England and other colonies had fought in alliance with the
painted and befeathered savages and had made no protest. Now
either times had changed, or there was something in a civil war
which made the use of savages seem hideous. One thing is certain.
Amherst had held his savages in stern restraint and could say
proudly that they had not committed a single outrage. Burgoyne
was not so happy.

In nearly every war the professional soldier shows distrust, if
not contempt, for civilian levies. Burgoyne had been in America
before the day of Bunker Hill and knew a great deal about the
country. He thought the "insurgents" good enough fighters when
protected by trees and stones and swampy ground. But he thought,
too, that they had no real knowledge of the science of war and
could not fight a pitched battle. He himself had not shown the
prevision required by sound military knowledge. If the British
were going to abandon the advantage of sea power and fight where
they could not fall back on their fleet, they needed to pay
special attention to land transport. This Burgoyne had not done.
It was only a little more than a week before he reached Lake
Champlain that he asked Carleton to provide the four hundred
horses and five hundred carts which he still needed and which
were not easily secured in a sparsely settled country. Burgoyne
lingered for three days at Crown Point, half way down the lake.
Then, on the 2d of July, he laid siege to Fort Ticonderoga. Once
past this fort, guarding the route to Lake George, he could
easily reach the Hudson.

In command at Fort Ticonderoga was General St. Clair, with about
thirty-five hundred men. He had long notice of the siege, for the