Major General John Bradstreet, born Jean-Baptiste Bradstreet (21 December 1714 – 25 September 1774) was a
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
officer during
King George's War
King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in t ...
, the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
, and
Pontiac's War
Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a loose confederation of Native Americans dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War (1754–176 ...
. He was born in
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal, formerly known as Port Royal, is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Today's Annapolis Royal is the second French settlement known by the same name and should not be confused with the n ...
to a
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
lieutenant and an
Acadia
Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early ...
n mother. He also served as the
Commodore-Governor for
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
.
Life
Jean-Baptiste Bradstreet was the son of
Agathe de Saint Etienne de La Tour
Agathe de Saint Etienne de La Tour (1690 – in or after 1765) was a Canadian landowner.
Life
Tour was born in Cape Sable Island in 1690. Her parents were Anne Melanson and Jacques de Saint Etienne de La Tour and her grandfather was Charles de Sai ...
and her first husband Edward Bradstreet. It is unknown whether he was related to Puritan
Simon Bradstreet
Simon Bradstreet (baptized March 18, 1603/4In the Julian calendar, then in use in England, the year began on March 25. To avoid confusion with dates in the Gregorian calendar, then in use in other parts of Europe, dates between January and Ma ...
.
Agathe de Saint Etienne de La Tour
Canadian National Biography, Retrieved 25 June 2016
Military service
Through his Acadian mother's influence he was accepted into the regular British army in 1735. Bradstreet's early military service consisted of garrison duty in Nova Scotia with the 40th Regiment of Foot
The 40th (the 2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1717 in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 82nd Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales's Volunteers) ...
, during which time he took advantage of his Acadian heritage and engaged in trade with the French at Louisbourg
Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia.
History
The French military founded the Fortress of Louisbourg in 1713 and its fortified seaport on the southwest part of the harbour, ...
. As a young officer he was stationed at Canso, during King George's War
King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in t ...
he was captured in the French raid on Canso
The Raid on Canso was an attack by French forces from Louisbourg on the British outpost Fort William Augustus at Canso, Nova Scotia shortly after war declarations opened King George's War. The French raid was intended to boost morale, secure Lou ...
, however he was released within a year. During his internment Bradstreet developed plans for the capture of Louisbourg, although it is not clear whether these plans were ever implemented and to his dismay he was not given command of the expedition. However Bradstreet accepted a commission as lieutenant-colonel of the 1st Massachusetts Regiment and contributed to the final victory at Louisbourg, which fell after a siege in 1745.
French and Indian War
In 1755, Bradstreet, then a captain, was appointed as Governor William Shirley
William Shirley (2 December 1694 – 24 March 1771) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of the British American colonies of Massachusetts Bay and the Bahamas. He is best known for his role in organi ...
's adjutant general
An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer.
France
In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...
. In 1756 he led a relief column to Fort Oswego
Fort Oswego was an 18th-century trading post in the Great Lakes region in North America, which became the site of a battle between French and British forces in 1756 during the French and Indian War. The fort was established in 1727 on the orders o ...
with supplies. Upon his return he was attacked a combined French-Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
force. He survived but his warnings to Governor Shirley and Lord Loudon of the weak condition of Fort Oswego were largely ignored in midst of their ongoing power struggle. The French captured and burned Oswego later the same year. In the spring of 1757 he assembled supplies and transports at Boston for Loudoun's abortive expedition against Louisbourg, and at Halifax in August he was among those who felt that the attack should not be postponed. On 27 December 1757 he was appointed Lt. Colonel and in 1758 he participated in the attack on Fort Carillon, where he led the advance guard following the death of General George Howe. The Battle ended in disaster and Bradstreet attempted to organize some sort of retreat, which had turned into a chaotic rout. After the failed attempt to capture Ticonderoga, Bradstreet immediately proposed his idea to attack Fort Frontenac, the key French supply base on Lake Ontario. Bradstreet's proposal met with approval from British planners and he was given a force of approximately 3,000 men to carry out the operation. Bradstreet reached Lake Ontario on 21 August and four days later was within sight of the fort, which surrendered on the 27th. After sacking and burning the fort, Bradstreet's force retreated to British territory. With this attack the French had (at least temporarily) their supply line in the Great Lakes cut. Under the new British commander in North America, Jeffery Amherst, Bradstreet served as deputy quartermaster general in Albany, a lucrative position which he held until the end of the war. After the war he was appointed Colonel and in 1764 he was ordered to lead a force of 1,400 men to reinforce Fort Detroit
Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Detroit (1701–1796) was a fort established on the north bank of the Detroit River by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and the Italian Alphonse de Tonty in 1701. In the 18th century, Fre ...
in response to the outbreak of Pontiac's War
Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a loose confederation of Native Americans dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War (1754–176 ...
. Bradstreet was considered by his superiors to have mismanaged his final campaign; exceeding his orders by attempting to negotiate independent peace treaties and failing to act aggressively enough against Pontiac's forces. This left his military reputation badly tarnished in later years, however he was still promoted to the rank of Major General in the British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
on 25 May 1772.
The Bateau and Transport Service
Bradstreet is often remembered today for his work organizing and leadin
a corps of armed boatmen
and teamster
A teamster is the American term for a truck driver or a person who drives teams of draft animals. Further, the term often refers to a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a labor union in the United States and Canada.
Origi ...
s in the British service, tasked with moving supplies and troops along the inland waterways of upstate New York and the Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
. A substantial logistical feat, the force was developed from 1756 and grew to the strength of several thousand men, organized into dozens of companies, using hundreds of bateau
A bateau or batteau is a shallow-draft, flat-bottomed boat which was used extensively across North America, especially in the colonial period and in the fur trade. It was traditionally pointed at both ends but came in a wide variety of sizes. Th ...
x and whaleboat
A whaleboat is a type of open boat that was used for catching whales, or a boat of similar design that retained the name when used for a different purpose. Some whaleboats were used from whaling ships. Other whaleboats would operate from the sh ...
s to transport the thousands of tons of supplies and equipment necessary for Britain to wage war in the colonial Northwest by supplying the army's far-flung outposts. Also a combat force, the 'Battoe Men', as they were sometimes called, took part in combat operations, most famously Bradstreet's assault on Fort Frontenac/Carillon in 1758.
Bradstreet died in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on 25 September 1774. He had married (to the widow of a cousin who shared his name), and had two children.
References
* William G. Godfrey. ''Pursuit of Profit and Preferment in Colonial North America: John Bradstreet's Quest.'' Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press, 1982
*
John Bradstreet. Louisbourg Journal, 1745
See also
* Military history of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia (also known as Mi'kma'ki and Acadia) is a Canadian province located in Canada's Maritimes. The region was initially occupied by Mi'kmaq. The colonial history of Nova Scotia includes the present-day Canadian Maritime provinces and th ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradstreet, John
1714 births
1774 deaths
People from Annapolis County, Nova Scotia
British Army major generals
British military personnel of the French and Indian War
British people of Pontiac's War
Governors of Newfoundland Colony