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| Neighborhood History |
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 This history of the neighborhood plays a vital part in the identity of its residents. If you have lived in the neighborhood for many years, the neighborhood history is a heartfelt reminder of days gone by.
If you have just come to call the neighborhood home, it is a way to learn more about the new community you have joined. We would love nothing more than to be able to share the history of neighborhood name with all who reside there. If you are interested in writing a brief history of the neighborhood to share with the community, please contact us! |
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The Battle of La Belle Famille - A Walking Tour
Youngstown was the site of one of the bloodiest and most decisive battles of the French and Indian War. Vistors and natives alike are invited to take a self guided walking tour, which will lead you through this historic battle, which occurred on July 24th and 25th, 1759.
Go to the web link at the end of this article to download a printable walking tour with map.
The Battle
La Belle Famille (“The Beautiful Family”) was a place just inside the woods about one mile south of Fort Niagara on the road to the Great Falls of the Niagara. No one knows how the spot got its name; historians have speculated that a religious shrine might once have existed there. Early on the morning of July 24, 1759, this
peaceful spot would play host to one of the bloodiest and most decisive battles of the French & Indian War.
On July 6, 1759, 2,300 British regulars and New York Provincial soldiers, and about 900 of their Iroquois allies laid siege to French–held Fort Niagara. Their mission was to capture the fort and sever France’s supply route to the upper Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley. By July 17, the British had dug a system of trenches and
artillery batteries east of the fort. British guns began to bombard the fortress.
On July 7 the fort’s commander, CaptainPierre Pouchot, had dispatched a messenger to summon reinforcements from the French post at Venango (Franklin, Pennsylvania). About 1,100 French soldiers and their Indian allies were gathered there. These forces quickly traveled northward, crossed Lake Erie, and landed above Niagara Falls, intent on breaking through to Fort Niagara.
Meanwhile, Iroquois scouts had informed the British commander, Sir William Johnson, that a French relief column was on the way. On July 23, Johnson ordered a detachment of 150 light infantrymen under the command of Captain James De Lancey to take up a position at La Belle Famille to block the French relief column’s advance. Just inside the line of the woods, De Lancey’s men built a log breastwork to provide them cover from the French attackers. They then spent a quiet night camped behind their temporary log fort.
As dawn came on July 24, De Lancey realized that artillery would greatly strengthen his position. The nearest available cannon were at Montreal Point (Niagara–on–the–Lake) across the river. He dispatched eleven men south along the portage road to a small run where boats were stored. Their mission would be to
cross the river and bring back a cannon. As they entered the slight depression in the ground and prepared to launch their boat, they were suddenly attacked by Native warriors operating in advance of the French column. All were killed or taken prisoner. The dead were scalped, and their heads were impaled on poles. Henceforth, the place would be known as Bloody Run.
De Lancey heard the firing to the south and ordered his men to prepare for attack. He also sent a runner to the main British camp to summon reinforcements.
Suddenly, an odd pause in the action occurred. Two Iroquois interrupted the French advance by asking the French–allied Natives to stand aside from the battle. All but about 30 warriors agreed. Even though this left the French with only about 800 men, they remained confident that they could fight their way
through to the fort. Prisoners seized at Bloody Run told them that only 150 British soldiers awaited them ahead.
While the Native warriors counseled, Sir William Johnson hurried reinforcements to La Belle Famille. Three piquets of 50 men each from the 44th, 46th, and New York Regiments arrived only ten minutes after De Lancey dispatched his runner. In another fifteen minutes, 150 men from the 46th Regiment of Foot under Lt. Col. Eyre Massey arrived on the scene. The British now had 464 men at La Belle Famille blocking the road to Fort Niagara.
At about 8:00am, the French poured from the woods in a column twelve men wide, giving a “horrible yell” and firing toward the British troops. They approached Massey’s regulars and then veered east towards the breastwork. Massey’s men lay on the ground until the decisive moment. With the French at close range and struggling to form an effective line of battle, British troops stood and delivered several volleys of well–aimed fire, inflicting some 250 casualties in only a few minutes.
With their force in a shambles, the French began to retreat toward the safety of their boats above Niagara Falls. Suddenly, the Iroquois entered the action and hotly pursued the fleeing French, killing and capturing many more of the retreating soldiers.
With the French relief force defeated and Fort Niagara’s walls breached by British artillery fire, Captain Pouchot had little choice but to surrender. Fort Niagara passed into British hands on July 25, 1759.
To reach the battlefield site from Old Fort Niagara, exit the public parking lot and follow signs to the Village of Youngstown. When you exit Ft. Niagara State Park via the park’s south entrance, you are on Main Street (NY Route 18F). After two blocks you will see a gas station/convenience store on your right. The starting point for your tour is the small park adjacent to this store. Park along the street. Parking on Main Street is located only along the left (east) shoulder of the road. Parking along both sides of the street is available in the next block.
Today, the village of Youngstown, NY occupies the site of the Battle of La Belle Famille. Begin your tour at the gazebo in Constitution Park just north of the intersection of Lockport and Main Streets (NY Routes 93 and 18F). In the park, you will find a sign that describes the action of the battle. Here, you also get a good view of Fort Niagara, allowing you to appreciate how close to the goal the French were defeated.
Route 18F (Main Street) lies roughly on the route of the original portage road along which the French force advanced from the south. Walk south along Main Street (away from the fort) one–half block until you reach the intersection of Main and Lockport Streets (at the blinker light). Here is the approximate location of Col.
Massey’s main position, which stretched eastward from the road (away from the river).
On the right, between the road and the river, stood Captain James Marsh’s Grenadier Company. The piquet from the 44th Regiment was placed on the road itself. This was the initial target of the French troops as they advanced at about 8:00am.
From the intersection of Main and Lockport Streets, walk one block east along Lockport Street (NY Route 93) until you reach the parking lot of the Market Place grocery store. This is the approximate location of Captain De Lancey’s breastworks. Here light infantry soldiers fired into the French flank as they veered east along
the British line. After the French began to flee, the light infantrymen vaulted over the temporary fort and chased the defeated French soldiers off the field.
Beyond the breastworks (farther east along Lockport Street) lay the positions of the piquet from the 46th Regiment of Foot, the New York Regiment piquet, and—in the woods beyond—the Iroquois. On the first firing, the New York troops fled toward the British camp (located about one mile behind the Market Place store).
Return to the Main Street/Lockport Street intersection, turn left, and walk south along Main Street. As you come abreast of the Fyfe & Drum Restaurant, turn around and face the intersection again. Here, you view the battlefield from the perspective of the French troops as they rushed toward the British positions at about 8:00am. The French first drove straight along the road. As the fierce British fire halted their advance, the French began to move toward the right, attempting to form a line of battle over the ground in that direction.
Next, turn around again and continue south along Main Street approximately two–thirds of a mile. As you enter a small depression in the road, you are on the site of the opening engagement of the battle. Here, next to the river, the eleven–man party of British light infantry were attacked by French–allied Natives at about 6:00am on July 24. Probably somewhere beyond Bloody Run (south along Route 18F) the Iroquois held their conference with the Natives allied with the French that resulted in their withdrawal from the action.
There are several historical markers at this site, two of which pertain to the Battle of La Belle Famille. One marker (incorrectly) places the location of the battle here, and one marker is a memorial to Claude–François–Louis Virot, S.J., the Jesuit missionary who served as the chaplain of the French relief force.
Return to the center of Youngstown (the intersection of Main and Lockport Streets). The first settlements here came in the 1790s, and the village was incorporated in 1854. While walking along Main Street you will see many fine examples of nineteenth– and early twentieth–century architecture where, on July 24, 1759, only oak and beech trees stood, parted by the all–important road to the Great Falls.
Website: www.youngstownny.com/Belle_Famille_Bro[1].pdf
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