Episode 012: Forts Duquesne, Niagara, and Carillon Fall

For the last two weeks, we've been covering the events of the summer of 1758.  Last week, we saw the British finally beginning to turn things around with a victory at Louisbourg and Frontenac.  More importantly, the British finally convinced most the Indians either to side with Britain, or at least quit fighting for the French.  At the same time all that was happening, Gen. Forbes was slowly making his way toward Fort Duquesne.

Gen. John Forbes

Gen. John Forbes
(from wordpress)

John Forbes was born in Scotland in 1707.  His father, also an officer in the British Army, died before he was born.  Forbes started began his career in medicine, but decided life as a doctor was not for him.

At the relatively late age of 28, he purchased a commission as a Cornet in the British Army.  Forbes saw combat in several wars, including crushing his fellow Scots at the Battle of Culloden.  In the War of Austrian Succession, he served as aide-de-camp to Sir John Ligonier.  Later he served as Quartermaster General for the Duke of Cumberland’s army.  It was almost certainly his relationship with Ligonier, now Commander of all British armed forces that accounted for his promotion to General and his independent command to take Fort Duquesne in 1758.



The Slow Advance to Fort Duquesne

Col. Washington and others tried to encourage Forbes to consider a faster route from Virginia, along the Monongahela River as Gen. Braddock had taken three years earlier.  This route would save time as it would not require building a whole new road through forests and over mountains in territory teeming with hostile Indians.

Gen. Forbes' Road to Fort Duquesne
(from Wikipedia)

Forbes dismissed this advice as provincialism.  He thought Virginia’s concerns about his course were that his road would tie the Ohio Valley to Pennsylvania and threaten Virginia’s claims to the land.  He was not wrong on this point.  The road he eventually cut helped secure Pennsylvania’s claims to the land as far west as Pittsburgh.  His road, later called Forbes Road, became the main route west to the Ohio Valley.  It followed roughly what eventually became part of the Lincoln Highway in the early 20th Century.

Forbes did not want to make the same mistakes as Gen. Braddock, whose forces could not easily retreat with heavy equipment after the loss at the Battle of the Monongahela.  Forbes’ road allowed the British to maintain their supply lines back east to Philadelphia.  If a retreat was necessary, they would not need to abandon their equipment.  It was slower but safer decision.

The Virginians were right, however, that actually building the road would take the rest of the year.  After Forbes hit the mountains of Western Pennsylvania, forward movement slowed to a crawl.  It probably did not help that Forbes was suffering from a terrible debilitating disease that was making his work all the more miserable.  To further secure the supply lines to his base in Carlisle, Forbes constructed a chain of forts along his new road: Littletown, Bedford, and Ligonier roughly 40 miles apart.  Forbes established his final Fort, Ligonier, in August 1758, about 50 miles from Fort Duquesne. Indian raids on the British line of forts, and any supply trains travelling between them, forced the offensive to go on the defensive and hunker down.

In September, Forbes deployed 800 men under the command of Major James Grant toward Fort Duquesne.  Grant hoped to conducting a surprise raid, or at least gain more intelligence on the site.  Instead, the French and their Indian allies received word of the advance and ambushed the British.  The killed wounded or captured nearly half of the British force, including Maj. Grant who was taken prisoner.  The remainder fled back to Fort Ligonier with horrifying stories of the ambush.

Back at Fort Ligonier, Forbes had about 6000 men, including 2000 regulars, to assault Fort Duquesne.  After Grant’s failed raid though, he was reluctant to try anything further.  With so many hostile Indians, Forbes quite rightly feared that his forces would suffer fatal ambushes before they could even reach the Fort.  Summer turned into fall without any further advancement as Gen. Forbes spent his time trying to make use of Indian allies to improve his chances of a successful assault.

While Tribes in the Ohio Valley and Pennsylvania were still siding with the French,  Forbes attempted to bring on allies from the Cherokee further south.  More than 1000 Cherokee warriors joined Forbes in preparation for a final assault on Fort Duquesne.  Forbes, however, tried to treat the Cherokee as subordinates rather than allies.  The Cherokee were not going to submit to military regulations or even take orders from the Regulars.  The Indians fought as allied auxiliaries, or not at all.

Forbes thought he could get the Cherokee to do otherwise.  Instead, almost all the Indians ended up leaving Forbes, taking with them the guns and ammunition he had provided to them.  As the armed Cherokee returned south, they ended up having more problems with colonists that led to even more fighting.  We will take a look at that in an upcoming episode.

Fort Duquesne Falls

It looked as if Forbes’ advance had come to a complete halt and that his campaign for the year would be a failure.  Then, by late October, word of the Treaty at Easton that I discussed last week, reached Western Pennsylvania.

As word of the Easton agreements spread to the western Indians, the local tribes accepted the change overnight.  By early November, all local Indian raids had stopped.  More distant tribes had already gone home for the end of the summer season.  Ironically, the September attack on Maj. Grant had provided most of the warriors with the booty and honors they sought, so they packed up and went home. That was exactly what frustrated European officers most about dealing with Indian allies.

The French commander at Duquesne now had his supplies cut off from the Great Lakes. Most of his Indian allies had abandoned him.  He had only a token force at the Fort which could put up no serious defense.  He convinced several loyal Indians to conduct one final raid on the British to take their cattle. Forbes sent out the 1st Virginia Regiment under Col. Washington and the 2nd Virginia under Lt. Col. George Mercer.  Washington caught a few of the raiders, but then ran into Mercer at dusk.  Each regiment mistook the other for the enemy and opened fire, killing or wounding two officers and 38 men.  Despite this accident, the prisoners captured prior to the firefight provided valuable intelligence about the desperate circumstances at Fort Duquesne.

Evacuation and Destruction of Fort Duquesne
(from uppercanadahistory.ca)

With that information, Forbes began his final advance on the Fort.  They were about 12 miles from the Fort when the heard the explosion on November 23.  The French commander had removed all men and supplies from the fort. He then used his gunpowder to blow up the walls in order to render it useless to the enemy.  The few hundred remaining French troops traveled upriver to Fort Machault to wait out the winter.

Forbes now took control of the smoldering ruins.  With the militia’s enlistments scheduled to end in less than a week. Forbes worked to throw up a new Fort for a winter occupation.  He named the new Fort after William PItt, the man in London who was in charge of the war.  And so, Fort Pitt, soon to be called Pittsburgh, was born.

Aftermath

Sadly, Forbes’ continuing medical problems only got worse.  His second in command Col. Henry Bouquet had to manage a Dec. 4 assembly with local Chiefs that assured them that their lands would be protected by the Treaty of Easton.  Forbes headed back to Philadelphia for medical care.  He died a few weeks after arriving in Philadelphia, receiving a hero’s funeral.  His enduring legacy would be Forbes Road, which his men had cut through Pennsylvania.  It opened up the west for trade and settlement.

Despite the victories of 1758 at Fort Louisbourg, Fort Frontenac and Fort Duquesne, Britain recalled Gen. Abercromby that winter.  His failure at Fort Carillon had led to too much criticism.  Despite his recall, he would receive promotion to Lt. General in 1759 and eventually rise to the rank of full General.  He also became a Member of Parliament and would be a strong supporter of coercive measures against the colonies.

Gen. Amherst, the hero of Louisbourg, would take command of British forces in North America.  He would implement London’s strategy for the 1759 fighting season.

Washington with his new family (from mountvernon.org)

Also at the end of the 1758 fighting season, Col. Washington headed home, having finally completed his objective of establishing British control of the Ohio Valley, after nearly five years.  On January 6, 1759 at age 27, Washington married 27 ½ year old widow Martha Custis, a young widow who was beautiful, rich and had huge...tracts of land, making him instantly one of the largest and wealthiest landowners in Virginia.

In the summer of 1759, he entered elected politics as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. Washington would remain a militia officer, but he was putting his active military years of service behind him.  His new focus would be as a plantation owner and politician, as well as father to his two new step children.

British Take Fort Niagara

The military and diplomatic reverses of 1758 now put momentum in Britain’s favor.  The Iroquois left behind any pretense of neutrality.  The fear that the Delaware and Shawnee might unite in an independent confederacy against the Iroquois prompted them to get fully on board with the British. Through the summer of 1759, the British were building a large fort and trading post at Fort Pitt, along with a settlement called Pittsburgh.  More trade began arriving from Pennsylvania.  The local Indians appreciated the supplies and ability to trade, but were also concerned.  If you English are really going to leave this area as promised, why are you building this giant fort and this big English settlement right next to it?

The Iroquois told the English there was a danger of the local tribes in the Ohio valley moving back to the French, which would harm both Iroquois and British interests.  Therefore, the Iroquois wanted to assist with the final push to get the French off the continent.  The French still occupied Fort Carillon, where Gen. Montcalm had defeated Gen. Abercromby the year before, The French also held Fort Niagara.  The commanding Gen. Amherst focused on these two targets as the keys to a winning season in 1759. The French still held Fort Machault just north of Fort Pitt and south of Lake Erie, threatening the Ohio Valley.  But Amherst knew that taking Carillon and Niagara would cripple those smaller front line Forts without hope of supplies or reinforcements.  There was also the fortress city of Quebec to contend with, but that was Gen. Wolfe’s problem, one I’ll discuss next week.

As Amherst prepared his forces for the summer 1759 fighting season from Albany.  He received more than 20,000 militia from various colonies, still paid for with British gold from London.  These complemented the more than 8000 regulars at his disposal.  Gen. Johnson, also came forward with around 1000 Iroquois warriors from all six nations.

Map of Attack on Fort Niagara (from clements.umich.edu)

Amherst deployed Gen. John Prideaux with about 3000 regulars and 2000 militia, along with Johnson and his 1000 Iroquois to take Fort Niagara.  This was no easy task.  The Fort was one of the best built forts on the continent, with a highly capable military engineer, Captain Pierre Pouchot commanding the defenses with about 3000 French regulars and militia.  Pouchot also had a strong relationship with the local Seneca who served as lookouts for any attack and allies to assist with the fort’s defense.

Pouchot, however, made two fatal mistakes.  First, by mid-summer he figured the threat to any attack had passed.  He reasoned, correctly, that the best time for an attack was in the spring, before the smaller winter garrison was reinforced. The attack did not come until July, after Pouchot has dispatched 2500 of his 3000 defenders to Fort Machault to take part in a French offensive to retake the Ohio Valley.

Second, he assumed his Seneca allies would give him plenty of advance notice of any attack.  his Seneca allies were also members of the Iroquois Confederacy, which he did not learn had decided to side with the British that year.  Pouchot had a good working relationship with the local Seneca, despite whatever strains existed between Gen. Montcalm and the other tribes. It was true that the local Seneca remained loyal to him.  The rest of the Iroquois, though, were now backing the British and did not pass along any warnings to them that an attack was coming.

Therefore, Pouchot was shocked when he learned about the British landing a few miles from his Fort on July 6, 1759.  He knew he had to play for time as the British began to set up artillery entrenchments for a traditional siege.  He sent the local Seneca Chief out under a flag of truce to try to get the 1000 Iroquois marching with the British to leave the fight.  But the Iroquois under Johnson were adamant that this had to be done.  To sweeten the deal, Johnson promised his warriors the opportunity to plunder the Fort once it was taken.  Ultimately, after eight days of negotiation, the Seneca Chief decided to remove warriors from the French lines and head north.  While Pouchot regretted losing them, he also did not want warriors on his lines of defense who might have issues with killing their Iroquois brothers on the other side.

Sir William Johnson

During the eight day truce, the British were not just standing around.  They had continued to entrench artillery now just 250 yards from the Fort’s walls.  Pouchot’s only hope was that the defenders he had sent to Machault received his message to return and would arrive in time.  On July 23, a relief force came within sight of the Fort.  The British, though,  were ready for them.  The leaders of the Iroquois fighting with the British met with the 1000 indians in the French relief force and convinced them that the battle would just get them killed.  Those forces wisely broke off and went home.

That left just the French regulars and militia to try to break the British lines and enter the Fort. Some sources say this was about 600 soldiers.  Others say it was about 1100.  In any event, the relief forced faced somewhere between 2200 and 2900 British soldiers and militia, along with the 1000 or so Iroquois auxiliaries fighting with them.  The British and Iroquois cut down the French relief force, killing or capturing most, with the remainder fleeing into the woods.

Two days later, on July 25, Captain Pouchot surrendered the Fort to Col. Johnson.  The British commanding General Prideaux had unfortunately stepped in front of a mortar during the siege and lost his head, leaving Col. Johnson in charge.  The British took the French garrison prisoner and shipped them back to Albany.  The Iroquois restrained themselves from any massacre and contented themselves with looting the Fort itself.

Johnson headed back to Fort Oswego, leaving a detachment to garrison Fort Niagara.  Amherst would soon send Gen. Thomas Gage there to oversee control of the whole western Great Lakes region.  As Amherst predicted, the French had to abandon their three remaining Forts below Lake Erie as they could no longer be supplied or reinforced.  So French forces who had retreated from Fort Duquesne, kept on retreating all the way back to Canada.

Fort Carillon becomes Ticonderoga

As Prideaux and Johnson were capturing Fort Niagara, Amherst simultaneously led the attack against Fort Carillon. Amherst led over 11,000 regulars and militia slowly and methodically, building up the defenses at Fort Edward, rebuilding a new Fort George near the site of Fort William Henry at the southern tip of Lake George.

On July 22, Amherst arrived at Fort Carillon and began entrenching his siege cannon.  The French commander with his 400 man garrison, seeing that the British force of 11,000 was conducting a proper siege this time rather than a foolhardy frontal assault, blew up the Fort and retreated up to Fort Saint-Frédéric.  When Amherst advanced on Saint-Frédéric a few days later, the French once again blew up the fort and retreated.  Amherst was reluctant to chase the French up to Montreal.  Without knowing what Wolfe was doing in Quebec, he feared he could easily stumble across a French relief force.  Therefore, he focused his attention on rebuilding two new forts.  The Fort Ticonderoga replaced Fort Carillon.  Fort Crown Point replaced Fort Saint-Frédéric.

By August, Amherst had already achieved his objectives for the year and saw no reason to endanger his gains through continued offensives without good intelligence.  Better to end the year on several big wins for the British.  At that point, he settled into winter quarters early and reported the year’s victories back to London.

Next week: Gen. Wolfe takes Quebec.

Next Episode 13: The Battle of Quebec (1759)

Previous Episode 11: Louisbourg, Frontenac, and Treaty of Easton

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Further Reading

Websites

Gen. John Forbes: http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/forbes_john_1707_1759_3E.html

Fort Ligonier: http://fortligonier.org/history/fort-ligonier

The Forbes Expedition: http://www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/forbes-expedition

George and Martha’s Courtship: http://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/martha-washington/george-marthas-courtship

Battle of Fort Niagara: https://www.thoughtco.com/french-indian-war-battle-fort-niagara-2360967

Old Fort Niagara: https://www.oldfortniagara.org/history

1759 British Expedition against Fort Carillon: http://www.kronoskaf.com/syw/index.php?title=1759_-_British_expedition_against_Carillon

1759, the Fall of Canada: http://www.encyclopedia.com/history/energy-government-and- defense-magazines/1759-fall-canada

Free eBooks:
(links to archive.org unless otherwise noted)

Fort Duquesne and Fort Pitt, by DAR, Pittsburgh Chapter (1899).

The Fall of New France, 1755-1760, by Gerald E. Hart, (1888).

The History of Canada, Vol. 4, by William Kingsford (1889),

An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North America for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760, Vol 1, Vol. 2, & Vol. 3, by John Knox (1914).

Oration Delivered at the Centennial Celebration of the Evacuation of Fort Duquesne, by Andrew Loomis (1859).

The Papers of Sir William Johnson, Vol. 10, by Hamilton Milton (Ed.) (1951).

Memoir Upon the Late War in North America, Between the French and English, 1755-60, Vol. 1, & Vol. 2, by Pierre Pouchot (1866).

A Brief History of Old Fort Niagara, by Peter Porter (1896).

Books Worth Buying
(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*

Anderson, Fred Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766, Alfred A. Knopf, 2000.

Cubbison, Douglas R. The British Defeat of the French in Pennsylvania, 1758: A Military History of the Forbes Campaign Against Fort Duquesne, McFarland & Co. 2010

Hawke, David The Colonial Experience, Prentice Hall, 1966.

Jennings, Francis Empire Of Fortune: Crowns, Colonies & Tribes in the Seven Years War in America, W.W. Norton & Co. 1988.

MacLeod, D. Peter The Canadian Iroquois and the Seven Years' War, Dundurn Press, 2012.

McLynn, Frank 1759: The Year Britain Became Master of the World, Atlantic Monthly Press, 2005.

Letters of General John Forbes relating to the Expedition Against Fort Duquesne, by Gen John Forbes (Author), Irene Stewart (Compiler) (2016).

* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Episode 011: Louisbourg, Frontenac and Treaty of Easton

Last week, we looked at General Abercromby’s failed attack on Fort Carillon.  At the same time Abercromby made his attempt.  Gen. Jeffrey Amherst was leading a separate army against Louisbourg.

Louisbourg

The British had already captured much of Nova Scotia (also known as Acadia) back in 1755 when they expelled thousands of French Acadian civilians from the region.  I discussed this back in Episode 7. The French, however, retained control of Fort Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island. Today the island is considered part of Nova Scotia.  Back then, they considered it a separate entity.

Map of offensives during French and Indian War

(source: Wikipedia)

Louisbourg controlled the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the only water entry to the St. Lawrence River which was the only effective supply route for the French in the Great Lakes region. Taking Louisbourg would cut off Canada from France.  But the Fort was an impressive one and would not fall easily.  It had fallen before though.  Just over a decade earlier, a force of mostly British colonists from New England had captured Fort Louisbourg during the War of Austrian Succession (known in America as King George's War). They had done so at great cost, and were outraged when London gave the fort back to the French as part of the treaty ending that war, in exchange for concessions in Europe.

William Pitt had dispatched Gen. Loudoun to take Louisbourg in 1757.  After his arrival, he looked at the French defenses, decided an attack was impossible, and returned to New York without even making an attempt.  His failure was a big part of his recall in December of that year.

Much of Loudoun’s concern in 1757 was that a large French fleet supported the Fort, and prevented a British fleet from attacking.  In 1758, the French Navy was mostly gone, with only a  half dozen warships in the harbor. The British Navy effectively prevented any French naval relief force from arriving.  So chances of victory looked much better this time.

Gen. Amherst commanded a total British force of about 14,000 soldiers along with 12,000 sailors and marines under the command of Admiral Edward Boscawen.  The French had only 3500 soldiers and another 3500 sailors and marines, but had the vast defenses of the Fort for protection.

Siege of Louisbourg, 1758 (from Wikimedia)

The British could have approached by land from Nova Scotia, but doing so would have meant a long hard march over rugged terrain.  Instead, Gen. Amherst rather recklessly attempted a water landing on the Island in the face of enemy fire.  It could have been a disaster. Col. Wolfe, in charge of the landing, called it “rash and ill-advised.”  In the 18th Century, water landings in the face of the enemy were extremely difficult, as troops had to row slowly ashore and disembark before forming lines, all in the face of enemy fire. However, they got lucky, landing the troops with only about 100 casualties.

Without naval support, the French defenders could make the siege painful for the attackers, but could not prevent an eventual loss if the British decided to launch a conventional siege.  This involved entrenching artillery, while slowly digging ever closer entrenchments until finally the walls of the Fort would be demolished.  Unlike Abercromby at Carillon, Amherst sensibly elected to go with the conventional siege option. After the June 8 landing, British began digging their first entrenchments for their cannon.  Over the next few weeks, the British Navy worked to take out the few French warships in the harbor, as well as several island batteries.

Gen. Wolfe at Louisbourg (from Wikimedia)

The British Army took several hills near the fort and continued moving their entrenchments closer, battering the walls of the fort and slowly taking out most of the defenses.  By July 3, they were within 600 feet of the main walls and continued to bombard them.

The French garrison continued to put up a defense, but outnumbered, they could not go on the offensive, and could only slow an inevitable loss, unless by some miracle a French fleet could relieve them.  That miracle did not come.  By July 26, the British had destroyed or captured all of the French naval vessels supporting the Fort.  They army and navy were bombarding the city from all sides.  British artillery took out the last French cannon and British infantry breached the walls of the fort.

With more than a third of his defenders dead or incapacitated, and having held out for nearly two months with no hope of relief, the French commander decided he had conducted an honorable defense and reluctantly asked for terms of surrender.  Despite a valiant defense, Amherst was in no mood to give generous terms.  The memory of the Fort William Henry massacre was still too recent.  The French defenders would become prisoners of war.  All French civilians on the Island would be deported back to France, over 8000 men, women, and children. The French had no choice but to accept the terms.

British burning French Navy at Lousbourg (from Wikimedia)

After the fort fell, the British army completely destroyed the fort, tearing down its walls.  That way, politicians in London could never return the Fort to the French again.

The British victory at Louisbourg really was the first good news London had heard from America in years.  William Pitt received word of the victory at Louisbourg that autumn.  He literally hugged the messenger, so overjoyed at finally getting some good news from America.  His risky investments seem to be paying off.  Pitt instructed Amherst to continue to attack the French along the Great Lakes, establishing British control and expelling the French from the Continent.

Amherst’s second in command at Louisbourg, Gen. James Wolfe, returned to England for health reasons after the battle.  Since he was in London while Amherst remained in America, he became the face of victory for the English people and was the toast of the town.  Pitt ended up rewarding him with an independent command and instructions to return to America and take Quebec the following year.

The fall of Louisbourg in 1758, along with Britain’s ability to control the Atlantic, effectively severed New France from the mother country. It also opened up Quebec and other inland French cities to British Naval attack as ships could now simply sail up the St. Lawrence River.

The fall of Louisbourg marked a major shift in future battles.  Without relief from France, New France would slowly suffocate under the pressure of British offensives.  It was still too early to know this, but the British victory at Louisbourg would mark the beginning of the end for the French in Canada.

Fort Frontenac

As the siege of Louisbourg was reaching its end, Gen. Abercromby was still licking his wounds from the disastrous attempt to take Fort Carillon.  He probably had a good idea that his failure at Carillon, combined with Gen. Amherst’s success at Louisburg would mean that he would be out of a job and sent home in disgrace that winter and that Amherst would replace him as North American Commander.  This thought probably motivated the normally slow and cautious Abercromby to try something a little more daring.

Fort Frontenac on the northern coast of Lake Ontario was not a primary target for Pitt, Abercromby, or much of anyone else in the senior leadership.  It was not listed as a major objective at the beginning of the season.  The fact that it became a target of assault at all was probably due to the obsession of one man, Lt. Col John Bradstreet.  We met Bradstreet last week when he took command on the battlefield after Gen. Howe fell mortally wounded in the first offensive against Fort Carillon.

The son of a British officer and Acadian mother, Bradstreet had been a career officer, with notable service in King George’s war during the 1740’s.  Shirley, who had worked with Bradstreet during the earlier war, made Bradstreet his Adjutant General.  Despite his close association with the hated Shirley, Loudoun retained Bradstreet as a highly competent officer and promoted him to Lt. Col. in 1757.  Bradstreet had convinced Loudoun to let him lead an attack against Fort Frontenac.  But before the attack could get underway, Loudoun was recalled to England and Pitt’s new plan of attack, which did not include Frontenac, superseded all prior plans.

John Bradstreet (from Wikimedia)

After the defeat, at Fort Carillon, Bradstreet saw an opportunity to revive his plan to attack Frontenac.  He convinced Abercromby to detach 5600 men under the command of Brigadier John Stanwix, and with Bradstreet as second in command, to “distress the enemy” on Lake Ontario and “if practicable” to attack Fort Frontenac.  Although Abercromby was not known for using his own initiative to start new offensives, he really had little to lose at this point since he was likely facing recall anyway.

The leadership kept the mission against Frontenac a secret. They maintained a cover story that the detachment was planning to rebuild Fort Bull, which Gen. Webb had burned in a panic back in 1756.  This would provide a defensive point against French attack and would also reinstate a needed trading post for the Iroquois.  In fact, Bradstreet planned to take his troops from there, up to Lake Ontario, along with several cannon.  From there, the force would cross the lake in small boats and conduct a surprise raid on Frontenac.

Bradstreet relied on speed and surprise to capture the French breastworks and mount his cannon 150 yards from the Fort’s walls on August 26, 1758.  The French commander almost immediately called for surrender, even though it meant he and his men would be taken as prisoners of war and shipped back to Albany.  The Fort had only 110 soldiers to defend it, not even enough to man all the cannon in the fort.  The main force had been detached to participate in the successful defense of Fort Carillon, and had not yet returned.  The 2200 British soldiers surrounding the Fort meant certain defeat.

Capture of Fort Frontenac, 1758 (from Wikimedia)

Fort Frontenac had been a major storage depot for the French.  In addition to the Fort’s 60 cannon, the British took control of more food and supplies than they could possibly carry.  Bradstreet’s orders were to destroy the Fort, not hold it.  The French still controlled Lake Ontario and a counter attack was a real possibility.  The British loaded as many arms and supplies as they could carry in their ships, as well as the captured French ships.

Initially, the British had taken the small French Garrison as prisoners of war.  But they were so overloaded with all the supplies, that Bradstreet decided to free the French prisoners and allow them to leave, on the promise that an equal number of English prisoners would be released soon in exchange.

Fearing a counterattack, Bradstreet burned the Fort, along with the supplies which they could not carry.  This would further reduce the already depleted French supplies for the year.  On August 28, only two days after arriving, the British slipped back across the Lake to rejoin the main force.

Upon his return, Bradstreet asked to make a similar raid against Fort Niagara.  But for now Abercromby had had enough initiative and refused to authorize a second raid.  Bradstreet wrote a self-promoting pamphlet to be published anonymously back in England.  It criticized Abercromby’s timidity in taking the initiative to control the Great Lakes and promoted Bradstreet’s own valiant efforts.  Bradstreet received a promotion to full Colonel, but his superiors in America were not happy with his criticism and self-promotion.  He ended up as assistant Quartermaster General in Albany.  A financially lucrative position, but not one that would lead to further glory and promotion.

As I already mentioned, the fall of Louisburg cut off France from its forces in New France, preventing them from providing more supplies or reinforcements.  This gave the advantage going forward to the British. The destruction of Fort Frontenac sped up that advantage.  By destroying most of New France’s supplies there, the French were unable to supply or provide other support for many other front line forts.  The French also lost arms, ammunition, and supplies that they planned to provide to their Indian allies in the Ohio Valley.  The loss of these supplies would help tip the balance in future negotiations and fighting.

Treaty of Easton

The British had now cut off the French in Canada from their supply lines to Europe.  They had destroyed much of the French supplies in the raid on Frontenac.  The British also had more than double the number of soldiers in the field.  If the French had any chance of preventing defeat, it would require the full efforts of their Indian allies.

French General Montcalm did not like using Indians, and the massacres at Fort Oswego and Fort William Henry only reinforced that distaste.  The Fort William Henry incident had created a real divide so that most tribes in Canada were now sitting out the war.  Even if they had wanted to come back, most tribes were being ravaged by smallpox epidemics, brought back through prisoners from Fort William Henry.

Charles Thomson, PA Secretary
at Treaty of Easton
(from www.charlesthomson.com)

In the Ohio Valley though, local tribes were still putting up a pretty successful campaign against the British and its colonies.  The local tribes, particularly the Delaware, were still upset with prior British colonial land grabs, and the fact that the Iroquois had ratified these land grabs after being paid off, leaving the Delaware to suffer.  The Delaware did not want the Iroquois to negotiate for them.

The British Indian agent, Sir William Johnson, who had been Britain’s Indian agent since the beginning of the War, was a big advocate of Iroquois control. He had been adopted into the Mohawk tribe and had a common law Mohawk wife, with whom he had eight children.  Johnson was not about to undercut Iroquois authority since the Mohawk were one of the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy.  As a result, the Delaware were more and more siding with the French against the English and the Iroquois.

In July 1758, Gen. Forbes, who was ever so slowly moving across western Pennsylvania toward Fort Duquesne, requested and received permission from Abercromby to negotiate directly with the Delaware.  This seems like an odd move for Abercromby.  He tended to be a soldier who would follow orders, stay inside the rules, and never use his own initiative.

Allowing Forbes to negotiate directly meant that he was cutting out the Iroquois, as well as Johnson, the Indian Agent for Britain.  Johnson’s royal commission as a Colonel (in addition to his provincial commission as Major General) and his receipt of a title of nobility a few years earlier, clearly meant he had the favor of very important people back in London.  Undercutting such a powerful man was not the sort of action Abercromby would normally take.  But he did.  Forbes used this authority to try to work out deals with the local tribes directly.

Sir William Johnson
(from Wikimedia)

During the summer and fall of 1758, talks continued in Easton, Pennsylvania between the eastern Delaware Chiefs led by Teedyuscung, and Pennsylvania’s colonial leaders.  Back in 1757, the various sides had generally come to terms to not kill each other basically by saying that we’ll resolve our differences later.  Well, Teedyuscung was pointing out that it was later now, and they still had not resolved their differences.  Teedyuscung wanted a reevaluation of the Walking Purchase, and a guarantee of a land reserve for his people in the Wyoming Valley (in northeastern Pennsylvania).

The Easton Convention of 1758 was much larger than that of the prior year.  More than 500 Indians from 13 different nations attended, each with their own agendas.  These included a delegation of western Delaware from the Ohio Valley. Like Teedyuscung, most wanted guarantees that their land would not be overrun with British settlers.  Their support was critical if the British ever wanted to take Fort Duquesne.

The Iroquois also sent representatives, trying to reassert control over the Delaware and making clear they could not cut independent deals with the British or their colonists.  Pennsylvania leaders and the British agents present would love to have simply worked out a deal with the compliant Iroquois.  But they also knew that if the Delaware and other local tribes did not find the final deal acceptable, they would remain pro-French in the ongoing war despite what the Iroquois told them to do.

Chief Teedyuscung
(from wikipedia)

By October 1758, the various groups had worked out a resolution.  The major concession of the Treaty was to cede back all English claims to land west of the Allegheny mountains.  Although the Iroquois would retain control of the lands, the English were permitted to negotiate directly with the local tribes to resolve issues.  In other words, the Iroquois would not be permitted to undercut the Delaware in the Ohio Valley and sell their land out from under them.  That was good enough to bring the western Delaware back onto the side of the British.  By this time, the British victories at Louisbourg and Frontenac were well known.  The French had their supplies cut off and were clearly on the defensive.  For the Delaware, they realized they had better cut a deal with the winning side that protected their land.

Teedyuscung, Chief of the eastern Delaware, now found himself isolated at the conference.  The Iroquois had reasserted authority over him.  Now that the western Delaware had cut a separate deal for their land, the eastern Delaware posed no serious threat.  If they went to war, they could be cut down by the Iroquois and the colonists.  Teedyuscung realizing this, spent most of the Conference getting drunk and rambling angrily.  In the end, he only got promises that they would look into the terms of the Walking Purchase at some later date and would refer the issue of a Wyoming Valley reservation back to the Iroquois Council for further consideration.  Neither of these ever resulted in any satisfaction for the eastern Delaware.

But with peace now in place with the Western Delaware, Gen. Forbes could finally move forward with his plans to take Fort Duquesne.

Next Week: Gen. Forbes makes  his final assault of Fort Duquesne.  The British follow up that, by capturing Fort Niagara, and finally Fort Carillon as well.

Next Episode 12: Forts Duquesne, Niagara, and Carillon Fall

Previous Episode 10: New British Strategy & Fort Carillon

Visit the American Revolution Podcast (https://amrev.podbean.com).

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American Revolution Podcast is distributed 100% free of charge. If you can chip in to help defray my costs, I'd appreciate whatever you can give.  Make a one time donation through my PayPal account.

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Further Reading

Websites

Capture of Lousibourg: http://www.britishbattles.com/battle-of-louisburg-1758

The Siege of Louisbourg, 1758: http://www.militaryheritage.com/louisbg.htm

Seven Years War, Siege of Louisbourg (1758): https://www.thoughtco.com/french-indian-war-siege-of-louisbourg-2360795

War of Austrian Succession, Siege of Louisbourg (1745): https://www.thoughtco.com/austrian-succession-siege-of-louisbourg-1745-2360468

Louisbourg: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/louisbourg

Fort Frontenac: http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1194.html

Easton Treaty: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/easton-treaty

The Minutes of a treaty held at Easton, in Pennsylvania, in October, 1758. By the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, and the governor of New-Jersey; with the chief sachems and warriors of the Mohawks, Oneydos, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas, Tuscaroras, Tuteloes, Nanticokes and Conoys, Chugnuts, Delawares, Unamies, Mohickons, Minisinks, and Wapings: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=evans;idno=N06429.0001.001
Or PDF copy: http://www.virginiaplaces.org/settleland/graphics/easton2.pdf

Free eBooks:
(links to archive.org unless otherwise noted)

An authentic account of the reduction of Louisbourg, in June and July 1758, (1758) (a contemporary description published in London months after the battle).

An Authentic register of the British successes: being a collection of all the extraordinary and some of the ordinary gazettes from the taking of Louisbourg, July 26, 1758 by the Hon. Adm. Boscawen and Gen Amherst, to the defeat of the French fleet under M. Conflans, Nov. 21, 1759 by Sir Edward Hawke: also, a particular account of M. Thurot's defeat by Capt. John Elliott, (1760).

A letter to the Right Honourable William Pitt, Esq., from an officer at Fort Frontenac, (1759).

An impartial account of Lieut. Col. Bradstreet's expedition to Fort Frontenac, by John Bradstreet (1759) (this is Bradstreet’s own work, published in London to publicize his accomplishments).

The Fall of New France, 1755-1760, by Gerald E. Hart, (1888).

The History of Canada, Vol. 4, by William Kingsford (1889),

The Diary of Nathaniel Knap [sic] of Newbury in the province of Massachusetts Bay in New England: written at the second siege of Louisburg in 1758, by Nathaniel Knapp (1895).

An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North America for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760, Vol 1, Vol. 2, & Vol. 3, by John Knox (1914).

Louisbourg, From its Foundation to its Fall, 1713-1758, by John McLennan (1918).

Genuine letters and memoirs relating to the natural, civil, and commercial history of the islands of Cape Breton and Saint John: from the first settlement there, to the taking of Louisbourg by the English in 1758, by Thomas Pichon (1760).

Memoir Upon the Late War in North America, Between the French and English, 1755-60, Vol. 1, & Vol. 2, by Pierre Pouchot (1866).

A Soldier of the Wilderness: A Story of Abercrombie's Defeat and the Fall of Fort Frontenac in 1758, by Everett Titsworth Tomlinson (1905) (from Google Play - Books).

Causes of the Alienation of the Delaware and Shawanese Indians from the British Interest, by Charles Thomson (1867 - originally published 1759).

Indian treaties printed by Benjamin Franklin, 1736-1762, by Carl Van Doren (1932)

The Great Fortress: a Chronicle of Louisbourg, 1720-1760, by William Wood (1915).

Books Worth Buying
(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*

Anderson, Fred Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766, Alfred A. Knopf, 2000.

Boscawen, Hugh The Capture of Louisbourg, 1758, Univ. of Oklahoma Press, 2011.

Brumwell, Stephen Redcoats: The British Soldier and War in the Americas 1755-1763, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2002.

Hawke, David The Colonial Experience, Prentice Hall, 1966.

Jennings, Francis Empire Of Fortune: Crowns, Colonies & Tribes in the Seven Years War in America, W.W. Norton & Co. 1988.

Endgame 1758: The Promise, the Glory, and the Despair of Louisbourg's Last Decade, by A. J. B. Johnston (2008).

* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Episode 010: New British Strategy & Fort Carillon (Ticonderoga)

Last week, I discussed the Fort William Henry Massacre, which had become a rallying cry for the colonists.  Despite that, the colonies showed no interest in supporting any of Gen. Loudoun’s demands.  Loudoun and the colonies could not seem to find any way to work with each other. Meanwhile, in London, William Pitt spend most of 1757 consolidating his power and looking for a new way to prosecute a war which Britain seemed to be losing.

Loudoun Sent Home

One of Pitt’s big changes was to recall Gen. Loudoun and put a new commander in charge of North America.  In December 1757 Pitt, issued an order to recall Loudoun.  So during the winter while Loudoun was trying to compel colonial leaders to provide support for the 1758 campaign, an order recalling him was slowly making its way across the Atlantic.

After Loudoun’s patron Lord Cumberland resigned in disgrace back in September 1757, he had no political backing in London. Pitt’s order that Loudoun assault Louisbourg earlier that year had come to nothing.   Loudoun continued to blame provincial politics for his problems, but in the end he had accomplished almost nothing militarily.  Although not directly in command for the disasters at Fort Oswego and Fort William Henry, Loudoun had no real success to show for his 18 months in command.  His primary achievement seemed to be to set colonial opinion strongly against having any standing army among them.

Most importantly, William Pitt decided that a new strategy which required colonial cooperation, needed a new leader who could work with the colonies.  The bad blood between Loudoun and the colonial leaders had gotten to the point where such cooperation would be impossible.

Loudoun relinquished his command and returned to Britain as a frustrated failure.  Don’t feel too bad for him though.  He would go on to a command in Europe, and would receive several more promotions and honors.

New Military Leadership

After the Duke of Cumberland resigned in September 1757, Sir John Ligonier became commander of all British forces.  Although Ligonier was 77 years old and had been born and raised in France, he had been a capable British officer for his entire adult life.  He worked closely with Pitt to develop a new strategy for the war.

John Ligonier
(from UK National Army Museum)

Up until that time, the British had put most of their emphasis on the war in Europe.  The colonies, not only in America, but worldwide, got little attention.  Now though, Pitt and Ligonier realized that Britain’s real power was its navy. France could field large armies in Europe but Britain controlled the seas.  If Britain used its power to seize French colonies all over the world, France might be willing to sue for peace on terms favorable to the British.  To deal with British obligations on the Continent, Pitt mostly threw money at the problem. British military aid to Prussia and other allies would tie up French forces on the Continent, while the British themselves focused on France’s colonies.  One part of this strategy meant taking all of Canada from France and bringing North America under British rule.

James Abercromby
(from Wikimedia)

Pitt ordered Maj. Gen. James Abercromby (sometimes spelled Abercrombie), Loudoun’s second in command, to take charge of forces in America.  Abercromby was a career officer having purchased his first commission as an ensign at the age of 11.  As an adult, Abercromby, who came from a Scottish noble family, won a seat in Parliament.  His military career was respectable, though not particularly distinguished.  He had commanded troops as a colonel in the War of Austrian succession.  His advancement to major general seemed more the result of political and family connections and as an administrator rather than as a combat leader. Most historians dismiss him as plodding, cautious, and unimaginative.

Perhaps realizing that Abercromby could not be left to his own initiative, Pitt and Ligonier decided to appoint new field commanders themselves for the 1758 fighting season, rather than letting Abercromby make recommendations. These new field commanders were young dynamic officers, often selected over others who had more experience and seniority.  They were men that Ligonier knew personally and believed had great potential as military leaders.

Jeffrey Amherst
(from Wikimedia)

London identified three military goals for 1758.  These were the same goals that Gen. Loudoun had recommended, but new leaders would have the chance to implement them.

Abercromby himself would lead an attack on Fort Carillon at the southern tip of Lake Champlain. Fort Carillon would allow the British to begin moving forces up from the Colonies into Canada. But Abercromby was not really a field officer.  He would rely on a young acting Brigadier General, George Augustus, Viscount Howe, to lead the army.

At the same time Abercromby advanced on Fort Carillon, another army would make a renewed attempt to take Louisbourg in Nova Scotia.  Taking this fort was key to preventing French supply and reinforcement of the entire Great Lakes region.  Col. Jeffery Amherst received promotion to General and would lead the next attempt to take Louisbourg. Second in command of the expedition was an up and coming Lt. Col. named James Wolfe.

The British also still needed to take Fort Duquesne, which was the key to holding the Ohio Valley. Acting Brigadier General John Forbes would lead a renewed campaign to take Fort Duquesne and return the Ohio Valley to British control.

I’m only going to have time today to go over the attack on Fort Carillon, but it is important to remember that all of these attacks were happening simultaneously during the summer of 1758.  The goal was to overwhelm the French on multiple fronts, and take advantage of the superior numbers on the British side.

New Colonial Strategy

To make all of this work, Britain could not waste time fighting with colonial leaders over the prosecution of the war.  They needed lots of militia to fill out the armies necessary to fight these three campaigns.

James Wolfe
(from Wikipedia)

Since the War began, London and its colonies were never really on the same page.  Both wanted to push back against the French and Indians, but could not agree on how to do it.  Gen. Braddock had largely ignored the colonial protests and had gotten himself killed before much infighting could flair up.  His successor, Gen. Shirley, seemed to work well with the colonists, but as a result ended up falling into disfavor in London.  Gen. Loudoun, of course, tried to implement the policies that the Ministry wanted, but seemed to get nowhere with colonial cooperation.

More important than any change in military leadership, was Secretary Pitt’s policy changes in how Britain would run the war in America.  Clearly, ordering colonies to submit to military demands was not working.

Rather than treat the colonies as subjects to be taxed and bullied, Pitt decided to treat them as allies.  Pitt appealed to the colonists in the medium they understood best: money.  In Europe, Pitt threw money at his allies in the German States to keep France busy.  In America, Pitt would throw money at the colonies in order to convince them to go on the attack in Canada.

John Forbes
(from Wordpress)

In short, Pitt had adopted the policy Gen. Shirley had pursued before he had been recalled to London to face charges.  Shirley’s political reputation now restored, he received an appointment as Governor of the Bahamas and had the satisfaction of seeing his policies finally implemented in America.

Pitt sent notices to the colonial governors, encouraging them to raise their own military units for use in the offensive against the French in Canada.  Rather than forcing the colonies to pay for these offensives, Britain would reimburse colonial expenses for raising these armies on their own. Pitt also repealed the hated policy that gave British regular officers command authority over colonial officers of higher rank.  Going forward, the colonials would be treated as partners rather than subordinates.  Colonial militia would not be treated as simple adjuncts to the Regular Army.  They would fight essentially as allied armies alongside the Regulars.  But most importantly, Britain was going to pick up the cost of all these armies.

Pownall and other colonial governors were totally on board with Pitt’s plans to pay for everything.  A few months earlier, the colonies had balked at Gen. Loudoun’s demand that they raise a combined force of less than 7000 soldiers for the coming year.  They complained that it simply was not possible.

Now that the British agreed to pay for the expenses, Massachusetts agreed to field 7000 soldiers for the coming year all by itself. Connecticut promised another 5000.  In Virginia, where Col. Washington could not even completely fill his one regiment with conscripts, the new money provided him with plenty of volunteers, and even allowed Virginia to recruit a second regiment, more than doubling its force.

Other colonies followed suit, agreeing to provide a total of more than 23,000 new men to fight the war at British expense.  When combined with the Regulars in America, British forces would field nearly 50,000 armed men in 1758, compared to less than 10,000 French soldiers.  Beyond that, Canada only had a total French population of 15,000-16,000 men of fighting age.

Fort Carillon

Abercromby began execution of the new offensive in the spring of 1758.  By June, he had established a headquarters near the ruins of Fort William Henry at the southern tip of Lake George.  Abercromby had not only the largest army in the field that year, this was the largest military force up until this time ever assembled in North America.  Eight Regiments of British Regulars totalled about 6000 officers and men, joined with about 10,000 militia, from New England, New York, and New Jersey.  This assault force would take on Gen. Montcalm’s force of roughly 3500 French soldiers and militia at Fort Carillon.

The French had built Fort Carillon about two years earlier, after the outbreak of hostilities.  Built by engineers in the French Regular Army, the five point wood and stone fort, with ample artillery, provided a good defensive position against any attack.

Gen. Montcalm had used the fort as a launching point for the raids on Fort Oswego and Fort William Henry.  Now, with such a large British force advancing on him, the French General relied on the fort’s defenses to help counter any advantage the British had in troop numbers.

Gen. George Howe

The aging and overweight Abercromby relied on acting Gen. George Howe to handle most of the field work.  George Howe came from a prominent family in British society.  His mother came from Royalty in Hanover, and had come to Britain along with King George I when he assumed the British Crown.  His father, a member of Parliament and a Viscount, received a royal appointment as Governor of Barbados in the 1730’s.  Like many British who moved to the Caribbean, known then as the West Indies, Gov. Howe got sick and died after only a couple of years.

George Howe
(from NY Public Library)

On his father’s death, George, age 10, inherited his father’s title. Despite his pedigree, Howe was not particularly wealthy, at least by aristocratic standards.  At age 20, he purchased a commission in the army.  Howe, thrived as an officer.  During the War of Austrian Succession, he served as aide de camp to the Duke of Cumberland, and by the end of the War was a Lt. Col.  At age 33 in 1758, he was now a General and essentially in command of the largest military force North America had ever seen.   Howe was also an early advocate of light infantry, soldiers who traveled light and were well adapted to fighting in the wilderness conditions of America.  In early July, he made his way to Fort Carillon to lead the assault personally.

First Fighting

In addition to the main fort, the French had outpost in the area.  The British first needed to capture or drive back the outposts before they could begin an assault on the Fort Carillon itself.  On July 6, Gen. Howe led an advance force on a French camp about four miles from Fort Carillon.

Map of Fort Carillon Battle (from Wikipedia)

The British quickly routed the French, but Howe was killed early in the action, dying in the arms of a Connecticut militia officer named Israel Putnam, a name you will want to remember when we get to the Revolution.  The loss of such a promising young officer struck many people as a tragedy. The people of Massachusetts donated a fund to pay for a memorial to Gen. Howe in Westminster Abbey.

Howe’s death had an impact on the mission, but more importantly would affect the relationship of his two younger brothers, the future Gen. William Howe and future Admiral Richard Howe.  The death of this promising officer was a tragedy, to be sure.  The loss would not only affect the course of this battle, but would have major consequences for many future events.

Howe’s second in command, Lt. Col. John Bradstreet immediately took charge and requested permission to assault the Fort.  Had Bradstreet moved quickly, he might very well have taken the Fort which still had not received reinforcements.  Abercromby, however, seemed stunned by the loss of his General and did not want to continue fighting.  He denied the request to attack and decided to regroup for a day.

That extra time allowed Montcalm to get his reinforcements from Fort Frontenac, set up better entrenchments, and improve other defensive measures.  Even with the reinforcements though, the 4000 or so French forces, seemed no match for the British force of 16,000. Montcalm had only about 15 Indians at the Fort.  Most of his Indian allies had abandoned him after the falling out over Fort William Henry,  Abercrombie’s artillery probably could have forced the capitulation of the Fort within days.  I say “probably” because Abercromby decided on a different plan of attack.

Abercromby was convinced that the Fort’s defenses did not necessitate the difficult and time consuming task of entrenching artillery.  Rather, he could simply use his infantry to storm the Fort.

The day after Howe’s death, July 7, Abercromby sent out scouts to get a better idea of the enemy defenses.  That night, he held a council of war to discuss options.  But rather than letting all officers give input, Abercromby limited debate to whether they should use three lines of attack or four.  He did not allow any consideration of mounting artillery to use against the French lines, or even as support for the infantry.  The General decided that artillery would be too much trouble and would take too much time to mount.

Final Assault

The next day, July 8, a group of skirmishers led by his new second in command, Col. Thomas Gage, who we last met in Episode 5 at the battle of the Monongahela and another name you will want to remember, took the field.  The Regulars were accompanied by Rogers Rangers and a group of Massachusetts infantry, which used skirmishing techniques to drive the French pickets back into their main lines.

Next, eight battalions of British regulars advanced on the Fort.  In truth, the British never even got near the Fort.  Gen. Montcalm deployed most of his forces on Rattlesnake Hill, which stood between the Fort and the attacking British. The French entrenched the hill and laid down branches and other impediments designed to break up the British line during the advance.

The impediments worked, as the British regulars got caught up in the debris.  As they slowly tried to advance over the impediments, the French began to mow them down.  While the regulars stood and died bravely, they nevertheless died without inflicting much of any damage on the French.

Abercromby was directing the assault from more than a mile away.  He ordered the assault to continue without seeing first hand the resulting carnage.  In the afternoon, several regiments of militia also tried to storm the French defenses and suffered massive losses as well.  Among those involved in the assault was a militia Major from Massachusetts named Artemas Ward, again, a name you may want to remember as we get into the Revolution.

By the end of the day, around 2500 British soldiers, mostly regulars, lay dead or wounded, making it the bloodiest day of battle in North America until the American Civil War.

Victory of Montcalm's Troops at Carillon. by Henry Ogden
(from Wikipedia, original at Fort Ticonderoga Museum, NY)

After seeing these losses, Abercromby did not decide to change his plan of attack to use his artillery, but rather decided to retreat.  He feared a possible counter attack from a French force that was still only one-fourth the size of his. The order to retreat spread panic and confusion among the British, who fled chaotically down Lake George back to the base near the ruins of Fort William Henry.

After such an embarrassing loss, most officers and men still wanted to return and use artillery to take the Fort properly.  Another officer you may want to remember, Capt. Charles Lee of the 44th Foot wrote a letter home:

"These proceeding must undoubtedly appear most astonishingly absurd to people who were at a distance, but they were still more glaringly so to us who were upon the spot…. There was one hill in particular which seem’d to offer itself as an ally to us, it immediately Commanded the lines from hence two small pieces of cannon well planted must have drove the French in a very short time from their breast work… but notwithstanding some of our Cannon was brought up & in readiness, this was never thought of, which (one would imagine) must have occur’d to any blockhead who was not absolutely so far sunk in Idiotism as to be oblig’d to wear a bib and bells."

Abercromby, however, overruled his junior officers and decided that they had done enough fighting. He would not attempt any further offensive against Carillon.  Despite overwhelming numbers and an obvious plan of attack, Fort Carillon would remain the year’s greatest failure.  It would permanently tarnish Abercromby’s reputation and would lead to his replacement later that year.  Like most recalled but well connected British Generals, Abercromby would be promoted several more times. He would serve as a member of Parliament, but would never again command troops in the field.

Next Week: The British finally begin to turn things around with the fall of Louisbourg and Frontenac, as well as the Treaty of Easton.

Next Episode 11: Louisbourg, Frontenac, and Treaty of Easton

Previous Episode 9: Fort William Henry Massacre & Rise of Pitt

Visit the American Revolution Podcast (https://amrev.podbean.com).

Click here to donate

American Revolution Podcast is distributed 100% free of charge. If you can chip in to help defray my costs, I'd appreciate whatever you can give.  Make a one time donation through my PayPal account.

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Further Reading

Websites

Battle of Fort Carillon, 1758: https://emergingrevolutionarywar.org/2016/07/08/the-bloodiest-day-the-battle-of-carillon-july-8-1758

The Debacle at Fort Carillon, by Richard Snow American Heritage Mag. Vol. 23, Issue 4, June 1972: http://www.americanheritage.com/content/debacle-fort-carillon

Battle For Ticonderoga, by John F. Ross, American Heritage Mag. Vol. 18, Issue 4, 2008: https://www.americanheritage.com/content/battle-ticonderoga

Gen. James Abercromby: http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/abercromby_james_4E.html

Sir John Ligonier: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member/ligonier-john-louis-1680-1770

Gen. Jeffery Amherst: http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/amherst_jeffery_4E.html

Gen. James Wolfe: http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/wolfe_james_3E.html

Gen. John Forbes: http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/forbes_john_1707_1759_3E.html

Westminster Abbey Howe Memorial: http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/george-howe

Col. John Bradstreet: http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/bradstreet_john_4E.html

Israel Putnam: http://www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/israel-putnam

Artemas Ward: http://www.revolutionary-war.net/artemas-ward.html

Charles Lee: http://www.carolana.com/SC/Revolution/continental_army_charles_lee.html

Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)

The Fall of New France, 1755-1760, by Gerald E. Hart, (1888).

The History of Canada, Vol. 4,  by William Kingsford (1889).

An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North America for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760, Vol 1, Vol. 2, & Vol. 3, by John Knox (1914).

The Burial of Lord Viscount Howe, Killed in the French and Indian War, by Edward Owen (1893)

Montcalm and Wolfe, Vol. 1, by Francis Parkman (1885).

Memoir Upon the Late War in North America, Between the French and English, 1755-60, Vol. 1, & Vol. 2, by Pierre Pouchot (1866).

The Administration of the British Colonies, by Thomas Pownall (1777).

Montcalm at the battle of Carillon (Ticonderoga) (July 8th, 1758), by Maurice Sautai (1920).

A Soldier of the Wilderness: A Story of Abercrombie's Defeat and the Fall of Fort Frontenac in 1758, by Everett Titsworth Tomlinson (1905) (from Google Play - Books).

Books Worth Buying
(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*

Anderson, Fred Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766, Alfred A. Knopf, 2000.

Brumwell, Stephen Redcoats: The British Soldier and War in the Americas 1755-1763, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2002.

Fowler, Willam F. Jr. Empires at War: The French and Indian War and the Struggle for North America, 1754-1763, Walker Books, 2005.

Jennings, Francis Empire Of Fortune: Crowns, Colonies & Tribes in the Seven Years War in America, W.W. Norton & Co. 1988.

* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.