A Story of Lost Treasure From The Revolutionary War in Lake George – Can You Find It?
Want to find lost treasure? Did you ever hear of Tea Island? Its a tiny island, only as big as your hand, resting in Lake George in the mountainous area of northeastern New York. It holds a treasure dating back in history to the French and Indian War.
As the tale goes, General James Abercrombys combined British and Colonial forces had portaged a fleet of small boats from the upper Hudson River overland to Lake George during the summer of 1758. Their objective was to attack the French bastion at Fort Carillon at the southern tip of Lake Champlain. This fortress was later called Fort Ticonderoga.
Abercromby commanded over 12,000 troops aboard almost 900 boats. At Carillon, the French commander Marquis de Montcalm had only 3,500 men and a dwindling supply of rations. Shortly after he had ordered his army northward on Lake George, Abercromby halted at Tea Island, on July 5, 1758, where he buried a couple of chests of valuables for safekeeping before the impending encounter with the French. The nature and quantity of these valuables is unknown, but it has always been rumored to have been a fairly large treasure, perhaps the payroll for Abercromys 12,000 troops. After hiding this trove, the army proceeded up Lake George to disembark at its northern extremity and to march overland to attack the French bastion.
The ensuing battle was a disaster for the combined British-American forces as the French had built a wall of thick logs across the neck of the peninsula where the fortress was situated. Hurling themselves recklessly against the impenetrable log wall, they suffered 1, 610 killed, wounded, and missing, while the French lost 377 behind the safety of the wall. Dismayed and disheartened, Abercrombys whipped army fled to their boats and confusedly rowed back to the safety of the southern end of Lake George. They bypassed Tea Island without halting to recover their treasure. To this day there is no report of Abercrombys treasure having been recovered.