Quintin Kennedy provides a perfect persona to command the British forces at the Lake George Tactical. He never had his own company; rather he was assigned to lead detachments made up of men from various units for specific missions. He had a good relationship with the Rangers and the Indians, adopting the dress and culture of both, as well as the respect and trust of his leaders.

I have been going to the Lake George Tactical, the premier “total immersion” F&I event, for more than 10 years and typically as a Ranger private. My first years were as part of Shirley’s Fifth under the command of Captain Nehemiah Floyd and later on with Rogers' Rangers under Mike Fitzgerald. In 2003, I filled in to act as the British Commander. Although my knowledge of the area and experience fighting there provided the required competencies, I really did not have a viable persona for the role.

During a discussion about his book, Redcoats, Stephen Brumwell made several references to a Quintin Kennedy, including characterizing Kennedy as “a minor league Robert Rogers.” I was instantly drawn to the concept of portraying a British officer temporarily assigned to learn “bush fighting” from the rangers. This would prove to be the perfect solution to the persona problem I had, as Kennedy was regularly given command of various detachments to go on scalping parties, act as a scout, and to deliver important messages. I began to develop this persona in as much detail as I could specifically for the Lake George Tactical in 2004.

I bought the book, along with many more, and started learning all I could about Quintin Kennedy. The more I learned, the more intrigued I became with the parallels with Kennedy’s style and my own. He was comfortable within the structured environment of the British Army while at the same time he flourished as a special missions leader. He would be recruiting for the Army one day, sitting on a court martial the next, and leading a scalping party dressed as an Indian on yet another. What follows is a very brief summary of that information as it applies to the French and Indian War.

Wade Stoner as Quintin Kennedy of the 44th of Foot, a survivor of Braddock's Defeat (here at the 250th Anniversary in 2005)

Kennedy was an Ulster Scot (one of the Scots who had moved to Northern Ireland), who came to Virginia in the spring of ‘55 as an ensign in the 44th of Foot as part of Braddock’s army. He was promoted to Lieutenant just before Braddock’s defeat.(1) Also, he was wounded while fighting with Braddock.

Subsequently he was sent by Bouquet to “learn bush fighting” from the Rangers.(2) In ’56 he was leading patrols from places like Fort Edward and began to develop a reputation:

In August 1756, this young veteran of Braddock’s defeat led 40 regulars and Mohawks from Fort Edward, bound for Canada on a ‘scalping party’. After six weeks in the wilderness, Kennedy’s patrol returned with two prisoners and valuable intelligence. … When the party finally arrived back at Fort Edward they were barely alive. Loudon had never seen ‘People so thoroughly wore out.’

He was commissioned a captain on December 27, 1757 and continued to perform dangerous tasks for the likes of Abercrombie and Amherst, including delivering a message to Wolfe under the guise of negotiating peace with the Abenakis. It was Kennedy’s being taken prisoner that finally triggered Amherst to authorize Rogers to attack St. Francis. Kennedy was released as part of a prisoner exchange once Wolfe was killed:

… when Vaudreuil, Governor of Canada, learned that Kennedy was closely related to General Murray (Wolfe’s successor after his death), he released them from the prison ship and placed them on parole. From then until their exchange on November 15, 1759, Kennedy and Hamilton were treated as officers and gentlemen at the Batiscan camp east of Three Rivers.

Once back from Canada, he worked with Gage’s 80th Light Infantry Regiment before heading south were he fought with Grant against the Indians, primarily the Cherokees in the Carolinas:

The Indian Corps’ commanded by Captain Quintin Kennedy flanked the column and scouted ahead of it’s advanced guard; on 10 June 1761, it was this formation that detected a Cherokee ambush.

He again asked for help from Amherst, who sent Colonel James Grant back to Carolina with twelve hundred British troops in January 1761. Grant had served under Montgomery. [96] [BH] [O] In his command was a company of Mohawks and Stockbridge Indians led by Captain Quintin Kennedy.