History of USA French and Indian War (1754-1763) Brief Overview, Timeline, People and Places, & Study Questions
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Brief Overview
The French and Indian War, a colonial extension of the Seven Years War that ravaged Europe from 1756 to 1763, was the bloodiest American war in the 18th century. It took more lives than the American Revolution, involved people on three continents, including the Caribbean. The war was the product of an imperial struggle, a clash between the French and English over colonial territory and wealth. Within these global forces, the war can also be seen as a product of the localized rivalry between British and French colonists.
Tensions between the British and French in America had been rising for some time, as each side wanted to increase its land holdings. What is now considered the French and Indian War (though at the time the war was undeclared), began in November 1753, when the young Virginian major George Washington and a number of men headed out into the Ohio region with the mission to deliver a message to a French captain demanding that French troops withdraw from the territory. The demand was rejected. In 1754, Washington received authorization to build a fort near the present site of Pittsburgh. He was unsuccessful because of the strong French presence in the area. In May, Washington's troops clashed with local French forces, a skirmish that ultimately resulted in Washington having to surrender the meager fort he had managed to build just one month later. The incident set off a string of small battles. In 1755, The British sent General Edward Braddock to oversee the British Colonial forces, but on his way to oust the French from Fort Duquesne he was surprised by the French and badly routed, losing his life in the process.
After a year and a half of undeclared war, the French and the English formally declared war in May 1756. For the first three years of the war, the outnumbered French dominated the battlefield, soundly defeating the English in battles at Fort Oswego and Ticonderoga. Perhaps the most notorious battle of the war was the French victory at Fort William Henry, which ended in a massacre of British soldiers by Indians allied with the French. The battle and ensuing massacre was captured for history—though not accurately—by James Fenimore Cooper in his classic The Last of the Mohicans .
The tide turned for the British in 1758, as they began to make peace with important Indian allies and, under the direction of Lord William Pitt began adapting their war strategies to fit the territory and landscape of the American frontier. The British had a further stroke of good fortune when the French were abandoned by many of their Indian allies. Exhausted by years of battle, outnumbered and outgunned by the British, the French collapsed during the years 1758-59, climaxing with a massive defeat at Quebec in September 1759.
By September 1760, the British controlled all of the North American frontier; the war between the two countries was effectively over. The 1763 Treaty of Paris, which also ended the European Seven Years War, set the terms by which France would capitulate. Under the treaty, France was forced to surrender all of her American possessions to the British and the Spanish.
Although the war with the French ended in 1763, the British continued to fight with the Indians over the issue of land claims. "Pontiac's War" flared shortly after the Treaty of Paris was signed, and many of the battlefields—including Detroit, Fort Pitt, and Niagara—were the same. The Indians, however, already exhausted by many years of war, quickly capitulated under the ferocious British retaliation; still, the issue remained a problem for many years to come.
The results of the war effectively ended French political and cultural influence in North America. England gained massive amounts of land and vastly strengthened its hold on the continent. The war, however, also had subtler results. It badly eroded the relationship between England and Native Americans; and, though the war seemed to strengthen England's hold on the colonies, the effects of the French and Indian War played a major role in the worsening relationship between England and its colonies that eventually led into the Revolutionary War.
Timeline
March 15, 1744-October 18, 1748: King George's War The warm-up to the French and Indain War between France and England, also fought for domination over North America. Ends with the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle and no clear victor.
1752-1753: Agitation grows Tension grows between France and England over competing land and trading claims. Minor skirmishes break out, particularly in rural areas.
November-December 1753: The message George Washington carries Virginia's ultimatum over French encroachment to Captain Legardeur de Saint-Pierre at Riviere aux Boeufs. He rejects it.
May 28, 1754: The first battle Washington defeats the French in a surprise attack. His troops retreat to Great Meadows and build Fort Necessity.
July 3, 1754: The French take Fort Necessity
July 17, 1754: Washington's resignation Blamed for Fort Necessity, Washington resigns. He will later return as a volunteer under British authority.
June 17, 1755: The British seize Acadia (Nova Scotia)
July 9, 1755: The Battle of the Wilderness British General Braddock's forces are defeated near Fort Duquesne in Pennsylvania, leaving the backwoods of British territory undefended.
September 9, 1755: The Battle of Lake George British Colonel William Johnson's forces win, making Johnson the first British hero of the war.
May 8-9, 1756: Declarations of War Great Britain declares war on France. France declares war on Great Britain.
August 14, 1756: Fort Oswego The French capture this fort on the banks of the Great Lakes.
August 8, 1757: Fort William Henry The commander-in-chief of the French forces, Louis-Joseph de Montcalm takes Fort William Henry. The infamous massacre occurs, later dramatized in James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans.
July 8, 1758: The French take Fort Ticonderoga
July 26, 1758: Louisbourg The British seize Louisbourg, opening the route to Canada.
August 27, 1758: Fort Frontenac The French surrender this fort on Lake Ontario, effectively destroying their ability to communicate with their troops in the Ohio Valley.
October 21, 1758: British/Indian Peace The British make peace with the Iroquois, Shawnee, and Delaware Indians.
November 26, 1758: The British recapture Fort Duquesne It is renamed "Pittsburgh."
May 1, 1759: The British capture the French island of Guadeloupe in the Caribbean
June 26, 1759: The British take Fort Ticonderoga
July 25, 1759: A Slow Route to Victory The British take Fort Niagara; the French abandon Crown Point. After these two victories, the British control the entire western frontier.
September 13, 1759: Quebec The British win the decisive Battle of Quebec. Montcalm and Wolfe, the commanding generals of both armies, perish in battle.
May 16, 1760: French Siege of Quebec fails
September 8, 1760: Montreal Montreal falls to the British; letters are signed finishing the surrender of Canada.
(circa) September 15, 1760: The functional end of the war The British flag is raised over Detroit, effectively ending the war.
1761: The British make peace with the Cherokee Indians
September 18, 1762: French attempt to retake Newfoundland fails
February 10, 1763: Treaty of Paris All French possessions east of the Mississippi, except New Orleans, are given to the British. All French possessions west of the Mississippi are given to the Spanish. France regains Martinique, Guadeloupe and St. Lucia.
April 27, 1763: Indian Wars Pontiac, the Ottowa Chief, proposes a coalition of Ottowas, Potawatomies and Hurons for the purpose of attacking Detroit.
May 9, 1763: Battle of Detroit Pontiac's forces lay siege to Detroit. That summer, his allies destroy forts at Venango, Le Boeuf and Presque Isle.
July 1763: Smallpox Men of the garrison at Fort Pitt infect besieging chiefs with blankets from the smallpox hospital. Soon faced with an epidemic, the Indians retreat.
October 31, 1763: Pontiac capitulates at Detroit Indian power in the Ohio Valley is broken.
Important People and Places
British and colonials
Earl of Loundoun
Appointed commander-in-chief of the British forces in 1756, Loundoun presided over, and caused, many devastating failures for the British.
Major General Edward Braddock
The first general to arrive from Britain. He was killed in 1755 at the first battle for Fort Duquesne.
Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie
The colonial leader of Virginia in 1754, Dinwiddie was concerned about French encroachment on the Virginia border. In late 1753, he sends a 21-year-old major in the Virginia military named George Washington to tell the French to back away from the border.
William Johnson
Johnson began his career as the Indian agent for the colony of New York. During this period he was one of the most successful negotiators with many Indian nations, especially the Iroquois. During the war he became a war hero as well, leading the British to victory at the Battle of Lake George in 1755.
Lieutenant Colonel George Munro
In history, Munro met defeat as the leader of Fort William Henry in 1757. In literary history, he is a central figure in James Fenimore Cooper's classic The Last of the Mohicans.
William Pitt
Pitt assumed leadership of the British ministry in December 1756. His aggressive new policies for the war were a crucial part of turning the tide in Britain's favor in the latter half of the war.
Captain Robert Rogers
Leader of the Rangers, a rough-and-tumble force of men from New Hampshire. Operated as spies and participated in guerrilla warfare against the French to great success throughout the war.
George Washington
Washington began his career as a brash and careless diplomat and military leader. After being asked to resign after the Fort Necessity fiasco, he returns as a volunteer under British authority. The French and Indian War is where Washington learned how to be a leader.
James Wolfe
Major British general who led the British to victory in the Battle of Quebec.
French and Colonials
Louis-Joseph de Montcalm
Beginning in 1756, Montcalm took over as commander-in-chief of the French forces in North America. He was a much-feared and respected general who lost his life at the Battle of Quebec.
Marquis de Vaudreuil
In 1755, he became the governor of Canada, replacing the Marquis Duquesne.
Forts and Places
Fort George/Fort Duquesne/Fort Pitt
This centrally located fort in what is now Pittsburgh, PA changed hands many times during the war. It was the site of England's first disastrous battle, in which Braddock lost his life.
Fort Necessity
This hastily constructed fort in Great Meadows, PA was the site of George Washington's first defeat in 1754. Later in American history, it oddly came to symbolize the rugged spirit of the colonials.
Fort William Henry
Site of the most notorious massacre in colonial history, this fort located near the Hudson River fell to the French in 1757.
Louisbourg
An important city on the east coast of Canada (in present-day Nova Scotia). It was a French stronghold of arms and supplies.
Ticonderoga
A major French fort and city north of Albany. The British failed repeatedly to seize it; they finally succeeded in 1759.
Study Questions
Discuss the importance of Indian policy in regards to the French and Indian War. How did alliances with the Indians alter the course of the war?
Indians played a crucial war in both battle and the overall course of the war. Their assistance was the main reason why the outnumbered French were able to win so many early battles and hold out against the English for seven years. When they abandoned the French over inter-allied conflicts, the French defenses quickly collapsed.
How did the French and Indian War prepare the colonists for the American Revolution?
Serving in the British forces during the French and Indian War had a twofold effect on the colonists: it trained many of their future leaders, including George Washington, and it heightened the conflict between the British and the colonists by making their differences clear
What were the land pressures that led to the French and Indian War?
The British population was rapidly growing and finding it difficult to remain in the colonies on the Atlantic coast. In addition, for reasons of speculation, power, and immediate wealth, both the French and the English were eager to expand their territory into the Ohio Valley.
