The Griffins in the French and Indian War

The French and Indian War was one part of a prolonged struggle for control of the prize that was North America. Its time frame covered the six years between 1754 and 1760. The conflict was part of the worldwide conflict between the French and British as each sought to gain an economic edge that could be translated into a military edge. In North America the struggle revolved around control of the natural resources. The two key factors were the waterways and the Indian tribes. The fur trade had been the prize in early America now it was turning to control of access to the western lands with their potential to produce agricultural bounty. Control meant controlling access to the interior. Access meant control of the waterways, the Ohio River, the Mississippi, Niagara, and in the East control of the Lake Champlain and Lake George water route. The wild card was the Indian tribes. Both sides recruited Indian allies with promises of delivering stability to their way of life. The tribes were divided in their loyalties. Their lack of cohesive action condemned them to becoming mere pawns in a larger game and their ultimate demise.
The Hudson ran from New York City to the mountains west of Lake Champlain. A short overland trek connected the Hudson to Lake George, which drained into Lake Champlain. At this juncture between the two lakes sat Fort Ticonderoga. There existed a series of strong points up and down the lake, key of which was Crown Point, which drained into the St. Lawrence via the Richelieu River at Montreal. This water highway had always been a prize in the struggle for territorial control. In 1754 the French set out to gain dominance over this key water way. The years 1754 to 1757 were marked by a number of small engagements with the French taking the initiative and the British reacting to their lead. The war had started out with the capture of the key forts in New Hampshire and played out in large and small scale engagements all across the area along the American-Canadian border reaching as far south as Pennsylvania where George Washington and his army of Virginians were defeated at the Battle of Great Meadows. The French gradually exerted their control down Lake Champlain to the junction of Lake Champlain and Lake George where Fort Carillon/ Fort Ticonderoga was the prize that promised control of the two lakes. Control of this key point became the focus of the remaining struggle with the British and their colonists trying to retake it and the French jealously guarding it then using it as a jumping off point for attacks on Lake George. It was here that Robert Rogers and his “Rangers” came to fame. In 1757 the French reached the zenith of their power with a campaign to the southern end of Lake George and Fort William Henry. The French force of 8,000 attacked the garrison of 2,300. They mounted a very effective siege operation consistently outmaneuvering the British efforts at defense. As the artillery moved ever closer and the hope of reinforcement dwindled the British sought surrender terms, which were granted. In a face saving gesture the British were to be allowed to march out of the fort with their muskets but no ammunition. They were to promise to not rejoin the war for 18 months. The 2,000 Indian allies either did not appreciate the nature of the agreement or simple ignored it and rushed the fort which they then plundered then set about killing the remaining sick and wounded and the remaining women and children. For the next 3 days they attacked and harassed the retreating British force until it reached Fort Edwards on the Hudson. This episode became the framework for James Fenimore Cooper’s book, “The Last of the Mohicans.” The French then burned Fort William Henry and retreated to Fort Ticonderoga confident that they now controlled Lake Champlain.

In the summer of 1758 the British raised a force of 15,000, 8,000 of which were colonial militiamen, that gathered at the southern end of Lake George. Their intent was to once and for all drive the French from the region. The large British army met the French at Ticonderoga. The result was an overwhelming victory for the French. The British commander Howe paid for his mistakes with his life. The British force retreated to the southern end of Lake George to a rebuilt Fort William Henry. The sick and wounded retreated on to Fort Edward and Albany.
In response to the disaster the British Government dispatched additional troops to America along with a new commander General Jeffery Amherst. In America the call went out to the colonies to muster their militia forces of which Connecticut raised some 5,000. These forces were to gather at Albany, New York in the spring of 1759 and begin a campaign to retake Lake Champlain. In the Killingworth 2nd Society Capt. Peleg Redfield, a veteran of the previous efforts, raised a new company, the 8th Company of the Second Connecticut Regiment. It included Redfield, 2 Lt’s, 1 ensign, 5 sergeants, 2 drummers and 81 effectives. One of who was the 20-year-old Samuel Griffin. In the 1st Society Capt. James Griffin became part of “Bishop’s Company”. The Regiment was under the command of Col. Nathan Whiting. Maj. General Lyman commanded the Connecticut forces. In overall command was Jeffery Amherst. The various units had all gathered in Albany by the end of May 1759.
There exists very little information on a unit-by-unit basis. Understanding the role played by Samuel and James is limited to a view of the general history of the war and mentally placing them in the historical context. Sailing up the Hudson, marching through what was still virgin territory along ancient Indian trails. Shouldering their smooth bore muskets, or were they numbered among the troops that because of their skills with firearms were armed with rifled guns? Struggling to keep the cannons moving, living in the open, cooking over an open fire, meat supplied by hunting parties, interacting with their Mohican allies. What was their reaction to how the Indians lived, their food, their customs, and their outdoor skills? Did they trade for a tomahawk? Did they learn a few Indian phrases? The militiamen in their home spun the British in the classic red uniforms. A constant lookout for advanced parties of the enemy. The brothers meeting at night to talk of family and home. Both were newly married Samuel having just married earlier in May, James in 1757.
By June 21 Amherst had reached Lake George and set about gathering and training his command for a siege of Ticonderoga. The French who had always been outnumbered viewed the gathering forces with its 1,100 boats and barges and decided to abandon Ticonderoga, which they called Ft. Carillon withdrawing to the fort at Crown Point. On July 26 the small force that had been left behind set a fuse to the powder magazine and blew up the fort. By July 31 the French had abandoned the Lake Champlain and Lake George region destroying all the strong points they had left behind. With no forts to protect, the battle for control became a naval battle, with each side struggling to out build the other building ever larger and more powerful ships. The Griffin boys with their heritage in carpentry and shipbuilding probably found ample employment for their skills. Building ships, rebuilding the forts, including Carillon, which they renamed Ticonderoga, serving as marines on the naval vessels. The rest of the summer saw the two sides engage in a back and forth series of naval clashes that stretched into October. With winter approaching both sides withdrew, the French to Montreal and the British to the rebuilt Crown Point. Winters on the shores of Champlain are harsh. The Killingworth boys were probably grateful to have a home with log walls and a warm fireplace to settle into for the winter. We can only imagine the monotony as the weeks stretched into months. The variety of food limited, entertainment scarce, living in close quarters movement outdoors requiring snowshoes.
The campaign season of 1759 had witnessed the British force its way onto Champlain and saw a second British force attack down the St Lawrence ending up with the capture of Quebec. With this in mind General Amherst realized that the remaining French forces would be concentrated at Montreal. He then devised a three-prong attack to bring about their demise. The forces at Quebec were to continue on to Montreal from the east. A second force of regular British troops and continentals would force its way up Lake Champlain to attack the forts at Isle Aux Noix which sat at the head of the Richelieu River as it drained out of the lake. The main body moved to Schenectady, New York. Starting in June it took about 3 weeks to march overland to Oswego on Lake Ontario retaking it from the French who had captured it and burned the fort there earlier in the war. Their mission was to force their way past the French strong points on the St Lawrence and attack Montreal from the west. It’s my best guess that the Griffins were part of the western army.
Logistical issues delayed the campaign and Amherst did not depart Oswego until August 10, 1760. Crossing Lake Ontario in open boats and rude galleys they forced the passage of the St. Lawrence. The French abandoned some of their forts and choose to make their stand at Fort Levis. The final battle of the war was fought at this location on an island in the St Lawrence. It lasted five days and nights. Having swept aside the French Amherst’s forces arrived outside of Montreal on September 5. Out numbered and short on supplies, the French opened surrender negotiations during which Amherst declared, “ I have come to take Canada and I will take nothing less”. After brief talks Montreal surrendered on September 8 along will all of New France. Did the Griffin brothers celebrate with a night on the town? Did they discuss the efforts of the summers campaigning? Three weeks of marching across uninhabited upper New York, weeks building and outfitting boats and barges on the shores of Ontario. Sailing and rowing across the lake. The landing and siege at Fort Levis. The emotions of arriving at Montreal having reached their goal. Their reaction to lining up and exchanging volleyed fire with their enemies, the idea of the bayonet charge, the emotions of facing cannon fire, the stress of dealing with the irregular warfare of the Indians, the loss of friends. Did they discuss the politics of the new realities in America? Did Samuel foresee his move to the Lake Champlain region in the 1790s.?
With the surrender of Montreal the war was over for the colonials. There was nothing for them to do except return home down the lake route to Albany. At Albany Capt. Redfield contracted small pox dying in Stockbridge, Mass on December 5, 1760. My assumption is that they would have traveled on down the Hudson to a place opposite Danbury, Connecticut then crossing overland back to Killingworth. Did they take a land route from Albany down through Massachusetts? Or was Capt. Redfield taken there for treatment? The answer to these questions is left, as is much of this story, to your imagination. What we do know is that their service is a part of your heritage and of the proud history of Killingworth.