Forts constructed by the French and the British controlled the portage narrows and other choke points at: �Fort Crown Point�, at �Fort Carillion� (Ticonderoga) on Lake Champlain, at �Fort George� and �Fort William Henry� on the Hudson River, at �The Great Carrying Place�, (�Fort Stanwix�), at �The Oneida Carry�, (�Fort Ontario�) at the �Oswego River�, and at �Fort Niagara� on Lake Ontario. Most of the forts were primitive by European standards, their main defensive asset their isolated locations. In order to attack one of these positions it was necessary to mount a major expedition consisting of artillery and infantry backed up by the various military branches and a supply line. Road networks were non existent, supplies and equipment moved by water using boats and canoes ,the boat having the greatest carrying capacity able to traverse the river systems, and at the same time transportable across the portages ; the �Bateaux�.

Bateaux were built in various sizes, the smallest, sometimes called the Albany boat, were about 26 feet in length with a beam of a mere 3 feet. A larger version named the Schenectady boat may have been as a large as 40 feet in length although 30 feet was the common length. The only Bateau plan presently available drawn up by the British Admiralty shows a boat 30 feet 4 inches in length with a beam of 6 feet 6 inches and a depth of 2 feet 10 inches.

Poles and oars were the primary means of propulsion although on open water sailing down wind was sometimes possible, the sails usually consisting of a few army blankets sewn together forming a rudimentary jury rig which was used more in order to conserve energy than as a dedicated sailing rig. �Lake Champlain� and �Lake George� and �The Hudson� were especially suited to this technique as the prevailing winds were north to south or south to north, the usual direction of travel. During the British retreat from Fort Carillion in 1758 a Doctor Rea wrote in his journal that �we make sails from blankets and tents�. In the following year at Lake Champlain General Amherst ordered training in this technique .On the 1st of October 1759 each of the regular regiments were ordered to send �a sergeant or �aproper� person to the place where the boats �ly� to see a boat rigged there with two blankets for sails, and each regiment to �rigge 2 bateaux in the same manner�. It seems evident that during this period this method of sailing became common to all parties involved in the war.

The Bateau was essentially a flat bottomed load carrier similar to those used by the ancient Romans, trees wide enough for sawing planks in to the 18inches plus category, ( as in the Europe of Roman times) not yet depleted by constant logging. The large width planks enabled those with limited boat building skills to construct craft from locally available timber. In 1755 a colonial Bateau of 24 feet was capable of carrying 8 barrels and 5 men .If each barrel was of the standard size of the day, four and two tenths cubic feet, this would yield a total of 32 and eight tenths cubic feet, a substantial payload .Bougainville recorded in his journal that the Bateaux arriving at �Fort Carillion� in 1756 each carried three tons. These were of the French Montreal type built for use on the �Saint Lawrence River� and �The Great Lakes�. Specifications for General Johnson�s 1755 campaign indicated that six 18 pounders were transported by �6 large strong �battoes� each of the 18 pounders weighing approximately 4700 pounds .It is apparent that the British Bateaux was capable of carrying well over two tons. Historical records reveal that in 1759 a Josiah Goodrein ordered �each bateaux will carry 12 �bariels� of �flower� and 9 of �poark� when ordered to load and it is supposed that we will have about 20 men or a few more or a few less�.

In �Reminiscence of the French War. Robert Rodgers Journal and a Memoir of General Stark�, Rogers states that on September 24th 1755 on orders from General Johnson he proceeded to � Crown Point� in order to capture a prisoner and discovered a body of Indians shooting at targets on the lake for amusement, which they commonly did. In the night he and a party of men managed to crawl past French sentries to arrive at a village but returned to camp fatigued and with no prisoner. On October 7th they were ordered to embark with five men and to reconnoiter Ticonderoga in the process coming across an Indian bark canoe which they fired upon inflicting casualties and then compelled to retreat with the arrival of two more enemy Indian canoes. On October 15th he was ordered to embark 40 men in 5 boats to reconnoiter and to possibly to decoy the French into an ambush but failed. Finally on November 4th they embarked on 4 bateaux carrying 30 men each mounting two �wall pieces�. (These were cannon built specifically to fire through a port in a fortress wall.). The enemy were discovered �sans� fortifications but unfortunately the British main body arrived to late forcing them to defer to the superior forces .Upon his withdrawal Rogers came across the main British force and so returned to face the enemy. After feeling out the sentries at night they were fired upon and pursued by two canoes which worked in conjunction with a party on land attempting to force Rogers between two sets of fire. To prevent this he and Lieutenant McCurdy embarked with 14 men in 2 boats leaving the remainder of the party on shore under Captain Putnam.

In order to decoy the French within range of their wall pieces they steered as if intending to pass out of range of the French who immediately turned so as to intercept them arriving within 100 yards where the British opened fire killing several of them and causing them to flee .They then drove them close to their land party and again fired with their wall pieces killing several more and holing some of the enemy canoes. Rogers noticed the French land party and so embarked his men, French canoes constantly firing upon his rear but inflicting little damage. He in turn pursued them and again fired his wall pieces which caused them to disperse. He then followed them to their landing place where they attempted to land under the cover of 200 Frenchmen who upon receiving a volley of fire from the wall pieces were forced to retire. Rogers did not follow up his advantage however as he was outnumbered and choose to retire to the British camp.

In 1756 the bateaux service was created in order to supply the post at Oswego which was at the end of a long supply line, the British garrison isolated during the winter. On March 17 1756 Governor Shirley placed all of the Bateaux involved in Oswego�s provisioning under the command of a Lieutenant Colonel Bradstreet authorizing him to control and construct the necessary craft. He engaged 2000 bateaux men and organized them into fifty companies. It is unclear whether they were regular army, militia or civilians contracted to work for the army. One thing that is know is that they were an unruly lot but fortunately for the army Bradstreet, of pioneering Nova Scotian stock, was easily able to handle them. On 1 July, Bradstreet led 600 bateaux into Oswego loaded with �Provisions for the Garrison and Guns and Rigging for the Vessels� successfully opened up the supply line to Fort Oswego. However a French force of unknown size had commenced operations south of Lake Ontario designed to isolate the post again.

On 3 July 1756, Bradstreet again left Oswego for Schenectady with 350 Bateaux and about 1,000 batteaumen. Eight miles from the post the convoy was ambushed by a French and Indian force consisting of about 180 French marines, 450 Canadian militia, and 100 Indians who lay in wait on the north side of the Oswego river allowing the first few Bateaux to pass and then striking the advance body of the convoy which included Bradstreet and about 300 Batteaumen. Bradstreet with six men occupied a small island and beat back three attempts by the French to cross the river. He covered the remaining batteaumen, giving them time to get ashore on the south side of the river where hasty defensive positions were organized. Bradstreet then withdrew to the safety of the south shore where he was learned that the French were attempting to flank him by crossing the river about a mile upstream. Collecting 250 batteaumen, Bradstreet moved towards the threatened point hoping to prevent the French crossing only to find about 400 French and Indians had already crossed.

Bradstreet attacked driving the enemy back to the river where the Battoemen having now a fair �View of them, took them down fast; and here it was that the Enemy sustained their greatest loss.� Pursuing the French across the river, the batteaumen found the entire French party had withdrawn �in the utmost Haste and Confusion, for they had left behind their Packs, Blankets and Provisions.� British casualties in the three-hour engagement were twenty men killed and twenty-four wounded, mostly in the opening fusillade. Bradstreet estimated the number of French and Indian dead at over one hundred, though the French commander, Captain de Villiers, reported �we lost in this affair a colony officer, six Canadians and colony soldiers and one Indian�.

During the height of the campaign the British attack strength minus garrisons and those in outlaying camps was about 32,000 infantry (21,000 Regulars and Marines) plus 11,000 Provincials and Militia including Militia equipped with field artillery pieces. All were transported by 23 ships of the line accompanied by 5 frigates and 12 sloops .The French figure is about 30,000 infantry (17,000 regulars and Marines) plus 1000 Indians and 116 field pieces, plus 166 fortress pieces, which were non mobile. There were, as in the case of the British, 23 ships of the line, but 9 frigates. Each side fielded over a 100 field guns apiece. One eighteen pounder to a Bateau worked out to a figure of over one hundred Bateaux per side .A thirty footer was needed in order to carry a single gun. It is obvious that they were not carried aboard ship as this would be logistically impossible each ship needing to carry four Bateaux in addition to the troops and their equipment. Bateaux must have been constructed on shore as land was secured .The British based at Albany and the surrounding area in western New York at Fort Edward had roughly 11,000 men including the �Batoemen�and would have had ample forest from which to construct their craft. The French who were on the defensive and confined to the fortress of Loiusbourg and the surrounding area and at Quebec Oswego, Fort William Henry and at Fort Ticonderoga would have had some forest from which to construct their boats but in all probability they drew upon the Montreal Bateaux used in trade upon the Great Lakes as it was already in plentiful supply.

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