Battle of Fort Niagara | |||||||
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Part of the French and Indian War | |||||||
Fort Niagara |
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Belligerents | |||||||
France Colony of Canada |
Iroquois Confederacy | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Pierre Pouchot (POW) |
John Prideaux † William Johnson Sayenqueraghta |
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Strength | |||||||
1,786 (Regulars, Canadians and Indians) | 2,000 regular 1,000 militia 945 Iroquois |
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Casualties and losses | |||||||
109 killed or wounded 377 captured |
239 killed or wounded |
The Battle of Fort Niagara was a siege late in the French and Indian War, the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War. The British siege of Fort Niagara in July 1759 was part of a campaign to remove French control of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley regions, making possible a western invasion of the French province of Canada in conjunction with General James Wolfe's invasion to the east.
British General Jeffrey Amherst made plans for the 1759 military campaigns of the French and Indian War that included an expedition to capture Fort Niagara, a major French military and supply point between the French province of Canada and their forts in the Ohio Valley. Amherst chose Brigadier General John Prideaux to lead the expedition, which also included Sir William Johnson, the British Indian agent who led the expedition's Iroquois forces.