French brigade is on the march in North America while Indian allies arrive late or are reluctant to take part at all. witness the conference near the campfire. These Indians should be far to the front of the French advance by now "on a scout", Battalion La Sarre (25mm RSM miniatures) marches In two grand divisions near the blockhouse scratch-built by Tom Ostrander seconded by a body of Suren 30mm French painted represent Les Compagnies Franches de la Marine. The latter were the soldiers of the French Navy posted to garrison and protect French colonial possessions in the New World.
The tardy waterborne Indians are 25mm RSMs in canoes manufactured by this company. Most of the miniatures near the campfire are 30mm Surens. The terrain is scratch-built sculpted hard (bottom layers) and porous (upper layers) styrofoam insulation contoured with Durham's water putty. All is covered with model railroad static grass held down by green household water base paint. The road and stream are made of water putty and are modelled with stain painting. From the collection of Bill Protz. Photo by Bill Kojis. Theme Editor -Bill Protz.
"A people who from their situation are of the highest consequence to the preservation of all our colonies on the continent."
"They are a necessary evil."
WHOSE SIDE WERE THEY ON ANYWAY?
Sometimes that's a hard question to answer. Before reviewing the effects of Indian participation on-the French and Indian War, it would be helpful to examine the roles played by some of the major tribes. Particularly helpful in this regard is the Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History, a 1987 publication.
For the French several Indian groups supported them, particularly during the early years of the conflict, but many of these tribes then became neutral or hostile towards them. Near Montreal groups of Iroquois, Algonquin, Nipissing and Caughnawaga Indians provided assistance; the Abenakis of St. Francis, Hurons and a few Cayuga and Onondaga also helped. Near Detroit the Huron, Ottawa, Chippewa and Potawatomi tribes formed a coalition of allies. Other tribes remained neutral but war parties joined the French from the Delaware and Shawnee tribes in Pennsylvania after Braddock's defeat. In the Carolinas, the Cherokee Indians started the war on the English side and then switched to the French as the war progressed (Tanner, p. 42).
Five, later six, nations (Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, Onondaga and Tuscarora) made up the confederacy that came to be called the Iroquois. The tribes were divided into clans; Turtle, Bear, Wolf, Beaver, Deer, Eel, Snipe, Hawk and Heron (Graymont, p. 13). The Turtle, Bear and Wolf clans were found within each of the nations, and therefore, all could claim some form of kinship among the tribes. While most of the Iroquois lived in the colony of New York at the time of the French and Indian War, some groups lived in Canada and others in Pennsylvania as well. This explains in part the neutrality of the League for a portion of the conflict and also why certain groups from the Six Nations supported the French while others backed the English. It also explains why information about regular French and English expeditions moved so quickly across the continent.
As the French and English disputed the North American continent in the 17th and l8th centuries, the Iroquois League and its neighbors also fought a series of major wars. From 1641-1701,15 major engagements occurred as the Iroquois moved outside their own territory to obtain furs. Raids led to open warfare as the Hurons and other neighboring tribes fought back. Early Iroquois successes against the Hurons and their French and Indian allies led to the Hurons being split into two small groups near Quebec and Detroit (Tanner, p. 35). However victorious counterattacks by the Ottawas, Hurons, Missisaugas and Ojibwas put the Iroquois on the defensive. When peace was re-established, the Iroquois League had been forced back into the Colony of New York, and despite the best British efforts, would remain largely neutral throughout most of the colonial wars to follow.
The English and their colonials started the war with some Indians allied to them or at least neutral. Unfortunately with the destruction of Braddock's army the picture changed radically. Mohawks and Senecas actively aided the English at first in Pennsylvania. After the Battle of the Monongahela and the death of old Hendrick with William Johnson at the Battle of Lake George, the Iroquois resumed a more cautious neutrality. The Shawnees and Delawares turned on the English in Pennsylvania. -The Cherokees fought alongside the English in Pennsylvania but faded away as the war progressed. Finally Gov. Kerlerac in Louisiana persuaded them to change sides altogether. So while the English were aided at times by Indians, that support withered and in some cases turned to hostility between 1756-1759. With the French defeat at Quebec, of course, the Indian position was aftered dramatically.
Indians affected the French and Indian War in two significant ways: they created profound strategic problems for both sides and devised effective tactical practices that were quite successful for them. Strategy first.
More Indians from the French and Indian Wars
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Introduction: Whose Side Were They On Anyway?
French and British Strategy
Tactics
Major Engagements 1754-60
1768 Populations and Sources
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