The French and Indian War
1754-1763
Colonial Lands in 1754
1754-1763
1754-1757
In the Fall of 1753, the governor of Virginia
sends a small expedition to Ohio River Valley
to speak to the French located there. Led by
George Washington, this force was largely
ignored by the French and told to return to
Virginia.
In May 1754, a second but much larger force
under Washington’s command is sent back.
Washington is forced to surrender to the
French at Fort Necessity, which begins the
French and Indian War.
Braddock’s Expedition and Defeat
The British send General Edward Braddock to the
colonies to take command of the war, as they
believe the American colonial force lacks the
professionalism to win.
In June-July, 1755, Braddock moves his army west
towards Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh), a newly built
French fortress. On July 9, 1755, Braddock’s army
is ambushed by the French and Indian force, as
they march single-file. The French kill 456 British,
and wound an additional 400 soldiers, in three
hours of fighting. Braddock dies from his wounds
four days later.
The French Go on the March
In the summer of 1756, the French army moves
northeast into New York and capture Fort
Oswego, blocking the British and their
colonies from access to the Great Lakes,
cutting off important trading routes.
The following year, the French lay siege to Fort
William Henry, with an army of 8000 French,
Canadians, and Native Americans. The British
under Lt. Col. George Monro were forced to
capitulate (conditional surrender).
The French allowed the British to march back to
another British fort, but their Native American
allies wanted a more honorable end to the
fighting. Following the British, the Indians
attacked Munro’s retreating column, and
killed over 300 people. The remaining 2000
survivors scattered into the New York
wilderness, effectively eliminating the British
force from returning to the war effort.
British Recovery
Following the losses of 1757, the British sent
more troops to the American colonies, and
raised a colonial militia of 42,000 American
soldiers.
The British first landed 13,000 troops in Nova
Scotia, at Louisbourg, laying siege to the fort
from June 19 to July 26.
Louisbourg
The British forced all the French to surrender,
turn in all their weapons and hand over their
flag, as a result of what happened to Munro’s
army at Fort William Henry the year before.
At the same time as Louisbourg was being
hammered by British guns in Nova Scotia, a
smaller British army was building a road
across Pennsylvania, to retake Ft. Duquesne.
The French were outnumbered, but were able to
put up a good fight, killing a number of
Pennsylvania militia, and capturing several
dozen men from a Scottish regiment.
The French decapitated the Scottish soldiers and
put their heads on stakes. This, along with
traditional Indian scalping, increased the
brutality on both sides of the fighting.
The British were only able to take Ft. Duquesne
after the French burned it down and fled. The
British built a new fort, named after William
Pitt, the British Secretary of State.
Quebec and Montreal
After pushing the French out of the Ohio River
Valley, and the majority of upper New York,
the British and American army planned to
invade Canada.
In September 10,1759, the British landed troops
along the St. Lawrence River, near Quebec, on
the Plains of Abraham. The British
overwhelmed the French, forcing them to
retreat in the walled city of Quebec. On Sept.
18, the French surrendered, being heavily
outnumbered and cut off from resupply.
Quebec 1759
Both the French and British commander were
killed during the battle on the Plains of
Abraham, but the victory gave the British
complete control of the St. Lawrence River.
In September 1760, the British surrounded
Montreal, again outnumbering the French,
and forcing a surrender. The fighting was over.
The war officially ended in February 1763,
with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. In it,
France ceded Canada and all of France’s North
American empire east of the Mississippi River
to Great Britain.