This is a relatively small but very important collection of newspapers and periodicals covering the French and Indian War, including first reports of Major George Washington’s 1754 journey to “Fort Erri on the Ohio”, as well as a 1755 proclamation for enlisting soldiers, King George II’s 1756 Declaration of War, the Preamble and Convention of Neutrality of the first Treaty of Versailles, reports of Colonel George Washington, news of the Battle of Fort Oswego, the death of General Howe and the 1763 Treaties of Peace.
By 1754, the stage was set for what would formally erupt into the French and Indian War, “the war that made America.” The major conflict between France and England centered around control of the Ohio Valley in North America. Upon learning that the French had been building forts and establishing settlements along the Ohio Valley, a key fur trading route, Virginia Governor Robert Dinwiddle ordered Major George Washington of the Virginia militia to deliver a letter required the French to leave. During Washington’s journey, a couple entanglements escalated matters toward a formal declaration of war. The June, July and September 1754 issues of Gentleman’s Magazine contains reports on these early battles in the Ohio Valley.
In 1755, before a formal Declaration of War, the British planned aggressive operations in America, many at the hands of Major General Edward Braddock, who served as commander-in-chief for North America during the French and Indian War. The front page of the April 7, 1755 New-York Gazette features a proclamation inviting American colonists to enlist and fight in the French and Indian War — “for the Service and Defence [sic] of his Majesty’s Colonies in North-America.” Soon after this issue was printed, in late May 1755, General Braddock set out from Maryland on his expedition to capture French Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh). Only a couple months into his expedition, Braddock was mortally shot during the Battle of the Monongahela. This issue of the Gazette also contains a report from Boston that “his Excellency set out for Annapolis in Maryland, to hold a conference with General Braddock.”
The April 1756 issue of Gentleman’s Magazine contains the full printing of Great Britain’s Declaration of War against France. “The unwarrantable proceedings of the French in the West Indies and North America, since the conclusion of the treaty of Aix la Chapelle, and the usurpations and encroachments made by them upon our territories and the settlements of our subjects… have been so notorious, and so frequent, that they cannot be looked upon as a sufficient evidence of a formed design, and resolution in that court, to pursue invariably such measures as should most effectually promote their ambitious views, without any regard to the most solemn treaties and engagements….” Whew!
Printed four months after Great Britain declared war on France, the September 13, 1756 edition of the New-York Gazette features a number of exciting reports. The front page contains a complete printing of the Preamble and Convention of Neutrality of the first Treaty of Versailles, which was a vital element of the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756. Perhaps the two most important deal with the “Fate of Oswego” and a very early and rare mention of Colonel George Washington, then age 24. Regarding the Battle of Fort Oswego, it is “confirmed by the Indians, with this additional shocking circumstance, that the French have massacred every soul except 150.” The reports of Colonel Washington describe him disciplining an inexperienced junior officer for poor judgement that allowed for an ambush by Indians at Winchester. Five soldiers were killed and scalped.
The London Gazette Extraordinary for Tuesday, August 22, 1758, contains a full account of the unsuccessful attack on Fort Ticonderoga of July 8, 1758 by British forces led by General James Abercromby and Brigadier Lord Howe, against the French and Canadian Provincials, led by the Marquis de Montcalm. As you can see, Brigadier General Lord Howe is listed as killed in action. Howe, who General James Wolfe considered “the best officer in the British Army.” According to History of the United States of American (Elson, 1908), “the nominal leader was General Abercrombie, the real one Lord Howe, a young man of great vigor… His death was an irreparable blow to the English.”
The French and Indian War in America was formally concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on February 10, 1763. As the March 1763 issue of Gentleman’s Magazine reports, “The Definitive Treaty of Friendship of Peace between his Britannick Majesty, the Most Christian King, and the King of Spain. Concluded at Paris, the 10th day of February 1763; to which the King of Portugal acceded on the same day.” Five days later, on February 15, 1763, the Treaty of Hubertusburg ended the Seven Years’ War in Europe. The April issue of Gentleman’s Magazine printed an “Abstract of the Definitive Treaty of Peace between the Empress Queen and the King of Prussia.”
