Seven Years War / French Indian War / Anglo-Cherokee War

I am ashamed to read here the Clamour of your political Scriblers against the Peace. Never did England make a Peace more truly and substantially advantageous to herself, as a few Years will evince to everybody; for here in America she has laid a broad and strong Foundation on which to erect the most beneficial and certain Commerce, with the Greatness and Stability of her Empire. The Glory of Britain was never higher than at present, and I think you never had a better Prince

Ben Franklin, Letter to John Whitehurst, June 27. 1763




George Washington started the world's first world war, the Seven Years War, when as a major in the Virginia militia commanding a combined force or militia and Indian allies, he ambushed a French party on 28 May 1754 in the Battle of Jumonville Glen.  When his Indian allies slaughtered the prisoners, that caused the international incident that led to the world war.

1754-5-28 French Indian War
1756-4-15 (approx.) Seven Years War
1759 Anglo-Cherokee War (see separate post)
1763-2-10 Treaty of Paris (see separate post)

Google Books:  The Journal of Major George Washington (1754)



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Proclamation & Announcement

By Order of the Royal Governor of the Colony of South Carolina, Saturday, April 12^th next shall be and is set aside for a day of prayer, feasting and celebration in honor of

The Annus Mirabilis of 1759¹

This war² was started in 1754 by the malevolent French who, in alliance with a number of powerful Indian tribes along the borders of our colonies, were attempting to strangle our British colonies in North America. The war soon spread to Europe, with France raising a powerful alliance against us that included Austria, Bavaria, Saxony, Sweden, Russia, and the Mughal Empire³. Against this daunting alliance stood only the stalwart British empire, with our allies, Hanover, Prussia and a small number of the Indian tribes.

Not surprisingly, this war did not go well for Britain at its start. But our early defeats and losses are of no concern as they have now been doubly erased. Under the guiding hand of King George II and with the brilliant stratagems of Secretary William Pitt,⁴ Providence has smiled brightly on us, the British people, in 1759. We have been victorious across the globe in great battles whose names should forever be remembered and honored. To wit:

- The Royal Navy dashed the French King's plans for an invasion of mainland Britain by decimating the French navy, first in the Battle of Lagos, then in the Battle of Quibron Bay. His Majesty's Royal Navy now controls the high seas;


- In the West Indies, a British invasion force captured Guadeloupe from France;


- In India, our forces have held firm, beating back a French attempt to capture Madras;

- In Europe, a combined army of Britain and Prussia decisively put an end to French aggression east of the Rhine at the Battle of Minden; and

– In North America, we have driven the French and their Indian allies out of the Ohio Country. Our combined force of British regulars, colonial militia, and Indian allies have won great victories, capturing both Fort Ticonderoga and Fort Niagara. But the greatest victory of all was when General James Wolfe met the French on the Plains of Abraham outside of the French capital of Canada, Quebec. Though he fell mortally wounded at the battle's end, General Wolfe's defeat of the French led to the surrender of Quebec.

The French and their allies are reeling from their defeats. Still, though wounded, they are treacherous and will take every opportunity that presents itself to make war and mischief. Most notable for us has been their agitation among the Cherokee Indians. We will soon repay the French and Cherokee in full for their savage and unprovoked attacks upon our colony. General Jeffery Amherst, the Commander in Chief of His Majesty's Army in North America, has informed by dispatch that a regiment of British infantry is already at port and loading ships to come to Charleston, and once here, to join with our militia to repel the French and the Cherokee.

In the interim, we should give thanks to God for our nation's great victories in the Annus Mirabilis of 1759. Accordingly, on the 12^th of April next, commencing at noon, there shall be prayer, feasting and celebration upon the Commons, to be followed in the evening by a salute of cannon and a display of Chinese fireworks.

In a separate matter, I wish to announce that I will be stepping down as the Royal Governor of South Carolina effective on the 5^th of April next, I having accepted appointment as the Royal Governor of Jamaica. In my absence and upon the authority of King George II, I do hereby appoint the Lieutenant Governor, William Bull II, to be the acting Governor, to wield all the powers inherent in that office, until such time as the King appoints a new Governor.

So ordered this 14^th day of March in the year of our Lord, 1760.

William Henry Lyttelton

Governor

1Annus Mirabilis is a Latin phrase meaning “miraculous year.”

2The “war” to which the Governor refers was the first true world war. By its end, it involved all the major world powers of the time, but for the Ottoman Empire, in battles spanning five continents. Although the Governor refers to the war in the singular, history assigns different names to each theater and phase of the war. The North American theater of the war, where hostilities began in 1754, was fought largely in the Ohio Valley and in Canada. It was eventually named the French and Indian War (1754-1763). That part of the war fought in Europe and places other than North America was given the name The Seven Years War (1756-1763). The war south of Virginia, involving the Cherokee Indians, was known as the Anglo-Cherokee War (1758-1761).

3The Mughal Empire, spanning a large part of Northern India and Afghanistan, was the last surviving vestige of the Mongol conquests that began in the 13^th century.

4William Pitt is a figure who looms large in the period leading up to the American Revolution. He was a Whig politician and a commoner – i.e.,a man without noble title. That and the fact that he had risen upon his own merit made him immensely popular throughout the British empire. Though not a favorite of the King, by popular pressure he was appointed to the government in 1756 as a sort of co-Prime Minister. He was charged with developing a new strategy to turn around the failing war effort and was given leave to hand pick those officers, irrespective of seniority, who would put his strategies into effect. The fruits of his efforts ripened in 1759 and continued through the end of the wars.