The Beginnings of the French Indian Wars
By John Sharples
An example of the superb work of Robert Griffing
As a child of the 50’s my image of history has inevitably been coloured by the products of Hollywood and the box in the living room. As a child I hungrily devoured films such as The Drum, The Four Feathers, Charge of the Light Brigade, The Sea Hawk, Ivanhoe et al. These movies spurred my reading and my play.
But my favourite period was the French Indian Wars, thanks to one of my favourite films, The Last of the Mohicans, and the popular TV spin off. Another of my hobbies, even at that time, was the collecting of books, and every Saturday on my way back from the Super cinema in Stockport I would call in at the Garrick Bookshop, and trawl through the dusty volumes in the huge second hand section. And one day I trotted off home clutching the twin Everyman Library volumes Montcalm and Wolfe by Francis Parkman, I had bought for a shilling. And this remains one of my favourite books to this day.
However as we get older we realise that the images that we have so preciously stored in our memories may not reflect the actual true historical position, especially when the influence of Hollywood is seen. The 250th anniversary of the outbreak of the disastrous Braddock Expedition seems a suitable time to look at these events again.
What I would like to attempt to do here is to challenge some of the Hollywood History interpretations of the French and Indian Wars. To do this I will discuss two attempts to capture the strategically important site known as the Forks of the Ohio, one American, the other commanded by King’s troops. Both ended in disaster, and having told the tale of these actions, I would like to consider some of the factors that led to these undoubted French victories.
The
Background
The North American Continent at the middle of the 18th Century was largely unknown, but its potential was obvious. While the Spanish maintained a presence in the South of the landmass, and laid claim to vast tracts of the hinterland they did little to pursue their claim.
In the North, the area we now know as Canada the French were the principle influence. They had made great inroads from the Atlantic by making use of the St Lawrence waterway, and French traders and Jesuit missionaries had travelled south and west as far as the Ohio valley and Great lakes, spreading the influence of the Ancien regime, and bringing news of huge wealth in skins and hides waiting to be harvested, and of savage tribesmen, proud and brave willing to fight to maintain their independence.
The French crown planned to inhabit this virgin wilderness with settlers, but there proved to be little attraction to the French population in replacing one feudal landlord in France, for another in a far away savage land. Settlers then tended to be found in the immediate areas of the major population centres around Louisburg on Cape Breton Island at the mouth of the St Lawrence, and centre of the fishing industry, Quebec and Montreal, on the navigable stretches of the St Lawrence, and a chain of fortified trading posts that trails down the river valleys and Great Lakes.
The British Colonies were scattered down the narrow strip of the eastern seaboard. The first thing that needs to be understood is that these colonies should not be viewed as a unified or united body. In some cases they had been founded in commercial competition to each other. Others were founded by German and Dutch settlers whose lands had become subject to the Crown following military action. Some of the colonies were divided by religion and well as culture, and were more suspicious of each other than of any French threat.
However, unlike the French, settlers were arriving in these colonies in a steady stream. Either as refugees from persecution on the continent of Europe, economic migrants especially from Scotland following the 45 seeking a new life, and of indentured or forced labourers shipped over the Atlantic by the various commercial enterprises operating in the colonies.
The settlers in the English Colonies were largely farmers, and they needed land, and slowly but steadily they pushed further inland, purchasing, or obtaining by treaty land from the native peoples, and clearing the thick virgin forest. Ahead of the settlers moved the traders and fur trappers, who had noted the wealth being obtained by the French in trading with the native tribes, and wanted their share of that rich pot. This trade war and the attendant diplomatic manoeuvres caused various disruptions amongst the native tribes, and the dominant French sponsored tribal confederations made war on those tribes that traded with the English. Although the English traders did not have the military power to support their Indian partners they complained vigorously to the Colonial authorities.
The response was varied. In Pennsylvania the dominant Quaker faction refused to take any action against the native population, whatever the provocation. In the Northern New England States the militias were supplemented by the raising of Ranger companies, of whom more later. But in Virginia, Governor Dinwiddie, a man of considerable influence and wealth, not to mention ambition decided it was time to challenge French influence, and to open the gateway to the wealth of the west by establishing a Virginian presence in the valley of the Ohio.
The Opposing Forces
Despite the potential for generating wealth North America was regarded as something of a backwater. No great mineral resources had yet been discovered, and the native inhabitants were seen as savage and uncivilized. The lure of wealth, so obvious in the Indian sub continent and the spice and sugar islands, was missing, and so as a strategic station the area was largely undermanned.
The French forces consisted of two Regular elements though at the outbreak of war there were no French army units stationed in North America. The first are the King’s battalions or troupes de Terre, regular infantry and artillery recruited and trained in France in the familiar linear tactics and drills. Armed with muzzle loading flintlock muskets, and bayonets. These numbered initially 3000 men in three battalions and were only dispatched in 1754 as the crisis in the Ohio valley developed.
The other regular element was the Compagnies Frances de Marine, administered by the department of the navy. These were units equipped in exactly the same way as other regulars, at least on paper. However these units recruited locally as well as in France, and by the time that conflict became inevitable it is likely that the majority of the troops were in fact Canadian. Also they had been used for a number of decades to accompany exploration parties to the west, and to garrison the French chain of trading stations.
They were used to operating in the thick woodland and broken terrain of the colonies. In using boats and canoes to travel at speed down the rivers and lakes that formed the portage between the St Lawrence and the Ohio, particularly important in transporting artillery. They fought and hunted alongside their Indian allies, and adopted native modes of dress, wearing moccasins, cutting down their heavy coats, and disposing of the bayonet in exchange for the tomahawk.
These companies consisted of between 50 and 75 men, and in 1754 there were 64 companies stationed in French territory, including units of artillery.
Officer cadets were encouraged to serve terms of service on the frontier, and live amongst the native tribes. So, many French officers had a first hand knowledge of warfare on the frontiers and the threats and opportunities of the terrain. Though it is interesting to note that there were tensions recorded between the Canadian officers and the French, who insisted on using linear tactics, and had a low regard for colonial troops and officers.
Supporting these regular units were the militia, these men were mainly tough hunter traders and farmers. Their favourite weapon was the light Tulle hunting musket, which although firing a light round could be reloaded on the move or whilst kneeling a big advantage in close terrain over military issue muskets. Again their sidearm was the tomahawk and hunting knife, and their only uniform was a colour knitted hat. These men often lived alongside their native allies, and took part in the tribal wars, including the brutal torture of prisoners and the taking of scalps. They were unpaid for their service and they sought their recompense in loot and sale of prisoners.
The British forces the outbreak of war consisted of two battalions of Kings troops, the 44th and 48th Regiments, newly recruited and until recently having been used in garrison duties in Ireland following service on the continent. Patents were also issued for the raising of two more regular Regiments, the 50th and 51st, to be recruited solely in the Colonies.
These troops were supplemented by the colonial units known as Independent Companies; regular colonial troops, equipped and drilled as per the regular army. These in their turn were supported by local militias, which were not the citizens army of the Revolutionary War myth, but more a Dad’s Army uniformed and equipped at the Colonies’ expense and trained to fight using linear tactics. These men were largely from towns, supplemented by farmer settlers. And should not be personified as Hawkeye like backswoodsmen.
Increasingly there were a number of what were termed Ranger companies. These were light infantry who fought in an irregular fashion, and were formed on the pattern of the French militias, and to combat native raids and incursions. At this early period of the war these companies were lightly equipped and probably used light muskets, rifled carbines and pistols with knives and hatchets as sidearms. Commentators at the time were inspired by their rakish appearance, but they were actually no match at this time for their French counterparts.
The French had a great deal of influence of the Native Indian tribes, especially amongst those of the Five nations who had fallen under the influence of the Jesuit missions. But more than that, the French had been seen as fair dealers, people who kept their word.
The British however, or at least the colonists, were viewed as land hungry oath breakers. Over the years they had used their influence to become involved in inter tribal politics, usually backing the wrong horse, and then getting out quick when things became too hot. Consequently Britain had few friends amongst the strongest tribes.
These tribes should not be viewed as mere clients of the superpowers, but as proud and independent powers, whose chieftains regarded themselves as kings in their own rights.
Expert hunters who knew the terrain intimately, their ferocity in war, and the merciless treatment of their prisoners, which included cannibalism, made them feared and respected foes. Excelling in ambush and raiding they fought armed with muskets provided by the French, bows, and used warclubs, knives and tomahawks in close combat.
The
Fuse is lit.
Dinwiddie
Governor Dinwiddie, claiming to be acting on the behalf of Britain’s national interests, decided to found a trading post and fortress on the Ohio river, the vital North South trade artery that linked the French Crown’s American possessions. To protect this project and garrison the fort he decided to send a small force of around 150 men. To command this force he chose a young surveyor, and officer in the Virginian Militia, George Washington who had earlier delivered an ultimatum to the French in the area, claiming the Ohio valley for the Hanoverian crown.
Washington’s force advanced toward the forks of the Ohio, where the Allegheny River joins the larger waterway and destined to be the site of the city of Pittsburgh. He stopped short of his objective at a place called Great Meadows, which he intended to use as his base of operations. Meanwhile a detachment of his men continued to their objective and started to build the fort.
A few days later, on April the 16th, a convoy of whaleboats and canoes was seen approaching down the Ohio. They carried an overwhelming force of French Marines, Militia and Indian allies supported by artillery. The French commander Claude Contrecoeur evicted the small garrison without a fight and completed the construction of the fort which they named Dusquesne in honour of the Governor General of New France.
The Virginians meanwhile fell back to Wills Creek, a trading post some 140 miles from the Ohio Forks, and it was here that Washington planned a further expedition aimed at removing the French incursion, which was now seen as a blatant act of war. While waiting for reinforcements Washington and detachment of his troops, supplemented by a group of Indian allies, held by the Half King, and local traders and trappers led by frontiersman Christopher Gist surveyed a road route through the Allegheny mountains as far as Great meadows where he again established a camp.
Washington in the Uniform of the Virginia Rgt
The French were not idle, their fort was nearing completion, and their Indian allies brought them news of the advance of the Virginians. This created a problem for Contrecoeur as officially no state of war existed between France and the Britain. So far no blood had been spilt, and it was thought best to avoid an escalation of the situation. Therefore a small party of troops, led by an ensign Jumonville, was sent to deliver an ultimatum to Washington, asking him to “depart in peace… So to maintain the existing unions between two princes that are friends”.
The weather was appalling, dreary and overcast with heavy rain adding to the oppressive atmosphere, and Jumonville made slow progress. His weary party making camp on the 26th May in a clearing deep in the forest, sheltered from the weather by a high ridge.
Meanwhile Washington was nervous of French activity. The Iroquois scouts of the Half King had spotted Jumonville’s party. This may not have seemed a threat as it approached to parley, but it seems other French units were active in the area probably militiamen and Indian allies. On the 27th May Christopher Gist rode into camp to claim that his plantation and trading station a few mile west had been raided by a French party who had shot his livestock and wrecked his home. Washington sent troops to the plantation to evaluate the situation.
The next morning reports were received of a French party concealed in the forest. Fearing a trap Washington led some 40 militia and around 30 Indians into the forest, where moving slowly and carefully they managed to surround the unsuspecting Jumonville and his men. The French were no raiding party, a drummer had preceded their march, and their role was to parley not to fight. However the young Washington, no doubt much influenced by Gist, and nervous in this his first active service command was taking no chances. His forces opened fire from the commanding ridge above the French camp. While the Indian warriors filled the air with their war whoops.
Reports of what happened next vary, and given the near sainthood granted to Washington in the USA it is very possible that a certain “cleansing” of records has occurred. What is clear is that after two volleys of fire and a number of casualties the French surrendered. After approaching Washington to parley, and after the French had laid down their weapons the Indians attacked the defenceless men, killing and wounding a number more. Amongst the dead was Jumonville, his head split open by a hatchet, his brains scooped from the skull by Chief Half King who smeared them over his arms and body. The remaining French captives were marched back to Virginia under guard as evidence of a French “invasion”.
This minor incident in a small forest clearing in the back of beyond was to be the excuse that was needed for two rival colonial and mercantile powers, to commenced the Seven Years War.
News of this massacre, and outrageous attack on a diplomatic mission soon spread back to Canada and the 13 Colonies. The result was that both sides sent more troops to the area so that by the end of June Captain Coulon De Villiers, an experienced officer of Marines was able to lead a mixed force of French companies de marine, Militia and Indian allies against the fort constructed by Washington as Great Meadows which he named Fort Necessity.
This “fort” hardly deserved the name. A round stockade containing one small wooden hut, and surrounded by a waist to chest high earthwork dotted with six swivel guns. The fort was manned with around 400 men including Captain James MacKay and 100 regulars from the South Carolina Independent Company. But these welcome reinforcements had spread dissention in the ranks, refusing to work on the building of the fort or the military road, and treating the Militia Colonel Washington with a regard bordering on insubordination. Washington’s Indian allies had slipped away as news of the French advance was received, and when the French arrived on 3rd July Washington’s force was frightened, and depleted by illness with almost 100 men unfit for duty.
The fort had a number of weaknesses, but by far the worst was that it was overlooked on the Northern side by a forested ridge, which lay within musket shot, and it was here that the French militia took up their position. Washington then led out a sally with around 100 men. Forming a double line they advanced on the French positions, immediately the woods on their flanks and rear were filled with war cries from as the Indian warriors took up position. The line faltered, halted, and fell back into the fort as the forest erupted in firing.
The result was of course a foregone conclusion, and as casualties mounted and morale fell, men running from the firing line to huddle inside the stockade with the sick, it became clear that surrender was the only option. The question was, could a massacre be avoided? Then to top it all it began to rain, the inside of the fort became a quagmire of blood soaked mud, the men were unable to fire their muskets, while the musketry from the shelter of the woods continued. With 31 men killed and 70 wounded Washington accepted a French offer of parley.
The terms were generous, again underlining the French attempt to avoid inflaming the situation, and allowed to garrison to retire with the honours of war. Two officers remained as hostage for the return of the survivors on Jumonvilles party, and the entire garrison swore not to take arms against the French for a year and a day (which was repudiated by Washington as soon as he reached safety). The French razed Fort necessity to the ground, and withdrew to Fort Duquesne.
This reverse for colonial arms was painted by Dinwiddie as a heroic defence against an overwhelming horde of savages, and while the French accused the British of murder, the British claimed invasion of their territory, and by spring the following year both nations had fresh regular troops on American soil and the scene was set for further conflict ………..
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