The French and Indian War
DECIDING THE FATE
OF NORTH AMERICA
WALTER R. BORNEMAN
DEDICATION
For my grandparents,
Walter and Hazel Borneman
CONTENTS
Title Page
Dedication
List of Maps
Acknowledgments
Chronology
Key Players
INTRODUCTION
The War That Won a Continent
BOOK ONE
Colliding Empires (1748–1756)
1 The Bells of Aix-la-Chapelle
2 Beautiful Ohio
3 Albany, 1754
4 Braddock’s Roads
5 “That I Can Save England”
BOOK TWO
Mr. Pitt’s Global War (1757–1760)
6 Massacre and Stalemate
7 Fortress Atlantis
8 “Till We Meet at Ticonderoga”
9 The Bateau Man
10 Braddock’s Roads Again
Photographic Insert
11 Caribbean Gambit
12 Falling Dominoes
13 Battle for a Continent—Or Is It?
14 The Making of a Legend
15 Deciding the Fate
BOOK THREE
Prelude to Revolution (1760–1763)
16 Montreal to Michilimackinac
17 Martinique to Manila
18 Scratch of a Pen
19 A Matter Unresolved
20 Prelude to Revolution
Notes
Bibliography
Searchable Terms
About the Author
Other Books by Walter R. Borneman
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher
MAPS
North America, circa 1754
Washington’s Marches, 1753–1754
Braddock’s Defeat, July 1755
Lake Champlain Frontier, 1756–1757
Battles for Louisbourg, 1758
Ticonderoga Campaign, 1758
Fort Frontenac Raid, 1758
Forbes’s Road, 1758
Caribbean Campaigns, 1759–1762
Siege of Fort Niagara, 1759
Quebec Campaign, 1759
Rogers’s Raid on St. Francis, 1759
Western Europe, circa 1760
British Colonial Frontier, circa 1760
North America, circa 1763
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My inclination after writing 1812: The War That Forged a Nation was to look westward—both
geographically and chronologically. Yet as I pondered my next project, I found myself drawn to
events a generation before the American Revolution with the same fascination that I had just written
about events a generation after it. Here was a period that decided the fate of the entire North American
continent—not just between England and France, but among the Spanish and Native Americans as
well. My goal became to present the triumphs and tragedies of this struggle; place them in the context
of France and Great Britain’s greater global conflict; essentially the first truly world war; and
emphasize that from seeds of discord sown here grew the American Revolution.
With another book in hand, my high esteem and great appreciation only deepen for my editor,
Hugh Van Dusen; and my agent, Alexander Hoyt. On the research side, it is always a pleasure to work
in the Penrose Library of the University of Denver, and I must also thank the Van Pelt Library of the
University of Pennsylvania, the Norlin Library of the University of Colorado, and the Denver Public
Library. Additionally, I greatly appreciate the research assistance of Fadra Whyte at the University of
Pennsylvania and Christopher Fleitas at the University of Notre Dame. David Lambert at National
Geographic Maps contributed his cartographic skills.
In addition to colonial newspapers—which sometimes must be taken with a grain of salt—many
primary sources from this period are increasingly available in published form. These include the
personal papers and correspondence of such key figures as Amherst, Bougainville, Bouquet, Forbes,
Franklin, Johnson, Pitt, Shirley, Wolfe, and of course the young George Washington. In quoting from
contemporary accounts, I have taken the liberty to edit spelling, grammar, and capitalization, thereby
avoiding the ubiquitous use of sic.
James Fenimore Cooper and Kenneth Roberts aside, there have been many scholarly histories of
the French and Indian War over the years. Despite their heavy Anglophile biases, Francis Parkman’s
Montcalm and Wolfe remains a reference point and Lawrence Henry Gipson’s epic fourteen-volume
account of The British Empire Before the American Revolution an essential building block. To these
long-established icons must be added Fred Anderson’s recent Crucible of War , the most informative
and best-written one-volume study of the period.
Other valuable secondary sources include Guy Frégault’s Canada: The War of the Conquest,
telling the story from the Canadian perspective; and Francis Jennings’s Empire of Fortune,
emphasizing the roles of Native Americans. More recent studies of Native Americans’ interaction
include Timothy Shannon’s Indians and Colonists at the Crossroads of Empire , Tom Hatley’s The
Dividing Paths, and Matthew Ward’s Breaking the Backcountry. For assistance in placing the North
American campaigns in a global context, I found Walter L. Dorn’s Competition for Empire and Alfred
Thayer Mahan’s The Influence of Sea Power upon History to have stood the test of time.
My favorite part of writing remains walking the ground where these events took place. Thus, my
wife, Marlene, and I traveled Braddock’s road, shivered in a cold wind on the ramparts at Fort
Ticonderoga, sought out Rogers Rock, and pondered Pitt’s moves in the Caribbean. Where to next,
Marlene?
CHRONOLOGY
KEY DATES OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN
1753
December 11 Washington arrives at Fort Le Boeuf
1754
July 4
Washington surrenders Fort Necessity
July 11
Albany Congress adjourns
September 15 Braddock commissioned commander in chief
1755
February 20
June 8
July 9
September 8
Braddock arrives in Virginia
Boscawen captures the Alcide and the Lys
Braddock’s Defeat on the Monongahela
Battle of Lake George
1756
May 18
May 20
June 9
August 14
Great Britain declares war on France
French defeat Admiral Byng off Minorca
France reciprocates and declares war on Great Britain
Surrender of British forts at Oswego
1757
June 29
July 25
August 5
August 9
November 5
Pitt-Newcastle ministry takes office
Duke of Cumberland defeated at Hastenbeck
Lord Loudoun abandons attack on Louisbourg
British surrender Fort William Henry
Frederick the Great defeats French at Rossbach
1758
June 8
July 8
July 27
August 27
September 14
October 12
November 24
December 29
Wolfe leads British troops ashore in Garabus Bay
Battle of Fort Carillon (Ticonderoga)
French surrender Louisbourg to Amherst
Bradstreet raids Fort Frontenac
Grant’s battle outside Fort Duquesne
Battle of Fort Ligonier
French abandon Fort Duquesne
British capture Gorée in Senegal
1759
January 16
January 23
May 2
June 26
July 25
July 26
Barrington lands on Martinique
Barrington lands on Guadeloupe
French surrender Guadeloupe to British
Wolfe’s troops land near Quebec
French surrender Fort Niagara
French abandon Fort Carillon
July 31
French abandon Fort Saint Frédéric
WAR
August 18–19 Boscawen defeats de la Clue off Lagos
September 13
September 17
October 4
November 20
Battle of the Plains of Abraham (Quebec)
French surrender Quebec
Rogers and his rangers attack Saint Francis
Hawke defeats Conflans in Quiberon Bay
1760
April 28
May 15
August 8
September 8
September 13
October 25
Second Battle of Quebec (Sainte-Foy)
British relief fleet arrives at Quebec
Fort Loudoun surrenders to Cherokee
French surrender Montreal and all of Canada
Rogers departs Montreal for Detroit
King George II dies
1761
August 15
October 4
Bourbon Family Compact signed
William Pitt resigns his office
1762
January 4
February 13
August 11
October 6
Great Britain declares war on Spain
British capture Martinique
British capture Havana
British capture Manila in Philippines
1763
February 10
May 7
June 2
July 31
August 5–6
August 10
October 7
November 16
Treaty of Paris signed
Pontiac first tries to take Detroit
Chippewa capture Fort Michilimackinac
Battle of Bloody Run near Detroit
Battle of Bushy Run near Pittsburgh
Relief of Fort Pitt by British forces
Proclamation of 1763 issued by George III
Gage succeeds Amherst as commander in chief
KEY PLAYERS
IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN
In the courts of Europe
George II, king of England, r. 1727–1760
George III, king of England, r. 1760–1820
Louis XV, king of France, r. 1715–1774
Philip V, king of Spain, r. 1700–1746
Ferdinand VI, king of Spain, r. 1746–1759
Charles III, king of Spain, r. 1759–1788
Maria Theresa, empress of Austria, r. 1740–1780
Frederick II (the Great), king of Prussia, r. 1740–1786
Elizabeth, empress of Russia, r. 1741–1762
Catherine II (the Great), empress of Russia, r. 1762–1796
Duke of Newcastle, British prime minister, 1754–1757
William Pitt, British prime minister, 1757–1761
Earl of Bute, British prime minister, 1761–1763
Lord Anson, first lord of the Admiralty
John Ligonier, commander in chief, British army
Marquise de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV
Duc de Choiseuil, French minister of foreign affairs
Native Americans in North America
Attakullakulla (Little Carpenter), Cherokee chief in Carolinas
Hendrick, Mohawk chief killed at battle of Lake George
Oconostota, Cherokee chief of Overhill clans
Neolin, Delaware prophet, inspired revolt against non-Indians
Pontiac, Ottawa chief at siege of Detroit
Tanaghrisson (the Half King), Seneca chief who aided Washington
Teedyuscung, Delaware leader involved with treaty of Easton
Commanders in chief of British forces in North America
Edward Braddock, 1754–1755
William Shirley, 1755–1756
Lord Loudoun, 1756–1758
James Abercromby, 1758
Jeffery Amherst, 1758–1763
Thomas Gage, 1763–1775
In the British colonies in North America
James De Lancey, lieutenant governor of New York
James Glen, governor of South Carolina
WAR
Robert Dinwiddie, lieutenant governor of Virginia
William Shirley, governor of Massachusetts
Principal British commanders in the field and on the seas
Edward Boscawen, naval operations off Louisbourg and France
Henry Bouquet, Fort Duquesne and Indian campaigns
John Bradstreet, bateaux expert, Fort Frontenac raid
John Forbes, Fort Duquesne campaign and Indian relations
Lord Howe, Abercromby’s deputy, killed in attack on Carillon
William Johnson, superintendent of Indian Affairs
James Murray, one of Wolfe’s brigadiers at Quebec, attacked Montreal
Robert Rogers, famous as ranger; doomed to other failures
Charles Townshend, one of Wolfe’s brigadiers at Quebec; politician
James Wolfe, Louisbourg and Quebec campaigns
In the French colonies in North America
Marquis de Duquesne, governor-general of New France, 1752–1755
Marquis de Vaudreuil, governor-general of New France, 1755–1760
Principal French commanders in the field and on the seas
Maximin de Bompar, naval operations in Caribbean and off France
Baron de Dieskau, commanded forces at Battle of Lake George
Comte de Bougainville, Montcalm’s trusted aide-de-camp
Marquis de Galissoniere, admiral opposing Byng off Minorca
François-Gaston de Lévis, succeeded Montcalm and defended Montreal
François-Marie le Marchand de Lignery, commandant at Fort Duquesne
Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre, commandant at Fort Le Boeuf
Marquis de Montcalm, commander in chief of French forces, 1756–1759
Pierre Pouchet, commandant at Fort Niagara
INTRODUCTION
THE WAR THAT WON A CONTINENT
England and France had been at war since—well, it seemed like forever. For more than three
centuries, Europe had known far more years of warfare than of peace. But no matter what the conflict,
or how causes and alliances changed, one pairing remained constant: England and France were always
on opposite sides just as surely as they sat on opposite sides of the English Channel. By the mideighteenth century, however, this cross-Channel feud began to take on major global dimensions, as it
became evident that far more than the mastery of Europe was at stake.
The colonies that half a dozen nations had established in the New World were flourishing. By
1733, thirteen English colonies stretched along the Atlantic coast. But this territory was minuscule
compared with French outposts and settlements that embraced half a continent—from the mouth of
the Saint Lawrence River, westward across the Great Lakes, and down the Mississippi River to the
Gulf of Mexico.
Spain, too, was a major player in North America, claiming Florida, Texas, and the headwaters of
the Rio Grande as the northern fringes of its domain. In earlier European wars, North America had
been mostly a sideshow; but by 1748, these English, French, and Spanish empires were colliding in
North America along ever-expanding frontiers. The bad blood of centuries-old European feuds was
about to be spilled here as well.
Hemmed in by French claims, the English colonies squeezed between the Appalachians and the
Atlantic coast grew uneasy. Virginia dispatched a twenty-one-year-old surveyor named George
Washington west to tell the French on the upper Ohio River that they were trespassers. The French
were cordial, but emphatic in their denial. When a British force under General Edward Braddock
marched to the forks of the Ohio two years later, it met with a disastrous defeat that unleashed what
quickly became history’s first global war.
From the Ohio River to the falls of Niagara, across Lake Champlain, and down the Saint
Lawrence River, North America’s colonial frontiers erupted in flames. By the time what Europe called
the Seven Years’ War was concluded, it had been fought not only in North America, but also on the
battlefields of Europe and in colonies throughout the world—from the Caribbean to India, Africa, and
the Philippines.
The war in North America was characterized by desperate battles in virgin wilderness. There
were epic treks by Rogers’ Rangers, the original Green Berets; dogged campaigns to capture strategic
linchpins such as Fort Duquesne and Fort Ticonderoga; and the legendary battle of Quebec atop the
Plains of Abraham. Then, just when the British thought that they had won a continent, France
counterattacked and almost recaptured Quebec.
When the warring powers finally met to sign the Treaty of Paris of 1763, the map of the world
looked quite different from its appearance seven years before. As the historian Francis Parkman
succinctly put it, “half a continent changed hands at the scratch of a pen.” But a challenge soon came
from France’s Native American allies. Urged on by an Ottawa chief named Pontiac, a loose
confederation of Northwest Indian nations launched a series of attacks that again turned the colonial
frontier red with blood and threatened to lose for Great Britain all that it had gained from France.
Great Britain’s resolution of this Native American resistance had almost as much to say about the
future of North America as did its victories over France. King George III proclaimed a vast “Indian
reserve” between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River, effectively hemming in his American
colonists along the Atlantic coast just as the French had done previously. The young king also looked
to the colonies as a source of income to pay the debts of this latest war.
Land claims extinguished west of the Appalachians and taxes imposed without representation
quickly rankled colonists no longer bound to the British crown by the fear of French encirclement.
Revolution was premature, but the die had been cast. The triumphs of one war had sown the seeds of
discontent that would lead to another. Great Britain had indeed won a continent, but in doing so, it had
also lit the fuse of revolution.
North America, circa 1754
BOOK ONE
Colliding Empires
(1748–1756)
For forming this general union, gentlemen, there is no time to be lost; the
French seem to have advanced further towards making themselves masters of
this continent within these last five or six years than they have done ever
since the first beginning of their settlements upon it.
—WILLIAM SHIRLEY, ROYAL GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS, to the General
Court of Massachusetts, April 2, 1754