THE time came when the American colonies began to act together. The final struggle between France and England for colonial supremacy in America was at hand. Necessity compelled the English colonies to join in a common cause against the foe. This is the conflict known as the French and Indian War. Causes of war had existed for many years.

2. The first of these causes was the conflicting territorial claims of the two nations. England had colonized the sea-coast; France had colonized the interior of the continent. The English kings claimed the country from one ocean to the other. The French, however, began to push their way westward and southward along the great lakes to the head-waters of the Wabash, the Illinois, and the St. Croix, then down these streams to the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico. The purpose of the French was to divide the American continent and take the larger portion.

3. The French soon established military posts at Frontenac, at Niagara, at the Straits of Mackinaw, and on the Illinois. Before 1750, settlements had been made on the Maumee, at Detroit, at Green Bay, at Vincennes, at Kaskaskia, at Natchez, at New Orleans, and on the Bay of Biloxi. At this time the only outposts of the English were a fort at Oswego and a few cabins in West Virginia.

4. The immediate cause of hostilities was a conflict between the frontiersmen of the two nations in the Ohio valley. In order to prevent the intrusion of the French fur-traders into this country, a number of Virginians joined themselves together in a body called the Ohio Company. In March of 1749, they received from George II. a land-grant of five hundred thousand acres, located between the Kanawha and the Monongahela. But before the company could send out a colony, the governor of Canada dispatched three hundred men to occupy the valley of the Ohio. In the next year, however, the Ohio Company sent out an exploring party under Christopher Gist, who traversed the country and returned to Virginia in 1751.

5. This expedition was followed by vigorous movements of the French. They built a fort called Le Boeuf, on French Creek, and another named Venango, on the Alleghany. About the same time, the country south of the Ohio was again explored by Gist and a party of armed surveyors.

6. The Indians were greatly alarmed at the prospect. They rather favored the English cause, but their allegiance was uncertain. In the spring of 1753, the Miami tribes, under the leadership of the Half-King, met Benjamin Franklin at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and made a treaty with the English.

7. Before proceeding to actual war, Governor Dinwiddie determined to try a final remonstrance with the French. A paper was drawn up setting forth the nature of the English claim to the valley of the Ohio, and warning the authorities of France against further intrusion. A young surveyor, named George Washington, was called upon to carry this paper from Williamsburg, Virginia, to General St. Pierre at Presque Isle, on Lake Erie.

8. On the last day of October, 1753, Washington set out on his journey. He was attended by four comrades besides an interpreter and Christopher Gist, the guide. At Logstown, Washington held a council with the Indians, and then pressed on to Fort Le Boeuf. Here the conference was held with St. Pierre. Washington was received with courtesy, but the general of the French was acting, he said, under military instructions, and would eject every Englishman from the valley of the Ohio.

9. Washington soon took leave of the French, and returned to Venango. Then, with Gist as his sole companion, he left the river and struck into the woods. Clad in the robe of an Indian; sleeping with frozen clothes on a bed of pine-brush; guided at night by the North Star; fired at by a prowling savage from his covert; lodging on an island in the Alleghany until the river was frozen over; plunging again into the forest, the young ambassador came back without wound or scar to the capital of Virginia. The answer of St. Pierre was laid before the governor, and the first public service of Washington was ended.

10. In the mean time the Ohio Company had sent thirty-three men, under command of Trent, to erect a fort at the source of the Ohio. In March, 1754, they built the first rude block-house on the site of Pittsburgh. After all the threats of the French, the English had beaten them in seizing the key to the Ohio valley.

11. Soon, however, French boats came down the river; and Trent was obliged to surrender. Washington was now stationed at Alexandria to enlist recruits. But it was too late to save Trent's men from capture. The French immediately occupied the post, built barracks and laid the foundations of Fort Du Quesne. To retake this place Colonel Washington set out from Will's Creek in May of 1754. The possession of the disputed territory was now to be determined by war.

12. Washington, with his little army of Virginians, was commissioned to build a fort at the source of the Ohio, and to repel all who interrupted the English settlements in that country. In April the young commander left Will's Creek, and on the 26th of May the English reached the Great Meadows. Here Washington was informed that the French were on the march to attack him. A stockade was immediately erected, and named Fort Necessity. Washington determined to strike the first blow. Two Indians followed the trail of the enemy, and discovered their hiding-place. The French were on the alert, and flew to arms. "Fire!" was the command of Washington; and the first volley of a great war went flying through the forest. The engagement was brief and decisive. Jumonville, the leader of the French, and ten of his party, were killed, and twenty-one were made prisoners.

13. Before advancing farther, Washington waited for reinforcements. Only one company of volunteers arrived. His whole force numbered scarcely four hundred. Learning that the French general De Villiers was approaching, Washington deemed it prudent to fall back to Fort Necessity.

14. Scarcely were Washington's forces safe within the stockade, when, on the 3d of July, the regiment of De Villiers came in sight, and surrounded the fort. The French stationed themselves on the eminence, and fired down upon the English with fatal effect. The Indians climbed into the tree-tops. For nine hours the assailants poured a shower of balls upon Washington's men. At length, seeing that it would be impossible to hold out, he accepted the terms which were offered by the French general. On the 4th of July the English garrison marched out of the fort, and withdrew from the country.

15. Meanwhile, a congress of the American colonies had assembled at Albany. The first object was to renew the treaty with the Iroquois; the second, to unite the colonies in a common government. On the 10th of July, Benjamin Franklin presented the draft of a constitution, which was finally adopted. Philadelphia was to be the capital. The chief executive was to be a governor appointed by the king. Each colony should be represented in congress by not less than two or more than seven representatives.

16. Copies of this constitution were transmitted to the several colonies; but the new scheme of government was everywhere received with disfavor. The English ministers also rejected it, saying that the Americans were trying to make a government of their own. Meanwhile, the French were constantly preparing for war.

17. Early in 1755 General Braddock arrived in America; the plans of four campaigns were agreed on. Lawrence, the governor of Nova Scotia, was to complete the conquest of that province. Governor Johnson, of New York, was to capture Crown Point. Shirley, of Massachusetts, was to take Fort Niagara. Braddock himself was to lead the main army against Fort Du Quesne.

18. In the latter part of April, the British general set out with two thousand veterans, from Alexandria to Fort Cumberland. A few provincial troops joined the expedition. Washington became an aide-de-camp of Braddock, and frequently gave him honest counsel, which the British general rejected.

19. Braddock marched with the main body. On the 19th of June he put himself at the head of twelve hundred chosen troops, and pressed forward toward Fort Du Quesne. On the 9th of July, when the English were only twelve miles from Fort Du Quesne, they were suddenly fired upon by the French and Indians, who were hidden among the rocks and ravines.

20. The battle began with a panic. The men fired constantly, but could see no enemy. Braddock rushed to the front and rallied his men; but it was all in vain. They stood huddled together like sheep. The forest was strewn with the dead. Out of eighty-two officers, twenty-six were killed. Of the privates seven hundred and fourteen had fallen. A retreat began at once, and Washington, with the Virginians, covered the flight of the army.

21. On the next day the Indians returned to Fort Du Quesne clad in the laced coats of the British officers. The wounded Braddock was borne in the train of the fugitives to Fort Necessity, where he died. When they reached Dunbar's camp the confusion was greater than ever. The artillery, baggage, and public stores were destroyed. Then followed a hasty retreat to Fort Cumberland, and finally to Philadelphia.

22. By the treaty of Utrecht, made in 1713, Acadia, or Nova Scotia, was ceded by France to England. The great majority of the people in that province were French, and the English government was only a military occupation. At the outbreak of the French and Indian War the population amounted to more than sixteen thousand. In a campaign of a month, the English now made themselves masters of the whole country east of the St. Croix.

23. The French inhabitants still outnumbered the English, and Governor Lawrence determined to drive them into banishment. The English officers first demanded an oath of allegiance, and the surrender of all firearms and boats. The British vessels were then made ready to carry the people into exile.

24. The country about the isthmus was now laid waste, and the peasants driven into the larger towns. Wherever a sufficient number could be got together they were compelled to go on shipboard. At the village of Grand PrÉ, more than nineteen hundred people were driven into the boats at the point of the bayonet. Wives and children, old men and mothers, the sick and the infirm, all shared the common fate. More than three thousand of the Acadians were carried away and scattered, helpless and half starved, among the English colonies.

25. The third campaign planned by Braddock was to be conducted by Governor Shirley against Fort Niagara. Early in August the attempt was made, but in October had to be abandoned.

26. The fourth expedition was intrusted to General William Johnson. The object was to capture Crown Point, and drive the French from Lake Champlain. Early in August the army proceeded to the Hudson above Albany, and built Fort Edward. Thence Johnson marched to Lake George and laid out a camp.

27. In the mean time, Dieskau, the French commandant at Crown Point, advanced with fourteen hundred French, Canadians, and Indians to capture Fort Edward. The Canadians and French regulars, unsupported by the Indians, then attacked the English position. For five hours the battle was incessant. Nearly all of Dieskau's men were killed. At last the English troops charged across the field, and completed the rout. Dieskau was mortally wounded. Two hundred and sixteen of the English were killed. General Johnson now constructed Fort William Henry on the site of his camp. Meanwhile, the French had fortified Ticonderoga. Such was the condition of affairs at the close of 1755.

28. In the beginning of the next year the command of the English forces was given to Governor Shirley. Washington, at the head of the Virginia provincials, repelled the French and Indians in the valley of the Shenandoah. The expeditions, which were planned for the year, embraced the conquest of Quebec and the capture of Forts Frontenac, Toronto, Niagara, and Du Quesne.

29. The earl of Loudoun now received the appointment of commander-in-chief of the British forces. On the 17th of May Great Britain, after nearly two years of actual hostilities, made a declaration of war against France. In July Lord Loudoun assumed the command of the colonial army. The French, meanwhile, led by the marquis of Montcalm, who had succeeded Dieskau, besieged and captured Oswego.

30. In the following campaign the daring Montcalm, with more than seven thousand French, Canadians, and Indians, advanced against Fort William Henry. For six days the French pressed the siege with vigor. The ammunition of the garrison was exhausted, and nothing remained but to surrender. Honorable terms were granted by the French. On the 9th of August the French took possession of the fortress. Unfortunately, the Indians procured a quantity of spirits from the English camp. In spite of the utmost exertions of Montcalm, the savages fell upon the prisoners and massacred thirty of them in cold blood.

31. Such had been the successes of France during the year, that the English had not a single hamlet left in the whole basin of the St. Lawrence. Every cabin where English was spoken had been swept out of the Ohio valley. At the close of the year 1757 France possessed twenty times as much American territory as England, and five times as much as England and Spain together.

32. William Pitt was now placed at the head of the English ministry. Loudoun was deposed from the American army. General Abercrombie was appointed to succeed him. General Amherst was to lead a division, and young Lord Howe was next in rank to Abercrombie. Three expeditions were planned for 1758: one to capture Louisburg; a second, to reduce Crown Point and Ticonderoga; and the third to retake Fort Du Quesne from the French. The first was successful, and on the 28th of July, Louisburg capitulated. Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island were surrendered to Great Britain. The garrison, numbering nearly six thousand men, became prisoners of war.

33. On the 5th of July General Abercrombie, with an army of fifteen thousand men, moved against Ticonderoga. On the morning of the 6th the English fell in with the picket line of the French. A severe skirmish ensued; the French were overwhelmed, but Lord Howe was killed in the onset. On the morning of the 8th, the English divisions were arranged to carry Ticonderoga by assault. A desperate battle of more than four hours followed, until, at six o'clock in the evening, the English were finally repulsed. The loss on the side of the assailants amounted in killed and wounded to nineteen hundred and sixteen. In no battle of the Revolution did the British have so large a force engaged, or meet such terrible loss.

34. The English now retreated to Fort George. Soon afterward three thousand men, under Colonel Bradstreet, were sent against Fort Frontenac, on Lake Ontario, which, after a siege of two days, was compelled to capitulate. The fortress was demolished. Bradstreet's success more than counterbalanced the failure of the English at Ticonderoga.

35. Late in the summer General Forbes, with nine thousand men, advanced against Fort Du Quesne. Washington led the Virginia provincials. On the 24th of November he was within ten miles of Du Quesne. During that night the garrison took the alarm, burned the fortress, and floated down the Ohio. On the 25th the victorious army marched in, raised the English flag, and named the place Pittsburgh.

36. General Amherst was now promoted to the chief command of the American forces. By the beginning of summer, 1759, the British and colonial armies numbered nearly fifty thousand men. The entire French army scarcely exceeded seven thousand. Three campaigns were planned for the year: General Prideaux was to conduct an expedition against Niagara. Amherst was to lead the main division against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. General Wolfe was to proceed up the St. Lawrence and capture Quebec.

37. On the 10th of July, Niagara was invested by Prideaux. Two weeks later the fort capitulated, and the French, to the number of six hundred, became prisoners of war. At the same time Amherst was marching with an army of eleven thousand men against Ticonderoga. On the 22d of July the English forces landed, and on the 26th the garrison retreated to Crown Point. Five days afterwards they deserted this place also, and withdrew to Isle-aux-Noix, in the river Sorel.

38. Early in the spring General Wolfe began the ascent of the St. Lawrence. His force consisted of nearly eight thousand men, and a fleet of forty-four vessels. On the 29th of June General Monckton was sent to seize Point Levi.

39. On the 9th of July, General Wolfe crossed the north channel, and encamped on the east bank of the Montmorenci. This stream was fordable at low water. On the 31st of the month a severe battle was fought at the fords of the river, and the English were repulsed with heavy losses.

40. Exposure and fatigue threw the English general into a fever. It was decided to ascend the St. Lawrence, and gain the Plains of Abraham, in the rear of the city. The lower camp was broken up, and on the 6th of September the troops were conveyed to Point Levi. Wolfe then transferred his army to a point several miles up the river.

41. On the night of the 12th of September, the English dropped down the river to a place called Wolfs Cove, and in the dawn of morning the general marshaled his army for battle on the Plains of Abraham. Montcalm was in amazement when he heard the news. With great haste the French were brought from the trenches on the Montmorenci, and thrown between Quebec and the English.

42. The battle began with an hour's cannonade. The Canadians and Indians were routed. The French regulars wavered and were thrown into confusion. Wolfe, leading the charge, was twice wounded, but pressed on. At the moment of victory a third ball pierced his breast, and he sank to the earth. "They run, they run!" said the attendant who bent over him. "Who run?" was the response. "The French are flying everywhere," replied the officer. "Do they run already? Then I die happy," said the expiring hero.

43. Montcalm, attempting to rally his regiments, was struck by a ball and mortally wounded. "Shall I survive?" said he to his surgeon. "But a few hours at most," answered the attendant. "So much the better," replied the heroic Frenchman; "I shall not live to witness the surrender of Quebec."

44. Five days after the battle, Quebec was surrendered, and an English garrison took possession of the citadel. On the 8th of September, in the same year, Montreal, the last important post of France in the valley of the St. Lawrence, was surrendered to General Amherst.

45. For three years the war between France and England continued on the ocean. The English fleets were everywhere victorious. On the 10th of February, 1763, a treaty of peace was made at Paris. All the French possessions in North America, eastward of the Mississippi from its source to the river Iberville, and thence through Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain to the Gulf of Mexico, were surrendered to Great Britain. At the same time, Spain, with whom England had been at war, ceded East and West Florida to the English Crown. Thus closed the French and Indian War. By this conflict it was decided that the decaying institutions of the Middle Ages should not prevail in America, and that the powerful language, just laws, and priceless liberties of the English race should be planted forever in the vast domains of the New World.