When we left our story in Chapter 6, the French and Indian relief force was only days away from reaching Fort Niagara. The British forces would soon have to move - and fast! With or without their allied Indians, the British could not delay much longer but then suddenly, the cards flipped in favor of the British.
Chief Kaendae, allied with the French, had continued his visits back and forth between the sides still trying to have the Indians quit the fight. Sir William Johnson grew increasingly worried that Kaendae would win out but he was loath to interfere. His only hope was that because the Grand Iroquois Council had voted to support the British, even Kaendae, though an important chief could not go against the Grand Council.
A surprising turn of events
Following the dramatic Indian’s council fire at Fort Niagara, Chief Kaendae continued to hold meetings with the two groups of Indians. However, he finally decided it was futile to try and detach the Iroquois from their loyalty to Sir William’s chiefs. When the last speech by Kaendae went as follows it is not hard to know why;
“My Brothers” why have you deserted me? Why have you deserted your friends, the French? Are you so blinded that you do not know where your greatest interests lie? Can you not see what the future of the Iroquois League must be if the English drive the French away? We will be finished! Our League will be dissolved, our lands taken bit by bit and we will either have to merge with the English and lose our identity and our pride or we will be pushed back until we have no more lands at all and are destroyed! You have been led here by Warrahiygey in a bad cause and you should turn on him and the English army before your senses are so dulled that you are the ones who are destroyed!”
Then uninvited, Warrahiygey (Sir William’s Indian name), very concerned and increasingly frustrated, stepped forward and insisted on having his voice heard. With the deftness that he had always handled Indian affairs, he treated Kaendae’s remarks with humour, saying,
“Chief Kaendae is a great chief and we all admire him, but sometimes his nose gets clogged and he cannot smell which way the breezes blow. The bad smell they blow him now, which he mistakes for the English smell, is really the smell of the French. He better blow out his nose and smell how much sweeter the air is here now that he is away from the Frenchmen.”
Warrahiygey was much loved by the Iroquois, especially the Mohawks and was said to have had more than 100 children produced over the years on his visits to their castles (villages); no doubt there were many discreet smiles carefully hidden from view. Sir William was also married to Molly Brant who was Joseph Brant, the famous Mohawk Chief’s elder and much respected sister. Brantford, Ontario bears their name.
While these meetings and conferences continued, the British and French artillery was silent in the hope that there would be a decision favorable to their own side. Pouchot was praying his reinforcements would arrive in time and Prideaux and Johnson knew that the situation would soon be critical and they would be forced to take action to block the arrival of the French reinforcements.
Suddenly, the suspense was over. At a closed meeting of the Indians at the Fort, a decision was made by the Iroquois negotiators that Kaendae was no longer to be a protected chief of the Iroquois League and that if he were killed by the British or an Indian ally, no vengeance would be sought. Kaendae knew he was disowned!
As he left the Fort with his followers they killed all the cattle owned by a half French Seneca interpreter allied with the French who lived near Fort Niagara by the name of Chabert Joncaire. This act signified Kaendae’s severing of all ties with the French and that he was now in support of the Iroquois League. Major Pouchot had lost again.
On a bright sunny Friday morning, the British guns opened up on the Fort once again. General Prideaux had given the order to fire. The big guns began booming and almost immediately a shell from one of his mortars exploded as it left the barrel. A piece of iron the size of a large walnut, smashed through General John Prideaux’s head killing him instantly. Sir William Johnson suddenly found himself in full command of the siege.
Sir William’s Battle Plan
The problem Sir William faced was that if he sent the major portion of his troops to set up a blockade and ambush of the French and Indian relief force now approaching north along the east bank of the Niagara River; he would leave his headquarters and siege artillery vulnerable to a French attack from the Fort.
He decided it had to be done, regardless of the risk, so he ordered the bombardment of the fort to maintain a steady rate of fire in order to keep Pouchot and his troops occupied. He then quietly moved most of his troops and Indians into a position in the bush, astride the portage road, about five miles from the fort at a place known as La Belle Famille.
Working as fast as possible he had his troops erect a V-shaped barrier of freshly cut brush and saplings. The point of the V was centered on the portage road and the arms of the V stretched into the bush on each side of the road but sharply angled towards the oncoming enemy. The barrier was then cleverly interwoven with the branches of the saplings so that the whole blended into the surrounding forest. Behind this barrier Sir William placed all his troops while the Iroquois infiltrated through the woods ahead of the barrier.
The oncoming French forces lead by Captains Aubry, Ligrneris and Marin could hear the heavy gunfire coming from the direction of the Fort Niagara. They assumed the British would have dug in near the fort and would be well hidden but easily taken from the rear.
Unfortunately, as they rushed to join the fight, their Indian allies following behind had begun to melt away and drift back to Lake Erie, wanting no part of the battle.
The many words of Kaendae and in particular those of a powerful Iroquois chief known as Old Belt had filtered back from the council fires and conferences held between the Indians at Fort Niagara had begun to have their effect. Then too, when the sound of the great guns at Fort began to reach their ears like distant thunder, the Indians always fearful of the white man’s cannons began to lose the enthusiasm they once had when gleefully paddling down Lake Erie counting the scalps they would take from the English.
The Battle of La Belle Famille
As the painted and feathered coureurs des bois moved into the V of the breastwork that Sir William’s troops had thrown up, followed by a smaller number of French and colonial troops, Sir William gave the order to open fire. In a moment all was confusion. The Iroquois were not fooled by the painted bush lopers and attacked them from the rear. The French reinforcements were cut down in ranks.
Captain Ligneris was shot through the head and Marin through the shoulder. Aubry screamed orders for his men to fight over the breastwork but the fire from Sir William’s men was just too much for them and they broke and ran. The Iroquois quickly chased them down and dispatched great numbers.
Captain Pouchot, back at Fort Niagara, heard the firing but had difficulty figuring out what was happening. About 2:00 P.M. an Onondaga came with the news of the defeat of the reinforcements and their severe casualties. Pouchot could not believe it, so he was permitted to send a party of his own to Sir William’s camp under a flag of truce to investigate. In two hours they were back at the fort having seen hundreds of their men dead, scalped, often beheaded and many of their officers held captive.
It was finished. Captain Pouchot had no choice, he had to surrender. Sir William Johnson entered the fort and as the Union Jack was raised and the Fleur-de-lis lowered Captain Pouchot ceremoniously turned his sword over to him. Sir William with the gallantry of a polished British officer returned his sword to him. Pouchot then invited Sir William and his staff officers to a final farewell dinner and the offer was accepted.
The Dinner and the French departure
It was an uneasy dinner because as a part of the surrender terms Sir William had been obliged to agree to allow the Iroquois to plunder the fort in return for the safety of the French garrison. Over 500 warriors were in the fort plundering it at that very moment. The sounds could be heard by the increasingly alarmed diners. The Indians were taking everything; furs, liquor, trade goods and were even stripping the hinges off the doors. They even overheard more talk among them of slaughtering the French prisoners.
Sir William wanted no repeat of what had happened at Fort William Henry and knew the critical moment would come the next morning when he marched the French troops out of the fort for their return to Montreal by bateaux. He therefore allowed the French to keep their loaded weapons and use them to defend themselves if they were attacked.
When informed, the Indians were furious but when the French soldiers were marched out between the ranks of British and colonial troops, although the Indians were ranged outside their ranks with tomahawks in their hands demanding blood, they held their distance. The French quickly jumped into their bateau and rowed off shore and out of range of the Iroquois.
Sir William however, had not been able to save 96 of the men that the Indians had captured during the battle. They had been immediately whisked away to an almost certain death at the hands of the Iroquois who already had some 150 scalps hanging from their belts. He was able though, to personally save some 25 garrison officers by purchasing their freedom for the sum of one hundred and sixty pounds.
News of the victory spread like wildfire throughout New England and New France. It was a giant step for the British in winning the continent because now the most vital French link to their western forts was severed. French morale was shattered while the British-American colonials were jubilant. Indeed the victory at Niagara was acclaimed throughout the American colonies. In New York City it became a standard toast to raise a glass and say, “Johnson forever,”
When the news reached Portneuf, the Commander at Presqui’le he ordered the abandonment of forts Machault, Fort LeBoeuf and Presqui’le fearing the arrival of the English. All these forts were then burnt to the ground. The noose around New France was tightening. Everyone, French and British could sense the climax was near at hand.
The Siege of Quebec – General Wolfe & the British Army at the Gates
Our imaginary camera now changes scene and as it fades from the Fort Niagara view a new scene slowly comes into focus. There, before us a great river emerges and in the distance directly across the river we see the walled town of Quebec glowing in the noonday sun. We are standing on Point Levis on the south shore.
Perched high upon its dramatic beak of rock, this formidable Gibraltar of the North seems invincible. But look, smoke rises in dark grey patches and wreaths the city with unnatural sooty streaks of black, brown and sulphurous yellow as it slowly dissipates eastward along the river. It slowly dawns on us that parts of the upper town are burning. The smoking ruins of the larger buildings in the center of the town can be seen (later we learn that the largest was the Ursuline Convent).
It is July 13th, 1759 and the British guns nearby have just gone silent. The gunners are replenishing their supply of shells (explosive filled cannon balls)), cannon balls (solid shot) and gunpowder for another shelling of a shocked and terrified town; a town that has just undergone its first experience of an artillery bombardment.
For the citizens of Quebec, it had been horrifying but fortunate because although over 300 cannon balls were fired, nobody had been hurt. Some had evacuated the town prior to the barrage, others fled to the countryside as quickly as possible or found shelter when the bombardment started. To the French engineer Pontleroy, it was a rude awakening as to British capabilities because the previous January he had calculated that such a bombardment from Point Levis, could only reach the lower town.
The Citizens of Quebec instigate a bizarre attack on the British Guns
By an incredible fluke of timing, some merchants and tradesmen, later augmented by a number of young men and schoolboys, had on July 11th petitioned Governor Vaudreuil offering to serve in an attacking force to cross the river and destroy the British batteries and troops they could see arriving in force on Point Levis. Governor Vaudreuil and General Montcalm very reluctantly agreed to the expedition.
Some 1600 ill-trained Quebec citizens quickly assembled, including a group of Indians and a small group of regular colonial soldiers. On the night of the 12/13th of July, with many of the enthusiastic townspeople waving them off, they left in their canoes to cross the river and attack the very batteries that unbeknownst to them would commence the bombardment of Quebec in the coming morning.
The problem of attacking a superior trained force, at night, across a very large river, landing and coordinating movements over rough and unfamiliar ground requires a well disciplined and practiced army and especially a well rehearsed means of communication between the leaders and their men. Nevertheless, they made it across the river undetected.
After the crossing, this rag-tag “army” lost their way in the dark as they tried to cross the uneven ground towards the enemy positions. Then they began to panic, opening fire on their own, thinking they were the British. Three times their commander, Jean-Daniel Dumas tried to rally them but each time they lost direction and fired on their own troops.
All control was gone as they fled; tumbling down the steep embankment in confusion to their canoes. They arrived safely back on the north shore shortly before dawn thoroughly demoralized and minus several killed by their own bullets. Only the Indians were efficient, reporting that the British were unsuspecting of the attack. In fact the British only learned of the affair some five days later.
Your Host’s Comments
Some time was spent on the Fort Niagara battle because it pays tribute to the Indians and the importance of their participation in the battle. It introduces a significant player in the conquest story, Sir William Johnson, a powerful and colorful person, little known to today’s citizens.
The story also highlights the effect on morale that the capture of the fort had on both the French and English but particularly the citizens of the New England colonies that had suffered so much at French and French-allied Indian hands. It was a vital link in ending the presence of New France in North America. A visit to the Fort and its grounds is recommended; it makes a great trip of any holiday to nearby Niagara Falls.
The Quebec siege portion of this episode was written to avoid discussing the great plans of the generals and officers of both sides and to focus instead on the people involved, the situations they faced and the actions of the military and civilians.
Why for example, didn’t the French strike back at the British rather than dig themselves in along the north shore and in the walled town of Quebec? The fact was that they did try to attack but as we saw in this episode it was unwise to do so without a well planned and executed professional military operation.
Such an operation, had it occurred, would have left Quebec stripped of their best troops and vulnerable to attack. Montcalm obviously understood the situation but it is surprising that he would have agreed to such an amateurish operation knowing it had little chance of success. More than likely he wished to placate Vaudreuil with whom he had a very strained relationship. Had the British been alerted, the result could have been tragic.
Bibliography
For the scenes and siege of Quebec most of the material was obtained from the book “Quebec 1759; The Siege and The Battle” by G.P. Stacey, published by The Macmillan Company of Canada, Toronto, 1959.
For the French, British and Indian actions at Fort Niagara; the main source is the book, Wilderness Empire, by Allen W. Eckert, published by Little, Brown and Company, Boston and Toronto 1969.
Our next episode, Chapter 8, will focus on the British activities against the French civilians along the north and south shore approaches to Quebec and General Wolfe’s final actions up to and including the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Look for it and please invite your friends to join us in these adventures.
We continue the remarkable adventures that led to the eventual formation of the United States of America, Canada and the French speaking province of Quebec.
If you have missed any of the previous chapters of our adventure or wish to have your friends or relatives, schools, libraries, media or government receive our series, please contact Dick Field at by contacting letters@canadafreepress.com and make sure you are brought up to date. New readers are welcome from anywhere in the world. 
