Schuyler Justifies his Decision not to Fortify Crown Point

"When Intelligence was first received here, that Crown Point was abandoned, It was the Cause of General Alarm & filled the Minds of most who heard It, with no small Degree of Anxiety; Some judging from the Common accepted Opinion and Others from their Knowledge & Acquaintance with It & the Country round about It, that It was of the last Importance to us to possess It, to give us in Conjunction with the Vessels we were about to build, the Superiority of the Lake, & to prevent the Enemy from penetrating into this & the Eastern States. Among Others, some of the General Officers from their Own Knowledge, & the Rest from the Ideas they had formed, as the Matter was Occasionally mentioned deliver[ed] their Sentiments to this Effect, as did Every Person I heard speak of It at the Time the Account first came"