Military Campaigns His Excellency the Landgrave Robert Daniell was commissioned Major of the Goose Creek Men, a militia unit in the Carolina Province in 1682. He was commissioned Colonel in 1691 in the forces of King William and served in King William's War, the North American theatre of the Nine Years War. The belligerent factions were King Louis XIV of France and the Grand Alliance, comprised of King William III, the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, King Charles II of Spain, and Duke Vittorio Amadeo II of Savoy. In North America, England and France struggled for control over the colonies.1,2,3 The Nine Years War left unfinished business, and the War of Spanish Succession broke out over inheritance of Spain. Louis XIV of France wanted Bourbon control of the Spanish Empire, which clearly was not favoured by the other crowned heads of Europe. As with the Nine Years War, the War of Spanish Succession had a theatre in North America known as Queen Anne's War. During Queen Anne's War, Landgrave Daniell was a commander in a campaign known as the Siege of Saint Augustine (modern-day Saint Augustine, Florida, USA). The overall campaign was led by South Carolina Governor James Moore. Daniell was in command of the sea-bourne forces. The English force totalled around 800-1200 men in addition to at least 300 Indians (Yamasee, Tallapoosa, Alabama tribes). Daniell's force contained a good number of Indians within it. From Port Royal Island, they sailed to Amelia Island by Saint Augustine, attacking the Spanish soldiers there. Meanwhile, Governor Moore had set up a blockade of Matanzas Bay in Saint Augustine after taking several Spanish encampments. Daniell's forces arrived to Saint Augustine proper on 10 November 1702, and the stage was set for a siege. However, the coquina walls of the Spanish Castillo de San Marco provided substantial protection against the English cannon, and the Spaniards were able to use their own artillery to keep the English at a distance. The Governor, therefore, sent Landgrave Daniell to Jamaica to obtain more powerful cannon and a greater supply of ammunition. Moore meanwhile ordered the town torched. While Daniell was away, Spanish reinforcements arrived and assistance was provided by the French garrison in Mobile (modern-day Mobile, Alabama), leading Moore to decide to abandon the siege, torching the remainder of Saint Augustine in the process. Moore was forced to resign as Governor. Although the siege was ultimately unsuccessful overall, Landgrave Daniell furthered his already renowned reputation as a gallant and valourous soldier.2,3,4,5,6 Castillo de San Marcos, Saint Augustine, Florida In his mid-to-upper sixties, he led forces in the Tuscarora War (1711) and the Yamasee War (1715). The Tuscarora War took place between the British, Dutch, and German colonies and the Tuscarora Indians. Yamasee and Cherokee Indians fought on the side of the Europeans. It has been considered the bloodiest colonial war that took place in North Carolina. The war resulted in a European victory, and the Tuscarora tribe signed a treaty before relocating to a reservation in present-day Bertie County.7 The Yamasee War took place between the Province of South Carolina and the Yamasee, Muscogee, Cherokee, Catawba, Apalachee, Apalachicola, Yuchi, Savannah River Shawnee, Congaree, Waxhaw, Pee Dee, Cape Fear, and Cheraw tribes, among others. It was largely an attempt by the Indian coalition to destroy the South Carolina colony. Hundreds of colonists were killed by the Indians, and many settlements were destroyed. Charles Towne was effectively under siege. The outlook was grim until the Cherokee decided to ally with the colonists. The tide was thereby turned and South Carolina survived. However, it was not without substantial cost. Around seven percent of the European population of South Carolina had been killed, rendering it more bloody than King Philip's War.8,9   1 Richard Aquila, The Iroquois Restoration: Iroquois Diplomacy on the Colonial Frontier, 1701-1754. University of Nebraska Press. 1997. 2 Williams, Clara Daniell. Daniell Family History. Vol. 2. 1992. 3 Coberly, Daniel L. Honor, Service, & Loyalty: A Johnson, Daniell, Lyle, Bethune, & de Loche Legacy: 800-2014. Italian Heritage Press. 2015. 4 Arnade, Charles W. "The English Invasion of Spanish Florida, 1700–1706". The Florida Historical Quarterly. Florida Historical Society. 1962. 5 Crane, Verner W. "The Southern Frontier in Queen Anne's War". The American Historical Review. 1919. 6 Daniels, Christine; Kennedy, Michael V. Negotiated empires: centers and peripheries in the Americas, 1500–1820. New York: Psychology Press. 2002. 7 La Vere, David. The Tuscarora War: Indians, Settlers, and the Fight for the Carolina Colonies. Chapel Hill, NC. University of North Carolina Press. 2013. 8 Oatis, Steven J. A Colonial Complex: South Carolina's Frontiers in the Era of the Yamasee War, 1680-1730. University of Nebraska Press. 2004. 9 Ramsey, William L. The Yamasee War: A Study of Culture, Economy, and Conflict in the Colonial South. University of Nebraska Press. 2008. Main Page