Battle of the Thousand Islands facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of the Thousand Islands |
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| Part of the French and Indian War | |||||||
 Williamson's gunboats capture the French corvette L'Outaouaise near Point au Baril, painted by Thomas Davies |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Iroquois Confederacy | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Jeffery Amherst |
 Pierre Pouchot |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 11,000 regulars and provincial troops 700 Iroquois |
300 regulars, militia, sailors and voyageurs | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 26 dead 47 wounded (likely excluding militia) |
300 dead, wounded, or captured | ||||||
The Battle of the Thousand Islands was an important fight that happened in August 1760. It took place on the Saint Lawrence River, among the many Thousand Islands. This area is now on the border between Canada and the United States. British and French forces fought here during the end of the Seven Years' War. In Canada and Europe, it's called the Seven Years' War, but in the United States, it's known as the French and Indian War.
The battle happened near Fort Lévis, which was a French fort. It was also fought at a place called Pointe au Baril, and in the waters and islands around them. Even though the French soldiers at Fort Lévis were greatly outnumbered, they bravely held off the much larger British army for over a week. They even managed to sink two British warships and badly damage a third. Their strong defense slowed down the British army's plan to attack Montreal from the west.
Contents
Why the Battle Happened
By August 1760, the French were building Fort Lévis on an island in the St. Lawrence River. This island is now called Chimney Island. Captain Pierre Pouchot was put in charge of defending this new fort. Pouchot had been captured earlier but was released in a prisoner exchange. The original plan for Fort Lévis was to have strong stone walls, many cannons, and about 2,500 soldiers. However, Captain Pouchot only had a small fort with wooden walls, five cannons, and 200 soldiers.
Pouchot also had two small warships called corvettes: l'Outaouaise and l'Iroquoise. These ships had 200 sailors and voyageurs (French-Canadian fur traders and travelers) working on them. l'Iroquoise had ten 12-pound cannons. l'Outaouaise had ten 12-pound cannons and one larger 18-pound gun.
British Plans for Montreal
After the British captured Quebec City in 1759, the British commander, General Jeffery Amherst, planned a big attack to take Montreal. He decided to attack from three different directions:
- One group would come from Quebec City along the St. Lawrence River.
- Another group would come from Lake Champlain up the Richelieu River.
- The third group, led by Amherst himself, would come from Oswego on Lake Ontario.
Amherst's group, coming from the west, was very large. It had about 10,000 soldiers and 100 large cannons used for sieges (long attacks on forts).
French Preparations
When Captain Pouchot arrived at Fort Lévis, he decided to gather all his forces there. He ordered his men to leave a nearby mission fort and a shipyard at Pointe au Baril. This was to make Fort Lévis stronger.
On August 1, the French ship l'Iroquoise ran aground (got stuck) at Pointe au Baril. Even though they managed to get it unstuck, it was too damaged to fight. So, it was pulled ashore again near Fort Lévis.
British Advance
General Amherst's large force left Oswego on August 10. Captain Joshua Loring was sent ahead with two British ships, the Onondaga and the Mohawk. These ships were like scouts for the main army. The Onondaga had four 9-pound guns and fourteen 6-pound guns. The Mohawk had sixteen 6-pound guns.
The Battle Begins
On August 7, French lookouts spotted the British ships Onondaga and Mohawk from an outpost upstream from Fort Lévis. The French quickly left in a small boat, with the British ships chasing them. However, the two British ships got lost among the many islands and couldn't find their way back to the main river for several days.
General Amherst's main force arrived at Pointe au Baril on August 16. He was worried that the remaining French ship, l'Outaouaise, might attack his transport boats. So, he ordered Colonel George Williamson to capture l'Outaouaise the next day.
Capturing l'Outaouaise
At dawn on August 17, Colonel Williamson set out in a small boat. He was joined by five row galleys. One galley had a howitzer (a type of cannon), and the others each had a 12-pound cannon. The galleys positioned themselves around l'Outaouaise where the ship's big cannons couldn't hit them.
The British galleys fired small metal balls and round cannonballs at the French ship. This badly damaged l'Outaouaise, and it began to drift helplessly towards a British cannon battery set up on shore. After three hours of fighting, l'Outaouaise had fired about 72 shots, damaging two British galleys. Captain LaBroquerie, who commanded l'Outaouaise, was wounded. Fifteen of his crew were killed or wounded. He was forced to surrender his ship to Williamson.
The British repaired the captured l'Outaouaise and renamed it Williamson. They then used it against its former owners.
Siege of Fort Lévis
On August 19, General Amherst began his attack on Fort Lévis. The crew of the damaged l'Iroquoise were ordered to leave their ship and help defend the fort. The newly captured Williamson joined the British cannons on the surrounding islands, firing at Fort Lévis. The fort's five French cannons hit Williamson 48 times.
Later that evening, the Mohawk and Onondaga finally arrived. Amherst called a ceasefire for the night. The attack started again at dawn on August 20. Williamson, Mohawk, and Onondaga all fired at the fort with a total of 50 guns. As the battle continued, the French cannons hit and sank both Williamson and Onondaga. The Mohawk ran aground (got stuck) right under the French cannons. It was hit repeatedly until it could no longer fight.
The British cannons on the islands kept firing, switching to "hot shot" (cannonballs heated until they were red-hot). These were used to start fires inside the fort. The siege continued until August 24. By then, Captain Pouchot had run out of ammunition for his cannons. He asked for terms to surrender.
After the Battle
The battle was costly for both sides. The British lost 26 killed and 47 wounded. The French lost about 275 of their original 300 defenders, either killed or wounded. Captain Pouchot himself was among the wounded. The British were amazed that such a small group of defenders had fought so bravely and for so long.
After the battle, Amherst's army stayed at Fort Lévis for four more days. Then, they continued their journey towards Montreal. The British advance down the St. Lawrence River was still dangerous. At least 84 more British soldiers drowned in the river's rapids.
Amherst's forces eventually met up with the other British armies coming from Quebec and Lake Champlain. Together, they completely surrounded Montreal. The three British armies, totaling 17,000 men, began to close in on the city. They burned villages along the way, which caused many Canadian militia soldiers to leave their posts. On September 8, the French governor of New France, the Marquis de Vaudreuil, surrendered Montreal. He did this to prevent more bloodshed.
The British renamed Fort Lévis to Fort William Augustus. They also managed to raise the three ships sunk during the battle (Williamson, Onondaga, and Mohawk). These ships were repaired and put back into service to patrol the waters between Fort William Augustus and Fort Niagara.
Images for kids
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Williamson's gunboats capture the French corvette L'Outaouaise near Point au Baril, painted by Thomas Davies
See also
In Spanish: Batalla de las Mil islas para niños
