John Bradstreet’s Raid 1758
A Riverine Operation of the French and Indian War
Ian Macpherson McCulloch
University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 2022, 254 pages
Book Review published on: April 21, 2023
On 27 August 1758, the small French garrison of Fort Frontenac on the shores of Lake Ontario surrendered to a British force of about three thousand regulars and provincial troops commanded by John Bradstreet. The surrender of Fort Frontenac was a result of the first British riverine operation of the French and Indian War. Shortly after the operation in 1759, Bradstreet published his version of the events in his book Impartial Account of Lieut. Col. Bradstreet’s Expedition to Fort Frontenac. Unsurprisingly, Bradstreet’s account portrayed the operation in a highly favorable light, minimizing the casualties, exaggerating the role of the British regulars at the expense of the provincials’ contributions, while embellishing the influence of the short expedition calling it a “strategic masterstroke.” In John Bradstreet’s Raid 1758: A Riverine Operation of the French and Indian War, Ian Macpherson McCulloch attempts to “scrutinize and test the claims” (p. xvi) made by Bradstreet so long ago and correct the historical record. Clearly, McCulloch succeeds in his effort in a well-researched and comprehensive interpretation of the affair.
In this short campaign study, McCulloch provides a candid interpretation of the first amphibious raid of the French and Indian War. He asserts that Bradstreet manipulated the 1758 raid to further his financial interests, and his pursuit of glory and military recognition. McCulloch corrects the historical record as he exposes the arrogance, pompousness, and self-serving nature of Bradstreet’s heroic account by examining little-used French sources, orders of battle, as well as diaries, and letters of the participants. To dispel the myths of the raid, McCulloch provides specific, comprehensive, primary-source evidence throughout the book as he dismantles most of Bradstreet’s claims providing a more accurate interpretation.
This is an important book because the author adds to the understanding of the raid by correcting the record of earlier notable historians. McCulloch asserts previous examinations of the raid relied too heavily on Bradstreet’s Impartial Account. He explains how historians from the esteemed Francis Parkman, the first historian to write seriously about the French and Indian War in the nineteenth century, to Fred Anderson in the twenty-first century, relied exclusively on Bradstreet’s explanation in their work, propagating a mistaken interpretation. McCulloch notes these same errors in accounts from British historian John Fortescue, Pulitzer-prize winning author L. H. Gibson in the nineteenth century, to notable contemporary Canadian historians Guy Fregault, and Ian K. Steele.
McCulloch does a worthy job dispelling the myths traditionally associated with Bradstreet’s raid yet provides a balanced interpretation. Part of this balance is that despite his criticisms, McCulloch acknowledges Bradstreet’s positive contribution to advancing British amphibious operation techniques in the French and Indian War, as well as his acumen as a logistician. He notes how the experiences gained from the 1758 raid informed the amphibius assaults to capture Fort Niagara in 1759, as well as the assault on Montreal in 1760. McCulloch also relates how Bradstreet continued serving competently as the deputy quartermaster general in America for the remainder of the war.
McCulloch organizes his operational study in seven chronological chapters comprising one hundred and forty-seven pages of body, eleven appendices, twenty-eight pages of endnotes, and an extensive bibliography. The first three chapters survey the operational situation, the assembly of forces, and the approach march to the fort. The middle chapter examines the assault on the fort and the final three chapters describe the aftermath to include a final chapter with the author’s analysis. Chapter seven, where McCulloch provides his assessment of the raid, and the influence of Bradstreet’s activities is one of the highlights of the work. Another the strength of the book is the comprehensive and detailed set of eleven appendices. The information in the appendices ranges from the parade state of Fort Frontenac to meteorological data, and a detailed list of plunder from Fort Frontenac. Another strength of McCulloch’s work is his extensive bibliography containing numerous primary and secondary sources to facilitate further research.
John Bradstreet’s Raid 1758: A Riverine Operation of the French and Indian War is an interesting, informative, and an extensively researched work. I recommend it for those individuals well versed in colonial American military history as well as the amateur military historian. Presenting the first comprehensive account of the attack on Fort Frontenac, McCulloch is successful in correcting the record and expanding our understanding of this small yet significant raid. John Bradstreet’s Raid 1758 is a noteworthy and worthwhile addition to your library.
Book Review written by:Col. Ken Turner, U.S Army, Retired, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas