Negative There were also negative consequences to having Native Americans on the British side. According to some British commanders, Native Americans were “unruly, uncontrollable, and could not be trusted in the heat of battle”. Native Americans were becoming more of a burden to the British as the war continued. They would often leave a battle to return home or would not listen to British commanding officers. Native Americans did not fight in the same manner as the British and some of their practices lead to mistrust and conflict with their British allies. The number of Natives also dependent on British gifts of food and clothing was also becoming unsustainable. The alliance would further be hampered by the deaths of strong leaders on both sides that held the fragile alliance together. The British were caught in a difficult situation. Although natives and US soldiers both scalped the dead, killed prisoners, and plundered civilians, …show more content…
The reliance gave the warriors a reason for demand, and in return, the Natives wanted the British to keep a substantial army on the Niagara Peninsula, a dangerously exposed position if the Americans gain naval control of the lake. British officer Edward Baynes explained that a withdrawal “would have lost us all our wavering friends and would have proved destructive to our Indian alliance.” British officers making decisions to keep the Native Alliance together was perhaps not the best military tactic for the war at that time. This is where conflicting war aims prevented the alliance from operating smoothly. The British were stretched to the limits at home dealing with the Napoleon War and were now being forced to use their already few resources to protect an alliance they needed in order to defend Canada had caused great tension and strain between the Native-British