Joseph Brant - Seven Years War and Education

Seven Years War and Education

Starting at about age 15 during the French and Indian War (part of the Seven Years War), Brant took part with Mohawk and other Iroquois allies in a number of British actions against the French in Canada: James Abercrombie's 1758 expedition via Lake George that ended in utter defeat at Fort Carillon; Johnson's 1759 Battle of Fort Niagara; and Jeffery Amherst's 1760 expedition to Montreal via the St. Lawrence River. He was one of 182 Native American warriors awarded a silver medal from the British for his service.

In 1761, Johnson arranged for three Mohawk, including Brant, to be educated at Eleazar Wheelock's "Moor's Indian Charity School" in Connecticut. This was the forerunner of Dartmouth College, which was later established in New Hampshire. Brant studied under the guidance of Wheelock, who wrote that the youth was "of a sprightly genius, a manly and gentle deportment, and of a modest, courteous and benevolent temper." Brant learned to speak, read, and write English, as well as studying other academic subjects. He met Samuel Kirkland at the school, later a missionary to Indians in western New York. In 1763, Johnson prepared for Brant to attend King's College in New York City. The outbreak of Pontiac's Rebellion upset his plans, and Brant returned home to avoid hostility to Native Americans. After Pontiac's rebellion, Johnson did not think it safe for Brant to return to King's College.

In March 1764, Brant participated in one of the Iroquois war parties that attacked Lenape villages in the Susquehanna and Chemung valleys. They destroyed three good-sized towns, burning 130 houses and killing the cattle. No enemy warriors were seen. The Algonquian-speaking Lenape and Iroquois belonged to two different language families; they were traditional competitors and often warred at their frontiers.