By Kenneth T. Tellis
This story of all places begins in Glasgow, Scotland. It was here in Glasgow, Scotland, that Janet Stobo (Stobhu) bore William Stobo a merchant of Glasgow a lawful son, named Robert Stobo on October 7, 1727.
As a young man Robert Stobo studied at Glasgow University, on finishing his studies left Scotland for the Virginia Colony where he became a merchant. In 1754 Robert Stobo was appointed a Captain in the Virginia Regiment, which was raised by the province of Virginia to oppose French territorial expansion into Ohio and Pennsylvania. Thus he was to later join Colonel George Washington, but a bit after the raid by the Virginia Militia under Colonel George Washington on the French force encamped in a nearby under glen Ensign Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville, killing some 10 Frenchmen including Ensign Jumonville and taking some 11 prisoners. Apparently one Frenchman who was defecating nearby at the time of the attack escaped and raised the alarm at Fort Duquesne.
Washington expecting the French to retaliate over his attack on their encampment at Jumonville Glen, began the building of a small fort at Great Meadows, calling his brainchild “Fort Necessity.” On June 9, 1754 two companies of men left behind by ColonelWashington in Alexandria, Virginia arrived at Fort Necessity under Captains Robert Stobo and Andrew Lewis. On July 3, 1754 a force of 500 men led by François Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville, elder brother of the deceased Ensign Joseph de Villiers de Jumonville arrived at Great Meadows bent on avenging the death of his younger brother at the hands of Washington. The battle began and Fort Necessity was not any protection for the men under Washington. It was the least to say a debacle and the force under Washington were both outgunned and outnumbered. A ceasefire was arranged and Washington sent Captain Jacob Van Braam and Ensign William le Peyronie to parley with the French, because they were the only two men in Washington’s force that could speak any French. The Virginians knew that they were beaten and de Villiers offered generous terms to Washington sinceEngland and France were not at war. Van Braam and Peyronie returned to Washington with de Villiers’ offer, saying that there was no other choice. Since Van Braam’s language was neither English nor French the translation of the agreement of the terms of capitulation was badly flawed, and thus it described Colonel George Washington as an assassin.
François Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville had stipulated under the terms of capitulation that French soldiers captured at Jumanville Glen by George Washington and sent east be returned, and that Captains Robert Stobo and Jacob Van Braam remain hostages of the French till that time.
On July 4, 1754, Colonel George Washington surrendered to Ensign Joseph de Coulon de Villiers and marched out of Fort Necessity, a humbled man with his career in shambles.
Thus Captains Robert Stobo became hostages. Robert Stobo ended up in Quebec City as a prisoner-of-war, while not much is know of the whereabouts of Captain Jacob Van Braam or his captivity in New France.
Captain Stobo might not even have known what was happening outside of Quebec City during his captivity. The ambush at Monongahela by Captain Hyacinthe-Marie lLnard de Beaujeu with his French forces joined by the Shawnees, Delaware’s, Ojibwa’s, Pottawattami’s, Abenaki’s from Kahnawake, Six Nations warriors, Huron’s from Montreal and Ancien Lorette, near Quebec City of General Edward Braddock, the British army and the Virginia Militia under Colonel George Washington on July 9, 1755, when there existed no state of war between France Britain. The defeat at Monongahela was a disaster at best, because no one was prepared for such an ambush by the French and Indians. Neither the French nor their Indian allies made any apology for this unprovoked attack on the British during a time of peace.
In May 1756, Great Britain declared war on France and Louis-Joseph de Marquis de Montcalm ordered an attack on Fort Oswego,New York. After a concerted attack by a much superior French force the commander of Fort Oswego, Lieutenant-Colonel John Littlehales decided that surrender was the only choice he had and on June 14, 1756 he surrendered to brigadier-General Louis-Joseph marquis de Montcalm, who immediately started to treat the British prisoners with contempt and even gave 20 British prisoners to his Indian allies to kill and eat.
On August 3, 1757, Louis-Joseph, marquis de Montcalm laid siege to Fort William Henry. Lieutenant George Munro being out numbered and not having any of his cannon in working condition parleyed with the French a and surrendered Fort William Henry on August 9, 1757, under the guarantee of safe conduct to men, women and children, and solders that were in the fort. But that guarantee was soon to be voided. The moment the men women and children and unarmed soldiers came out of the fort they were set upon by the Indian allies of the French the Ottawa, Pottawattamie, Iroquois and some members of la milice canadien (Metis) who raped and murdered at will. Part of this story was included in the movie “The Last of the Mohicans” a story written by American author James Fennimore Cooper. But is was remembered by men of the Royal American Regiment, Robert Rogers’ Rangers and Moses Hazen’s Rangers during the fighting with Indian allies of the French and Métis in the woods just outside Quebec City in September 1759. Louis-Joseph marquis de Montcalm had pretended to uphold his guarantee of safe passage, but had not lifted a finger to aid those in peril. But that was to be expected, because accompanying his army were eight French Jesuit priests, who would have forced him to follow the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, by which all Protestants were to be killed. Thus, the massacre at FortWilliam Henry was not done in error but by strict observation of French Law in North America.
During the time of his captivity in Quebec City, Major Robert Stobo began to collect information about the strong points and weaknesses of Quebec City. He went around surveying all the areas that he felt could be used in an attack. Thus he discovered that while all other areas were protected and guarded by the French that the Heights of Abraham were never included because it was considered impossible to climb by the French. It was with this information that Major Robert Stobo attempted to escape in April and May 1759, only to be recaptured and returned to Quebec City.
Thus on June 27, 1759, Major Robert Stobo managed to get a boat in which he and five American colonial children along with a women escaped down the St. Lawrence. Midway down river he happened to see two men in a bigger boat, he overpowered them and got the children and the woman into it and made his way to Fortress Louisbourg the Headquarters of General James Wolfe, commander of the British forces. He told General Wolfe of the only way that the British army could get into Quebec City was by scaling the Heights of Abraham. Wolfe used this information and got his army into Quebec on September 13, 1759. Having scaled the Heights of Abraham, British soldiers had to pass checkpoints manned by French sentries, who would challenge them and ask for a password. Some of the Scottish soldiers had been living in France after the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 and had picked up some French. When challenged by the French sentries they were able to give password and thus the British army managed to get onto thePlains of Abraham in the early morning hours of September 13, 1759. When morning broke the British troops were already lined up, their cannons at the ready.
But in woods on either side of the Plains of Abraham a battle was already taking place between British Redcoats and Indian allies of the French along with Metis auxiliaries. The Redcoats were on the losing end as in the darkness the Indian and the Métis could see the Red uniforms of the British soldiers and were able to kill many, while the British could not see their enemy. It was at this point that some members of Rogers’ Rangers and Hazen’s Rangers, along with the Royal American Regiment came to their rescue and began fighting off the Indians and the Metis. But they made the Redcoats turn their jackets inside out, and the enemy could no longer see them.
On that very morning General James Wolfe was going to be killed, not by an Indian, or a Metis or Frenchman, but by a British deserter. Two months before the siege of Quebec a British soldier named Henry Hamilton had deserted to the French. But at Quebec the French give him a special assignment, Since the French always put deserters, Indians and Métis in the forefront of a battle, Henry Hamilton was placed in a position where he would have the best view of the British army and since General James Wolfe was his only target he was able to hide near some bushes, going unnoticed till he got that one well placed shot at General Wolfe. The French had given Henry Hamilton a special weapon with a very long barrel for accuracy and since he was a marksman he was handpicked for the job.
The battle for Quebec which began on the morning of September 13, 1759, with the death of General James Wolfe, did not end till September 18, 1759, after Louis-Joseph marquis the Montcalm died if his wounds. Thus at 3 p.m. on September 17, the white flag was ordered hoisted on the wall by Jean-Baptiste de Ramezay. On September 18, 1759 Jean-Baptiste de Ramezay, French Commander of Quebec surrendered to British Brigadier-General George Townshend.
But the story does not end there, because Robert Stobo was given a hero’s welcome in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he received ₤ 1000 and a plot of land on which to build by the House of Burgesses. In 1760 Robert Stobo took his leave and set sail for England. In 1761 he obtained a commission in the 15th Regt. of Foot. He later resigned his commission and died sometime in 1770.
With a life that he led, Robert Stobo, could well be call a Great Scot. He had really made the British Conquest in North America possible and if anyone played a great part in history, it has to be Robert Stobo of Glasgow, Scotland.
