*By the mid-1700s the British colonists in North America were increasingly jealous of the French, and the French were increasingly worried about the British.

*The British colonies in North America had grown rapidly since their foundation in the early 1600s, and by 1750 they had about 1,500,000 people in them.  However, they were confined to the eastern seaboard, with no settlement and little trade west of the Appalachian Mountains.

*In the 1600s and 1700s the French government had done little to encourage settlement in the New World, and had often placed many restrictions on it.  By 1750 there were about 50,000 French settlers in North America, mostly in a few large cities such as Quebec, Montreal, and New Orleans.  The rest were traders, trappers, and missionaries.  On the whole, though, they got along much better with the American Indians, and although few in number, laid claim to the vast territories of New France and Louisiana.

*British colonists increasingly coveted France’s possessions, particularly the rich lands of the Ohio River valley, which were also claimed by New York and Virginia. 

*Not only did this area have rich farmland and good rivers for trade, but it was rich in furs, one of the most lucrative trade goods in America.  Furs were made into coats and other garments, or into felt that could be made into hats.

*Aware of Britain’s desire for land in the Ohio Country, the French began building forts in the Ohio River Valley.

*This was a problem for many prominent Virginians who had invested in the Ohio Company, which had been created for the purpose of claiming, selling, and settling the land of the Ohio River Valley.  Among the leaders of the Ohio Company were Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie and Lawrence and Augustine Washington.

*In 1753, the Ohio Company sent Lawrence and Augustine’s little half-brother George to investigate the French presence and tell them to leave.  He travelled to Fort Le Boeuf, just south of Lake Erie and demanded the French leave.  They refused and began construction of Fort Duquesne in what is now Southwestern Pennsylvania.

*When Washington returned to Virginia he was sent back with more militia to re-enforce another expedition already in the Ohio Country. 
They approached Fort Duquesne in May 1754, ambushed a group of French soldiers sent out to order Washington back to Virginia, and defeated them.  After the battle, one of Washington’s Indian allies killed the officer in command of the French party.

*Knowing that many more French soldiers were stationed nearby in Fort Duquesne, Washington ordered his men to build a stockade that they named Fort Necessity.  The French (who outnumbered Washington about 600 to 400) attacked on 3 July, 1754, and on July 4th, Washington surrendered after losing a third of his men.

*Although Washington was defeated and sent back to Virginia, he showed such bravery under fire (and was one of the few Virginians to have fought the French at all) that his reputation continued to grow.  For the moment, though, he was out of a job, as the Virginia militia he commanded were disbanded.

*This was the beginning of the French and Indian War, which pitted the English and their Indian allies (such as the Iroquois and the Cherokee) against the French and their allies (such as the Huron and the Ottawa).

*While Washington was building Fort Necessity, colonial leaders from New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland were meeting in the Albany Conference.  Their initial purpose was to negotiate with the Iroquois and give them gifts to make sure they continued their alliance with Britain, or at least remained neutral.  Thirty wagonloads of presents accomplished this.

*However, while at the Conference, the delegates from the different colonies also discussed creating a government to unify the colonies under one President-General who would be in charge of Indian affairs, military matters, and some aspects of finance and trade.  Benjamin Franklin was the main designer of the plan, which was inspired in part by the Iroquois Confederation, in which each tribe had control of its own towns while working with the other tribes when dealing with outsiders.  In the end, though, none of the colonies wanted to give up any power even to be better able to defend against the French and the Indians.

*In 1755, the British government sent Edward Braddock with two regiments of regulars to America.  When the French became aware of these plans, they sent 3,000 French regulars to defend Canada.

*Braddock planned to return to Fort Duquesne and capture or destroy it.  The French, meanwhile, had strengthened the fort, stationed more men there, and cleared the area around it of trees so there was nothing within musket range to take cover behind.  Although built of earth and logs, the fort was of a modern design with bastions on four corners creating overlapping fields of fire.

*Braddock knew about these preparations thanks to British spies and friendly Delaware Indians, and he tried to bring many heavy artillery pieces (including some removed from Royal Navy ships) with him through the wilderness.  This involved cutting a road 110 miles long from western Maryland through the Allegheny Mountains into western Pennsylvania.

*Braddock led about 2,000 men, many of whom were or later became famous.  One of his wagon drivers was Daniel Boone and a number of future British and American officers during the Revolutionary War served with Braddock, including George Washington, Braddock’s aide-de-camp.

*Braddock’s large, slow-moving force attracted a lot of attention, and his men in their bright red uniforms were clearly visible in the woods.  On 9 July, 1755, Braddock was leading about 1,300 of his men in a column (the rest were further behind with the baggage) when they encountered a force of about 800 French and Indians (primarily Indians). 

*This may have been a deliberate ambush, or it may have been a chance meeting that the French handled well and Braddock handled poorly. 

*Although on earlier occasions (including the day before), Braddock had been sure to take control of any high ground along the route of his march, he had not done so on this day, even though there was a hill near where he ended up fighting that could have allowed some of his men to fire on anyone attacking his main column if they had been there.

*When Braddock’s forwardmost forces were surprised and began to retreat (leaving behind two small cannon that the French soon captured and turned against them), Braddock did not have his other soldiers wait until he knew the situation, he had them march forward, so the two groups collided.  Soon they were tangled in confusion and the French and Indians surrounded them and slaughtered them.

*Braddock was wounded and carried off the field.  Washington and other officers tried to rally the men, but the army was forced to retreat.  At least 500 British soldiers were killed and left to rot—their bleached bones were still visible to other armies passing through five years later.  At least as many more British soldiers were wounded.  Fewer than 40 French and Indians were killed or wounded. 

*Braddock died four days after the battle and was buried in the middle of the road his men had worked so hard to build (to make sure the Indians did not dig up his body and desecrate it).  In 1804, when the road his men built was being improved and expanded, workmen found a body buried in the road, concluded it was Braddock, and buried him properly, and today a monument stands nearby.

*The French and the British also fought at sea in 1755 and early 1756, even though war had not yet been declared.  Finally, however, in M1y 1756, Britain and France officially went to war, and soon their allies and colonies did as well.  In Europe, this was known as the Seven Years’ War.

*On some ways, though, it was the first world war--the two sides fought in Europe, but also in their colonies in North America (where it had begun), in the Caribbean, and in Asia, particularly India, where the British truly began to consolidate their power—and it all began over furs in the Ohio River Valley.

*Braddock was temporarily replaced-as-commander in chief by the Governor of Massachusetts, William Shirley and then by Lord Loudoun.

*In New France, the new commander-in-chief was the Marquis de Montcalm.  However, he always had to deal with lack of support from France (where King Louis XV was focused on the fighting in Europe) and conflict with the governor of New France, the Marquis de Vaudreuil, who also wanted to be commander-in-chief.

*The British in America had seemed to be in nearly the same position, as the British government vacillated between trying to fight a limited war or a global one and could not decide what part of the globe to focus on.  That changed in 1757 when William Pitt became Prime Minister of Great Britain.  He believed that the war could best be won by focusing Britain’s energies on America first and foremost.  It would take a while, though, before his efforts would pay off.

*As 1757 began, the French seemed to have all the advantages.  They had stopped almost all British advances into French territory and had even captured some territory from the British around the Great Lakes.  Their Indian allies raided settlements all along the frontier, killing, looting, and taking captives, some of whom were later killed, some adopted, some enslaved, and some tortured to death—to the Indians, torture was both a form of public entertainment and an opportunity for the prisoner to exhibit his bravery.

*Although the British made plans to attack Quebec and Louisbourg, but were slow getting underway and ended up leaving the New York frontier poorly defended in the process.  One such place was Fort William Henry on the shores of Lake George (just south of Lake Champlain).

*Fort William Henry was under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel George Monro, with about 600 British regulars and 1,200 militia when Montcalm’s forces and their Indian allies (about 8,000 men in total) laid siege to it in the summer of 1757.  They brought cannon in on rafts and moved them towards the fort by advancing them up zig-zag trenches.

*Monro’s superior officer was Daniel Webb, but he was unwilling to send re-enforcements to Monro from his base at Fort Edward.  When it became clear that Webb would not relieve him, Monro felt forced to surrender.  They were given very generous treatment, allowed to march out with their regimental colours and personal possessions, and promised safe passage to Fort Edward.

*The next day, as the British marched south, they were attacked by Montcalm’s Indian allies.  At least 700 British soldiers and militia were killed, wounded, or missing.  Those who were killed or wounded were typically knocked in the head with tomahawks and war clubs or scalped.

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