The Spreading Flames of War: North Carolina and the French and Indian War, 1754-1763

Fort Dobbs, N.C.
Built in 1756

I am now researching and writing a new book under contract with The History Press on North Carolina’s role in the French and Indian War. The book’s tentative title is “The Spreading Flames of War: North Carolina and the French and Indian War, 1754-1763.”  I hope to have the book out by the late fall of 2013. This will be based in part on my articles “All this Poor Province Could Do: North Carolina and the Seven Years War, 1757-1762,” The North Carolina Historical Review, Vol. 79, January 2002, and “North Carolina and the Seven Years’ War, 1754-1758,” Military Collector and Historian, Vol. 55, No. 3, Fall 2003, pp. 155-160.

This book will be an overview of the French and Indian War (1754-63) in North Carolina, the colony’s struggles to participate in the conflict, and North Carolina’s contributions to the war effort in other theatres. Also known as the Seven Years’ War, this was a global conflict involving Great Britain and her colonies against France, Spain, and their Indian allies, in which the British emerged triumphant. The North American phase of this war is known as the French and Indian War, which started in 1754 in the wilderness of western Pennsylvania over the control of the Ohio River Valley, a region claimed by France, Great Britain, and Native Americans. Most of the American campaigns in this nine-year struggle took place in Canada, northern New York, and western Pennsylvania, and included the more famous battles associated with the war: Fort Duquesne, Fort Ticonderoga, Fort William Henry, the siege of Louisbourg, and Quebec. Contrary to popular belief, however, Britain’s southern colonies were also involved in the conflict, including North Carolina. The colony mobilized troops, raised money, built forts, and participated in several military campaigns during the war. While North Carolina had limited resources, a widely dispersed and contentious population, and was not the scene of any major military campaigns during the imperial contest, the French and Indian War nonetheless had a significant impact on North Carolina. The dramatic conflict between the colonial governor and the colonial legislature during the war made for great difficulties and high tensions, and led to an increasing sense of independence from Britain among many colonists.

My first draft is alomost finished. I am now getting images to use for illustrations (esp. maps), and need to do the index as well.

Ft. Johnston, NC