Crepuscular Digest #4

Grateful Dead 03/30-4/01/80 The Capitol Theater, Passaic, NJ 

The rest of 1980 tends to get overshadowed, in my opinion, by the residencies/ acoustic sets at the Warfield and Radio City. They're great (I adore Reckoning) but  for a long time I figured that's all there was from 80. How wrong I was. The shows on either end of the residencies are very hot. Like 1979, I feel the lack of soundboards leads to the rest of 1980 being largely ignored by the masses.. Also like 79, there are tons of beautiful audience recordings like these to sink your teeth into, if you're willing to take the road less traveled.

Image titled Chris Goodspace Calise "East coast tour 1980"

3/30/80
Beautiful Barry Glassberg Audience Recording of 3/30/80 
The band comes out very hot with Alabama Getaway>Promised Land. Great crowd energy to start. They then pull a very interesting downshift so early in the show into a stately Peggy-O. The recording has a lovely balance of instruments, including more bass than usual which is great. You can hear the crowd but it adds atmosphere rather than distraction. Cassidy is very hot. Loser is appropriately haunting. The Garcia solo peaks with some deft playing. The power of this version lies in it's tasteful restraint. The rest of the set plays out just as well but I'll leave some mystery for the listener.

Usually a set with very few songs is a good indicator that a Disco Biscuits show is going to be good. This turns out to be true for this Grateful Dead second set. The set starts with Scarlet Begonias and the > section doesn't take long to get to soaring heights with the help of Brent Mydland's organ finesse. Jerry and Bobby's guitar interplay is crystal clear. The peak is monumental. So monstrous they flub a bit on the drop back into the composition. It doesn't take any shine off it however. Fire is very strong. Phil's bass sounds great in the mix and adds this amazing plodding dinosaur feel to the groove.

A quick pause and the band drops into a slinky Estimated Prophet. I mentioned the restraint in playing that made the loser so special. At 6:30 that same restraint makes the slide into the jam so interesting. Drums is strong and this rendering of Black Peter is especially good.  I found the show very enjoyable from top to bottom.

PS: John Belushi cartwheels on stage for the encore 

Poster/ program for the run

3/31/80
sennnheiser 421 mic audience recording transferred by Rob Eaton

The energy during band introductions and the Jack Straw opener is why I tend to prefer a good audience recording over a sterile soundboard. It paired perfectly with my morning coffee and drive into work, getting me stoked to tackle my day.  Brown Eyed Women, always a favorite of mine is quite lovely. Uptempo without the Ritalin feel the 80's often gets. There's a pretty intense interaction with an usher towards the end. Be forewarned. This is the first performance of Feel like a Stranger. The composition is appropriately shaky for the first go but the jam is wicked. Brent rips it on the synth tones.

The Lost Sailor is missing the second half and Saint of Circumstance is completely missing from the tape but no troubles since thy nail it the night before.  Terrapin is a decently magnificent as it often is. The really hot moment from this show for me is the jam out of Playing in the Band. It goes some really interesting places that remind you what a beast this was in 1972-74. 


4/1/80
Back to the Glassberg source for night 3 
 April fools!. The opening tune Promised Land,  featured guitarist Bob Weir on keyboards, keyboardist Brent Mydland and guitarist Jerry Garcia on drums, drummers Bill Kreutzmann on bass and Mickey Hart on rhythm guitar and vocals, and Phil Lesh on lead guitar (as per this jambase article) The GIF I found below is attributed to this show but that's definitely Billy on kit and not Brent so I'm not 100% sure who os where. The switch back to their standard instruments and proceed to blow the roof off with  a properly rearranged Promised land. The Me and My Uncle>big River has some extra swagger on top of the western swing groove. Friend of the Devil has a melodic and sweet solo from Garcia that really stands out. Jerry finishes up and Brent takes an equally sweet run.  It's all Over Now is especially long and very hot. Looks Like Rain is appropriately mournful and segues into a nice Deal to wrap the first set. The kick drum (I'm assuming Billy's) is especially present in the mix and driving.

Starting out set 2 is the second Feel Like a Stranger. This version is much more solid and at two minutes longer, gets taken out a bit further. Jerry Falsetto is still in full effect. The opening notes of China Cat Sunflower are really well received from the audience. Some excellent machine gun Jerry in the Rider solo. Estimated greats pretty deep then segues smoothly into He's gone. Great Banter at the begining of He's Gone: "I need a cigarette." "How about a joint?" I just had a joint, I need a cigarette". The proceeding big jam segment is a very satisfying and immersive sequence flowing through all the corners of the Grateful Dead's aural and spiritual universe. An unexpectedly beefy and groovin' Shakedown encore wraps up the show with a final squeeze of mustard. This run nicely samples what's so great about the nooks and crannies of 1980. Well worth the exploration!

 
The Disco Biscuits 8/11-12/03 Tussey Mountain Amphitheater, Boalsburg, PA 

 This was the end of a run of shows for Kieran, Michael, Mike, Crystal and I that started at the Amazura Ballroom in Queens, NY, then headed out to Waterloo Village in New Jersey and finally ended up at the Tussey Mountain Amphitheater in rural central Pennsylvania. The Amazura shows were at times great and at times fraught with tension as the band was visibly and audibly arguing on stage. The Waterloo village show in New Jersey was a festival set that we listened to from the parking lot. Only time I ever did that for the biscuits. Its in my Phantasy Tour stats but recently I've considered deleting it for ethical reasons.

During the northeast run of the summer 2003 tour, the Disco Biscuits integrated classical pieces in their sets. A lot of their early composition (especially Jon Gutwillig penned tunes) are essentially classical pieces with room to jam. So In the Hall of The Mountain King, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and Peter's theme from Peter and the Wolf fit in really nicely. The culmination of this run is the Transmission Music Festival in Tennessee. By all accounts this was a magical event and one of the last truly small/fam biscuits events. For the day set on Saturday, the biscuits played a stripped down "acoustic" set up and played all the classical tunes they'd been playing throughout summer tour. This beautiful performance was immortalized on the Disco Biscuits first ever vinyl release.

8/12/03
Chase Banna Audience Recording
First of all, this was a really fun venue. It's a ski mountain in the winter and has go-karts, driving range and skate park in the summer. The lot scene was super chill. We had a blast enjoying the kind of summer fun that can only really be had in the time before the responsibilities of adulthood put a bit of damper on the easy and free feelings of youth.  On night one Keller Williams (the opener) sat in on Zepp's Whole Lotta Love. He really clicked with the Biscuits and it was a fun little departure from their usual. To satisfy the classic requirements of summer 03, the play Stone>Devil's Waltz (fakeout)>Waltz of the Flowers during set two.

8/12/03
Beautiful Jon Hatgis Aud
While night one was super fun with some great playing, night two is a real heater. This time Eine Kleine Nachmusik is interwoven throughout both sets to great effect in regard to energy flow and dynamic. I was really excited to hear it as an orchestra nerd. I played cello from third to sixth grade and double bass from Seventh into college. I always loved playing Mozart stuff. I think Metallica was the first band I really fell in love with and Mozart seemed pretty metal to me. The whole show is great but the segments of the second set get especially deep and awesome.

I had a good time at the shows and enjoyed the tapes but never really focused too much on them.  They had a nice breezy summer vibe to remind me of that lovely weekend in the middle of Nowhere, Pennsylvania with great friends and some light debauchery. Listening back to the tapes in 2018 as part of my 'all the biscuits shows I attending listening project', I think these shows are above average for 2003. I'd say night two is well above average for the entire 2002-2004 time period. It highlights the set construction of that time period. There are many little interlocking parts and sandwich's, spiced up with plenty of inverted and dyslexic segments. The setlists have a lot going on and a lot of songs compared to the 2018 Biscuits but the flow is definitely still there. I highly recommend rocking these tapes on a beautiful summer drive. You won't be disappointed.

Phil Lesh and Friends 7/2-3/99, The Warfield Theater, San Fransisco, CA

I'll admit it: I was wary of Phil and friends. When I first started seeing  post-Jerry Dead stuff, Warren Haynes was consistently the lead guitarist of Phil's bands (The Q) and I just didn't enjoy his interpretration of Grateful Dead music. I've since come around a great deal on Warren but still ended up preferring Bob Weir's post-dead projects more. Fast forward from the Lesh/ Hanyes days of early Phil and friends to 2018 and I'm falling hard for Steve Kimock. A link turns up for some decent video of the July 2001 run with Kimock on lead guitar before Warren Haynes joins the line-up. In spite of my Phil reservations, I'm mesmerized by a command performance driven by Bill Kruetzmann in fine form as the lone drummer. I love the Mickey/ Billy rhythm devils all out assault but its always a special treat to hear Billy alone carry it  like 1971-74. The rest of the line-up is rounded out by the Dave Nelson Band which gives a very unique twist to the sound. In 1999 Phil did a variety of 'Friends' line ups including most famously Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell of Phish. Here's the full line-up for the Warfield shows:

Bass: Phil Lesh
Drums:  Bill Kreutzmann
Guitar and vocals: David Nelson
Mookie Siegel: Keys
Barry Sless: guitar and pedal steel
Lead Guitar: Steve Kimock

 7/2/99
Soundboard recording available for download

I watched the fan-shot video of 7/2 holding my son Rider while he slept. He was born on a few weeks previous and was still figuring out how to live. So I got to catch up on some music in the middle of the night for a few weeks hahaha. The Cryptical Envelopment is the first played by Dead members since 1985. The Other One that follows is as explosive at times as it is tasteful at other points. What keeps pulling me towards Kimock's music is so apparent in this performance: his understated and deliberate playing. He's so incredibly tasteful. The restraint  is what makes the notes he does play so weighty. The worst kind of jam music to me is 4-8 guys just blasting away at their instruments without any dynamic or nuance. This show it's clear that's not the musical experience we're getting

Several Dave Nelson songs find their way into this set and they fit surprisingly well. Fable of a Chosen One segues out of The Other One seamlessly and is a really cool tune. Lots of all-star line ups tend to fall flat in my opinion. While you can get a ton of great players together on stage, the chance of them finding real chemistry is slim. This run is oozing with chemistry. Another bias I have: Phil singing. I won't repeat any of the cliches but will go ahead and praise his vocal performance from these shows. I was prepared to cringe really hard for China Doll. It's a song that demands a strong yet nuanced delivery. Which he does really well here. David Nelson Band's Snake Bit segues back into The Other One>Cryptical in a satisfying tying up of loose ends.

Cumberland Blues is another showcase of Steve Kimock's tasteful and nuanced guitar work. The whole band is locked in and dynamic on Cumberland.  The meat of the show is the big segue way section in set 2: The Wizard's Son> The Wheel>Long Gone Sam>Dark Star>Morning Dew. As with the first set, classic Dead material is tastefully interspersed with Dave Nelson Band originals. The Wheel jam gets quite spacey, reminiscent at times of a 1973 Playing in the Band Jam. Spaciness leads very natural into the Dead's space odyssey, Dark Star. The segue from Dark Star into Morning Dew is especially ethereal and lovely. Chemistry, dynamics and tasteful restraint continue to be on display. Kimock. So much awesome. . On Dew Phil really blew me away vocally during the "I guess it doesn't matter anyway" section. The Box of Rain encore is worth mentioning since Dave Nelson plays the solo on the 1970 American Beauty studio album version which he does here as well.

7/3/99
Soundboard recording available for download
The second night starts with a pretty amusing joke from Phil. It goes on longer than expected but he actually has great timing/ pacing so its a nice little moment. Cold Rain and Snow has some intricate playing from Kimock, Lesh and Siegel as well as  a powerful jam. The Sugaree jam gets thoroughly deep into a furious peak which then cools down by nice keyboard runs from Siegel. Followed by solo runs from the rest of the players as well. The jam out of Uncle John's Band is a dreamlike, mesmerizing wander through the ether, taken back to the earth  by Dave Nelson Band's The Edge of the Wire. I'll admit I was concerned with Phil taking the lead vocal  when I saw Stella Blue on the setlist. Imagine my delight when I realized it was an instrumental version and a lovely one at that! Kimock's guitar playing the part of Garcia's vocals is an inspired choice. Wish You Were Here is the sort of tune that separates Phil projects from the rest of the post Jerry. He mines the larger 60's and beyond songbook on a nightly basis, while Bob stays within the boundaries of Deadlandia for the most part. The jam out gets really spacey and melodic then enters a roiling sea of ambient that ends before it should've in my opinion. Great spot for a segue. Help>Slip!>Frank is up next and gets super nasty three minutes into the Slipknot! jam and stays interesting all the way into Franklin's Tower. Some really fun, upbeat and melodic jamming throughout Franklin's with everyone contributing and listening to each other.

Set 2 starts to get really interesting around 13 minutes into Kick in the Head when Kruetzmann drops out and the jam gets spacey. He comes back in, adding direction to the space. It's clear we're heading towards Dark Star but no less fun with the knowing. It's especially neat that they decided to break up the two sections over the two nights. The transition from the jam into the composition is especially sweet and lovely. As is the transition into the always welcome Mountains on the Moon. This jam has a particularly ethereal feel carrying over from the Dark Star. The jam wanders back fully into a Dark Star theme at 9 minutes in. The right players in this line up do so much to paint a cohesive musical picture. This show is all about liquid smooth transitions. Without really noticing the segue I find myself grooving to Iko Iko. Lovely melodic jam then wooosh!, a Scarlet Begonias! I love how uniquely Phil puts together setlists for his band. It's so much more flexible than the last 17 or so years of Grateful Dead sets. Kimock really shines on the Scarlet>Fire transition. Sometimes I can't tell who is playing the lead but sometimes its so clear its him. Its great to hear Nelson on Ripple, as it is to hear him on Uncle John's Band and Box of rain as he contributed to the Recording of American Beauty and Workingman's Dead. He and the rest of the New Rider's were very much a part of that era and the wonderful sounds and songs it produced.

If you are perhaps a bit wary of Phil Lesh post-Garcia, as I was, I'd say this is a great little run to dive into. If you love Kimock as much as I am these days, these shows are terrific.

Steve Kimock with Phil and Friends 1999

Crown Point History

 

          The early history of the Lake Champlain region is marked by conflict between the French and English. Explorations by Verrazano and Cartier for the French and the Cabot’s for the English gave both sides claim to the Champlain Valley. The French gave this place the name “Pointe a la Chevelure” which designated the 2 points facing each other on either side of the lake (now known as Crown Point on the western shore and Chimney Point on the eastern shore).

           During King Williams War, the peninsula of Crown Point was used as a staging area for military campaigns. First by the French and Indians, who using Lake Champlain for transport, attacked and burned the settlement at Schenectady. In retaliation, British forces plan an invasion of Canada. British forces, commanded by Philip Schuyler used Crown Point as an advanced base in their attack on La Prairie, south of Montreal (Furness 1998).

           As early as the summer of 1700, the French established a trading post at the Pointe a la Chevelure for commerce between the French and the English.  Doubtless they built a simple fortification on the point, a blockhouse or fortified storehouse (Coolidge 1979).  At the resolve of queen Anne’s War , the Treaty of Utrecht was signed which established Split Rock (18 miles north of Crown Point) as the border between French and British territories. The French, in direct defiance of the treaty, built a small wooden stockade on Chimney Point known as fort de pieux (fort of posts). With French control of the area now established, the French government moved forward on plans for a more permanent and substantial fortification (Furness 1998).

           MM. de Beaucharnois and Hocquart recalled to his majesties attention, November 14, 1731 (when the fort had scarcely been completed) that it should only be a temporary establishment, and proposed to him construction of a redoubt “a machicoulis” of which the design was enclosed. This redoubt was contemplated as much for the safety of the post as to avoid the considerable expense to construct a regularly designed fort (Coolidge 1979).

      Chaussegros de Lery, The king’s engineer in New France, drew up plans and began construction on the new, stone fortification, this time on the western shore of the point in 1734. Construction of the fortification was completed in November of 1737. It was named Fort St. Frederic, in honor of the minister of the department de la marine, Frederic Maurepas. When the redoubt is finished the governor suggests a permanent garrison of 120. This redoubt became the citadel, the central stronghold of the post of St Frederic. A list of the French Commanders who served at Crown Point follows (Coolidge 1979).

           

                                        These Officers held the rank of Captain

COMMANDER	TENURE
Pierre Hertel de Montcour1	1731-1732
René Boucher de la Perriére	1732-1733
Claude Hertel de Beaulac2	1733-1734
Pierre-Jacques Payen de Noyan	1734, 1736
Daniel Migeon de la Gauchetiére	1735-1736
Pierre de Saint-Ours	1736-1739
Paul-Joseph Lemoyne de Longueil	1739
François Duplessis Faber	1739-1741
Antoine-François Pècaudy de Contrecour	1741-1743
Paul Bécard de Grandville-Fonville	1743-1746
Charles le Gardeur de Croizille	1746
Pierre Joseph de Céloron3	1747
Charles de Sabrevois	1747-1749
Paul Louis Dazemard de Lusignan4	1749-1756
Ignace-Phillipe Aubert de Gaspé	1756-1757
Louis Herbin	1757-1759

       A quarry of limestone had been discovered nearby. Little by little the high, thick walls had risen, the redoubt had become the citadel- so solid that it was used for the storage of bombs and other war munitions’; within the enclosure of the Fort, a church and stone barracks for officers and men had been constructed (Coolidge 1979).

        A chapel occupied the bastion opposite the Guard House, serving the needs of the garrison and settlers alike. The Parish Records note French as well as Native American baptisms, marriages, and burials. Two interments took place within the chapel: Pierre St. Ours (1736) son of the Fort's Commander, and Genevieve leTendre, Madame Radisson (1740) (Furness 1998).

   The earliest map dates to 1737, the date of the forts completion, but it represents probably what was planned and not necessarily what was actually built. Shown within the south side of the fort is a single building labeled “powder magazine”. Visitors to the fort in later years mentioned the powder room as being in the citadel located at the other side of the fort (Feister 1999).

         

1737 French Map

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

       A stone windmill was built at government expense in 1740 to grind locally produced grain. It was located on the point of land south of the Fort where the Champlain Memorial now stands. Several cannon were mounted on its upper floor so it could serve as a defensive work. Judging from deLery's plans for this mill, it was almost identical to one still standing on Ille Perrot, near Montréal (Furness 1998).

                  In 1740 the War of Austrian Succession or King George’s War in North America Broke out between England and France and their ally Spain. Although most of the major campaigns took place in Europe, Canada and the West Indies, Fort St. Fredric served as the launching point for raids on English held territory in New York and New England.  In 1745, the French and their Native American allies raided the northern most English settlement in Saratoga established by the Schuyler family.  The raid destroyed the fort, 20 houses. A total of 30 settlers were killed.  The English rebuilt the fort.  The French raids continued in 1746 as far south as Albany where the Van Iverson Farm house, located across the Hudson River from the English fort in the city was burned and four members of the family were killed.  In 1747, the French once again attack the fort and settlement at Saratoga,  forcing the British and settlers to retreat to Albany.  In 1748, Peace between France and England was reestablished by the Treaty Aix-La-Chapelle where England returned Louisburg in Nova Scotia to France in return for receiving Madras in the Indies from France. 

      Two different British maps, versions of which are sometimes called “British Spy Maps", appear to be next in the map sequence. Both maps showed three buildings, a long one between two small ones, along the south side of the fort, and they are labeled “Store Houses” on the “PLAN OF FORT FREDERIC” version of the map. Important to the dating of these maps is the lack of a chapel in the nearby southwest bastion. Although the maps are regarded as generally unreliable as to scale, they do indicate what buildings were present in the fort’s interior. The maps date probably sometime prior to 1749, the date of the first map to show the chapel. Peter kalm, visited the fort in 1749, and mentioned the ‘well built little church' being located in the bastion where maps drawn after that date place the chapel (Fiester  1999).

pre-1750 British Spy Map

     A description of the Fort by Professor Peter Kalm as he saw it in 1749 sheds light on it's appearance at this time: “July 19^th- Fort St. Frederic is a fortification on the southern extremity of Lake Champlain, situated on a neck of land, between that lake and the river which arises from the union of the River Woodcreek and lake St. Sacrament. The fort is built on a rock, consisting of black lime-slates, it is nearly quadrangular, has high and thick walls, made of the same limestone, of which there is a quarry about half a mile from the fort. On the eastern part of the fort is a high tower, which is proof against bomb shells, provided with very thick and substantial walls, and well stored with cannon from the bottom almost to the very top: the Gov. lives in the tower. In the terre-plein of the fort is a well built little church, and houses of stone for the officers and soldiers. There are sharp rocks on all sides towards the land, beyond cannon shot from the fort, and very near them….To the east of the Fort is a windmill built of stone, with very thick walls, and most of the flour that is wanted to supply the Fort is ground here. The windmill is so contrived as to serve the purpose of redoubt, and at the top are 5 or 6 small pieces of cannon” (Kalm 1972).

         When comparing the “British Spy Maps” with a map dated to 1749 or 1750, several changes have taken place in number and arrangement of buildings as well as the addition of the aforementioned chapel (Fiester 1999).

                                                              

1949/50 map

At the dawn of the French and Indian War, in 1755, a meeting of colonial Governors at Alexandria, Virginia identified four main objectives for the coming military campaign: Fort Duquesne (PA), Fort Niagara (NY), Fort Beausejour (Nova Scotia) and Fort St. Frédéric. In response to escalating aggression by the British in their campaign against Fort St. Frédéric, the French began construction in October 1755 of Carillon (later called Fort Ticonderoga) to serve as a buffer between the British position of Fort William Henry at Lake George and Fort St. Frédéric. The new timber fortification was not completed until the fall of 1758.  (Furness 1998).

       The British, with the largest standing army every assembled in the Americas at the time, began their advance on Fort Saint Frederic with in initial ill-fated attempt on the Carillon. They were forced to withdraw and the then commander General James Abercromby was replaced by General Jeffry Amherst.

        A British force of 12,000 individuals continued to advance on French positions led by General Jeffry Amherst in 1759. The French, well aware of the huge forces mounting against them decided to withdraw from their positions in the Champlain valley to Isle aux Noix. The French forces, then numbering about 2300 in the valley were reduced to about 200. Civilians were evacuated and their homesteads were destroyed. The British attempt another siege at the Carillon, this time resulting in the French setting fire to the fort and retreating to Fort Saint Frederic. In July of 1759 General Amherst’s forces reached Fort Saint Frederic. Upon their arrival the French blew up the windmill and the redoubt and continued their retreat (Furness 1998).

 A discussion of the regimental history of the British army, written by Lawrence Xinakes, from this period follows and serves to further clarify British action and its effects on Crown Point.

1752 map, the last before the French withdraw and destroy the Redoubt. 

In 1731, Jeffry Amherst was enlisted as an ensign in the foot guards. He served in the Austrian Succession War (1740-1748) and years later in the European Theater during the French and Indian War (Seven Years War 1755-1763). General Pitt chose Amherst to lead the British assault on Louisbourg, Canada in 1758. Later, he became the Commander-In-Chief of British forces in the North American Theater. In 1759, Amherst planned a three-pronged attack into Canada. This consisted of a westward push up the Saint Lawrence to Quebec, a Northward invasion from Albany by ways of Lake George and Lake Champlain, and in West Niagara. All objects were completed and played a role in capturing and occupying Fort Ticonderoga (Fort Carillon) and Crown Point (Fort Saint Frederic). In 1760, Amherst captured Montreal. General Amherst was than appointed Governor-General of British North America, he held that post until 1763.

     General Amherst commanded several regiments while stationed at Crown Point. These included the 27^th (Inniskilling), the 42^nd (Black Watch), the 55^th Regiment, and the 1^st of foot 2^nd Battalion of Royal Regiment among others.

     The Inniskilling was formed by General Zachariah Tiffin in 1689. The Inniskilling was designated 27^th Regiment in 1751. During the French and Indian War, they served in the operations at Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and afterwards Montreal. In 1761, the 27^th was removed to Nova Scotia and engaged in the Capture of Martinique and Grenada and Havana, Cuba, after the West Indies, the 27^th Regiment went to New York and than back to Canada, where it served until 1767.

    Dubbed the Black Watch, the 42^nd Highland Regiment of Foot was formed in 1739 by John, The Earl of Crawford. In 1758, the 42^nd lost over half of the regiment during the 1^st battle of Fort Ticonderoga (Fort Carillon). In 1759, they saw action at the 2^nd battle of Ticonderoga and in 1760, the surrender by the French Governor of Canada in Montreal. They were then sent to the West Indies where they saw action in campaigns in Havana, Martinique and Guadeloupe. In 1763, they went to relieve Fort Pitt (now Pittsburgh)a and helped to put down the Pontiac rebellion.

    In 1755, the 57^th Regiment (55^th Regiment) was formed in Stirling (Scotland) and George Perry was appointed as Colonel. The 57^th officially became the 55^th Regiment in 1757 by removing two corps from its line. They also fought in the first battle of Ticonderoga and had many casualties including their commander, General Howe. Under the direction of General Amherst, the 55^th was engaged in the second battle of Ticonderoga, Crown Point and other operations in 1759. Like the 27^th and 42^nd, the 55^th Regiment was stationed at Crown Point in the winter of 1759-1760. In 1760, they saw combat at Isle-Aux-Noix and Montreal. They were sent to Florida at the end of the French and Indian War to bring regiments who were there to strength.

    1^st of Foot 2^nd battalion of the Royal Regiment was formed in 1633 by John Hepburn. In 1757, the 1^st Foot commanded by John Campbell and other regiments were ordered to North America and landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia for preparation on an attack of Louisbourg, Cape Breton Island. Due to the Royal navy not being able to secure the surrounding areas, the attack on Louisbourg was put on hold until 1758. Under General Amherst, the attack on Cape Breton commenced on June 8, 1758. The British bombarded the fortified city of Louisbourg for nearly 2 months. On July 25 1758, Louisbourg surrendered. In 1759, 1^st of foot was involved with the 2^nd Battle of Ticonderoga and Crown Point (Fort Saint Frederic). They helped to erect the British fort at Crown Point. Later that year they were ordered to New Jersey for the winter. In 1760, the 1^st was summoned to the Carolinas, to subdue the attacks on settlers by the Cherokee. When peace was declared, the regiment went back to England.

                 Amherst, noting the strategic position the fort held began constructing new fortifications at the site in order to secure his position in the valley. The Grenadiers redoubt became a focal point in reinvigorating the defensive positions at Crown Point. The Redoubt occupied almost the entire point of land where the windmill had stood (Huey 1995).

1759 map showing British improvements

     Clockwise around the interior from the entrance were a Guard House, the well and Well House, the Officers Barracks, the King's Bastion (or flag bastion) the Soldiers Barracks, the Magazine, the wood-framed Armory, and the brick-fronted New Officers Barracks. The barracks were laid out as multiple units of four rooms (two upstairs, two down, with central entrance hallways containing stairs) joined end-to-end. Twenty enlisted men shared a room; the number of officers sharing quarters was determined by rank. Bomb-Proof rooms were located within the rampart around the inside perimeter. Used for storage of supplies and provisions, they could also provide shelter in case of bombardment. Three smaller forts, the Grenadier Redoubt, the Light Infantry Redoubt and Gage's Redoubt, mounted ten cannon each and protected the main fort at a distance of five hundred yards. Two and a half miles south of Fort Crown Point, a line of three blockhouses across the base of the peninsula provided a first line of defense against land attack (Furness 1998). 

1774 Montressor map showing position of Grenadiers Redoubt at the location of the French windmill

 The 10 years after The French and Indian conflict proved to be fairly quiet. This period is marked by the settlement of outlying areas by British civilians. A small town was founded and including many of the typical businesses of the time. The fort fell into disrepair since the British government was hesitant to spend money for fortifications during peace time (Furness 1998).

        The British Fortress burned accidentally in 1773 and in 1774 it was proposed to enlarge the Grenadiers Redoubt to replace the recently burned fortress (Huey 1995).  

          Early in the American Revolution both Ticonderoga and Crown Point Fell under control of the Americans due to campaigns led by Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen. In 1775 work began salvaging what could be salvaged from the fire. After several failed campaigns and the ravages of smallpox took their toll, the American Army’s general officers made the decision to move the troops to Mount Independence and the sick and wounded to Fort George. When the British arrived in 1776 they found the Fort Largely abandoned (Furness 1998).

      From 1783-1784 Crown Point was occupied, except during the winter, by British troops. Their fleet continued regular patrols the lake. In 1778/79 Major Christopher Carleton staged a series of raids on American Settlers in the valley, and a number of prisoners were carried to Canada. Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris which ended the war, the British abandoned their position at Crown Point and withdrew to Canada (Furness 1998). 

     After the American Revolution, the property on which the Fort resides changed hands several times and was once held by Union College of Schenectady. Once peace was established and commerce grew on Lake Champlain, the need for a lighthouse at the point became evident. In 1853 Major William D. Fraser reiterated the need for a lighthouse at Crown Point, stating that those best acquainted with navigation on Lake Champlain felt a light to guide vessels through the narrow, one-half mile channel between Crown Point and Chimney Point was needed more than at any other point on the lake. In 1858 an octangular lighthouse 55 feet tall with a domestic dwelling attached to serve the lighthouse keeper was constructed. This structure served its purpose for 50 years. In 1909, in order to celebrate the tri-centennial of Champlain’s discovery, the existing lighthouse was modified into a monument. This monumental revamp included Doric columns and a bust by Rodin. A skeletal structure was erected near the water in order to take over the functional role of the lighthouse (Clifford 1999).   

Clifford, George
            1999     Lake Champlain Lighthouses. Clinton County Historical Association. 
                         http://lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=672

Coolidge, Guy O.
           1938      The French Occupation of the Champlain Valley from 1609 to 1759. Harbor Hill Books, 
                          Harrison, NY. [1979 reprint]. 
Feister, Lois M.
            1999      Archaeological Investigations at the Oven Ruins in the French Fort at Crown Point State Historic
                          Site, Essex County, New York. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation,
                          Bureau of Historic Sites, Peebles Island, Waterford, NY.  

Furness, Gregory T.
           1997     Crown Point (Pointe a la Chevelure) An Outline History, American Historic Lakes, Lake Champlain
                         and Lake George Historical Site, South Hero, Vermont.
                           http://www.historiclakes.org/crown_pt/furness.html

Huey, Paul R.

            1995     Preliminary Report on Rescue Excavations Near the Champlain Memorial Lighthouse and Site of

                        Grenadiers Redoubt at Crown Point, 1978. New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic   
                        Preservation, Bureau of Historic Sites, Peebles Island, Waterford, NY.

 Kalm, Peter

           1972       Travels into North America, Translated by John Reinhold Forster. The Imprint Society, Barre, Mass.