Osprey Essential Histories 44 : The French-Indian War 1754-1760

The French and Indian War 1754-1760 was fought in the forests, open plains and forts of the North American frontier. While it was tied to the larger, worldwide dispute of the Seven Years' War, it anticipated that conflict by a year and served as one of the spurs to the eventual outbreak of hostilities in Europe and on the Indian Subcontinent. The French army, supported by allied Native American tribes and local colonial forces, initially benefited from a superior understanding of how to operate in the forests of North America, although throughout the conflict it was numerically inferior to the British Army. The British Army was also bolstered by colonial forces and allied Native American tribes, but in the early days of the war suffered from lack of experience and tactical knowledge of fighting in forest terrain. The British learned the lessons of their early defeats, however, and their subsequent tactical and training reforms ultimately enabled them to outperform the French forces, both in skirmishes in the forests of the frontier and in continental-style battles at Louisbourg and Quebec. The final proof came at Bushy Run, when a few British units cleverly defeated Pontiac's rebels, in circumstances which had seen Braddock defeated in 1755. Text by Daniel Marston.

Contents

• Introduction
• Chronology
• Background to War : Tension in the Ohio River Valley
• Warring Sides : The French and British Armies in North America
• Outbreak : Entry of the Regular Soldiers
• The Fighting : War of the Forest and Fortress
• Portrait of a Soldier : Joshua Goodenough : A Roger's Ranger
• The World around War : The Economic and Civilian Costs
• Portrait of a Civilian : Jean Lowry and Titus King
• How the War Ended : Treaty of Paris and the Indian Uprising
• Conclusion and Consequences : Ramifications for the Future