The French and
Indian War
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Spring 1752
Speculators from VA come to PA to negotiate with Indians for land.
EnglishThe
looking for
a foothold in is
contested
region of North America.
Stage
Set
Britain rules over east coast
Canada and Mississippi Valley dominated by French
Ohio country = giant prize
Both France/Britain wanted three river junction of Ohio, Monongahela, and Allegheny
Rivers (Pittsburgh today)
Natives consider it their land
The Half King (limited authority) willing to negotiate (thinks French are weak although most
native groups favor French…too many swindled by English)
Half King wants to ally with English to get trade goods; already moved to this region and
devastated by diseases
French encroaching from North, English from East /natives have to take a side
Natives now rely on European goods for survival
Iroquois League is dominant force in the East and claim sovereignty over the Ohio country
At parlay, Half King agrees to let English build trading fort at the forks
French claim one side of the river, English the other…where do the Indians belong?
French want to link Canada and Great Lakes with Louisiana colony; keep British bottled
up on east coast ; English will never be able to expand westward if the French dominate
the area
Western Pennsylvania 1754
Battle at Jumonville Glen
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22 yr old General George Washington sent to order
French out of Ohio country.
Ordered to drive the French from a contested part of
the frontier with force
Stumbles across French soldiers on a diplomatic
mission; becomes overeager and attacks
Washington has Indian allies, French surrender
Jumonville scalped by Half King and many other
Frenchmen scalped as well
Washington cannot foresee the consequences
Triggers North American war that spread around the
world
French and Indian War/Seven Years War
Spring 1754
Trading Post
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After meeting with the Half King, Virginians begin building a trading post at the forks of the
Ohio.
French troops force the Virginians to surrender the forks and abandon the building.
Half King furious…French have humiliated him and he vows revenge
Washington sent back to the forks to help, but runs into the Half King who tells him the
French took it over. They ally. Half King wants to start trouble between English and French.
Scalps Jumonville because of humiliation at forks; knows blame will fall on Washington.
Washington withdraws to large meadow; Jumonville’s brother comes in pursuit.
Build a crude stockade named Fort Necessity
Half King refuses to help defend the fort
French arrive accompanied by Shawnee, Mingo, and Delaware warriors
Encounter French July 3rd. Washington wants to fight face to face on field. French and
Indians fire from the woods.
Fighting went on until pouring rain; trenches filled with water and ruined ammunition except
for a few bayonets.
July 4, 1754: French offer terms for surrender, Washington signs. Unable to read French, so
asks a Dutch officer to translate. Unknowingly signed a confession to the murder of
Jumonville.
Half King loses credibility and is dead within a few months
Fall 1754
 Iroquois
League ponders strategy
 If they take sides, will fight against other
Indians
 Neutral – chance France/Britain taking
possession of Ohio country and Iroquois
end up with nothing
 Indians have played Europeans against
each other for 100 years; now imperial
ambitions force them to choose
Winter 1755
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French King Louis XV prepares to defend
interests
1,800 troops sent to Canada
King George II sends 1,000 redcoats to
Virginia in early spring
British 3 pronged plan to drive French back to
Canada:
Strike French in Ohio country (re-take Fort
Duquesne)
 Strike in Northern New York
 Strike in Nova Scotia
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Spring, 1755
General Braddock
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Career general sent from England; highest ranking British officer on continent
Wants to capture Fort Duquesne at forks and move on to Niagara region
Meets with colonial governors to ask for money to help pay. Governors reply
that their assemblies should be asked, not ordered.
Begins march against Fort Duquesne in Fort Cumberland, Maryland
Women serve as laundresses, cooks, and nurses
Braddock names George Washington chief aide
1/3 of army provincials; not used to drilling/severe punishments for minor
infractions
Natives in camp area try to get Braddock to invite them to help; Braddock
shows no interest and all but seven warriors leave
Four mile long army and camp followers leave for Ft. Duquesne
300 axe men clear the way
Lug cannon /army through dense forest, steep mountains, and river crossings.
22 miles per week
Braddock splits and takes 1,400 men ahead
July, 1755
Monongahela River Crossing/Ft.
Duquesne Attack
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Indian scouts working with French watch Braddock’s
approach
French/Indians ambush English as they cross the
Monongahela
French fight the Indian way, from the woods
Indians/French don’t fight in open field as British are used
to; British can’t keep men in formation
British retreat and collide with troops behind them
Artillery useless in dense woods
Braddock killed
Women kidnapped and ransomed by French
21 dead French/Indians vs. 1,000 dead English
PART II
EVENTS SET IN MOTION
 War
spread from woods of Pennsylvania
to the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and
India
 Called the Seven Years’ War in Europe
 War’s outcome decided which of world’s
two great empires would dominate North
America
 Indians caught in the middle
Britain’s New General
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William Johnson; influential Irish merchant with no military qualifications
Strong grasp of native culture/politics
Close friendship with Mohawk chief (Chief Hendrick); lived among Indians;
married Indian woman; has several children of mixed race
Johnson’s job is to take control of Lake Champlain; needs considerable
manpower
Invites members of Iroquois Six Nations to his home
Trader; appreciates the custom of Indian gift giving
1,100 Indians show up to hear British offer; previous policy of neutrality
Interpreter tries to convince Indians to side with English; offers English
protection against French
References long standing ties between English crown and Iroquois
Most refuse to break their neutrality; only Hendrick and 200 Mohawk warriors
agree to fight with Johnson
Lead forces to Lake Sacrement – renamed Lake George after the king of
England
Bloody Morning Scout/Battle of
Lake George /September 1755
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Johnson tries to cross into Lake Champlain to attack fort between New York
and Canada
Johnson’s force = 3,000 men recruited from colonies, Hendrick, and 200
Mohawk warriors
Sends Hendrick ahead to scout while Johnson builds an encampment
Canadian Mohawk allied with French encounter them; Indians appeal to
each other not to fight a white man’s war
Hendrick, 30 warriors, 150 colonials die in battle within minutes
Remaining troops run 4 miles back to encampment
French charge entrance to Johnson’s camp
Johnson’s men ready; fight Battle of Lake George; no winner
Costly to both sides
French retreat; Johnson took musket shot to backside
Mohawk return home to mourn dead
English never reach Lake Champlain; Johnson built Fort William Henry to
secure position at the base of Lake George; will be dividing line for two
empires for four years
Back to the Western PA
Frontier
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1750’s dangerous time to be in PA back country for both
English and natives; war made them enemies
Attacked homesteads and took captives; growing need
because of natives lost in battle
Regiment of colonials commanded by George Washington
(age 23) have the task of protecting the frontier
Washington wants to train them to perform like British
regulars; wants to be rewarded with a royal commission
New England officers did not approve of strict military
discipline of English officers. Took enlistment contracts
seriously and refused to serve under any officers but their
own. If terms violated, colonial army would be dissolved
altogether.
July 1756
Lt. Gen. John Campbell/Earl of
Loudoun takes Braddock’s
place
 Colonial armies in New England only agree to act in
conjunction with English army, not under their
command
 Loudoun already senses rebellion that will become the
Revolution
New French General
 Louis
Josef, Marquis de Montcalm
 Disdains natives; feels they are barbarians
 NY Indians maintained neutrality,
Canadian Indians willing to go to war with
French.
 Montcalm believes they make war “with
astounding cruelty; sparing neither
women nor children.”
Nova Scotia 1755
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British military victory
Formerly a French colony (Acadia)
French are forced to leave the region; leave
farms and fishing boats; systematic expulsion
of all French speaking settlers until villages are
emptied
Families herded to the coast
For next three years, 10,000 people
evacuated
Many go to Louisiana where they become
known as Cajuns
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Try to drive French out
Head up Hudson from NY
Montcalm travels St. Louis from Montreal
French stop British advance at Fort Oswego
French plus 250 Indians capture the Fort after three days
Indians plunder and take captives
Montcalm sees Indian behavior and is horrified
Pays ransom for British soldiers and promises to restrain Indians next time
Next year, Montcalm + 2,000 warriors attack Lake George + 6,000 French regulars and militia
(Fort William Henry)
August 2nd, lookouts spot bonfires up the shoreline
See oncoming armada
Advance party already has camped in the woods near fort; British surrounded
Lt. Colonel George Monroe implores that more troops be sent to him
British Disaster at Fort Niagara
Montcalm offers a chance to surrender (military protocol); British decline, think they are
getting reinforcements
Offers terms of surrender again; Montcalm produces letter suggesting he get the best
surrender terms possible
Monroe surrenders with honor after Fort’s walls breached
British granted safe passage from the fort by terms of surrender; no plunder or prisoners
Montcalm sits down for banquet with losers and doesn’t invite Natives
Natives attack on retreat and take everything from soldiers, kill many troops in the back
(New England)
Part III – Turning the Tide
Lake George, NY - July 1758
 British
appoint new general – Major
General James Abercrombie
 15,000+ men and 18 siege cannon sent to
America
 Follow water north from NYC to Montreal
(heart of French Canada)
 Must take French Fort Carillon (English Fort
Ticonderoga) which guards passage from
Lake George to Lake Champlain
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1,000 boats cover Lake George from one side to
the other; battle looming
By 1758 the war is a global conflict
France, Britain, and allies are battling in Germany
over who will control Northern Europe
In West Africa, fighting to control slave trade
In India, battle for a piece of Asia
Becomes known to history as the Seven Years’ War
; a struggle for rule of the greatest empire since
Ancient Rome
George II (Protestant) or Louis XV (Catholic)
Western Frontier
 Washington
commander of Virginia
regiment for 2 years with task of
defending frontier against Indian raids
 Treated as inferiors by British regulars
 His only success was at Jumonville
Philadelphia
Winter 1757
 Washington
visits English General Loudoun
to request commission in regular army;
never again sought British commission
 January 1758 Washington took sick leave
and went home to run the estate he
inherited, Mount Vernon
Boston
February, 1758
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Colonial legislators are asking for same rights
historically accorded to British subjects
They want to be asked to give their consent
to being taxed
Loudoun angry the colonials refuse his orders
Money and principles driving a wedge
between colonies and British crown
Colonies believed they were being treated as
inferiors
William Pitt Takes Over in England!
Abercrombie’s Attack on Fort
Ticonderoga – July, 1758
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Joined King’s government as Prime Minister; grants colonists most of what they
want
Summons Earl of Loudoun back to England
Promises reimbursement for military expenses
Pitt knows Britain needs full participation of British subjects
Pitt’s policies cause thousands to join Abercrombie’s army
When ready to attack Fort Ticonderoga, has a force of nearly 16,000 men.
Provincials were fighting beside British regulars.
Abercrombie lands at Lake George, a few miles from Fort Ticonderoga
Montcalm knows he can’t beat British forces; orders men out of the fort and
brings them a mile forward toward the British. Builds a defensive wall on high
ground. Builds a barrier of sharpened tree tops. Waiting for regulars and
Indians. First major action where no Indians fight on French side.
Abercrombie orders cannon bombardment; many of his siege guns have sunk
in the lake
French strategy slows British until they retreat
French lose several hundred, British/provincials lose 2,000
French find shoes of the British in the mud; they were running away so quickly
Colonel John Bradstreet
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Suggested bold strike at heart of French Canadian
colony
Takes small army from Lake George to eastern end of
Lake Ontario (through Iroquois land)
Almost all colonial soldiers from NY, MA, NJ, RI
Want to attack Fort Frontenac at headwaters of St.
Lawrence River
Orders immediate bombardment, leaving the French
no opportunity to defend
Frontenac surrenders within hours
Frontenac was a supply fort for cannon, muskets,
and food for Canada’s western outposts
Major blow to the French
Louisbourg
Fall, 1758
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Canada’s critical Atlantic port, Louisbourg, fell to British
Brigadier General James Wolfe led troops ashore after 6 week siege
British sailors sneak into harbor and destroy last French battleships in
Canada
French surrender
Turning point in the war
If France can’t hold British advances, loss of Canada looks imminent
Leaves way to Quebec wide open
Niagara still fortified but don’t have supplies due to loss of Frontenac
Corrupt officials stealing from French Canadian supply system
(Francois Bigot) – notorious gambling habit. In charge of equipping
the army and selling goods/keeping profits for himself.
Cripples French war effort
Louis XV more invested in European campaigns than Canada
By 1758 French treasury was drained; Louis XV was desperate for a
European victory
Back to the Forks 1758
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Fort Duquesne, at the forks, firmly in French hands
Indian alliance with France is only to maintain lands they see as
their birth right; French less likely to take it from them.
British still wary after Braddock’s 1755 failure.
John Forbes built a fort every 50 miles from Philadelphia to the Ohio
Makes diplomatic overtures to native people in the region. Has to
reverse Shawnee and Delaware bitterness toward English.
Tedeuscum???
Baptized Christian hoping to obtain homeland for him and his
people. Left Christianity behind a year into the war. Attack on
lands occupied by English, stolen through fraudulent treaties.
But followers were starving, so he needed to make peace with the
English, just in time to help General Forbes. Forbes assures the
Indian leaders they only want to drive out the French, not take their
land.
September 1758
Washington Re-joins
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Final push to conquer the forks of the Ohio
Washington has different ideas than Forbes about the best route (paves way
for traders and settlers to Ohio country)
Washington wants road to follow southern route of Braddock to bring route
near Virginia
Forbes road is eventually built, later to become the Pennsylvania Turnpike
Forbes’ diplomacy pays off; treaty signed with many native groups.
Pennsylvanians promise no new settlements west of the Alleghenies.
Tedeuscum was promised thousands of acres of land for his people to build a
farming community for his help in bringing both sides together
Fort Ligonier (50 miles from Duquesne) is jumping off point for attack.
Forbes sends out two parties to chase down raiders who harass the British.
One led by George Washington and the other by Col. George Mercer
Groups come across each other in heavy fog; shots fired.
Washington throws himself between the two lines . Two officers, 38 military
men dead
November 23, 1758
 Forbes’
army is ready to make its assault
on Fort Duquesne
 Outnumbered French don’t want to fight
a battle they know they will lose
 French destroy the fort and retreat to
Canada
 Forbes renamed Fort Duquesne Pittsburgh
after the prime minister who changed the
course of the war.
Quebec, Summer 1759
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Major General James Wolfe needs to prove himself in battle
Army camped on the opposite shore of the St. Lawrence from
Quebec
Tried for three months to capture Quebec; with winter
approaching, had to make a move
British control St. Lawrence, cutting France off from the interior
Already tried an eastern attack; 500 men killed at Battle of
Montmerency
Burns settlements beyond Quebec (1,400 houses)
Montcalm gets no reinforcements, only encouragement from
Britain
Wolfe has fever and thinks he will die, which spurs him to action
Stars looking at Plains of Abraham, west of Quebec
Orders 4,500 men to scale the steep cliffs surrounding Quebec
Element of surprise; British assemble on the plains outside the city
walls.
Quebec, Summer 1759
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Montcalm’s line breaks down
French fire before they are in range
British wait patiently
Entire battle was no more than ten minutes
French flee back to the city; surrender four
days later
Wolfe mortally wounded in battle; death
glorified
Montcalm shot in abdomen and died
Another Year
Summer 1760
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1759 – Iroquois abandoned 50 years of
neutrality and allied themselves with the British
British prepare to take last French holdout at
Montreal
Pass through territory of Canadian Mohawk
allied with French, with Iroquois peacemakers.
Jeffrey Amherst despises Iroquois on
expedition. Brings three armies to descend
on Montreal at the same time. Bloodless
surrender on September 8, 1760.
War comes to an end.
The War Ends
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Amherst will not let French keep regimental flags; the
French burn them
After a century of trade and relations with the
natives, French influence ends in North America
Britain’s holdings transferred into an empire of nearly
a half a billion acres
Amherst gets a knighthood as well as the job of
leading the colonies with tight budgets and
dwindling manpower. Britain shifted manpower
away to fight for control of French Islands in the West
Indies (part of Seven Years War). Britain gets French
territory in Africa and French trading posts in India.
Spain sides with France and the war spreads to
Spanish possessions in the Philippines.
Amherst and the Natives
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Though Iroquois were crucial in Amherst’s victory, he
considers them a savage enemy.
Restricts Indian access to ammunition
Curtails gift giving to natives to save empire money
Wants to transform ally relationship into
master/subject relationships
Indians do not see themselves as subjects
Fort Pitt being built at the forks, despite treaty
indicating they would not build west of the
Alleghenies
War brewing with Indians. William Johnson,
Superintendent of Indian Affairs, realizes the natives
are being treated unfairly.
1763 – Pontiac’s Rebellion
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Ottowa War Chief
Stirs Indians to action
War belts spread Pontiac’s message
Natives band together against the British
Massacre of British at Michelmackinaw
Repeated at multiple British outposts
British lose all but three major forts in back
country
Washington-Land Speculator
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Same day 1763 George Washington joins land venture to
colonize the Ohio Country
Washington and partners are hoping it will bring them wealth
Problem: Treaty of Easton promised no English settle west of
the Alleghenies
Land claim in modern Indiana
Amherst short of money and men, not getting help from
colonial legislatures
Begins deliberately using smallpox against Native Americans
(germ warfare)
Smallpox blankets given to Indians, although it makes little
difference…Indians already besieged
Amherst relieved of command; goes home aboard ship
named The Weasel
Treaty of Paris 1763
 February
1763 – ends the Seven Years War
 King George III - ruled more territory
across the globe than ever held by
Roman Empire
 King issues Proclamation of 1763
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All lands west of Appalachians reserved for
the Indians
 1760’s
Ohio country receives settlers from
Britain and other parts of Europe
Britain in Debt
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Expensive war; Britain shouldered responsibility but
now treasury empty
Expected American colonists to pay their share
Stamp Act caused violent colonial reaction
Tax collectors burned; tax ignored
Colonists feel betrayed; were not asked to
consent to Stamp Act
Washington frustrated; obstacle in his path toward
becoming a land surveyor; looks upon
Proclamation as temporary to appease the
Indians