French+and+Indian+War

=The French and Indian War=

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The French and Indian War was a great loss to the French, because they lost a lot of land in America. Many people might think when they have only heard the name French and Indian War that they fought each other, but they fought together against the British. The war started in 1754 and ended 1763. There were 90,000 French settlers and 1.5 million British colonists in America, at that time.

French and British Wars
The French and Indian War wasn't the first time the British and French had fought. The first colonial conflict was known as King William's War from 1689 to1697. The Indians helped the French in this battle and all the gained land went back to their colonial owners after the war. The Indians again backed the french in Queen Anne's War in 1702-1713. In the end England won and took Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Hudson Bay. The third war was King George's War and lasted from1744 to 1748. All land went back to the original owner in the end.

The Battle of Fort William Henry
Fort William Henry was constructed at the southern end of Lake George in 1755 by Major General William Johnson and his group of colonial volunteers. It was a key defense of northern New York. Both nations thought it was their land and when Johnson arrived in the area he found an armed force of French soldiers ready to protect the land. The opposing armies fought for the land in the east of the location. This was called The Battle of Lake George. The British narrowly won under the command of Johnson while the French were under the command of Baron de Dieskau. In August of 1757, a French General Marquis de Montcalm, sailed up Lake George with a force of 8,000 French regulars, a large party of Indian allies, and Canadian volunteers. They expected that the British fort to surrender, but they didn't. With the British command under Lieutenant-Colonel George Munro, with 2,200 men and villagers from surrounding towns inside of the fort there was no surrender. When the British refused to surrender the French bombarded the fort for six whole days. The fort was so damaged from the firing, the British had to surrender.

The Battle of Fort Necessity and Duquesne
In 1752, Marquis Duquesne de Menneville, the French govenor of Canada, ordered that forts should be bulit between Lake Erie and the Ohio River. These forts, he thought, would keep English fur traders and settlers from crossing the Applalachain Mountians. This made Lieutenant Govenor Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia want to buy land beyond the frontier. So in 1753, he sent George Washinton, a 21 year old planter, to warn them that they were in Virginia property. When Duquesne got the message he rejected it with contempt. In the spring of 1754, Dinwiddie sent another group to build a fort where the Monongahlea and the Allegheny join to form the Ohio River. Before the construction party could make it to Ohio, the French drove them off and completed the post on their own and called it Fort Duquesne. They occupied it with 600 men. Washington should have turned back or called reinforcements, but instead he marched straight toward Fort Duquesne. On the way he suprised a small French scouting party and killed the leader. The French main force then advanced them. Washington then made a defensive postion that was called Fort Necessity. The French easily surrounded it and after and all-day attack Washington surrendered. They returned to Virginia and left the disputed territory to the French.

The Battle of Lake George
The Battle of Lake George was fought on September 8, 1755 in the North Provence of New York. The battle was a part of a British campaign to expel French troops out of North America. There were 1,500 French soliders and Indain allies under the command Baron de Dieskau. The British also had 1,500 soliders and 200 Mohawk Indians who were under the commands of Sir William Johnson and War Cheif King Hendrick. Sir William arrived in America in August 28, 1755 at the southern end of Lac Saint Sacrement and renamed it Lake George after his King. His plan was to attack French fort, Fort St. Frederic, a keystone in the defense of Canada. Dieskau saw what Johnson was doing, so he decided to lauch a raid on Fort Lyman. He wanted to destroy the boats, artillery, and supplies Johnson would need for his campiagn. Dieskau sent 1,500 man to attack Fort Lyman. They arrived near the fort at the evening of September 7, 1755. Johnson camped 14 miles north of Fort Lyman and was told that there was to be an attack on it, and he sent 1,000 men under the command of Ephriam Williams to help Fort Lyman. A deserter warned Dieskau of what Johnson was doing, so he blocked the road with French grenadiers and ambushed them from the woods at a village called Lake George. Williams' men walked striaght into the trap and around 100 of them were killed. Some brave men covered them when the others were retreating to Johnsons' camp. Dieskau ordered that they go on and push on into Johnsons' camp, but the Mowhawk Kinsmen wouldn't go attack the camp because their fellow Mowhawks were in there. So Dieskau ordered his 200 grenadiers to attack the camp. While they were marching Williams ordered his men to make a defensive set up of wagons, trees, and other cover. While Williams was making a defense the British were setting up cannons and completely destroyed the French. The French then gave up the attack, retreated, and wounded Dieskau in battle. The British didn't ever attack Fort Frederic, but they had a good victory and wounded a French officer.



The War Ends

The war ended in 1763, the British won and they also redrew the map of the world. Outside of North America they were reamarkably generous. They returned most of the land they had conquered. France had to surrender Canada and all claims to the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys. Spain turned over to the British, Florida and the gulf coast as far west as the Mississippi River. Nearly everyone in the English colonies had been happy about the ending of the war. The French threat had been removed and Spain had been pushed back from the frontier. The way to the West lay open.

References

"Fort William Henry" lakegeorgehistorical.org, March 25,2005. Lake George Historical Association, http://www.lakegeorgehistorical.org/site_1.htm

Garraty, John A. The Story of America. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Notes, Taken from Mr.Larson's classroom. Grace Saint Luke's