The French and Indian War (1754–1763) pitted the colonies of British America against those of New France, each side supported by military units from the parent country and by Native American allies. At the start of the war, the French colonies had a population of roughly 60,000 settlers, compared with 2 million in the British colonies. The outnumbered French particularly depended on the natives. The European nations declared a wider war upon one another overseas in 1756, two years into the French and Indian War, and some view the French and Indian War as being merely the American theater of the worldwide Seven Years' War of 1756–63; however, the French and Indian War is viewed in the United States as a singular conflict which was not associated with any European war.
Introduction
French and Indian War
French and Indian War | Introduction
Britain versus France with each side supported by Native American allies Colonies of British America against those of New France Colonies of British America and those of New France. The French and Indian
who is john sherman?
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He was a politician from the U.S. state of Ohio
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did he stand in any election?
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Yes - in the election of 1880
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what connection does he have with the senate house?
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Sherman was elevated to the Senate in 1861.
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is he related to any war?
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Yes - the American Civil War
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when did he retire?
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1898
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what was his position then in politics?
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A politician from the U.S. state of Ohio, a member of the Republican Party, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of State
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is this mentioned state prone to earthquakes?
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Yes -  more than 200 earthquakes with a magnitude of 2.0 or higher have occurred in Ohio since 1776.
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who is known as the father of this state?
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Rufus Putnam
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why is he called so?
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He served in both the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. He organized and led the first group of veterans to the Ohio territory.
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where was he from?
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Massachusetts
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when did his first served war take place?
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1754
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between whom was it fought?
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John Brady fought in the French and Indian War. The French and Indian War was a colonial war fought between the British, the French and the Indian allies of the French. The British possessions in North America were located on the Atlantic Coast of North America and the French possessions were located in present-day Canada, centered mostly in Quebec. Both the British and the French made conflicting territorial claims on their respective frontiers, principally in present-day Michigan, western Pennsylvania and Ohio. The dispute simmered and flashed for many years. In the end, the Britain declared war on France on May 15, 1756.
Samuel Brady | French and Indian War
In 1755, war engulfed the colonies, spreading also to Europe. Britain and France declared war on each other. The British in America suffered a string of defeats including Braddock's at the Battle of the Monongahela trying to capture Fort Dusquense. Encouraged by the French victories, American Indians launched a series of attacks along the colonial frontier. During the French and Indian War, Israel Putnam (who would go on to later fame in the Revolutionary War) fought as a Connecticut militia captain in conjunction with Rogers, and at one point saved his life.
Robert Rogers (British Army officer) | French and Indian War
Marion began his military career shortly before his 25th birthday. On January 1, 1757, Francis and his brother, Job, were recruited by Captain John Postell to serve in the French and Indian War.
Francis Marion | French and Indian War
In 1755, General Edward Braddock led an expedition against Fort Duquesne, and although they were numerically superior to the French militia and their Indian allies, Braddock's army was routed and Braddock was killed. Later that same year at the Battle of Lake George, the British General William Johnson with a force of 1700 American and Iroquois troops defeated a French force of 2800 French and Canadians and 700 Native Americans led by Baron Dieskau (Military commander of New France). The fight for control over Ohio Country led to the French and Indian War, which began as the North American phase of the Seven Years' War (which did not technically begin in Europe until 1756).
New France | French and Indian War
The dispute erupted into violence in the Battle of Jumonville Glen in May 1754, during which Virginia militiamen under the command of 22-year-old George Washington ambushed a French patrol.
French and Indian War | Introduction
In June 1754 Chartier was present with his Shawnee warriors and his two sons, Francois and René, at the death of Captain Joseph Coulon de Jumonville at the Battle of Jumonville Glen. In July 1754 he and his sons participated in the French victory over George Washington at the Battle of Fort Necessity. Both of Chartier's sons fought against the British in numerous engagements during the French and Indian War. René may have been killed with Cornstalk when he was detained at Fort Randolph in November 1777.
Peter Chartier | Participation in the French and Indian War
Newcastle replaced him in January 1756 with Lord Loudoun, with Major General James Abercrombie as his second in command. Neither of these men had as much campaign experience as the trio of officers whom France sent to North America. French regular army reinforcements arrived in New France in May 1756, led by Major General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm and seconded by the Chevalier de Lévis and Colonel François-Charles de Bourlamaque, all experienced veterans from the War of the Austrian Succession. On May 18, 1756, Britain formally declared war on France, which expanded the war into Europe and came to be known as the Seven Years' War.
French and Indian War | French victories, 1756–1757
French Canadians call it ('War of the Conquest'). The British colonists were supported at various times by the Iroquois, Catawba, and Cherokee tribes, and the French colonists were supported by Wabanaki Confederacy member tribes Abenaki and Mi'kmaq, and the Algonquin, Lenape, Ojibwa, Ottawa, Shawnee, and Wyandot tribes. Fighting took place primarily along the frontiers between New France and the British colonies, from the Province of Virginia in the south to Newfoundland in the north. It began with a dispute over control of the confluence of the Allegheny River and Monongahela River called the Forks of the Ohio, and the site of the French Fort Duquesne in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
French and Indian War | Introduction
The French and Indian Wars were a series of conflicts that occurred in North America between 1688 and 1763, some of which indirectly were related to the European dynastic wars. The title "French and Indian War" in the singular is used in the United States specifically for the warfare of 1754–63, which is mostly coincident with the Seven Years' War. The French and Indian Wars were preceded by the Beaver Wars. In Quebec, the various wars are generally referred to as the Intercolonial Wars. Some conflicts involved Spanish and Dutch forces, but all pitted the Kingdom of Great Britain, its colonies, and their Indian allies on one side against France, its colonies, and its Indian allies on the other.
French and Indian Wars | Introduction
He was born in Ireland in 1734 and at age 19 arrived in Connecticut (1753). He married Elizabeth Wetmore on May 10, 1755 in Christ Church, Middletown and they had 10 children. During the French and Indian War, in 1755 he was in the Connecticut Regiment, under the command of Sir William Johnston, when he fought in the Battle of Lake George. In 1756, he was stationed at Fort Edward under the command of the Earl of Loudon and then in 1757 under the command of General Webb. In 1758, under the command of General Abercrombie he fought in the Battle of Ticonderoga.
Timothy Hierlihy | French and Indian War
The British sent out their fleet in February 1755, intending to blockade French ports, but the French fleet had already sailed. Admiral Edward Hawke detached a fast squadron to North America in an attempt to intercept them.
French and Indian War | Early engagements
The war between Britain and France was fought on both sides of the Atlantic. In Europe, it was called the Seven Years' War. Indians fought for both armies. For instance, the Iroquois Confederacy allied itself with the American colonies and the Britain. However, most of the warring tribes in the conflict were allied with the French. The French encouraged their Indian allies to attack the British settlers on the Pennsylvania frontier. The killing and scalping of whole families in isolated cabins on the Pennsylvania frontier was common place. This area of Pennsylvania was the area where the Quigley and Brady families had settled and were determined to live.
Samuel Brady | French and Indian War
Arriving in America in 1757, he served in the French and Indian War as a captain in the Pennsylvania militia. He was part of the Forbes expedition that captured Fort Duquesne in November 1758. He wrote a letter describing the condition of the fort.
John Haslet | French and Indian War
In one piece of good fortune, some French supply ships did manage to depart France and elude the British blockade of the French coast.
French and Indian War | 1758
Cook lived in the Mohawk village of Kahnawake. He fought with the Mohawk nation on the side of the French against the British in the French and Indian War, the North American front of the Seven Years' War. A friend and minister, Eleazer Williams, later wrote that Cook was at the battle against the Braddock expedition in 1755 (the Braddock party included the young George Washington), and served under General Montcalm at the Battle of Fort Oswego in 1756. The same year, he was wounded in a skirmish with Rogers' Rangers near Fort Ticonderoga. Cook was given his first command in the 1758 Battle of Carillon, where he was praised by General Montcalm.
Joseph Louis Cook | French and Indian War
This led to ongoing alarms along the western frontiers, with streams of refugees returning east to get away from the action.
French and Indian War | French victories, 1756–1757
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) pitted the colonies of British America against those of New France, each side supported by military units from the parent country and by Native American allies. At the start of the war, the French colonies had a population of roughly 60,000 settlers, compared with 2 million in the British colonies. The outnumbered French particularly depended on the natives. The European nations declared a wider war upon one another overseas in 1756, two years into the French and Indian War, and some view the French and Indian War as being merely the American theater of the worldwide Seven Years' War of 1756–63; however, the French and Indian War is viewed in the United States as a singular conflict which was not associated with any European war.
French and Indian War | Introduction
John Brady was among those who joined the forces to battle the Indian marauders. The French and Indian War ended on February 10, 1763 with the Treaty of Paris, in which France lost all of its North American territory east of the Mississippi and most of Canada.
Samuel Brady | French and Indian War
In 1754 six battalions from the regiments Artois, Béarn, Bourgogne, Guyenne, Languedoc, and La Reine were transferred to New France. In 1757 two additional battalions arrived from Royal Roussilon and La Sarre, followed the next year by two battalions from de Berry. An artillery company was also sent over the Atlantic.
French and Indian Wars | French Army
Washington surrendered and negotiated a withdrawal under arms. One of his men reported that the Canadian force was accompanied by Shawnee, Delaware, and Mingo warriors—just those whom Tanaghrisson was seeking to influence. News of the two battles reached England in August. After several months of negotiations, the government of the Duke of Newcastle decided to send an army expedition the following year to dislodge the French. They chose Major General Edward Braddock to lead the expedition. Word of the British military plans leaked to France well before Braddock's departure for North America. In response, King Louis XV dispatched six regiments to New France under the command of Baron Dieskau in 1755.
French and Indian War | Early engagements
During 1754, Washington, Gist, and a detachment of the Virginia Regiment attempted to drive the French from the region. At the Battle of Fort Necessity on July 3, 1754, the French defeated the Virginian colonists. This was the beginning of the French and Indian War, a part of the Seven Years' War between France and England. Gist owned land near the present city of Uniontown, Pennsylvania. He named it Gist's Plantation and began to build a town there. At the outset of the war, the French burned all the buildings. Gist was a member of the Braddock Expedition during 1755 when it was defeated by the French and their Native American allies.
Christopher Gist | French and Indian War service
The following year, he fought again at Ticonderoga and Crown Point under Sir Jeffrey Amherst. In 1759 he fought in the siege of Oswego, taking of Fort William Augustus, Montreal and Canada. In 1761 he fought at Crown Point and then in 1762, he was at the capturing of Havana under the command of Earl of Albemarle. He became a major in General Phineas Lyman to capture the Spanish Caribbean Islands, the campaign that concluded the war.
Timothy Hierlihy | French and Indian War
The French and Indian War was a local conflict in North America, that occurred in the context of the trans-continental Seven Years' War. In 1755 armed forces of Great Britain under the command of General Edward Braddock invaded the territories of New France (eastern part of modern Canada) and attacked Fort Duquesne. Although numerically superior to the local French militia and their Indian allies, the British army became ensnared in a two-front conflict and was routed.
Two-front war | Seven Years' War
During the French and Indian War (1754-1763), the North American front of the Seven Years' War, the French gradually abandoned the western posts. With France's defeat, the British took control of New France territory east of the Mississippi River.
Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye | Afterwards
In 1755, John Butler was appointed to the rank of Captain in the Indian Department of the British colonial government. He served in the French and Indian War under Sir William Johnson. In 1758, he saw action with James Abercromby at Fort Ticonderoga and John Bradstreet at the Battle of Fort Frontenac. In 1759, he was made second in command of the Indians with Johnson at the Battle of Fort Niagara. In 1760, he continued as a second in command of the Indians in Jeffery Amherst's force at Montreal.
John Butler (pioneer) | French and Indian War
The French and Indian War was between the nations of Great Britain and France, along with the numerous Native American Nations allied with both. The French and Indian war was the North American theater of the Seven Years' War being fought in Europe at the time. Growing population in British territory throughout North America forced expansion west; however, this was met with resistance from the French and their Native American allies. French forces began entering British territory, building numerous forts in preparation to defend the newly acquired land. The beginning of the war favored the French and their Native American allies, who were able to defeat British forces time and again, and it was not until 1756 that the British were able to hold off their opposition.
Proto-globalization | French and Indian War
In British America, wars were often named after the sitting British monarch, such as King William's War or Queen Anne's War. There had already been a King George's War in the 1740s during the reign of King George II, so British colonists named this conflict after their opponents, and it became known as the "French and Indian War". This continues as the standard name for the war in the United States, although Indians fought on both sides of the conflict. It also led into the Seven Years' War overseas, a much larger conflict between France and Great Britain that did not involve the American colonies; some historians make a connection between the French and Indian War and the Seven Years' War overseas, but most residents of the United States consider them as two separate conflicts—only one of which involved the American colonies, and American historians generally use the traditional name.
French and Indian War | Nomenclature
As there was no hope of a successful outcome, Boishébert burned his fort before the enemy arrived and sought refuge among the local populace, continuing meanwhile to fight the enemy.
Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot | French and Indian War
Major-General Francis Henry French (27 September 1857 - 10 March 1921) served in three wars: American Indian Wars, the Spanish–American War, and World War I.
Francis Henry French | Introduction
There they built a hasty wall of wood and carts and made their stand, supported by cannon and additional forces under General William Johnson. The Indians and Canadians would not attack in the open. When Baron Dieskau was wounded, the entire French force withdrew for Fort Carillon (later called Fort Ticonderoga). Dieskau was captured, and Johnson would build a more permanent Fort William Henry to protect the site.
Seth Pomeroy | French and Indian War
George, they began building the larger, more complex Fort Duquesne (at present-day Pittsburgh).
William Trent | French and Indian War (1754-1763)
These actions contributed to beginning of the French and Indian War with the eventual formal declarations of war in spring 1756.
Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre | Military life
The policies which he introduced in those lands disturbed large numbers of Indians and contributed to Pontiac's Rebellion in 1763. This series of attacks on frontier forts and settlements required the continued deployment of British troops, and it was not resolved until 1766. The war in North America officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on 10 February 1763, and war in the European theater was settled by the Treaty of Hubertusburg on 15 February 1763. The British offered France the choice of surrendering either its continental North American possessions east of the Mississippi or the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, which had been occupied by the British.
French and Indian War | Peace
The war began with the defeat of a Virginia militia contingent led by Colonel George Washington by the French troupes de la marine in the Ohio valley. As a result of that defeat, the British decided to prepare the conquest of Quebec City, the capital of New France. The British defeated France in Acadia in the Battle of Fort Beausejour (1755) and then Île Royale (Cape Breton Island) (which also administered Île Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island) with the Siege of Louisbourg (1758).
New France | French and Indian War
The French and Indian War started in 1754 over territorial disputes between the North American colonies of France and Great Britain in areas that are now western Pennsylvania and upstate New York. The first few years of the war had not gone particularly well for the British. A major expedition by General Edward Braddock in 1755 ended in disaster, and British military leaders were unable to mount any campaigns the following year. In a major setback, a French and Indian army led by General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm captured the garrison and destroyed fortifications in the Battle of Fort Oswego in August 1756.
Siege of Fort William Henry | Background
During the next 74 years, six colonial wars between New France and New England, along with their respective native allies, took place, starting with King William's War in 1689. (See the French and Indian Wars, Father Rale's War and Father Le Loutre's War.) The conflict was over the border between New England and Acadia, which New France defined as the Kennebec River in southern Maine.
First Abenaki War | Afterwards
During the French and Indian War, David fought under the command of Captain Charles Lewis. He was also a defender at Fort Necessity and served under General Edward Braddock in the disastrous march on Fort Duquesne.
David Morgan (frontiersman) | French and Indian War
The French and Indian War started in 1754 over territorial disputes between the North American colonies of France and Great Britain in areas that are now western Pennsylvania and upstate New York. The first few years of the war had not gone particularly well for the British. A major expedition by General Edward Braddock in 1755 ended in disaster, and British military leaders were unable to mount any campaigns the following year. In a major setback, a French and Indian army led by General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm captured the garrison and destroyed fortifications in the Battle of Fort Oswego in August 1756.
Louisbourg Expedition (1757) | Background
The British military forces consisted of the British Army's regular regiments and independent companies; the provincial regiments raised by the several colonies in British America, and the colonial militia.
French and Indian Wars | British
He was also present at the Battle of Sainte-Foy in 1760, serving under the Chevalier de Levis. Following the war, Cook returned to Caughnawaga and married Marie-Charlotte. As he never fully accepted the British victory and found his homeland increasingly overrun by American colonists, he moved with his family to Akwesasne, a Mohawk village along the St. Lawrence River in what was then Quebec.
Joseph Louis Cook | French and Indian War
During the Forbes Expedition, Lewis was captured during Major James Grant's attack on Fort Duquesne in September 1758. Taken to Quebec, Lewis remained a prisoner until late 1759.
Andrew Lewis (soldier) | French and Indian War
Following the death of Braddock, William Shirley assumed command of British forces in North America, and he laid out his plans for 1756 at a meeting in Albany in December 1755. He proposed renewing the efforts to capture Niagara, Crown Point, and Duquesne, with attacks on Fort Frontenac on the north shore of Lake Ontario and an expedition through the wilderness of the Maine district and down the Chaudière River to attack the city of Quebec. His plan, however, got bogged down by disagreements and disputes with others, including William Johnson and New York's Governor Sir Charles Hardy, and consequently gained little support.
French and Indian War | French victories, 1756–1757
Most of the fighting ended in America in 1760, although it continued in Europe between France and Britain. The notable exception was the French seizure of St. John's, Newfoundland. General Amherst heard of this surprise action and immediately dispatched troops under his nephew William Amherst, who regained control of Newfoundland after the Battle of Signal Hill in September 1762. Many of the British troops who were stationed in America were reassigned to participate in further British actions in the West Indies, including the capture of Spanish Havana when Spain belatedly entered the conflict on the side of France, and a British expedition against French Martinique in 1762 led by Major General Robert Monckton.
French and Indian War | Sporadic engagements, 1760–1763
During the French and Indian War he first served on the privateer "Defiance" operating in the Caribbean, before enlisting in the provincial militia, where his father held the rank of Colonel. During the French and Indian War George rose to the rank of Lieutenant, accompanying his father in 1758 on Bradstreet's 1758 seizure of Fort Frontenac, cutting one of the major communication and supply lines between the eastern centres of Montreal and Quebec City and France's western territories. He and his brother James were instrumental in capturing a French vessel.
George Clinton (vice president) | French and Indian War service
The British proceeded to wage a campaign in the northwest frontier of Canada in an effort to cut off the French frontier forts to the west and south. They captured Ticonderoga and Fort Niagara, and they defeated the French at the Thousand Islands in the summer of 1759. In September 1759, James Wolfe defeated Montcalm in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham which claimed the lives of both commanders. After the battle, the French capitulated the city to the British. In April 1760, François Gaston de Lévis led French forces to launch an attack to retake Quebec. Although he won the Battle of Sainte-Foy, Lévis' subsequent siege of Quebec ended in defeat when British ships arrived to relieve the garrison.
French and Indian War | 1759–1760
After Lévis had retreated he was given another blow when a British naval victory at Restigouche brought the loss of French ships meant to resupply his army. In July Jeffrey Amherst then led British forces numbering around 18,000 men in a three pronged attack on Montreal. After eliminating French positions along the way all three forces met up and surrounded Montreal in September. Many Canadians deserted or surrendered their arms to British forces while the Native allies of the French sought peace and neutrality. De Lévis and the Marquis de Vaudreuil reluctantly signed the Articles of Capitulation of Montreal on September 8 which effectively completed the British conquest of New France.
French and Indian War | 1759–1760
In six years of intense and confused fighting, 1779–1784. Hastings sent one army marching across India to help Bombay, and another to Madras. His greatest achievement was in breaking up the hostile coalition. By 1782 he made peace with the Marathas. The French fleet had been repeatedly delayed. Suffren finally arrived in 1782 to discover that the Indian coalition had fallen apart, that Hastings had seized all the French ports, and Suffren could achieve nothing. When the wars ended in 1784, British power in India had not changed, but the French were much weaker. The East India Company now had an efficient system in operation.
Warren Hastings | War with France
The French and Indian War officially ended in 1763, but hostilities between the Indians and the British continued in Pontiac's War. Guyasuta and the Ohio Seneca were allied with Pontiac, and fought the British alongside his warriors at the July 1763 Siege of Fort Pitt, the July 31, 1763 Battle of Bloody Run, the August 5–6, 1763 Battle of Bushy Run, and the September 14, 1763 Devil's Hole Massacre (the deadliest engagement for British soldiers during the war). It's unclear if Simon Girty fought along with Guyasuta in this war. On October 17, 1764, British commander Henry Bouquet demanded that the Ohio Indians return all captives, including those not yet returned from the French and Indian War.
Simon Girty | Guyasuta, Simon Girty's mentor
By 1755, conflicts had started in the French and Indian War, the North American front of the Seven Years' War between France and Britain. Both sides made use of Native American allies, especially in the frontier areas where they had few regular forces. One morning in early 1755, a raiding party consisting of six Shawnee Indians and four Frenchmen captured Mary, the rest of her family (except two older brothers), and a young boy from another family. En route to French-controlled Fort Duquesne (present-day Pittsburgh), the Shawnee killed Mary's mother, father, and siblings, and ritually scalped them. Mary later learned that it was a Seneca custom, when one of their own was killed or taken prisoner in battle, to take an enemy as prisoner or to take their scalp in a mourning ritual.
Mary Jemison | Biography
Dinwiddie's actions as lieutenant governor are cited by one historian as precipitating the French and Indian War, commonly held to have begun in 1754. He wanted to limit French expansion in Ohio Country, an area claimed by the Virginia Colony and in which the Ohio Company, of which he was a stockholder, had made preliminary surveys and some small settlements. This version of history is disputed when one notices that Father Le Loutre's War in Acadia began in 1749 and did not end until the expulsion of the Acadians in 1755. In fact, Thomas Jefferys, the Royal Geographer of the day, produced a pamphlet out of his Parliamentary testimony that explained the misconduct of the French in what amounted to a Treaty of Utrecht boundary dispute.
Robert Dinwiddie | French and Indian War
Less frequently used names for the war include the "Fourth Intercolonial War" and the "Great War for the Empire". In Europe, the French and Indian War is conflated into the Seven Years' War and not given a separate name. "Seven Years" refers to events in Europe, from the official declaration of war in 1756—two years after the French and Indian War had started—to the signing of the peace treaty in 1763. The French and Indian War in America, by contrast, was largely concluded in six years from the Battle of Jumonville Glen in 1754 to the capture of Montreal in 1760.
French and Indian War | Nomenclature
The French and British fought each other and made treaties with Native American tribes to gain control of North America. Both nations coveted the Ohio Country and in 1753 a British expedition there led by George Washington clashed with a French force. Shortly afterwards the French and Indian War broke out, initially taking place only in North America but in 1756 becoming part of the wider Seven Years' War in which Britain and France were part of opposing coalitions. The war has been called the first "world war", because fighting took place on several different continents. In 1759 the British enjoyed victories over the French in Europe, Canada and India, severely weakening the French position around the world.
France–United Kingdom relations | Seven Years' War
What came to be known as the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) began as a conflict between Great Britain and France in 1754, when the British sought to expand into territory claimed by the French in North America. The war came to be known as the French and Indian War, with both the British and the French and their respective Native American allies fighting for control of territory. Hostilities were heightened when a British unit led by a 22-year-old Lt. Colonel George Washington ambushed a small French force at the Battle of Jumonville Glen on 28 May 1754. The conflict exploded across the colonial boundaries and extended to Britain's seizure of hundreds of French merchant ships at sea.
Seven Years' War | Summary
The French commander, Ensign Joseph Coulon de Jumonville, was among the wounded. In one of several disputed and contradictory accounts, it is claimed that Tancharison uttered the French words, "Tu n'es pas encore mort, mon père!" (Thou art not yet dead, my father), then sank his tomahawk in Jumonville's skull, washed his hands with the brains, "and scalped him," but not before eating a portion of Jumonville's brain. Only one of the wounded French soldiers was not killed and scalped among a total of ten dead, 21 captured, and one missing, a man named Monceau who had wandered off to relieve himself that morning.
Tanacharison | French and Indian War
King William's War (1688–1697, also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg. It was the first of six colonial wars (see the four French and Indian Wars, Father Rale's War and Father Le Loutre's War) fought between New France and New England along with their respective Native allies before France ceded its remaining mainland territories in North America east of the Mississippi River in 1763.
King William's War | Introduction
In the winter of 1754, Governor Charles Lawrence of Nova Scotia and Massachusetts Governor William Shirley, under a general British directive, made plans to deal with French "encroachments" on the frontier of the British North American colonies. This process ultimately led to the beginning of the final French and Indian War and the onset of the Seven Years' War in North America. One of the first actions of this war was to be at Fort Beausejour and Robert Monckton, with his intimate knowledge of the terrain and the local fortifications, was invited to spend the winter in Boston to assist in the planning process.
Robert Monckton | French and Indian War
During French planning for the 1758 campaign in the French and Indian War the disputes between Vaudreuil and Montcalm continued. Vaudreuil prevailed, and Montcalm was sent to Fort Carillon to defend it against an expected British attack. Lévis was initially slated to lead an expedition to the western forts, leading about 500 French metropolitan troops and a large seasoned French-Canadian militia. Vaudreuil, however, had second thoughts, and dispatched Lévis and his metropolitan troops to support Montcalm at Carillon. Lévis arrived at Carillon on the evening of July 7, as a British army was arriving before the fort. The next day, in a stroke of good fortune for the defenders, the 16,000 strong British army under the command of General James Abercrombie decided to frontally attack the French defenses manned by about 4,000 men, without the benefit of artillery support.
François Gaston de Lévis | North American military service
During the Battle of Jumonville Glen, considered the first battle of the French and Indian War in North America, Joseph Coulon de Jumonville was killed. He was the son of Nicolas-Antoine Coulon de Villiers and the half-brother of Captain Louis Coulon de Villiers, who was stationed at Fort St. Joseph. Louis Coulon de Villiers vowed revenge for his brother's death. After the British defeat of France in the Seven Years' War, France transferred the fort to the British, who occupied it in October 1761.
Fort St. Joseph (Niles, Michigan) | French and Indian War
His successes in military and political spheres during that conflict led to his election as the first President of the United States of America.
George Washington in the French and Indian War | Introduction
Between 1850 and 1852, he again served against the Seminole Indians in Florida and was the commanding officer of Stonewall Jackson. The two disagreed often and French's assignment with Jackson led to the two filing numerous charges against each other with U.S. Army authorities. After Florida, French served on frontier duty until 1861.
William H. French | Early life and career
Abercrombie saved something from the disaster when he sent John Bradstreet on an expedition that successfully destroyed Fort Frontenac, including caches of supplies destined for New France's western forts and furs destined for Europe. Abercrombie was recalled and replaced by Jeffery Amherst, victor at Louisbourg. The French had generally poor results in 1758 in most theaters of the war. The new foreign minister was the duc de Choiseul, and he decided to focus on an invasion of Britain to draw British resources away from North America and the European mainland. The invasion failed both militarily and politically, as Pitt again planned significant campaigns against New France and sent funds to Britain's mainland ally of Prussia, while the French Navy failed in the 1759 naval battles at Lagos and Quiberon Bay.
French and Indian War | 1758
The first was built after Washington returned from his diplomatic mission warning the French to leave the Ohio Country. Trent and his forces built Fort Hanger (Hangard) later that year on Redstone Creek. It was at its confluence with the Monongahela River and near the Ford of the river by Nemacolin's Trail. Trent and his men had not completed Fort Prince George when a large French military expedition of 600 soldiers, led by Sieur de Contrecoeur, surrounded the English colonists. They forced Trent to surrender and return with his men to Virginia. The French force included engineers. After demolishing Fort St.
William Trent | French and Indian War (1754-1763)
They took heavy losses and Grant was captured. Bullitt took to the woods, but rallied the militia, and counterattacked their pursuers. He then led more than half of the original party back to their main force. The French were forced to abandon the fort in November.
Thomas Bullitt | French and Indian War
The Baron de Saint-Castin was adopted by an Abenaki tribe and married a native girl. Governor Frontenac danced and sang war songs at an Indian council. While Daniel Liénard de Beaujeu fought bare-chested and covered with war paints at the battle against Braddock. Natives also adopted French habits, like chief Kondiaronk who wanted to be buried in his uniform of captain or Kateri Tekakwitha who became a Catholic Saint. French settlers and natives were allied in every conflict preceding the Seven Years' War: Father Rale's War, King George's War, Father Le Loutre's War. Intermarriages were also frequent in New France, giving rise to the Métis people.
Franco-Indian alliance | Background
James Clinton's military experience began in the French and Indian War, where he served in the provincial troops of New York. He was commissioned an ensign in 1757 and achieved the rank of captain in the New York Regiment in 1759. In 1758, commanding a company, he participated, along with his father (Colonel) and brother George (Lieutenant), in General John Bradstreet’s capture of Fort Frontenac (now Kingston, Ontario). He and his brother played a key role in capturing a French vessel. James remained in the army, stationed at various frontier posts. In 1763 he raised and commanded a corps of two hundred men, who were designated as "Guards of the Frontier".
James Clinton | French and Indian War
The French succeeded in the 1746 Battle of Madras, and the French and Indians fought together and vanquished Anwaruddin in 1749, but failed in the Battle of Arcot in 1751 and finally surrendered in 1752. The French again had a success at the capture of Fort St David in 1758 under Lally, but were finally defeated at Machilipatnam (1759) and Vandavasi (1760).
France–India relations | History
Vaudreuil and Montcalm were minimally resupplied in 1758, as the British blockade of the French coastline limited French shipping. The situation in New France was further exacerbated by a poor harvest in 1757, a difficult winter, and the allegedly corrupt machinations of François Bigot, the intendant of the territory. His schemes to supply the colony inflated prices and were believed by Montcalm to line his pockets and those of his associates. A massive outbreak of smallpox among western Indian tribes led many of them to stay away from trading in 1758. The disease probably spread through the crowded conditions at William Henry after the battle; yet the Indians blamed the French for bringing "bad medicine" as well as denying them prizes at Fort William Henry.
French and Indian War | British conquest, 1758–1760
First, the French and Indian War broke out immediately upon his return to America, so upon leaving the university he entered the army, reaching the rank of captain. He is said to have served aide to James Abercrombie in the Lake George campaign of 1758 and was involved in the capture of Fort Niagara in 1759. His military activities ended with the death of his father. The news of his father's death on July 30, 1760, reached him after he had left Oswego in the vanguard of the army headed for Crown Point. This left James with the responsibilities of the headship of one of the wealthiest and most powerful families of the provincial aristocracy.
James De Lancey (politician) | French and Indian War
He had been replaced by Abercrombie as commander in chief after the failures of 1757. Pitt's plan called for three major offensive actions involving large numbers of regular troops supported by the provincial militias, aimed at capturing the heartlands of New France. Two of the expeditions were successful, with Fort Duquesne and Louisbourg falling to sizable British forces.
French and Indian War | British conquest, 1758–1760
One year after the Albany Purchase, the French and Indian War between Great Britain and France began, with each side seeking control of the North American colonies. Although the Iroquois refused to take sides for the first four years of the conflict and instructed all of the tribes under their protection to do the same, the Lenape and the Shawnee broke ranks and joined northern tribes the Huron, Ottawa and Ojibwe in forging an alliance with the French. On July 9, 1755, the French and their Native American allies decisively defeated a combined force of colonial and British soldiers led by General Edward Braddock at the Battle of the Monongahela in Braddock's Field, Pennsylvania, east of Pittsburgh.
Penn's Creek massacre | French and Indian War
In 1753, French troops from Canada marched south and seized and fortified the Ohio Valley. Britain protested the invasion and claimed Ohio for itself. On May 28, 1754, the French and Indian War (the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War) began with the Battle of Jumonville Glen. French Officer Ensign de Jumonville and a third of his escort was killed by a British patrol led by George Washington. In retaliation the French and the Indians defeated the British at Fort Necessity. Washington lost a third of his force, and surrendered. Major General Edward Braddock's troops were defeated in the Battle of the Monongahela, and William Johnson's troops stopped the French advance at Lake George.
Military history of the Acadians | French and Indian War
In 1777 during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), the Americans had captured a British invasion army. This emboldened the French to sign a military alliance with the new United States of America, and declare war on Britain. The French concentrated in the Caribbean islands, and on India. Meanwhile the presidencies of Madras and Bombay became involved in serious quarrels with the greatest of the native states. Madras with the formidable Hyder Ali of Mysore and with the Nizam of Hyderabad, and Bombay with the Marathas. France sent a battle fleet under Admiral Pierre André de Suffren. The combination meant Hastings faced a formidable challenge, with only Oudh as an ally.
Warren Hastings | War with France
In 1761, he commanded an expedition against the Cherokee during the Anglo-Cherokee War.
James Grant (British Army officer, born 1720) | French and Indian War
Over the next few weeks, serious negotiations began between Britain, France and Spain (for which Britain's chief negotiator was Alleyne Fitzherbert, and Spain's Count of Aranda). Although a French naval expedition had destroyed British trading posts in Hudson Bay during the summer, no territory had actually been captured. From time to time, news would arrive from India of continuing stalemate, both in the land wars (which involved the French only as supporters to local rulers) and in naval battles; the British still appeared to hold all the French territory there that they had captured in 1778–79, while the French held no British territory.
Anglo-French War (1778–1783) | Peace and end of the war
The French and Indian War broke out in 1754 between British and French colonists over territorial disputes along their colonial frontiers, and escalated the following year to include regular troops. By 1756, the French had enjoyed successes in most of their frontier battles against the British. Their only notable failure occurred when the British stopped their southward advance from Lake Champlain in the 1755 Battle of Lake George. From bases at Fort St. Frédéric (located at what is now Crown Point, New York) and Fort Carillon (known to the British as Fort Ticonderoga), the French and their Indian allies continued to scout and probe the British defenses on Lake George and the upper Hudson River.
Battle on Snowshoes | Background
In North America in the 18th century, the British outnumbered the French 20 to 1, a situation that urged France to ally with the majority of the First Nations. According to one observer: At the beginning of the conflict, despite the disproportion of the forces involved, the French and their allies managed to inflict defeats to the British, such as the Battle of Fort Necessity or the Battle of the Monongahela. Following the capture of Fort William Henry, the Marquis de Montcalm agreed to let the British withdraw with full honours of war - a civility that was not understood by some natives who massacred the British and their camp followers on their way to Fort Edward.
Franco-Indian alliance | Seven Years' War
For the rest of King George's War, Moulton fought against the Ossipee Indians that were allied to the French around Lake Winnipesaukee until they were killed or driven to Canada. During one winter scout from Dover, New Hampshire, Capt. Moulton and his men ambushed six Ossipee warriors on the ice of Lake Winniepesaukee. Five of the warriors were killed in the first volley and the sixth ran away, followed closely by Moulton's massive black dog that attacked and killed the fleeing warrior. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ended the war in 1748. It would be only six years until the next war between Britain and France.
Jonathan Moulton | Early Colonial Life and King George's War
Montcalm focused his meager resources on the defense of the St. Lawrence, with primary defenses at Carillon, Quebec, and Louisbourg, while Vaudreuil argued unsuccessfully for a continuation of the raiding tactics that had worked quite effectively in previous years. The British failures in North America combined with other failures in the European theater and led to Newcastle's fall from power along with the Duke of Cumberland, his principal military advisor. Newcastle and Pitt joined in an uneasy coalition in which Pitt dominated the military planning. He embarked on a plan for the 1758 campaign that was largely developed by Loudoun.
French and Indian War | British conquest, 1758–1760
The French capital in India, Pondicherry, fell to the British in 1761; together with the fall of the lesser French settlements of Karikal and Mahé this effectively eliminated French power in India.
Seven Years' War | India
During the French and Indian War, Dixson moved to Fort Cumberland, Nova Scotia, soon after, and served as a militiaman in the capture of Fort Beauséjour in 1755. Dixson also served with Amherst at Montreal in 1760 and with Monckton in Havana in 1762.
Thomas Dixson | French and Indian War
Brattle served in two French and Indian Wars. By 1745, during King Georges War, Brattle was appointed commander of the forces at Castle William. He served in the French and Indian War, joining the governor's council in 1755. He was active in raising troops and with the general administration of military affairs in the Province. During the war he became Adjutant-general in 1758 and Brigadier-general in 1760.
William Brattle | French and Indian Wars
In 1740 the War of the Austrian Succession broke out in Europe. Great Britain was drawn into the war in 1744, opposed to France and its allies. The trading companies of both countries maintained cordial relations in India while their parent countries were bitter enemies on the European continent. Dodwell writes, "Such were the friendly relations between the English and the French that the French sent their goods and merchandise from Pondicherry to Madras for safe custody." Although French company officials were ordered to avoid conflict, British officials were not, and were furthermore notified that a Royal Navy fleet was en route.
Carnatic Wars | First Carnatic War (1746–1748)
In 1720 France effectively nationalised the French East India Company, and began using it to expand its imperial interests. This became a source of conflict with the British in India with the entry of Britain into the War of the Austrian Succession in 1744. Hostilities in India began with a British naval attack on a French fleet in 1745, which led the French Governor-General Dupleix to request additional forces. This resulted in the despatch of a fleet under La Bourdonnais that arrived in 1746. In July of that year La Bourdonnais and British Admiral Edward Peyton fought an indecisive action off Negapatam, after which La Bourdonnais put in at Pondicherry for repairs and strategising with Dupleix.
First Carnatic War | Course of the war
But at the end of the French and Indian War British numerical superiority became overwhelming, in spite of almost the whole male population of Canada being mobilized, and standard European tactics won the day and the war.
French and Indian Wars | Petty warfare
See George Washington bibliography for a listing of general works about Washington. See French and Indian War and Seven Years' War for general bibliographies about the war. Works specifically about Washington and Virginia in this time period include:
George Washington in the French and Indian War | Further reading
On 11 August a French force of 3000 men under the command of the Marquis de Montcalm appeared and the Battle of Fort Oswego (1756) ensued. The British surrendered during the afternoon of 14 August and Mackellar, having survived the subsequent massacre perpetrated by Montcalm's Indian allies, was taken to Quebec City where he was kept closely guarded. He was able, however, to make detailed notes on the city's defences and his report, bearing the initials "PM" and of which several copies still exist, is dated September 1756. At some time in September he was transferred to Montreal and after some months as a prisoner-of-war, Mackellar was exchanged.
Patrick MacKellar | Seven Years' War (French and Indian War)
In February 1754, Dinwiddie promoted Washington to lieutenant colonel and second-in-command of the 300-strong Virginia Regiment, with orders to confront French forces at the Forks of the Ohio. Washington set out for the Forks with half the regiment in April but soon learned a French force of 1,000 had begun construction of Fort Duquesne there. In May, having set up a defensive position at Great Meadows, he learned that the French had made camp seven miles (11 km) away; he decided to take the offensive. The French detachment proved to be only about fifty men, so Washington advanced on May 28 with a small force of Virginians and Indian allies to ambush them.
George Washington | French and Indian War
Both France and Britain responded by sending troops to North America in 1755, although war was not formally declared until 1756.
Military career of George Washington | French and Indian War service
The French and Indian War broke out in 1754 between British and French colonists over territorial disputes along their colonial frontiers, and escalated the following year to include regular troops. By 1756, the French had enjoyed successes in most of their frontier battles against the British. Their only notable failure occurred when the British stopped their southward advance from Lake Champlain in the 1755 Battle of Lake George. From bases at Fort St. Frédéric (located at what is now Crown Point, New York) and Fort Carillon (known to the British as Fort Ticonderoga), the French and their Indian allies continued to scout and probe the British defenses on Lake George and the upper Hudson River.
Battle on Snowshoes (1757) | Background
Woodford served in the French and Indian War, as an ensign, in Colonel George Washington's Virginia Regiment, and was promoted to lieutenant, in 1761. During that year, he served in the Cherokee Expedition, under William Byrd and Adam Stephen.
William Woodford | French and Indian War
Even before Washington returned, Dinwiddie had sent a company of 40 men under William Trent to that point where they began construction of a small stockaded fort in the early months of 1754. Governor Duquesne sent additional French forces under Claude-Pierre Pécaudy de Contrecœur to relieve Saint-Pierre during the same period, and Contrecœur led 500 men south from Fort Venango on April 5, 1754. These forces arrived at the fort on April 16, but Contrecœur generously allowed Trent's small company to withdraw. He purchased their construction tools to continue building what became Fort Duquesne.
French and Indian War | Course of war
He was with Robert in the Battle on Snowshoes in January 1757, the Siege of Louisbourg (1758), the Ile Saint-Jean Campaign and the Battle of the Plains of Abraham (1759). In 1765, he was granted the township of Kent, a parcel in Vermont later known as the townships of Londonderry and Windham.
James Rogers (British Army officer) | French and Indian War
At the end of the French and Indian wars, all resident Indians were joined in the confederation of the Seven Nations of Canada.
French and Indian Wars | French allies
Initially this rivalry was merely a trade war, with only a minimal presence of armed troops, whose task it was to guard the warehouses. Soon however the situation evolved into armed fighting between the French and British, and eventually the British Government recognised they were at war with France over control of India. General Stringer Lawrence was given the task of forming an army, and history now remembers him as the "Father of the Indian Army". An Act of Parliament was passed in 1773 which effectively took control of Indian interests away from the East India Company and its shareholders and placed it into the hands of The Crown.
Sir Robert Palk, 1st Baronet | Career
The French in Canada and their Abenaki allies, many of whom refugees of King Philip's War and seeking revenge against the English, raided settlements of the Massachusetts Colony. The English colonists enlisted the help of the men of the Indian communities to fight in engagements such as King William's War (1689–1699), Queen Anne's War (1704–1713), Dummer's War (1722–1724), King George's War (1744–1748), Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755) and the French and Indian War (1754–1760). As many of the Abenaki allies were New England Indians they had absorbed, some battles pitted kin against kin. Many fought with distinction as guides, interpreters and scouts in units such as Gorham's Rangers, such as Abraham Speen, John Babysuck and Jonathan Womsquam, all of whom had ties to Natick's old families.
Massachusett | The French and Indian Wars and the American Revolutionary War
In the French and Indian War, Todd served with the Pennsylvania troops. He fought at the Battle of Kittaning and was involved in the capture of Fort Duquesne, earning the honor of joining the Rangers.
William Todd (soldier) | French and Indian War
The Seven Years' War (1756-1763) in North America, or French and Indian War as this front was known in the colonies, unofficially began in 1754 with the Battle of Jumonville Glen and effectively ended in 1760 with the British capture of Montreal. French forces occupied the Ohio Country and expelled or arrested British fur traders. By the end of May, Croghan and Montour were in Winchester, Virginia, where Governor Dinwiddie commissioned them as captains under Col. George Washington. Croghan was to supply flour for the expedition and advise Washington on Indian affairs. Washington alienated his Indian allies during a crucial conference at Gist's plantation and blamed Croghan for the subsequent defeat at Fort Necessity.
George Croghan | Seven Years' War
During the French and Indian War, Maillard relocated to Malagomich (now known as Merigomish, Nova Scotia) in order to escape the ever-increasing British presence (1758). He was still there on 26 November 1759, when he and several other French missionaries accepted an offer of peace from British Major Schomberg, In light of this acceptance, French military officer Jean-François Bourdon de Dombourg dispatched an accusatory dossier against the missionaries to the French Governor of the Canadian Territories, who thereupon accused the missionaries of treason and dispatched (spring 1760) a military officer to Restigouche to investigate. To this officer Maillard sent a letter detailing the near-hopeless situation of the Mi'kmaq, in which he opened "by summing up 23 years .
Pierre Maillard | French and Indian War
The rest of the French squadron continued to flee separately during the night, each pursued by two East Indiamen. After an hour and a half in pursuit, with darkness falling, the East Indiaman came alongside the French "Médée", giving the impression by use of lights that she was a large ship of the line. Believing himself outgunned, Captain Jean-Daniel Coudin surrendered, only discovering his assailant's true identity when he came aboard. The action is the only occasion during the war in which a British merchant vessel captured a large French warship.
Action of 4 August 1800 | Introduction
George Washington's military experience began in the French and Indian War with a commission as a major in the militia of the British Province of Virginia. In 1753 Washington was sent as an ambassador from the British crown to the French officials and Indians as far north as present-day Erie, Pennsylvania. The following year he led another expedition to the area to assist in the construction of a fort at present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Before reaching that point, he and some of his men, ambushed a French scouting party. Its leader was killed, although the exact circumstances of his death were disputed.
George Washington in the French and Indian War | Introduction