One Dead Indian

May 28, 1754

Tanacharison, the Half-King, hated all French. The French had taken him away from his Catawba tribe and held him prisoner. The French had intruded into western lands and built forts. They had to be stopped. They had to die. He had killed many Frenchmen and now he guided Lieutenant Colonel George Washington towards some more. Tanacharison knew the deaths would not quiet the fires of vengeance. Each death was a log thrown onto the fires that burned within.

Tanacharison only had ten warriors and two boys with him, but George Washington had 40 soldiers. Washington had already sent two large groups out looking for the French, but they found nothing. It was Tanacharison who found the French and would soon get to see them die.

Quietly the Indians and British surrounded the group of Frenchmen as they camped. Joseph Coulon de Jumonville had less than 40 men and they were still unaware. A shot barked through the woods and frantic fighting ensued. It seemed all over in just a few minutes. The French were surrendering.

Ten Frenchmen laid dead. Not enough.

Tanacharison raised his tomahawk, roared, and charged the French leader. As the tomahawk swooped down Tanacharison felt a warm pain below his jaw and then heard the sound of the shot. The tomahawk continued its downward arch into the skull of Joseph Coulon de Jumonville. One more Frenchman dead. Then Tanacharison staggered and raised a hand to his own neck. With every heartbeat blood was spurting out. Already the Half-King felt faint. He fell gasping. He turned his body so that the last thing he would see would be Joseph Coulon. One more dead French man.

One more dead Indian.



Washington turned toward the man who had fired. The French soldier dropped his gun and surrendered with the others. The smoke was clearing and the Indians were finaly under control. The surviving French soldiers shouted that they were on a diplomatic mission, that Washington's ambush was murder. This all had not gone as well as he hoped but at least it was over. Joseph Coulon was dead. Tanacharison was dead. Eleven other men were dead. But Washington had won the day and it was over. A victory.

Washington had hopped that Tanacharison would be able to talk more Indians away from helping the French and talk them into helping the British. Now another Indian spokesmen would need to be found, but Washington doubted he could find someone with the Half-King's passion.
 
Summer, 1755

Captain Charles Lee and his friends had watched Braddock's troops trudge past. Now the wagon train followed. Captain Orme turned to Lee and said, "A leviathan! There is no possibility that Fort Duquesne can stand against us!"

Lee smirked and answered, "A blind cyclopes you mean, crawling into the wilderness on a virgin road. It's rout certain, surrounded by wild lands and wild Indians."

"You mean its route certain, not its rout, surely"

Lee only answered with another smirk.

Captain Gates pipped in, "Wild Indians. You know more than a little bit about Indians, I've been told."

Lee paused and decided the jibe was a playful one, "I wed an Indian princess, true. I haven't seen her since she whelped two pups, however." Lee looked around as if the woman or the children might be around somewhere. The officers all chucked. Lee continued, "My baby boys are absolutely perfect . . . or so I have been informed." More laughter. Lee then grew more serious, "That damnable Shingas has said his Delaware will fight against us, and our Mingo scouts have deserted. . ."

"Indians matter not at all," Captain Orme said with a wave of his hand. "They are unreliable fighters nor can they be counted upon as scouts. General Braddock is the finest of officers and is attending to every detail. When this army travel this road again it will be in a victory parade!"

"Yes, of course, just so" replied Lee. He then gave a salute that could not quite be called mocking.

---

Two months later.

They had finally regrouped and neither the French nor the Indians were in pursuit. As General Braddock was being laid in a hastily prepared grave, surgeon James Craik attended to Captain Orme. He pulled a bullet from the Captain's side and noticed that it was another one of the large calibre that the British used and not one of the small French rounds. Craik soon realized that Orme would be added to the 26 officers already dead. Next he turned to Captain Horatio Gates. His injury to the hip was serious, but did not look fatal. Craik wiped his hands on a blood sodden rag and turned to the next man.

All told, the disastrous battle at the Monongahela River claimed 27 officers dead and 39 wounded on the British side, along with 445 men dead and 400 wounded. The French and Indians lost only 32 men.

Indian tribes who had not wanted to commit themselves to one side or another, now threw their lot in with the French. There were few Indians who would raise their voice in counsel against them.
 
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Cool...I'm wondering where this is going.

Thanks.
The idea is to tip more Indians toward the French during the NA part of the 7 Years War. First a few, then a few more, then see what happens. So far Shingas, who may or may not have helped out against Braddock IOTL, is a bit more resolved against the British. Right now, only 1 more officer and 15 more men have died in TTL compared to OTL (not counting Tanacharison). The most significant change so far might be Gate's injury. Don't know yet.
 
Cool...I'm wondering where this is going.
Tanachirison(sp?) OTL committed an atrocity (I don't remember exactly what) on poor Jumonville, quite possibly to force the Americans/Brits (and/or his own people) into continued war with the French, certainly to render himself indispensible.

Here, he's killed, and the tensions don't get ratcheted up that notch. He's also unavailable as liaison/leader.
 
Tanachirison(sp?) OTL committed an atrocity (I don't remember exactly what) . . .

From Wikipedia:
Washington was meeting with the wounded Jumonville shortly after the battle discussing terms when Tanacharisson approached Jumonville and tomahawked and killed him, took out his brains, then washing his hands with them and scalped him, saying, "Vous n'êtes pas mort encore mon père!" ("Thou are not dead yet, my father." in French)
:eek:
Nice guy.

Of the battle our man Washington famously said, "I heard bullets whistle and believe me, there was something charming in the sound."
I might have said something like, "Brains look gross", but that's me.


Pre-war tensions were high. Washington purposely attacked the French. Joseph Coulon de Jumonville was still killed after surrendering in TTL (but only just). The French are still pissed and the whole Fort Necessity thing still happens. So the 7 Year War still starts as OTL.
 
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