The French and Indian War (Part 3)
Fun Fact #606
An Offensive Surrender
After being “Convinced” to surrender by 900 Frenchmen at Fort Necessity, Colonel George Washington was forced to sign a document to formalize the surrender. One major problem however was that Washington did not speak French and was forced to use a translator provided by the French whom he trusted to give him an accurate account of what was written in French on the surrender. . . Predictably he could not trust the translator as the document was actually a confession to orchestrating the assassination of (French officer) Ensign Jumonville. After which the French allowed Washington to leave as the French in the area did not have the ability to care or guard prisoners.
When Colonel Washington returned to Virginia he found himself a laughingstock for his defeat and trust of the translator. Yet Virginia had not been idle in his time away. As the only colony with its own full time Military (British Regulars), they had reorganized in preparation to fight the French and offered Washington a captaincy of one of the Regiments. When questioned why he was being demoted Washington was informed that “Colonials” couldn't hold a rank higher than Captain in the British military, and he never should have been a Colonel –even in his force of all settlers. Angry and humiliated, Washington instead resigned his commission leaving the British Military entirely.
Fun Fact #607
The Worst Meeting In History
Now in the American Colonies, Major-General Edward Braddock took his fleet to the only colony with a full time Military and called for a meeting of the governors. This became the Meeting of Alexandra and in short it did not go well.
For starters he only received 5 of the 11 Governors (1 less than Benjamin Franklin’s Albany Congress) which was taken as a personal slight to the crown before talks even started. Then there was the fact that he needed to house, feed, and maintain the Equipment of his own forces while in the Colonies. Braddock suggested that The “Colonials” house the British even if against their will. After some debate, The Governors begrudgingly agreed.
The issue of how to deal with The Native Americans was then raised, and –after looking over the work done at The Albany Congress– Braddock thought their idea of a SUperintendent of Indian affairs was splendid. However George Crohgan was born in the colonies. No that just wouldn't do. Sir William Johnson was appointed instead thanks to being the only man to successfully recruit and train Native Americans to a Militia (He was that tribe's "Sachem" or Civil Chief). The only caveat was the man had a history of keeping tracts of land for himself when negotiating treaties and purchases on behalf of others, so they agreed he could no longer legally sell land during his appointment. By deposing Croghan however, they royally confused the Native Americans leading to them largely remaining neutral during the war.
Finally there was the matter of cost of salaries and Gunpowder. Braddock’s grand plan? Have the Colonies pay for it all, after all it was their Colonel who started it. Suffice it to say they agreed to table this discussion till after the war. In the end the one thing they all could agree on without debate was that the French needed to pay. Thus the plan of a 4 pronged assault of the French holdings at Fort Niagara and the Ohio River Valley was born.
Today The Meeting In Alexandra is remembered as one of the worst meetings ever in history. It pearmently harmed British-Native American relations and made the anti-Colonist view of the British very apparent to The average colonist resulting in the two groups finding more common ground with each other than The British Isles. The worst part however is post war The British parliament saw the price for the war across their Empire they placed the entire cost upon the American colonies. This blindsided the Governors as the expense just to meet the Crown’s required annual payment was more than what the Colonies made in a year.10 years later, when the cost had yet to be substantially repaid, The Stamp Act was passed by The British Parliament, effectively removing the Governor’s roles in managing Local taxes. Then after The Sugar Act was passed in the early 1770s, “No Taxation Without Representation” became a rallying cry for those fed up with the British.
