 The Continental Army had retreated from Quebec to Fort Ticonderoga and Fort Crown Point in June 1776 after British forces were massively reinforced . They spent the summer of 1776 fortifying those forts , and building additional ships to augment the small American fleet already on the lake . General Carleton had a 9 @,@ 000 man army at Fort Saint @-@ Jean , but needed to build a fleet to carry it on the lake . The Americans , during their retreat , had either taken or destroyed most of the ships on the lake . By early October , the British fleet , which significantly outgunned the American fleet , was ready for launch . 
