In June 1776, The Continental Army had moved away from enemy forces in Quebec to Fort Ticonderoga and Fort Crown Point. They had spent that summer fixing their forts and building more ships to build their army. General Carleton had a 9,000 man army at Fot Saint-Jean. However, he needed to build an object to carry all of them over the lake. The Americans had either taken or destroyed most of the ships on the lake.