Friday, October 21, 2016

Colonel John Bradstreet Article


Col. John Bradstreet
                               
In my opinion one of the better British officers of The French and Indian war.
     
Here are some links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bradstreet

http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/bradstreet_john_4E.html

https://books.google.com/books?id=qmMAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA714&     dq=John+Bradstreet+1756+battle+oswego&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjk3dSb08LNAhWD7B4KHSmaBAMQ6AEISDAH#v=onepage&q=John%20Bradstreet%201756%20battle%20oswego&f=false

 The above book talks about Bradstreet's victory over 700 French and Indians led by the great French Officer Coulon de Villiers* on Battle Island, July 3rd 1756.

* Coulon de Villiers beat Washington's Forces at Fort Necessity 1754)

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Carillon#Aftermath
 In 1758 Lt. Col Bradstreet led his Batteaumen in the advance guard of Gen. Abercrombie disastrous attack on Fort Carillon. Nevertheless, He fought bravely fighting from the French Abatis with Rogers Rangers and Gage's light infantry. Bradstreet didn't retreat until the imbecile Abercrombie ordered an end to the slaughter of his army. They retreated covered by the Advance Guard of Bradstreet Batteaumen , Rogers Rangers, Gage's Lt Infantry** The next morning Lt Col. Bradsteet's Batteaumen rowed Abbercrombie's mangled army back down to the British camp at the southern end of Lake George.

**it was really Maj. Gladwin of Pontiac rebellion fame who led Gage's Lt. Inf. Gage, always the coward,was hiding in the rear of the army somewhere.

http://archive.org/stream/cihm_41618#page/n5/mode/2up
While Abercrombie's defeated army sat at the southern end of Lake George in a kind of shock or stasis. Lt. Col. Bradstreet again brought up his plans to attack the lightly defended Fort Frontenac. A plan in which The Late Lord Viscount Howe, and other British planners greatly approved of. General Abercrombie finally agreed to Lt. Col. Bradstreet Plan to attack Fort Frontenac and He was given command of 3000 Provincials, Regulars, and Indians to attack Fort Frontenac. Lt. Col. Bradstreet easily took Fort Frontenac after a short two day siege, and on August 28th,1758 the Fort surrendered.  This Victory virtually cut Canada in half. This caused major supply problems in all the French posts in the Ohio Valley and severally impacted Indian trade goods going west to Anishinaabe Indians of the Great Lakes. Which were a major source of Indian Warriors for the French. Also the loss of Fort Frontenac directly led to the French abandoning of Fort Duquesne to General Forbes in the fall of 1758.

After winning the siege of fort Frontenac General Amherst Appointed Lt Col Bradstreet deputy quartermaster general in Albany subsequently Bradstreet didn't lead troops on the battlefield until 1764 when he marched 1400 troops to Detroit in response to the outbreak of Pontiac's rebellion.

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