Crucible of War: "...a War of the Worst Shape..."

Crucible of War is a magnificent book... a fascinating, sumptuously written, richly textured, and scholarly narrative history of the Seven Years’ War. (Fought from 1754-1763, this conflict is more commonly known to Americans as the French and Indian War.) Authored by Fred Anderson, Associate Professor of History at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Crucible of War is the first major study of the Seven Years’ War since Montcalm and Wolfe, Francis Parkman’s classic history of the war, which was written in 1884. In my view, Anderson's highly readable book exceeds Parkman's earlier historical masterpiece in scholarship and literary quality.

Crucible of War is noteworthy for its exquisite prose and tremendous scholarship. It's also unique among studies of this conflict because of its less traditional historical premise. Case in point: as an elementary and secondary school student, I learned that the main significance of the French and Indian War was to set the stage for the American Revolution, fought two decades later. Indeed, as the author points out in his introduction, most historians tend to view the French and Indian War as a natural conflict between France and Britain as they vied for control of the North American continent - the primary significance of the war being its role as a precursor to America's War of Independence.

Anderson's counter-argument to this theory is persuasive. He contends that this war, by itself, "...decisively shaped American history, as well as the histories of Europe and the Atlantic world in general..." (NOTE 1). It was a world war involving Britain, France, Prussia, Austria, Spain, and other European powers. The war in North America sparked this worldwide conflict, and the effects of the war in the New World were especially significant because they "...ended in the decisive defeat of one belligerent, and a dramatic rearrangement of the balance of power in Europe and in North America alike." (NOTE 2)

Anderson begins by tracing the roots of the Anglo-French conflict in North America. During the first four decades of the eighteenth century, Britain and France, while contending for commercial and political hegemony in the New World, fought a series of wars alongside their colonies and Indian allies. The immediate catalyst for the Seven Years’ War was the disputed claims of Britain and France over the Ohio Valley, a dispute which came to a head in 1754, when George Washington led a small force of Virginia militia into the area around present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to expel the French. Unsuccessful in his mission, Washington unknowingly engaged the French in the first battle of a war which would ultimately deprive France of her North American empire.

The early years of the Seven Years' War in North America more closely foreshadowed a British defeat rather than a victory. From 1754 through 1758, the British suffered a succession of humiliating drubbings at the hands of the French and their Indian allies. Beginning with the massacre of General Edward Braddock and his army near Pittsburgh in 1755, the British lost major battles at Crown Point, Oswego, Fort William Henry, and along the border between French and British colonies in present-day western Pennsylvania and upstate New York. During this period, Britain also drifted into a general European war with France and suffered a string defeats in Europe as well.

The turning point in British fortunes came with the political ascendancy of William Pitt in 1757. He saw British colonial policy, which treated the colonies as "subordinate jurisdictions" and required the colonies to pay for the war through enforced contributions (NOTE 3), as the main source of Britain’s failure during the war’s early years. Pitt set about replacing that policy with one that treated the colonies as allies in a struggle against a common foe. He also began the process of replacing inept military commanders with more professional ones – men like James Wolfe and Sir Jeffrey Amherst. Pitt’s efforts paid tremendous dividends during 1759 – the Annus Mirabilis, or "Year of Miracles" – when British fortunes were permanently reversed with stunning victories at Louisbourg and Quebec in North America, and at Quiberon Bay and Minden in Europe.

Anderson’s narrative of the war's major military and political battles are superbly written and intriguing; however, the most captivating section of this book is Anderson's discussion of the years after the war - from 1763 to 1766, when the book closes - and how those years affected later events. The author counters another widely held view that many of the key events that occurred immediately after the war were precursors to an inevitable American Revolution. Britain's attempt to re-establish control over its colonies and gain control over its new conquests created an unanticipated shift in relations between Britain and its colonies in the New World; that shift in relations drove the turbulent events of the 1760s. Neither Britain nor its colonies could have foretold the coming of an American Revolution; nor did either side desire such a conflict. (NOTE 4) In this book, the events that we Americans now understand as seminal to the ultimate independence of the United States are presented in a narrower and more logical context: that of a natural evolution in relations between Britain her colonies.

Crucible of War is indeed a very well written book – perhaps one of the very best works of American history I’ve read in recent years! Anderson imbued his work with tremendous scholarship. As I read it, I was constantly amazed at how easily he conveys facts about all aspects of the war. He moves the reader effortlessly from battlefields in North America to battlefields in Europe; from the internal politics of Indian tribes and colonial governments, to the inner workings of British and French government ministries. Anderson’s painstaking research and keen eye for historical detail are obvious throughout this book, much to the benefit of the reader.

For nearly 40 years, I've been avid reader of history. I thought I possessed a pretty comprehensive knowledge of the French and Indian War... until I read Crucible of War. Anderson’s powerfully written narrative introduced me to a host of new facts about the people and events of this, perhaps the most significant war ever fought in North America. Crucible of War is a "must read" for anyone interested in this critical period of American history.
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NOTE 1: Fred Anderson, Crucible of War (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000.) p. xv.

NOTE 2: Ibid., p. xvi.

NOTE 3: Ibid., p. 214.

NOTE 4: Ibid., p. xviii.