French and Indian War

B

The Albany Congress

The British Board of Trade had anticipated the outbreak of war, and only weeks before had urged the colonial governors to seek an alliance with the Iroquois Confederacy, often referred to as the Six Nations. In June 1754 delegates from seven colonies met with 150 Iroquois leaders in Albany, New York. Some members of the Iroquois Confederacy already in alliances with the British colonies complained of poor treatment. The Native Americans also protested that the British governor of Virginia as well as the French governor-general of Canada had attempted to seize their lands. After receiving large presents of supplies and arms, the Iroquois grudgingly renewed their alliances with the British colonies. Delegates then moved on to plan other defensive measures.

An important topic was a plan of union developed by Benjamin Franklin. The Albany Plan, as it became known, proposed a single institution to govern all of the British colonies in America. Under the plan, each colony would send delegates to an American continental assembly, presided over by a British governor-general. This council would assume responsibility for the western affairs of the colonies, including trade, Native American policy, and defense. The Albany Plan was never implemented because the British government feared the consequences of convening a great American assembly, and individual colonial assemblies refused to support the proposal because they wanted to preserve their autonomy.

IV

The Military Struggle

The British had no desire to begin a war in America. The last conflict with France, which ended in 1748, had depleted the British treasury, and Parliament refused to impose new taxes. But British leaders, such as William Pitt, 1st earl of Chatham, who were intent on expanding British influence, demanded action. As a result, Britain dispatched two regiments of troops, under Sir Edward Braddock, to America. Eventually, however, many more troops were needed. During the next five years, the government sent thousands of regular troops under a succession of British commanders. In addition, Parliament financed the enlistment and supply of more than 20,000 American troops during the period of heaviest fighting from 1758 to 1760.

A

Phase One: Initial Skirmishes

The French and Indian War had four distinct phases. The first began with the French capture of Washington and his troops at Fort Necessity in 1754 and lasted until 1756, when war was formally declared. During these two years both Britain and France hoped to avoid a general European war and so committed few troops or resources to the fighting in America. Each side primarily attacked enemy forts in unsettled areas along the frontier.

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Two battles of considerable significance did take place during this phase, however. The French ambushed and defeated forces led by British General Edward Braddock as they attempted to drive the French from Fort Duquesne. The defeat was costly for the British: General Braddock lost his life, more than 900 of his men were killed or wounded, and British prestige among Native Americans in the region declined. British and colonial forces offset these losses by victories in Nova Scotia, where they captured two French forts. Subsequently, the British deported more than 6000 of the French inhabitants of Nova Scotia, known as Acadians, a signal of the growing brutality of the conflict.

B

Phase Two: French Successes

The second phase of the war in America was fought with much larger armies and opened with a series of French victories. In mid-1756 a French force captured the British fort at Oswego in northern New York. The French advance continued in 1757 with a victory over British regulars and New England militia at Fort William Henry, within striking distance of the important fur-trading town of Albany, New York. Then the French offensive faltered.

France's regular troops and their Native American allies could not continue the war in populated areas of the British colonies. They had to travel vast distances, where there were few local sources of supply. Most importantly, the small French Canadian population was not large enough to provide food and soldiers for a lengthy campaign.

In the end, the British had the strategic advantage in North America. Britain could call upon a population more than ten times as large to provide troops and supplies for an all-out assault on Canada. The only other necessities were political support from the colonial assemblies, which were provided somewhat begrudgingly, and firm direction and financial assistance from the British ministry. Strong support by the British government began after William Pitt became secretary of state in June 1757. Pitt firmly believed the way to defeat France in Europe was to attack French possessions around the world, including India, North America, and the West Indies.

C

Phase Three: British Victories in North America

In 1757 Pitt launched the third phase of the war by sending thousands of British troops to America and ordering a direct attack on Canada. A force of 16,000 British and colonial troops advanced from Albany toward Montréal, Canada, in 1758. This expedition, commanded by General James Abercrombie, stalled in the face of French opposition at Fort Ticonderoga in northeastern New York. However, British and colonial troops under General Jeffrey Amherst did capture the fortress of Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. Additional British victories came at Fort Frontenac, on Lake Ontario, and at Fort Duquesne.

Bolstered by these successes, William Pitt ordered a new British offensive for 1759. He agreed to finance the mobilization of 20,000 colonial troops and elevated Amherst to the command of all British forces in America. Amherst's army promptly continued the advance on Canada, capturing Fort Niagara at the junction of lakes Erie and Ontario and forcing the French to abandon the strategic Fort Ticonderoga. By early August 1759 the French had retreated to their inner line of defense which protected the major cities along the St. Lawrence River.

The British quickly breached these defenses and dispatched a large fleet and an army up the river from Louisbourg. Late in 1759 British troops led by James Wolfe defeated a French army commanded by Louis Joseph Marquis de Montcalm de Saint-Véran on the Plains of Abraham, just outside of Québec. The capture of the fortified city of Québec was the climax of the 'year of victories' for Great Britain. Only Montréal remained in French hands, and it surrendered to British forces in September 1760.