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The French and Indian War (1754-1763) was the American theater of the Seven Years' War, following King George's War.
British and French forces, each allied with Native American tribes, fought for control of North America.
The conflict reshaped colonial power in the region and led up to the American Revolution.
In 1753, Virginia Lieutenant Governor Dinwiddie sent militia officer George Washington to the Ohio Country.
Washington delivered a message ordering French forces to abandon their forts.
The French refused, sparking the French and Indian War.
On July 3, 1754, George Washington surrendered to French and Native American forces at Fort Necessity in the Ohio Country.
His troops, trapped in a makeshift stockade during heavy rain, faced enemy fire from the surrounding forest.
This defeat was Washington's only surrender.
In 1755, British General Edward Braddock led 2,000 troops through Pennsylvania's forests to capture Fort Duquesne from the French.
His army, trained for European battlefields, marched in tight formation down narrow wilderness trails.
Seven miles from the fort, French and Native American forces ambushed them.
Trapped between steep ridges, British soldiers bunched together, making easy targets.
Young George Washington, serving as Braddock's aide, rode through heavy fire organizing a retreat.
Bullets shredded his coat and killed two horses beneath him—but he emerged unhurt.
The battle became known as Braddock's Defeat or the Battle of Monongahela.
In 1756, Britain and France began what became the first global war.
Fighting spread from Europe to North America, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.
While Europeans called it the Seven Years' War, battles raged across forests, mountains, and oceans.
From 1756 to 1763, a major war split into two theaters:
In Europe, Britain, Prussia, France, Austria, and Russia clashed across continents in the Seven Years' War.
In North America, British colonists fought French troops and Native American warriors in the French and Indian War.
During the French and Indian War, General Montcalm struck decisive blows against British forces.
In 1756, he captured Fort Oswego by combining tactical skill with Native American support.
While King Louis XV focused on European battles and alliances, General Montcalm fought in North America's forests.
Montcalm secured victories against British forces by combining tactical skill with Native American partnerships.
It was a different story with France's struggling European campaign.
In July 1757, French general Louis-Joseph de Montcalm captured Fort William Henry from British forces.
The fort guarded Lake George's southern shore in New York, protecting Britain's northern colonies.
Montcalm's forces, including French troops and Native American fighters, surrounded and bombarded the fort until it fell.
This victory exposed weaknesses in British colonial defenses.
After capturing Fort William Henry, Montcalm's Native American allies attacked and killed many of the surrendered British soldiers.
The French commander and his troops failed to protect their prisoners.
In 1758, British Major General James Wolfe led an amphibious attack on the French fortress at Louisbourg.
His forces captured this key stronghold on Cape Breton Island, which controlled access to the North Atlantic shipping routes.
The victory cleared the path for Britain's advance on Quebec.
In 1758, General Jeffery Amherst captured the French Fort Duquesne in the Ohio Valley.
He renamed it Fort Pitt, honoring Secretary of State William Pitt the Elder.
The fort site later became Pittsburgh.
Bradstreet's force struck Fort Frontenac in August 1758.
The British troops and colonial militia surrounded the French garrison at the St. Lawrence-Lake Ontario junction.
Within days, they seized the fort's weapons, supplies, and nine armed vessels.
This capture cut French supply lines between Montreal and their western outposts.
Benjamin Franklin united the American colonies through strategic action.
He created the "Join, or Die" cartoon and proposed the Albany Plan to counter French military strength.
The Battle of Quebec on September 13, 1759, saw British forces under Wolfe face French troops led by Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham.
Both commanders died in the fierce fighting.
Britain's victory secured their control of Quebec, giving them almost complete control of North America.
After Quebec fell in 1759, British forces captured Montreal in 1760.
The siege destroyed much of the city through artillery and fire.
With Montreal's surrender, French control of Canada ended, though scattered fighting persisted.
After the French and Indian War, Britain built forts and expanded control across its new North American territories.
Francis Marion served here, learning frontier tactics—raids, ambushes, and terrain navigation.
These skills made him the "Swamp Fox" during the Revolution, where he used guerrilla warfare learned from colonial battles.
In 1760, King George III took the British throne after his grandfather George II's death, during the Seven Years' War.
The 22-year-old king soon faced the American Revolution, which transformed both Britain's empire and its American colonies.
Spain joined Britain's enemies in 1762, forcing Britain to split its military forces.
The 1763 Treaty of Paris ended European warfare and transformed colonial power.
Britain gained France's North American territories, including Canada and eastern lands.
In India, Britain acquired French colonies, adding to its existing control of Bengal.
After Britain gained North America in 1763, Chief Pontiac united Great Lakes tribes against British expansion.
His rebellion attacked frontier settlements but failed to halt British control.
Commander Thomas Gage then mixed military force with diplomacy to manage indigenous relations.
The conflict weakened tribal autonomy and fueled colonial resistance to British rule.
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