TICONDEROGA -- In July 1758, an army of 16,000 British and Colonial troops attempted to wrest Fort Carillon from 3,200 French forces.

This past weekend, a depiction was staged of what may be considered the high point for the French during the Seven Years' War, also known as the French and Indian War.

Like the waves hitting and then receding from the shoreline of nearby Lake Champlain, regiment after regiment of King George II's finest, along with colonial recruits, attempted to overrun the French forces, only to retreat.

On this weekend, due to the heavy air, the musket smoke lingered in the valley, creating a dream-like image. The weather presented challenges all weekend.

WET AND WOUNDED

Much of the flavor of the day took place along the sidelines and in the tented encampments.

Though shots were heard, 2-year-old Evan Price was oblivious of the battle raging some 200 meters away, preferring to play with the water in a metal wash basin. His mother, Nan, smiled about his being anachronistically attired in a modern disposable diaper.

"It's that or go naked," she said.

Unlike at other re-enactments, due to the soggy ground, fewer combatants chose to lie mortally wounded. As the costumed wife of one of the soldiers remarked while viewing the battle from the sidelines: "Oh, it looks like he's been killed. No, he's getting up. I guess he was just temporarily wounded."

When the rains came, mushrooming umbrellas sprouted along the sidelines, while on the open field the soldiers were pelted by the sounds of booming muskets and the heavenly outbursts.

The rain, which started as a drizzle, became heavier as the battle progressed. However, spirits remained high. As one soaked soldier philosophically remarked upon marching off the battlefield, "Oh well, I guess it makes it more realistic."

BREASTWORK ADDED

One of the major improvements to the fort was the construction of a log breastwork from behind which the French troops held off the British and American forces.

The construction was primarily due to the efforts of volunteers.

"I have never seen such an expression of the volunteer spirit," event coordinator Karl Crannell said in a news release.