Lake George lay along the natural water-and-portage route between the St. Lawrence River and the Hudson River. Jesuit missionary Isaac Jogues christened it Lac du Saint Sacrement in 1646, and in 1755 Sir William Johnson renamed it to honor King George II. Above its outlet, overlooking Lake Champlain, the French built Fort Carillon in 1755, making the area a 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 northward against the French at Ticonderoga and was repulsed, but General Jeffery Amherst succeeded the following year. With the outbreak of the American Revolution, Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold took Fort Ticonderoga; abandoned in 1777 to General John Burgoyne's invading army, it 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, fishing, state-owned campsites, and beaches have made it a popular recreation area while preserving some of its pristine charm.