They embarked on a series of improvements to the area and began construction of a fleet to conduct military operations on Lake Champlain.

The French and Indian War, which started in 1754 over territorial disputes in what are now western Pennsylvania and upstate New York, had finally turned in the favor of the British in 1758 following a string of defeats in 1756 and 1757.

[6] However, the fort was constructed in a difficult location: in order to build on rock, the French had sited it relatively far from the lake, while it was still below nearby hilltops.

[7] For the 1759 campaign, British secretary of state, William Pitt, ordered General Jeffery Amherst, the victor at Louisbourg, to lead an army into Canada by sailing north on Lake Champlain, while a second force under James Wolfe, who distinguished himself while serving under Amherst at Louisbourg, was targeted at the city of Quebec via the Saint Lawrence.

In February, France's war minister, Marshal Belle-Isle, notified General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, who was responsible for the defense of Canada, that he would not receive any significant support from France, due in large part to English naval domination of the Atlantic and the risks associated with sending a large military force under those circumstances.

Belle-Isle impressed on Montcalm the importance of maintaining at least a foothold in North America, as the territory would be virtually impossible to retake otherwise.

Montcalm responded, "Unless we have unexpected luck, or stage a diversion elsewhere within North America, Canada will fall during the coming campaign season.

Montcalm decided to focus French manpower on defending the core territory of Canada: Montreal, the city of Quebec, and the Saint Lawrence River Valley.

He placed 3,000 troops from the la Reine and Berry regiments under Brigadier General François-Charles de Bourlamaque for the defense south of Montreal, of which around 2,300 were assigned to Fort Carillon.

One was logistical; Prideaux's expedition to forts Oswego and Niagara also departed from Albany;[17] another was the slow arrival of provincial militias.

[12] When his troops landed and began advancing on the fort, Amherst was pleased to learn that the French had abandoned the outer defenses.

Captain Louis-Philippe Le Dossu d'Hébécourt, who had been left in command of the fort, judged on the evening of July 26 that it was time to leave.

The powder magazine was destroyed, and a number of wooden structures caught fire due to flying embers, but the fort's walls were not badly damaged.

[27] On October 11, Amherst's army began to sail and row north on Lake Champlain to attack Bourlamaque's position at the Île-aux-Noix in the Richelieu River.