Research Text: The Last of the Mohicans
Introduction
During the French and Indian War, one important event, the siege of Fort William Henry in the province of New York had formed the basis of the story for The Last of the Mohicans, a classic fiction by James Fenimore Cooper. Through this, the author managed to depict the scale of the war, most noticeably the significant involvement of Native Americans in a conflict between the British and the French. The aim of this research paper is to evaluate the accuracy and relevance of the historical events as depicted in the novel, in comparison with the actual events.
SYNOPSIS
Colonel Munro of Fort William Henry requested for reinforcements from General Webb of Fort Edward when his own fort was attacked by the French. Webb fulfilled the request by sending reinforcements. Munro’s daughters, Cora and Alice also left Fort Edward for their father and they were led by Major Duncan Heyward who was in turn, guided by an Indian called Magua.
Along the way, they were joined by David Gamut, a psalmist. They soon met with Hawkeye, a white hunter and his Mohican companions, father Chingachgook and son Uncas. Hawkeye suspected that Magua was working for the French after discovering that he was a Huron. Heyward, together with the Mohicans, tried to capture Magua but failed as he managed to escape.
As night fell, the group sought refuge in a cavern under Glenn’s Falls. However, they were detected by the Iroquois and a few small battles ensued, leaving several Iroquois dead and Gamut wounded. Hawkeye and the Mohicans were convinced by Cora to leave and seek help from Munro while she and the rest continued to hide in the cavern.
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Unfortunately, the ones who hid in the cavern had been discovered and captured by Magua and the Hurons. Magua revealed his intention to marry Cora to avenge himself on Munro. Cora refused and Magua and some other Indians responded by nearly killing Alice but the entire commotion was over when Hawkeye and the Mohicans came to the rescue.
They managed to sneak into Fort William Henry while it was being attacked. Montcalm, the leader of the French forces insisted that Munro surrender if he could not get reinforcements. Adhering to the advice in General Webb’s letter, Munro surrendered and the French promised that his army could withdraw without being harmed. However, the Indian allies of the French escorting the withdrawal of the British troops suddenly unleashed violence upon them. In the midst of the massacre, Cora, Alice and Gamut were captured by Magua again.
Hawkeye and the Mohicans, together with Heyward and Munro set out to search for the captured. They met Gamut and found out about the locations of both the sisters; Cora in a Delaware camp and Alice in a Huron camp. By using improvised disguise methods, the group managed to rescue Alice. Allying with the Delawares, Uncas waged war against the Hurons in an attempt to save Cora and for retribution. It resulted in the death of himself, Cora and Magua. Tamenund, the leader of the Delawares admitted that he had seen the last warrior of the Mohicans.
HISTORICAL ACCURACY
As with many fiction novels based on historical events, some facts will be intentionally altered to suit the author’s purpose. The Last of the Mohicans is no exception. Despite getting some facts correct, the portrayal of some historical events had been subjected to much dramatization and hence, is inaccurate.
The most accurate portrayal in the novel is perhaps the strong bond between the French and the Native Americans. During the French and Indian War, the French allied with a number of Indians, including the Hurons. The extent of this bond can be seen when close to 2000 Indians participated in the ‘Massacre of Fort William Henry’. This figure was confirmed in the novel. The French and Indian relationship can also be seen through, Magua, a Huron, who was a loyal soldier to the French and often referred to himself as Le Renard Subtil, a name given to him by the French whom he called his Canadian fathers.
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However, as mentioned earlier, the story has its inaccuracies with the first one relating to the character of Colonel George Munro. He existed, despite bearing the original name of George Monro and was in fact, put in charge of the 35th Regiment of Foot guarding Fort William Henry. The author’s account of the events that Monro faced while he was at Fort William Henry is in its main outlines relatively accurate but the character of Colonel George Monro has major differences from the actual person. In February 1756, Monro made a will bequeathing all his property to his children – two boys and one girl. Clearly, Cora and Alice, the daughters of Colonel George Munro from the story, must have been the imaginative works of Cooper.
Another significant inaccuracy to be noted is that the ‘Mohicans’ technically did not exist. James Fenimore Cooper arrived at this hybrid name after he had confused the names of two real Native American tribes – Mohegan and Mahican. However, in the story, the Mohicans were actually based on the Mahican tribe but practiced some aspects of Mohegan culture. The character Uncas, for example, was actually based on a chief of the Mohegan tribe.
A classic fiction based on a historical event requires slight distortion of the facts in order to allow space for the author’s creativity. However, such books are often aimed at reminding the readers of important events in history. The following section will discuss the historical relevance of the events portrayed in the novel.
HISTORICAL RELEVANCE
The ‘Massacre of Fort William Henry’ was used as the backbone of this novel. Apart from that, cultural differences between the natives and the conquerors were also emphasized along with racism. All which are mentioned above have, in reality, contributed significantly to American history.
The French’s attack on Fort William Henry represents an important incident during the French and Indian War mainly due to the mass killings of surrendering British soldiers by the Native American allies of the French. An estimated 308 casualties were calculated by modern historians. The massacre happened despite Montcalm’s promise to give the garrison the honors of war; British soldiers were allowed to keep their property and march to Fort Edward unharmed. As a result, the British never granted the honors of war to French forces for the rest of the conflict. Obviously, this incident had increased tensions on both sides and ultimately, contributed to the severity of the war.
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Another aspect indirectly portrayed in the story was the cultural differences between the Native Americans and the conquerors, more specifically, the idea of land ownership. The French and Indian War was fought between European powers over land but the Indians did not understand this concept as they believed that all living things, including themselves, belonged to the land. Hawkeye, who was raised by Indians, was an exception but almost all the other Europeans in the story, directly or indirectly, fought over land.
Besides that, elements of racism were also depicted in the novel. Major Heyward preferred Alice over Cora to be his love interest because Cora was half-black and this became obvious during his conversation with Colonel Munro. The attitude of the whites just illustrated was common during the 18th century of which the novel was set in.
Conclusion
Having completed the novel and done extensive research, I felt as if I have been thrown right onto the battlefield of the French and Indian War. The novel provided me with a micro view of the lifestyles of the Indians and the consequences of war. This added valuable input to my knowledge of American history and answered the questions I had been pondering since I first learnt about the war.
The battle of Fort William Henry may be one small event in the entire French and Indian War, but it was enough to show the true colors of the natives when they massacred the British out of frustration from the colonization.
Bibliography
1. Barker, Martin., and Roger Sarbin. The Lasting of the Mohicans. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 1995.
2. Cooper, James Fenimore. The Last of the Mohicans. London: HarperCollins, 2010.
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3. Fields, Darrell., and Lorrie Fields. The Seed of a Nation: Rediscovering America. New York: Morgan James, 2007.
4. Murrin, J.M., P.E. Johnson, J.M. McPherson, G. Gerstle. Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People 5th ed. Boston: Thomson, 2008.
5. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Volume 50. “Colonel George Monro and Fort William Henry”. /pdf/ vol_050/50_267_274.pdf.
6. Wikipedia. Franco-Indian alliance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Indian_alliance.
7. Wikipedia. Mahican. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahican.
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[ 18 ]. James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans (London: HarperCollins, 2010), 382
[ 19 ]. Wikipedia, Franco-Indian alliance, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Indian_alliance
[ 20 ]. Darrell and Lorrie Fields, The Seed of a Nation: Rediscovering America (New York: Morgan James, 2007), 155
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[ 26 ]. Wikipedia, Mahican, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahican
[ 27 ]. James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans (London: HarperCollins, 2010), vi
[ 28 ]. J.M. Murrin, P.E. Johnson, J.M. McPherson, G. Gerstle, Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People 5th ed. (Boston: Thomson, 2008), 173
[ 29 ]. Martin Barker, Roger Sabin, The Lasting of the Mohicans (Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 1995), 26
[ 30 ]. James Fenimore Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans (London: HarperCollins, 2010), 169
