September 8
The Iroquois and the British force are
victorious in the Battle of Lake George.
French soldiers, joined by a group of Mohawk and
Abenaki warriors, lay in wait as a British-Iroquois
force led by William Johnson (see entry for 1755) ap-
proaches Lake George in New York. Before the French
are ready to engage the enemy, one of their Indian al-
lies begins shooting, alerting the English and Iroquois
to the trap set for them. The battle that follows ends
in a British victory, but their Iroquois allies mourn the
loss of Hendrick, an aged Mohawk leader who was
fiercely loyal to the British. One of the battle’s first
casualties, Hendrick was part of an Indian delegation
presented to English queen Anne 45 years earlier (see
entry for APRIL 19, 1710).
1758October
Ohio River tribes become British allies
through the Treaty of Easton.
Five hundred representatives from the Iroquois, Lenni
Lenape (Delaware) and other smaller Indian groups
from the Ohio River valley gather at Easton, Penn-
sylvania, to negotiate with the British. In 18 days of
discussion, the Indians agree to withdraw their sup-
port of the French in exchange for the return of some
of the lands taken from them illegally by the British.
The treaty is a turning point in the French and In-
dian War (see entry for JULY 1754). After losing their
Indian allies, the French suffer a series of devastat-
ing defeats, including the loss of Fort Duquesne (see
entry for JULY 9, 1755) and Fort Niagara to an invad-
ing British and Indian force.
Winter
The Cherokee begin attacking British posts
and settlements.
Several Cherokee, returning home from aiding the
English in an attack on Fort Duquesne, round up
a herd of wild horses that a group of Virginia set-
tlers claim as their own. The Virginians kill 12 of
the Cherokee and take the horses; the tribe retali-
ates by murdering some 20 settlers. United in their
fury over this incident and their past mistreatment
by the British, the Cherokee announce that they are
no longer allies of the English. Their raids on the
British and the British counterraids will lead to the
Cherokee War (see entries for SUMMER 1760 and
for SUMMER 1761).1760SummerThe Cherokee War breaks out.
A force of 1,300 colonial troops, augmented by
Catawba warriors, advances on the Cherokee of
South Carolina to put down an Indian uprising
there (see entry WINTER 1759). The Cherokee
quickly repel the invading army, force it to retreat
to Charleston, and lay siege to Fort Loudoun,
an important British post in their territory. The
troops at the fort surrender on the condition that
they will be allowed to leave unharmed. The Cher-
okee, eager to avenge previous attacks, break their
pledge and ambush the soldiers, killing many and
taking others prisoner. (See also entry for SUMMER
1761.)September 9The British win the French and
Indian War.
With the fall of Montreal to the British, the
French are forced to surrender, and the French
and Indian War (see entry for JULY 4, 1754) ef-
fectively comes to an end, although the official
peace will not be concluded until three years later
(see entry for FEBRUARY 10, 1763). In the terms
of surrender, the English will agree to respect
France’s previous reservation of certain lands ex-
clusively for Indian use.