La Belle-Famille

In early July 1759, as General James Prideaux’s British force lay siege to Fort Niagara, its French commandant, Captain Pierre Pouchot, dispatched a messenger to Fort Machault (later called Venango) requesting immediate support. Captain Lignery responded with a 1,600-man relief expedition of French regulars, Canadians and Iroquois. Anticipating this move, Sir William Johnson, commanding the British forces after General Prideaux’s death, sent Iroquois emissaries who convinced the Iroquois accompanying Lignery’s command to abandon the French. The next morning, Lignery’s force, now reduced to about six hundred, marched into a British ambush. In a brief but severe fight, the Redcoats overwhelmed the Frenchmen who suffered considerable casualties, including Captain Lignery who fell mortally wounded. Routed Frenchmen who fled the fighting were captured and dispatched by the Iroquois. When Captain Pouchot learned about Lignery’s defeat, he immediately surrendered Fort Niagara.