Location: Albany Institute of History & Art, 125 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12210
The program will take place at 2:00 pm, featuring an all-star panel of experts, including Society member Jack McEneny, who will provide diverse perspectives on the historic siege. This panel is a veritable who’s who of specialists on Lake George during that era, including Andrew Menzie, the Director of Historical Interpretation at Fort William Henry and Lead Guide, promising an enriching and engaging discussion that will also involve the audience. Following the program, attendees will have the opportunity to view a special exhibit on Tribal Nations at the Institute. The day will conclude with a poignant lament on the pipes by Bill Monroe in the Atrium, followed by a reception.
Confirmed Speakers:
- Jack McEneny, a St. Andrew’s Society member and a noted published historian, will describe the siege from different perspectives.
- John DiNuzzo, President of the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance. DiNuzzo will focus on Major General William Johnson’s arrival in August 1755 at the head of Lac du Saint-Sacrement, which he promptly renamed Lake George in honor of his king, George II. His arrival precipitated a series of British-French conflicts that culminated in the catastrophic siege of Fort William Henry two years later.
- Wade Wells, Historic Site Manager, Johnson Hall, will speak on Sir William Johnson’s perspective on Fort William Henry.
- Andrew Menzie, Director of Historical Interpretation and Lead Guide at the Fort William Henry Museum. He will address the siege of August 1757 within the broader context of the first years of the French and Indian War.
- Stuart Lilie, Vice President of Public History at Fort Ticonderoga. Lilie will discuss French accounts of the siege and the horror they described in its aftermath.
- Richard Mazzaferro, a native of the Capital District, will speak on Colonel George Monro and the Scottish experience at the Siege.
- Gary Kriss, a Dartmouth College and Yale Divinity School graduate, is the former Dean of All Saints’ Cathedral, Albany. Kriss will speak about the founding of Dartmouth College and Western perceptions of Indigenous People in the eighteenth century.
- Chris Uhl, a Master at the Hoosac School, will discuss the impact of James Fenimore Cooper’s novel, The Last of the Mohicans, on American perceptions of Indigenous Peoples.