Lake George lay on the natural water-and-portage route between the St. Lawrence River and the Hudson River. Jesuit missionary Isaac Jogues named it Lac du Saint Sacrement in 1646, and Sir William Johnson renamed it in 1755 to honor King George II. Above the lake’s outlet, overlooking Lake Champlain, the French built Fort Carillon (Ticonderoga) in 1755, and it became an important military objective in the colonial conflicts between the English and the French. At the southern end of the lake, Fort William Henry was built to check the French but was destroyed by French and Indians in 1757. In 1758 General James Abercromby led a large force north to attack the French at Ticonderoga and was repulsed, but General Jeffery Amherst succeeded the following year. During the American Revolution, Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold took Fort Ticonderoga. It was abandoned in 1777 to General John Burgoyne’s invading army and remained in British hands until 1782. From earliest times, the forest-bound lake’s singular beauty has attracted visitors, including sportsmen, artists, and nature-lovers, and boating and fishing made it a popular recreation area, with state-owned campsites and beaches preserving some of its pristine charm.