#johnson johnson

I finally got to reading Dorothy Dunnett's Dolly/Johnson series after Christmas. I've enjoyed them, nothing like the historicals but good fun with classic Dunnett escapades and fun, complicated characters.

* * *

"Bifocal glasses," I puffed as I dragged Johnson Johnson's limp body away from the landslide that had nearly killed us both, "are an affectation. One might even say an anachronism."

Understandably given the contusion to the back of his head, Johnson did not reply. I laid him without sentiment atop a patch of edelweiss, and set about examining his injuries. There was a nasty abrasion across his temple where a passing rock had knocked the aforementioned bifocals clean off, a distinct swelling above the [part of the skull], and assorted minor cuts and bruises, but nothing life-threatening. Which was sheer good luck, because whoever had set off that charge had certainly intended to kill him.

And, I thought with a spasm of internal discomfort, me as well.

* * *

"This decision sends a clear message to the rich and powerful: You will be held to account when you cause grievous harm."

In July 2018, 22 women spearheaded a class-action lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson over baby powder. A jury in St. Louis agreed with the claim of the women, their families, and their doctors that J&J’s talcum powder, which was found to contain asbestos, caused or contributed to their ovarian cancer. The case wasn’t the first of its kind, but it was one of the first to succeed, probably because…

Speaking of FWH, Johnson was indeed supposed to bring reinforcements to the besieged fort, which as we know never really came.

So just where was he at this time, really?

As it so happens, not too far away. Johnson had arrived at Fort Edward, FWH’s closest neighbour some 19 km (12 miles) away to the south, on August 6—halfway through the week-long siege. He brought with him 500 colonial militia and 150 Mohawk allies, meant to bolster the Fort Edward crew and, if required, help them in providing support for FWH.

By the time of Johnson’s arrival, the FWH garrison was already in dire need of help. Monro had already communicated this to Fort Edward’s commander, General Daniel Webb, but unfortunately for the men in the besieged fort, Webb ultimately made the decision to withhold any aid—Johnson’s troops included—instead of sending them to FWH, effectively leaving them to the mercy of the French.

⚔️ The Situation at Fort Edward

Webb’s refusal to move to aid FWH is often painted as a cowardly move by an indecisive general in many retellings of the siege. This verdict isn’t entirely off the mark—his actions at Fort Edward in response to Montcalm’s attack on FWH largely boiled down to panicking, with much flip-flopping between actually sending reinforcements and saying that he could not do so (see Webb’s letters). However, the reality of the event is, as usual, slightly more nuanced.

Compared to FWH, Fort Edward was twice as large and, at the time of the siege, had twice as many artillery pieces as its smaller cousin. However, these advantages did little to fix the main problem plaguing Webb during the siege: insufficient manpower.

First, the British forces present around FWH were severely outnumbered. While Webb commanded over a grand total of some 7,000 soldiers, only 1,600 of these had arrived at Fort Edward when Montcalm began his bombarding operation—the rest of his forces were still in the slow process of making their way there. Webb had even less than FWH’s 2,400 men, so at this point, it’s not a stretch for him to delay supporting the other fort. Doing so would leave his own fort quite undermanned.

To make things worse for Webb, a Canadian prisoner captured and brought to Fort Edward on August 4 claimed that Montcalm’s army numbered 11,000—a frightening number Webb decided to take seriously, as he had no intelligence to the contrary. The truth of it is that Montcalm had more like 7,000 soldiers at his disposal—close to Webb’s total force—but with the British forces still scattered the French had the upper hand with their consolidated manpower. Clearly, the odds aren’t good for the British.

This problem was slightly fixed when Johnson came in with his troops on August 6, raising the total force of soldiers gathered at Fort Edward to 2,500 men. With morale also going up, Webb sounded like he was seriously considering sending some aid to FWH at this time. But on that same day, the French threw a wrench in his plans by sending 2,500 of their own to blockade the road between FWH and Fort Edward. The situation quickly became glum again, as any relief that Webb plans to send to FWH will now have to go through that wall of 2,500 French soldiers before whatever remained of it after the clash can help Monro’s garrison.

Given these circumstances, even if the desperation of those posted at FWH is very understandable, a march to relieve them with Fort Edward’s current (very limited) resources would be noble but foolhardy at best.

⚔️ “Johnson was furious”

So we’ve established that Johnson couldn’t come to Monro’s aid because Webb had given all his men the order to stay at Fort Edward—an order that, apparently, Johnson had some beef with.

According to an account left by Louis Antoine de Bougainville, Montcalm’s aide during the FWH campaign, Johnson straight up started an argument with Webb over not allowing him to march, so dissatisfied was he with his general’s orders. Some other records of the event even said that Johnson had taken his troops and actually marched partway to FWH before Webb ordered him to come back.