When the British Fort William Henry was forced to capitulate, Colonel Young proposed the terms of capitulation. The terms included the conditions such as allowing the troops both in the entrenched camp and the fort to depart to Fort Lydius. Besides, they were to be escorted by the officers attached to the Indians. Another condition was that an officer was to be held hostage until the return of the escort and should not serve for a period of eighteen months against his allies or His Most Catholic Majesty. Besides, they demanded that all those French, Indian, and Canadian soldiers who had been taken as prisoners since the commencement of the war should be returned. After consultation with the chiefs of all nations 1 , Marquis de Montcalm signed the capitulation. This became the beginning of the problems that the British soldiers would face.
One of the main problems was the fact that the Indians started misusing their powers. They acted as if they were masters to the British soldiers. In the article, we can learn that the Indian soldiers were barbaric. Their cruelty was too much that they mistreated the sick soldiers in the forts. Another challenge the British troops faced was the pillage of their fort by the Canadian and Indian soldiers. In the process, they were violently robbed of all the remaining effects in their disposal. Despite the condition that a guard should not allow the intruders in, the Indians could not be stopped due to their barbaric methods. The soldiers did everything to stop them; including consulting with their chiefs, wheedling by the British troops, and involving interpreters who were attached to them. All these fell on deaf ears. The soldiers dreaded an occurrence of a massacre. The efforts made by Marquis de Montcalm were not enough as the soldiers were being more barbaric.
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Also, in the process of bringing order, the soldiers made costly blunders. It is important to note that soldiers were trying their best to avoid embarrassments they had been subjected to 2 . It was during the night of the ninth and tenth August that the guard was placed to ensure security during the night. There was a misconception that the Indians would not operate during the night. Therefore, when the same Indians attacked them that night, they were caught unawares. The butchering of the sick and all other cruel acts forced the British troops to flee out of the camp.
References
Gannon, Barbara A. 2007. "Fort Pillow: A Civil War Massacre And Public Memory, And: River Run Red: The Fort Pillow Massacre In The American Civil War (Review)". Civil War History 53 (3): 304-306. doi:10.1353/cwh.2007.0053.
McAleer, John. 2015. "Disease, War, And The Imperial State: The Welfare Of The British Armed Forces During The Seven Years' War, By Erica Chartersdisease, War, And The Imperial State: The Welfare Of The British Armed Forces During The Seven Years' War, By Erica Charters. Chicago, Illinois, University Of Chicago Press, 2014. Xiii, 285 Pp. $50.00 US (Cloth).". Canadian Journal Of History 50 (2): 334-336. doi:10.3138/cjh.ach.50.2.rev05.
1 Gannon, Barbara A. 2007. "Fort Pillow: A Civil War Massacre and Public Memory, and: River Run Red: The Fort Pillow Massacre In The American Civil War (Review)". Civil War History 53 (3): 304-306. doi:10.1353/cwh.2007.0053.
2 Gannon, Barbara A. 2007. "Fort Pillow: A Civil War Massacre and Public Memory, and: River Run Red: The Fort Pillow Massacre in The American Civil War (Review)". Civil War History 53 (3): 304-306. doi:10.1353/cwh.2007.0053.
