Book excerpt: The French and Indian War (also known as the Seven Years' War), was fought between 1754 and 1763. One of the major battles in the North American campaign was fought at Fort Carillon, also known as Ticonderoga. Fort Ticonderoga had been erected by the French in New York in 1755, on a site which they believed was the key to the defense of Canada. The fort was strategically situated to provide control of both the two-mile portage and navigation northward on Lake Champlain. General Montcalm was ordered to defend it, and the British were determined to take it by force. Although the British had the superior numbers, the battle went badly for them because their commander was killed in a small skirmish with the French before the battle began. On the 8th of July 1758, the French Forces under the leadership of General Montcalm defeated a superior British force led by General Abercrombie. This is the story of Elijah Estabrooks, a Massachusetts provincial soldier who fought in that battle. Elijah kept a Journal throughout his military service, and the purpose of this book is to provide additional details on the people and places that he wrote about during this war.