THE WAR GRINDS ON

Only the dead have seen the end of war. ~ Plato

More disaster for the British

In the summer of 1755, General William Shirley led a river expedition up to the fort at Oswego on the banks of Lake Ontario in New York. Part of that expedition were our cousins Benjamin Chamberlain (3C6X) and Abraham Cummings (1C7X), son of our aunt Rachel Proctor Cummings (6A). Also on that expedition was our uncle Ebenezer Kidder (6U). The main job for Shirley's company was to shore up defenses at the fort for an expected attack. Their work completed, the men returned to Massachusetts in November.

Whatever defenses had been put in place that fall weren't enough. The next major battle in the war, which turned into a colossal defeat for the British, happened at Oswego. On August 10, 1756, the British defenders of Fort Oswego were forced to surrender. The French took 1,700 English soldiers captive and siezed 121 cannon.

Fort Oswego had been the last line of defense for many far northern British settlements. After the disastrous confrontation there, thousands of families living in central New York, Pennsylvania, western Maryland and Virginia deserted their homes and fled eastward away from the conflict.

A year later, another dismal defeat at the well barricaded French fortress at Louisbourg left the British reeling with all British held lands in the Nova Scotia region now at risk.

Relatives who fought at Louisbourg: Captain Moses Parker (2C8X), Moses Richardson (4C7X), Eliphaz Wyman (3C7X) and Benjamin Chamberlain (3C6X).

Note: Both Moses Parker and Moses Richardson were killed in 1775, the first year of the Revolutionary War. We'll have their stories in a future post.

(1) Fort Oswego (2) The Fortress as Louisbourg

Fort William Henry

For two years, the English managed to keep a precarious hold over Fort William Henry, built in the summer of 1755. In the summer of 1757, however, French commander Louis-Joseph Montcalm set his sights on the fort. Montcalm was buoyed by his successful takeover of Fort Oswego a year prior. In August, 8,000 French and Native troops gathered at French Fort Carillon (later Ticonderoga) readying themselves to launch a major attack.

(1) French Fort Carillon (2) British Fort William Henry (3) British Fort Edward

Fort William Henry was a square enclosure with walls 17 feet high and, in some spots, 30 feet thick. It was also surrounded by a moat.

While impressively defended by high walls and a moat, the fort only had a fighting force of about 2,300 men, both British soldiers and American militiamen. The French troops marching on the fort numbered over 8,000. A ray of hope, however, remained for William Henry. Word of the impending attack had reach Massachusetts a few weeks prior and reinforcements were on their way.

Captain Daniel Stickney's troop of horse

One company making their way to relieve the fort was headed by our cousin Daniel Stickney (1C9X) of Tewksbury. Daniel was the son of our uncle William Stickney (9U) and our cousin Anna Haseltine Stickney (1C10X). He married our cousin Mary Hill (2C8X) who was the great-granddaughter of Ralph Hill (9GGF), one of the founders of Billerica. Daniel was fifty years old when he set out for Fort William Henry with his troop of horse, a precurser to the later cavalry. The men in his unit supplied their own horses. Two of the men in Daniel's company were grandfathers of ours.

Our grandfather Abraham Stickney (6GGF), also of Tewksbury, was first cousin to Captain Daniel Stickney. Grandpa Abraham was one of the older men in the troop at fifty-eight. He wasn't done by any means, though. In 1758, Abraham would enlist for yet another stint at Lake George.

Another of our grandfathers in the troop was Daniel Proctor (GGF) of Chelmsford. Daniel was a lieutenant in the company. He, like Daniel Stickney, married a granddaughter of Ralph Hill.

Note: We'll hear more about both Grandpa Abraham and Grandpa Daniel in a future post.

David Stickney (2C7X), son of Captain Daniel Stickney was a trumpeter for the troop of horse.

Daniel's company was just one of many sent out to aid Fort William Henry. Sadly, most of them didn't arrive in time to save the fort from surrender.

surrender

General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, commander of the French forces, arrived with his troops on the 3rd of August. He demanded immediate surrender. Lt. Colonel George Monro, commander of William Henry, refused and sent an urgent message to Fort Edward, twenty miles south, for aid. The commander at Fort Edward was reluctant to reduce his own fighting force and, instead, recommended surrender with good terms.

Monro, hoping for reinforcements from Massachusetts, decided to try and hold the fort. He and his men put up a "gallant fight" for six long day. During that time, the fort remained under constant cannon bombardment by the French.

Finally on August 9, when sufficient reinforcement failed to appear, Monro sent out the white flag. The terms of surrender agreed upon were that Col. Monroe would deliver up the fort and all its armament. The English also agreed to swear on the Bible not to serve against France for eighteen months. For his part, Montcalm promised the English soldiers and their families protection from the Natives. He agreed to furnish them with a guard of 500 Frenchmen and covered wagons to carry their baggage to Fort Edward. The English also insisted on the right to march out with the honor of war.

With the terms of surrender in place, the soldiers and their families prepared to evacuate the fort.

the "massacre"

At daybreak on August 11, 1757, the English men, women and children who had endured the six day seige, abandonded William Henry and began making their way to Ford Edward. While Montcalm probably had the best of intentions with the terms of surrender he had agreed to, his Native allies had other ideas. Not only had they been excluded from all negotiations, they had also been promised reward for their aid. They wanted something to show for their actions.

Montcalm lost control of his Native forces who attacked the rear of the English contingent beginning their trek toward Fort Edward. The English were "harassed by the swarming Indians, who snatched at them, grabbing for weapons and clothing, and pulling away with force those that resisted their actions, including many of the women, children, servants and slaves." Things only got worse as the group attempted to move on.

The column of English evacuees disintigrated as some tried to escape and others to defend themselves as best they could using their muskets as clubs. The French had allowed the British to keep their muskets but all ammunition had been turned over to the French. While Montcalm and some of his French officers tried to stop the attacks, most did not. Many of the French soldiers "explicitly refused to provide further protection to the British." Massachusetts colonel Joseph Frye described what he witnessed:

At last with great difficulty the troops got from the Retrenchment, but they were no sooner out than the savages fell upon our rear, killing and scalping, which occasioned an order for a halt, done in great confusion at last, but, as soon as those in the front knew what was doing in the rear they again pressed forward, and thus the confusion continued & encreased till we came to the advanced guard of the French, the savages still carrying away Officers, privates, women and children, some of which later they kill'd & scalpt in the road. This horrid scene of blood and slaughter obliged our officers to apply to the French Guard for protection, which they refus'd told them they must take to the woods and shift for themselves.

Although later estimates of those killed and captured reached as high as 1,500, historians today believe the number closer to 150.

relatives who served at Fort William Henry

Unlike in the Revolutionary War, it's been rather difficult to find lists of men who fought in the various battles in the final French and Indian War so this list is certainly incomplete.

Our cousin Joshua Kittredge (1C8X) was killed during the siege of Fort William Henry, probably on the battlefield outside the fort.

Cousin Jedediah Stickney (3C8X) of Rowley was a first cousin two times removed of Daniel and Abraham Stickney who served in the troop of horse mentioned in our last post. Jedediah was in one of the companies that managed to arrive at the fort in time and engage in battle before the surrender. At the time, Jedediah was only eighteen years old. After the surrender, he was among the column of English on the march to Fort Edward. According to an account by Matthew Adams Stickney (5C6X), author of The Stickney Family, Jedidiah went to great lengths to escape:

Jedediah Stickney threw off most of his clothing to render himself more secure against the grasp of the Indians, who were now so mingled with them that could for their own safety use only their tomahawks and knives. A tall Indian seized him by the shoulders, but by a back stroke with the breach of his gun he threw him off and fled without looking behind and made his way safely through the army of Indians to Fort Edward 15 miles distant retaining his arms. The powder flask he used then is now in the possession of his descendants.

Jedediah returned to Rowley where he inherited his father's homestead and saw mill. During the Revolutionary war, Jedidiah forged "spears and cutlasses as instruments of war for the Army."

Our cousin Benjamin Kidder (2C7X) of Londonderry, NH, was a drummer who had already seen action at Crown Point in 1755. He was one of the soldiers taken captive by Natives after the surrender of Fort William Henry. Benjamin was taken to Sainte-Anne-de-la-Rochelle in Canada. There, he died in jail "after four months of suffering." His brother, John Kidder (2C7X), administered his estate and asked the Massachusetts government for reimbursement "for losses incurred because of Benjamin's death." In the administration papers, Benjamin was referred to as "Sargent Benjamin Kidder."

Note: Benjamin's father, Benjamin Kidder, Sr. (1C8X), had died only ten years before at the battle of Louisbourg during King George's War.

Other relatives serving at Fort William Henry were Zachariah Richardson (4C7X), Gideon Fletcher (4C7x), Nehemiah Blodgett (4C&X), Benjamin Baldwin (1C8X), Simon Crosby (3C10X), Francis Crosby (5C8X) and Ralph Hill (2C8X), yet another grandchild of Ralph Hill.

Next up: Defeat and Final Victory