St. Etienne grenadier carbine and I took my "petit" fusil.

As the French began their march to the field John Eric Nelson ran out in the middle of the road and held up a "Frog Crossing" sign - very funny.remember he who laughs last, laughs best. The first obstacle was a barbed wire fence that claimed a chunk out of the crotch of my pants. After that it was a somewhat long walk through a hay field to the first tree line. Jon and Deb had previously walked the ground and were familiar with the lay of the land. We decided that Jon would take the main force and establish a strong defensive position on the high ground that bordered a deep ravine above the second tree line. I would stay with a small group of Milice and the Bearn troops to scout the advance of the British and send word back to Jon when they showed their hand. Our goal was not to oppose the British in force on this initial ground but rather to try and funnel them toward the swamp on the French left. If we could check their advance on our right as they advanced through the first tree line it would force the British to fight up a steep hill when they made their way to the second tree line.

I waited about ten minutes before the first Ranger bonnet appeared in the hay field. For a time it appeared that they might make a strong move on the my right which would have put me in a tough spot because I did not have sufficient strength to oppose a strong push there. I sent my runner back to the Milice and Bearn troops directly to my rear and called for four men to come forward in case the British kept moving to my right. As it was the Rangers on the extreme right were just screening the main body of British troops that soon appeared in what was the center of our forward position. While I was relieved that it appeared the Brits would not be pushing my right, my eye caught Horst Dresler addressing a group of Rangers. Horst and I both knew he had me outgunned and just like it would have happened 240 years ago he quickly assembled his Rangers into a column to punch through my thin French line. Having been on the receiving end of this tactic before I knew it was time for the French to retire. I called for the seven troops with me to fall back to the force of Milice and Bearn that was tucked behind the hillock to our rear. The troops responded quickly and we ran back and told Deb that her husband would be appearing shortly on the crest of the hill.

I left Deb to give the advancing Brits one good volley and then have the Milice and Bearn troops quickly follow the footprints in the snow back to Jon's main body of French. While Deb steeled the troops for the Rangers advance I ran, slid, skidded and slipped my way back to the second tree line where the bulk of the Natives were waiting. I let them know that the French troops in front of them would be coming quickly with the Brits on their heels. The Natives were in a perfect position to slow down the British advance and allow the retiring French troops to make their way up the hill. While I was speaking with the Natives I could hear the first musket shots and with that took my leave up the hill to find Jon and decide our next move. 

It was a lot further from the second tree line to the top of the hill than I had anticipated and I was breathing heavy when at last I found Jon. We quickly talked about what the Brits were up to and decided that our original plan was still valid and he would sit tight at the crest of the hill with the ravine to his back. We had several of our Roussillon troops holding the extreme right of the line to check any British advance that made it up that far. Our hope was that the Brits would not make a strong movement on this part the line. If this held true as the action progressed Jon could do his best impression of Colonel Chamberlain at Little Round Top and swing down the hill like a door on a hinge. (I know I am mixing my historical metaphors but Jon can recite lines from "Gettysburg" verbatim and I know this is what he was thinking when he saw the ground the Brits would have to come up) So this all being decided I made my way back down the hill to make sure that everyone knew to fall back as the Brits advanced. It was important that no one was left behind as we made our way back to our prepared position on the hill. I could see a less than enthused look in peoples eyes as I told them to keep moving up the hill - it wasn't much further. yeah right. they had heard that before. The key here was that the Natives were doing a great job at slowing down the advance of the Brits. This gave our winded troops time to get up the hill and catch their breath before the battle really started.

As the Brits began their advance through the second tree line and up the hill the French were deployed at the top of the hill with the Natives screened out in front. Deb held the center with the Milice and Larry Aiello's group while Jon and I were on the extreme French right with our Royal Roussillon contingent. The ground was very steeply sloped down into a ravine behind us so we were not concerned about the Brits coming at us in force from that side. Our main worry was that they would quickly move up the hill out of musket range and push our right flank. This would force us into a small pocket with the ravine as our only avenue of escape. There was a steady fusillade coming up the hill as I moved out to the right waiting for the inevitable appearance of the Brits.

After waiting about ten minutes, during which the battle to my left was raging, I decided to set out with John Aubin to scout our right flank and see if the Brits were making any effort to cut around us. We only moved ahead about 50 yards when I saw the familiar white winter coat of Ed Bethel. It looked as if he had about a half a dozen men with him so I signaled back to Jon to come up carefully to pressure them into tipping their hand. If Ed was out there in force he would most likely move fast to flank us now that he knew our position. If he were not out there in force we would try to pressure him into falling back and attempt our own flanking move. We exchanged a few shots and Ed's group began to fall back. It appeared that the Brits push up the middle had stalled and they were bringing in their flankers to concentrate their efforts against the middle. With Ed falling back, Roussillon was able to quickly move up and begin sweeping down the hill. The terrain was perfect for this type of action being filled with uprooted trees that provided excellent cover.

I made my way into the depression of one of these uprooted trees and had a great line of sight on a group of Brits holed up in a depression about 20 yards in front of me. I touched off a round, causing them to duck for cover. This group of Brits was taking fire from the French troops in front of them and were now pinned down by my fire on their left. I called back to Jon to push up quickly on my right to force them to move. Both John Aubin and Jon Soule along with the rest of Roussillon made a quick move and the Brits were forced to themselves move or be shot where they were laid up. They choose to move and ended up in a pack of Brits trying to find cover at the edge of the ravine. There were more Brits than trees for cover and as the French closed the circle around them more and more of the encircled Brits clubbed their muskets. Horst soon put his cap on his musket acknowledging that this engagement belonged to the French.

As I looked around at the French troops assembled on the top of the hill people were patting each other on the back with wide grins on their faces. I hate to call it an inferiority complex, but the French have traditionally taken the field with far fewer numbers than their British counterparts, and we have always said that we could really challenge the British if only we had the numbers. In the last few years the numbers have begun to even out. This event was a great example of the two sides taking the field with about equal numbers. So, standing there on a sun draped hilltop a few hundred yards from Fort Carillon, having just defeated a well organized and numerically equal British force I couldn't help but feel like we had achieved something special.

The British too had smiles on their faces - even in defeat how could you not smile. It was a beautiful, sunny day; standing there among friends on historic ground where the people we honor through our hobby actually fought, it was as perfect a scene as anyone could imagine. We decided to break for lunch and individual units began to filter off to dip into their haversacks for food and drink.

Lunch lasted for about an hour and then we began to get ready for the afternoon engagement - cleaning off muskets and passing out additional rounds to those that were low. The afternoon engagement would have the British head back toward the parking lot to receive the French advance. Jim Ross headed out first taking a group of Rangers up the hill to then cut left and head down the fenceline. We agreed to give Jim at least twenty minutes before we headed out after him. Horst took the rest of the Rangers and various other British troops and headed back down the hill to prepare a defensive position. The French decided to send a group of Milice and Natives to follow the trail of Jim Ross's group and the rest of the French Regulars would spread out and locate the main British force. I took a small group of Roussill on to scout the extreme left along the swamp. I was nervous that the Brits would get into the swamp, lie down, wait for us to pass by and then attack us from the rear. (I know what you're thinking - but don't read anything into the phrase "attack us from the rear")

My small unit of Roussillon; John Aubin, Gary Staples and Jim Johnson were able to make good time down the hill and we worked the edge of the swamp with Bearn to our right. We were well passed the second tree line when we encountered at least three Brits holed up behind a big tree just on the edge of the swamp. It took some time and effort to root them out because the brush was thick and difficult to move through. With Bearn supporting us from the hill to our right we were able to push them back. Gary and Jim swept a small area that stuck out into the swamp and agreed to meet John and I on the other side of a small hillock. As John and I moved past the position the Brits occupied we found ourselves in a small ravine that bordered the hay field and the swamp. There was a smattering of musket fire coming from the hill on our right and we could see Jon on the crest with a sizable detachment of the remaining French opposing the British across the ravine. We were left with a choice of falling back the way we came and joining Jon or continuing to sweep the edge of the swamp. We waited for Gary and Jim to show up from their reconnoiter, but after five minutes we decided to press forward on our own. We had only progressed about twenty yards when Stephan of the "Blacks" called out to John Aubin that he was a dead man. At which point I pointed my fusil at Stephan and returned the favor - so John and Stephan sat out the next few minutes of the battle together.

I made the decision that I would keep trying to push forward along the swamp. There really was no other option than to stay just along the edge because the area between the swamp and the hay field was covered with thick undergrowth that was impossible to move through. As I moved along Jim and Gary joined up and the three of us eventually came to a point where the swamp and the field met. If not for the red coat of one of the Brits we would have stumbled right into them. But, the red showed through the brush and we were able to lie up in a safe spot. As we sat there I saw the rounded cap of Dale Henry come down to join the two or three people that were already there. I said hello to Dale and we traded some pleasant banter about the accuracy of our shooting and such things. There were only two choices - go forward and get shot or trudge back the way I came and try to get out into the field to flank Dale and the others. I took the second option and left the others to keep an eye on them while I headed out. It turns out that great minds do think alike and as soon as I made my way into the swamp I saw Ed Bethel move out from behind the tree where he was holed up with Dale to cover my advance. Pretty soon Ed was joined by a few others and I was getting awfully lonely and in great danger of being flanked myself. So I took to my heals and headed back to where I had left John Aubin.

When I got back to the ravine Jon and Deb were still on the hill to my right firing on the British who were on the opposite hill in front of the hay field. This time there was a sufficient break in the Brits line so I was able to run to the base of the hill without exposing myself to any real danger. When I got up to the French line Jon had about a half dozen troops with him and they were getting some pretty good long range volleys off on the Brits across the ravine. Deb had her Bearn unit off to my left and we began to push forward to the base of the hill, still staying behind large trees that provided good cover. The only way to break the stalemate was to move across the ravine and establish a position on the base of the opposite hill. With Bearn following me we made a dash to the base of the opposite hill and were met with little resistance. Not wanting to wait long at this position we made a quick move as a group to the crest of the hill expecting the Brits to be waiting for us at the top. As we made the crest of the hill the Brits were indeed waiting - the hay field was covered with large, round bales of hay and behind almost every one was a group of Brits.

The natives had been moving up with us off to my right and they were taking up positions behind empty hay bails just on the edge of the field. Each side traded some shots for a couple of minutes. The Brits then took the initiative and a group of ten or twelve charged the Natives behind the hay bales. Much to my surprise, and I would guess to the surprise of the Brits as well, they were met with a well-organized volley and the Natives held their position. The attacking Brits took some casualties from the Native fire and the flanking fire coming from the French troops with me. With a loud war whoop some of the Natives came out from their hay bale and it looked like some close quarter combat was next on the agenda. Before things got out of hand the Brits blew a whistle and I came over to meet Horst and end the engagement. I would have to say that this second battle ended in a stalemate. The Brits were too well fortified in the hay field for the French to have had any chance of rooting them out with the numbers we had on hand.

It was still relatively early in the day, about 1:15 , but everyone was spent from the two battles and most were running low on powder. There were still plenty of smiles on both sides but fatigue had gotten the better part of most of us. Individual units began getting together to make a last check of gear and begin walking back to the parking lot. I managed to make it over the barbed wire fence without further need for needle and thread. John Eric Nelson and I waited for the last group to make it over the fence so we could restring the top strand of wire that had been taken down to make the climb over the fence easier.

That closed out the 2002 Battle on Snowshoes - in my opinion the best one to date. Both sides were well represented and performed in a friendly and safe manner on the field. If there were any problems or issues I haven't heard them and I would encourage anyone who has a question or concern to contact Deb Goodman, Jon Soule, Horst Dresler or myself so that it can be addressed. I would also like to extend my thanks to Nick Westbrook and Karl Crannell from Fort Ticonderoga for allowing us to use the site. It looks like next years event will take place at the Rogers Rock State Park with the goal of rotating the site among several locations to keep the event fresh. Thanks also to everyone that made the trip on both sides - it really was an outstanding day and hopefully signaled the start of another safe and exciting year of events.

Lieut. Colonel F. D. Molander
Royal Roussillon 2^nd Battalion

Email: roussillon@earthlink.net Phone: (W) 877-378-2769 (C) 413-246-0544 (H) 413-562-8418

Click here to read the British report.