The Siege of Fort William Henry - Aug 3, 1757 – Aug 9, 1757

Cauldron - A Military History Podcast

The seeds of what would eventually become the Seven Years War or French and Indian War, a truly global conflict, were planted the moment Europeans landed in North America. Empire building was hungry work, and the British and French in the mid-18th century had become ravenous. In North America, the two empires frequently butted heads and regularly used Native tribes to stir up trouble or fight proxy wars. Initially, the French explored deeper into the heart of North America than the coast-bound English. So they staked a larger claim to the land, built far more numerous (and amicable) alliances with Native tribes, and most important of all, the French had chiseled together a lucrative, intricate trade network. The British daily had ships filled to the gunwales with people and goods landing up and down the easter seaboard and planned to smother the French through sheer weight of numbers. A fight over which national culture would dominate the New World was in the offing; all that was needed was a spark.

As the war progressed, events seemed to favor the French. Victory after victory fell the French way and the British were on their heels. The Siege of Fort William Henry and the massacre that followed appeared to be one more proverbial nail in the coffin. The short siege of the star fort on Lake George was small in terms of scale, but the aftereffects were massive. The propaganda coup that the massacre represented for the British was considerable. Never again would the Native American tribe's swarm to the French banners. The power of the colonial militias became abundantly apparent as they answered the call in the wake of the siege. Pitt's sea-change leadership in London went on to turn the war around in favor of the British, and soon the Seven Years War would be over. Of course, colonists would not remain content for long, war's are expensive, and the British Empire wanted the Americans to pay for their share.

Main Source - The Crucible of War by Fred Anderson

Music - Will be war soon_ by Kosa T