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Jan 9, 2024

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The English Surrendering of Fort William to the French During the Seven Year War Abiramie Aravindan North American History to 1860 Professor Mark Humphries December 7th 2023 When studying history, it is crucial to look at documents and records left behind

Aravindan 1 as they serve as the only tangible link to the past that broadens our perspective of what life and the world looked like before our time. Many events have occurred with only a few primary sources to tell the tale such as the English surrendering of Fort William to the French during the Seven Year War. With only four primary sources available, historians need to piece together a narrative of what led to the surrender of the fort. Despite the contradictions between the primary sources, there seems to be an underlying reason that can be seen through all the accounts: How Captain Ross, the captain of Fort William, conducted himself as a leader when he was met with the French enemy during confrontation. It is clear from various reports that there was a lack of military expertise in Captain Ross’s strategy which could be traced to unfounded overconfidence in his ability to defend the Fort which led to an inevitable surrendering of Fort William to the French We can firstly look at the account of a British soldier that displays Captain Ross’s shortcomings as a military leader. According to the soldier “people of the country came in from Portugal Cove the day before the French arrived to offer their service but they were answered by Captain Ross that when they wanted their service, they would send for men.” 1 This clearly shows that Captain Ross did not want help from others which is not a smart move as military leader given that more men would always be useful in defending the fort. Pride played a part in the decision of Ross to turn the men’s assistance away as Ross was very sure he could defend the Fort without additional assistance. Ross could’ve used the extra assistance given that according to other sources, Ross’s defences were hastily put together. Not only did Captain Ross’s own Soldiers believe that Ross lacked military skill, 1 Anonymous British Soldier, “Account of the Surrender of St. John’s, 29 August 1762,’ 1.

Aravindan 2 but even French enemies noticed key flaws in Ross’s execution of defence. When looking at a translated letter from French Commanding Officer, Chevalier de Ternay, about the attack on St. Johns, Ternay points out an easy strategy that Ross could have employed to hinder the French march toward the Fort. He states “If the commander of St. Johns had thought to send even a few men to the hills on that side of the city, we would have had great difficulty in completing what would be otherwise a three-day march and would have been prevented from entering the town.” 2 It's clear that Ross concentrated his forces on defending the fort itself, and if Ross had spread some soldiers to impede the path of the French before they arrived at the Fort, It could have bought the English more time to plan and diminish the power of the approaching French forces. Ternay also states in the letter that Captain Ross “thought to defend the harbour entrance with a stationary boom that was hastily erected and it would have prevented me (Ternay) from entering the harbour.” 3 This excerpt for the letter shows that Captain Ross hurriedly tries to defend the harbour but it also highlights that Ross lacked proper military planning and that if Captain Ross had been thorough in his plan to defend and diversified the roles of his soldiers to defend the fort as well as be to impede the French He could have prevented the French from entering the town as entering the harbour which both played a part in the English garrison surrendering Fort William. One primary source available to us today is from a British newspaper which published an account from a merchant vessel that escaped Newfoundland who were not directly involved in the conflict and ultimate surrender of Fort William. In their account, they say “the French marched up to the garrison and within two hours, they 2 Letter of Chevalier de Ternay to the French War Minister, 9 July 1762, 1. 3 Letter of Chevalier de Ternay to the French War Minister, 9 July 1762, 1.

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