May 28,1754: George Washington, with Indian Allies, attacks the French. Tanacharison, the Half-King and 8 warriors (Senecas) joined the attack on Jumonville that inaugurated the conflict (Sipe, p. 157r. July 4, 1754:Washington surrenders Ft. Necessity to French and their Indian allies (Caughnawagas, Lake of the Two Mountains, Nipissings, Algonquins, Hurons, Abenakis, Iroquois of La Presentation and Ottawas) (Sipe, p. 163 and Parkman II, p. 949). July 9, 1755: Battle of the Monongahela. 50 warders of the Iroquois League joined and then 0 Braddock. French Indian allies included 600 Indians (Chippewas, Ottawas,Hurons, Potawatomi, Caughnawagas, Abenakis, Ojibwas, Shawanoes and Mingos) (Sipe, p.179;Tanmr, p. 45; Parkman II, p. 988 and Kopperman, p 268). September 8, 1755: Battle of Lake George. William Johnson's colonials accompanied by over 3OO Mohawks defeated Baron Dieskau's French regulars also supported by 600 Indians, mostly Iroquois of La Presentation. In the initial ambush, Dieskau's Indians surprised Johnson's Indians and the colonials with them. After their initial victory, Dieskau's Indians refused to assault Johnson's fortified camp (Parkman 11, 1049-62). March 25, 1756: Fort Bull falls. At 10:00 a.m., the Indians ambushed sleds on the road to Ft. Bull. thirty joined the Frenchman de Leary in his attack on the fort while most refused to move after the successful ambush. Iroquois from Sault St. Louis and St. Regis, Abenakis and Nipissings along with 251 Canadians and regulars participated (Hagerty, pp. 33, 54-59). August 14, 1756: Oswego falls. 250 Indians accompanied the expedition under Montcalm. While they didn't participate in open battle, they did serve to cut off the post from surrounding support, supplies, messages, etc. Menominees were present. (Bougainville, pp. 23-26 and Parkman 11, 1120-27). September 7, 1756: Kittaning in Pennsylvania attacked by colonials. Located between Ft, Duquesne and Venango, this Delaware Indian town under Capt. Jacobs was attacked at night by 300 Pennsylvania colonials under Col. John Armstrong. The colonials lost at least 17 killed, 13 wounded and 19 missing while the casualties to the Delawares, Shawnees and a few French soldiers present were unknown. Much of the town was destroyed the the colonials withdrew (Hunter, pp. 1821). August 9, 1757; Ft. William Henry falls. About 855 Indians actively participated. They included Ojilywas (160), Ottawa (337), Menominees (129), Potawatomis (88) and Winnebago, Iowa, Sauk, Miami and Mesquakie (144) (Tanner, p.46). Indians served to isolate the fort from Ft.Edward and any supplies or messages. 1757-1758: Roger's Rangers vs. the French and Indians January 21, 1757: Battle on Showshoes: Rogers and 74 men were ambushed by 89 French regulars and 90 Canadians and Indians. The French lost about 37 or more killed and wounded while Rogers lost 14 killed, 6 wounded and 6 captured (See ROW. rs Journal and Bougainville pp. 80-81). March 12, 1758: 180 Rangers v.s. 200 Mission Indians, Nipissing, Abenakis and Canadians. The fight lasted from 3 p.m. into the night when Rogers made his escape. Rogers lost 125 killed and wounded while the Indians lost more than 50 (See Rogers Journal and Bougainville pp. 198-199). August 8, 1756: 700 Rangers, light infantry and Conn. militia were ambushed by 450 French and Indians under the Frenchman Marin. The action opened at 7 a.m. and the French and Indians wifhdrew after suffering about 100 casualties. Rogers admitted to 49 killed and mom wounced See Rogers journal; Parkman II, pp. 1280-82; Bougainville, p. 261). September 14, 1758: Forbes Expedition against Ft. Duquesne. Forbes was originally accompanied by Catabas, Tuscaroras and Nattaways (14). On this day, Maj. James Grant was defeated and caplured during an expedition to the Ohio Valley when he moved ahead of the main body. At dawn he appeared in front of Ft. Duquesne and was set upon by French and their indian allies. About 400 Royal Americans, Highlanders, Virginians and Pennsylvanians lost 273 killed or missing and 40 wounded during the action while the 800 Delawares and Shawnees suffered an undetermined loss. The Indians went home after their victory and Ft. Duquesne fell to the English (Bouquet pp. 508-22; O'Meara, pp. 200-01). July 24, 1759: Second Expedition against Ft. Niagara. French supported by Marin, Ligneris and Indian, from the West were defeatedand the gamson under Pouchot surrendered. William Johnson in command for the English at the close of the campaign and Mohawks from New York ambushed reinforcements coming to Niagara (Parkman II, 1366-67; Knox II, 1). 135). June 27, 1760: While Col. Archibald Montitomery led 1650 men in an expedition that included 40 SO Catawba Indians against, the Cherokee Nation in South Carolina, he was fired on from ambush. He lost 17 men killed and 66 wounded (regulars all) along with "several" provincials. On June 28, his army retreated (Corkran, I). 212). May-November, 1760: Col. Byrd led 900 Virginia provincials south against the Cherokees. His expediation proceeded in the glacial fashion set by the 1758 Forbes party. In November, with nothing gained, Byrd proposed a peace with the Cherokees and abandoned the expedition (Corkran, in). 223-224). May 27, 1761: Expedition of Col. James Grant and 2600 men set out against the Cherokees. His force included 57 Indians (Mohawks, Stockbridge, Catawbas and Chickasaws). June 10, 1761: Battle with Cherokee. Initial skirmish in the woods near a ford led to a serious encounter. Grant lost 10 killed and 53 wounded. Wounded and sick were evacuated. June 25, 1761: Grant with 1500 men continued. July 9, 1761: Grant retreated with 1000 shoeless men and 300 sick although 15 Cherokee villages were destroyed and 1500 acres of corn were ruined (Corkran, pp. 243-255). More Indians from the French and Indian Wars Introduction: Whose Side Were They On Anyway? French and British Strategy Tactics Major Engagements 1754-60 1768 Populations and Sources Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. VIII No. 4 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1988 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com