about one
o'clock
It was late at night when they reached Fort St. John . A message was at once dispatched to a party of the Senecas who were at their village , about sixteen miles away . They arrived in the morning and , together with a portion of the garrison , moved out and took their place in the wooded and marshy ground between the fort and the river . Scouts were sent along the Sorrel , and these returned about one o'clock , saying that a large number of boats were coming down the lake from Isle-aux-Noix . It had been determined to allow the colonists to land without resistance , as the commander of the fort felt no doubt of his ability , with the assistance of his Indian allies , to repulse their attack . Some twelve hundred men were landed , and these at once began to advance toward the fort , lead by their two generals , Schuyler and Montgomery . Scarcely had they entered the swamp , when from every bush a fire was opened upon them .