Chapter XLVIII: Front Matter (48)

After the reduction of Port Royal, which was practically the
conquest of Acadia, Colonel Nicholson, who bore the honors of
that achievement, repaired to England and prevailed with the
government to fit out an adequate expedition for the Conquest
of Canada. "The fleet, consisting of 15 ships of war and 40
transports, was placed under the command of Sir Hovenden
Walker; seven veteran regiments from Marlborough's army, with
a battalion of marines, were intrusted to Mrs. Masham's second
brother, whom the queen had pensioned and made a
brigadier-general, whom his bottle companions called honest
Jack Hill. ... From June 25th to the 30th day of July 1711,
the fleet lay at Boston, taking in supplies and the colonial
forces. At the same time, an army of men from Connecticut, New
Jersey, and New York, Palatine emigrants, and about 600
Iroquois, assembling at Albany, prepared to burst upon
Montreal; while in Wisconsin the English had allies in the
Foxes, who were always wishing to expel the French from
Michigan. In Quebec, measures of defence began by a renewal of
friendship with the Indians. To deputies from the Onondagas
and Senecas, the governor spoke of the fidelity with which the
French had kept their treaty; and he reminded them of their
promise to remain quiet upon their mats. A war festival was
next held, at which were present all the savages domiciliated
near the French settlements, and all the delegates of their
allies who had come down to Montreal. In the presence of 700
or 800 warriors, the war song was sung and the hatchet
uplifted. The savages of the remote west were wavering, till
twenty Hurons from Detroit took up the hatchet, and swayed all
the rest by their example. By the influence of the Jesuits
over the natives, an alliance extending to the Ojibways
constituted the defence of Montreal. Descending to Quebec,
Vaudreuil found Abenaki volunteers assembling for his
protection. Measures for resistance had been adopted with
heartiness; the fortifications were strengthened; Beauport was
garrisoned; and the people were resolute and confiding; even
women were ready to labor for the common defence. Toward the
last of August, it was said that peasants at Matanes had
descried 90 or 96 vessels with the English flag. Yet September
came, and still from the heights of Cape Diamond no eye caught
one sail of the expected enemy. The English squadron, leaving
Boston on the 30th of July [1711], after loitering near the
bay of Gaspé, at last began to ascend the St. Lawrence, while
Sir Hovenden Walker puzzled himself with contriving how he
would secure his vessels during the winter at Quebec." At the
same time, the present and actual difficulties of the
expedition were so heedlessly and ignorantly dealt with that
eight ships of the fleet were wrecked among the rocks and
shoals near the Egg Islands, and 884 men were drowned. The
enterprise was then abandoned. "'Had we arrived safe at
Quebec,' wrote the admiral, 'ten or twelve thousand men must
have been left to perish of cold and hunger: by the loss of a
part, Providence saved all the rest.' Such was the issue of
hostilities in the north-east. Their total failure left the
expedition from Albany no option but to return, and Montreal
was unmolested. Detroit, in 1712, almost fell before the valor
of a party of the Ottagamies, or Foxes. ... Resolving to burn
Detroit, they pitched their lodgings near the fort, which Du
Buisson, with but twenty Frenchmen, defended. Aware of their
intention, he summoned his Indian allies from the chase; and,
about the middle of May, Ottawas and Hurons and
Pottawottamies, with one branch of the Sacs, Illinois,
Menomonies, and even Osages and Missouris, each nation with
its own ensign, came to his relief.
{370}
So wide was the influence of the missionaries in the
West. ... The warriors of the Fox nation, far from destroying
Detroit, were themselves besieged, and at last were compelled
to surrender at discretion. Those Who bore arms were
ruthlessly murdered; the rest distributed among the
confederates, to be enslaved or massacred at the will of their
masters. Cherished as the loveliest spot in Canada, the
possession of Detroit secured for Quebec a great highway to
the upper Indian tribes and to the Mississippi. ... In the
meantime, the preliminaries of a treaty had been signed
between France and England; and the war ... was suspended by
negotiations that were soon followed by the uncertain peace of
Utrecht [April 11, 1713]. ... England, by the peace of
Utrecht, obtained from France large concessions of territory
in America. The assembly of New York had addressed the queen
against French settlements in the West; William Penn advised
to establish the St. Lawrence as the boundary on the north,
and to include in our colonies the valley of the Mississippi.
'It will make a glorious country'; such were his prophetic
words. ... The colony of Louisiana excited in Saint-John
'apprehensions of the future undertakings of the French in
North America.' The occupation of the Mississippi valley had
been proposed to Queen Anne; yet, at the peace, that immense
region remained to France. But England obtained the bay of
Hudson and its borders; Newfoundland, subject to the rights of
France in its fisheries; and all Nova Scotia, or Acadia,
according to its ancient boundaries. It was agreed that
'France should never molest the Five Nations subject to the
dominion of Great Britain.' But Louisiana, according to French
ideas, included both banks of the Mississippi. Did the treaty
of Utrecht assent to such an extension of French territory?
And what were the ancient limits of Acadia? Did it include all
that is now New Brunswick? or had France still a large
territory on the Atlantic between Acadia and Maine? And what
were the bounds of the territory of the Five Nations, which
the treaty appeared to recognize as a part of the English
dominions? These were questions which were never to be
adjusted amicably."

_G. Bancroft, History of the U. S. (Author's Last
Revision), part 3, chapter 12 (volume 2)._

With reference to the destruction of the Fox Indians at
Detroit, a recent writer says: "The French official reports
pretend that the Wisconsin Indians, being in secret alliance
with the Iroquois and the English, had come to Detroit with
the express purpose of besieging the fort and reducing it to
ruins; and their statement has heretofore been unsuspectingly
accepted by all historians. But there is little doubt that the
charge is a shameful falsehood. The Fox Indians had rendered
themselves very obnoxious to the French. Firmly lodged on the
Fox River, they controlled the chief highway to the West; a
haughty, independent and intractable people, they could not be
cajoled into vassalage. It was necessary for the success of
the French policy to get them out of the way. They were
enticed to Detroit in order that they might be slaughtered."

_S. S. Hebberd, History of Wisconsin under the dominion of
France, chapter 5-6._

ALSO IN:
_Wisconsin Historical Society Collections, volume 5._

_W. Kingsford, History of Canada,
book 6, chapter 5-6 (volume 2)._

_R. Brown, History of the Island of Cape Breton,
letters 8-9._

See, also, UTRECHT: A. D. 1712-1714,
and NEWFOUNDLAND: A. D.1713.

CANADA: A. D. 1720.
The fortifying of Louisbourg.

See CAPE BRETON: A. D. 1720-1745.

CANADA: A. D. 1744-1748.
The Third Inter-Colonial War (King George's War).
Loss and recovery of Louisbourg and Cape Breton.

See NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1744; 1745; and 1745-1748.

CANADA: A. D. 1748-1754.
Active measures to fortify possession of the Ohio Valley and
the West.

See OHIO (VALLEY): A. D. 1748-1754.

CANADA: A. D. 1750-1753.
Boundaries disputes with England.
Futile negotiations at Paris.

"For the past three years [1750-1753] the commissioners
appointed under the treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle to settle the
question of boundaries between France and England in America
had been in session at Paris, waging interminable war on
paper; La Galissonière and Silhouette for France, Shirley and
Mildmay for England. By the treaty of Utrecht, Acadia belonged
to England; but what was Acadia? According to the English
commissioners, it comprised not only the peninsula called Nova
Scotia, but all the immense tract of land between the River
St. Lawrence on the north, the Gulf of the same name on the
east, the Atlantic on the south, and New England on the west.
The French commissioners, on their part, maintained that the
name Acadia belonged of right only to about a twentieth part
of this territory, and that it did not even cover the whole of
the Acadian peninsula, but only its southern coast, with an
adjoining belt of barren wilderness. When the French owned
Acadia, they gave it boundaries as comprehensive as those
claimed for it by the English commissionaries; now that it
belonged to a rival, they cut it down to a paring of its
former self. ... Four censuses of Acadia while it belonged to
the French had recognized the mainland as included in it; and
so do also the early French maps. Its prodigious shrinkage was
simply the consequence of its possession by an alien. Other
questions of limits, more important and equally perilous,
called loudly for solution. What line should separate Canada
and her western dependencies from the British colonies?
Various principles of demarcation were suggested, of which the
most prominent was a geographical one. All countries watered
by streams falling into the St. Lawrence, the Great Lakes, and
the Mississippi were to belong to her. This would have planted
her in the heart of New York and along the crests of the
Alleghanies, giving her all the interior of the continent, and
leaving nothing to England but a strip of sea-coast. Yet in
view of what France had achieved; of the patient gallantry of
her explorers, the zeal of her missionaries, the adventurous
hardihood of her bushrangers, revealing to civilized mankind
the existence of this wilderness world, while her rivals
plodded at their workshops, their farms, or their
fisheries,--in view of all this, her pretensions were moderate
and reasonable compared with those of England. The treaty of
Utrecht had declared the Iroquois, or Five Nations, to be
British subjects; therefore it was insisted that all countries
conquered by them belonged to the British Crown. But what was
an Iroquois conquest? The Iroquois rarely occupied the
countries they overran. ... But the range of their war-parties
was prodigious; and the English laid claim to every mountain,
forest or prairie where an Iroquois had taken a scalp.
{371}
This would give them not only the country between the
Alleghanies and the Mississippi, but also that between Lake
Huron and the Ottawa, thus reducing Canada to the patch on the
American map now represented by the province of Quebec,--or
rather by a part of it, since the extension of Acadia to the
St. Lawrence would cut off the present counties of Gaspé,
Rimouski and Bonaventure. Indeed, among the advocates of
British claims there were those who denied that France had any
rights whatever on the south side of the St. Lawrence. Such
being the attitude of the two contestants, it was plain there
was no resort but the last argument of kings. Peace must be
won with the sword."

_F. Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, chapter 5 (volume 1)._

ALSO IN:
_T. C. Haliburton, Account of Nova Scotia,
volume 1, pages 143-149._

See, also, NOVA SCOTIA:

CANADA: A. D. 1749-1755.
Relative to the very dubious English claim based on treaties
with the Iroquois,

See NEW YORK: A. D. 1684, and 1726.

CANADA: A. D. 1755 (April).
Plans of the English against the French.

"While the negotiations [between England and France, at Paris]
were pending, Braddock arrived in the Chesapeake. In March
[1755] he reached Williamsburgh, and visited Annapolis; on the
14th of April, he, with Commodore Keppel, held a congress at
Alexandria. There were present, of the American governors,
Shirley, next to Braddock in military rank; Delancey, of New
York; Morris, of Pennsylvania; Sharpe, of Maryland; and
Dinwiddie, of Virginia. ... Between England and France peace
existed under ratified treaties; it was proposed not to invade
Canada, but to repel encroachments on the frontier. For this
end, four expeditions were concerted by Braddock at
Alexandria. Lawrence, the lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia,
was to reduce that province according to the English
interpretation of its boundaries; Johnson [afterwards Sir
William Johnson, of New York] from his long acquaintance with
the Six Nations, was selected to enroll Mohawk warriors in
British pay and lead them with provincial militia against
Crown Point; Shirley proposed to drive the French from
Niagara; the commander-in-chief was to recover the Ohio
valley."

_G. Bancroft, History of the U. S. (Author's last
revision), volume 2, pages 416-419._

CANADA: A. D. 1755 (June).
French disaster at Sea.
Frustrated attempt against Nova Scotia.
The arrival of Dieskau at Quebec.

"In 1754, France fully awakened to the fact that England not
only intended to maintain her position in the wilds of
America, but likewise by sea. She equipped an armament under
the command of admirals Macnamara and Bois de la Mothe, of 18
ships of the line and 9 frigates, having on board, ostensibly
for Canada, eleven battalions of troops under General Dieskau,
an 'élève' of Marshal Saxe. England, apprised of this force
being sent, despatched Vice-Admiral Boscawen with 11 ships of
the line and one frigate to intercept it en route. Both sailed
about the same time, the 22d of April, 1755. The French
ambassador at London being duly notified, replied: 'That his
royal master would consider the first gun fired at sea in a
hostile manner to be a declaration of war.' The esoteric
instructions of the French fleet were to rendezvous at
Chebuctou Harbour, destroy Halifax, and then proceed to
Annapolis for the same purpose. While the instructions were of
necessity secret, it was well known in Acadia that an attempt
would be made by France to recover possession of the province.
It was this fleet, so eagerly expected by the Acadians, that
gave rise to the insolent manner in which they addressed the
Council at Halifax, and which led to an immediate removal of
their arms and subsequent dispersal. Owing to misadventure,
some of the French fleet under Macnamara had to put back to
Brest; the remainder met the English off the coast of
Newfoundland [June 8] in a dense fog; avoiding an engagement,
several of them escaped by taking the northern route via
Belleisle ... successfully reaching their 'harbour of refuge,'
Louisbourg. The 'Lys' and the 'Alcyde' were sufficiently
unfortunate to be compelled to face the guns of the English
frigates 'Dunkirk' and 'Defiance,' and after five hours close
engagement the 'Lys' struck its colors ... followed by the
'Alcyde,' when Hocquart in command became Boscawen's prisoner
by sea for the third time, together with £76,000 sterling in
money, eight companies of soldiers and several officers and
engineers. The unexpected rencontre with Boscawen's fleet, the
loss of two of their vessels, and the knowledge that the
garrison at Halifax was considerably reinforced by the forces
brought out by Boscawen, caused the abandonment of all
attempts to recover Acadia. Dieskau, after landing a few
regiments at Louisbourg, proceeded to Quebec."

G. E. Hart, The Fall of New France, pages 51-54.

ALSO IN:
_J. Campbell, Naval History of Great Britain,
volume 5, pages 104-106._

CANADA: A. D. 1755 (July).
Defeat of Braddock's Expedition against Fort Duquesne.

See OHIO (VALLEY): A. D. 1755.

CANADA: A. D. 1755 (August-October):
The abortive expedition against Niagara.

According to the English plan of campaign, concerted with
Braddock at Alexandria, Governor Shirley was to lead an army
for the conquest of Niagara; but his march westward ended at
Oswego. "Colonel Philip Schuyler led the first regiment of the
expedition. Boats were built at Oswego to convey 600 men by
lake. Shirley followed by way of the Mohawk, and reached
Oswego August 21. He was delayed from various causes, and in
October a council of war decided that the attack on Niagara
should be postponed for a year. Shirley was to have met
Braddock in victory at Niagara. Both branches of the plan had
been shattered. The great western scheme sank to a mere
strengthening of the defences of Oswego. Colonel Mercer was
left in command of a garrison of 700 men, with instructions to
build two new forts, and General Shirley took the remainder of
his force back to Albany. The pitiful failure led to
recriminations relative to the causes of the fatal delays."

_E. H. Roberts, New York, volume 1, chapter 20._

ALSO IN:
_R. Hildreth, History of the U. S., chapter 26 (volume 2)._

{372}

CANADA: A. D. 1755 (September).
The Battle of Lake George and defeat of Dieskau.

"The expedition against Crown Point on Lake Champlain, had
been intrusted to General William Johnson. His troops were
drawn principally from Massachusetts and Connecticut; a
regiment from New Hampshire joined them at Albany. At the head
of boat navigation on the Hudson, a fort was built which, in
honor of their commander, whom they reverenced as 'a brave and
virtuous man,' the soldiers named Fort Lyman. But when Johnson
assumed the command he ungenerously changed the name to Fort
Edward. Leaving a garrison in this fort; Johnson moved with
about 5,000 men to the head of Lake George, and there formed a
camp, intending to descend into Lake Champlain. Hendrick, the
celebrated Mohawk chief, with his warriors, were among these
troops. Israel Putnam, too, was there, as a captain, and John
Stark as a lieutenant, each taking lessons in warfare. The
French were not idle; the district of Montreal made the most
strenuous exertions to meet the invading foe. All the men who
were able to bear arms were called into active service; so
that, to gather in the harvest, their places were supplied by
men from other districts. The energetic Baron Dieskau
resolved, by a bold attack, to terrify the invaders. Taking
with him 200 regulars, and about 1,200 Canadians and Indians,
he set out to capture Fort Edward; but, as he drew near, the
Indians heard that it was defended by cannon, which they
greatly dreaded, and they refused to advance. He now changed
his plan, and resolved to attack Johnson's camp, which was
supposed to be without cannon. Meantime scouts had reported to
Johnson that they had seen roads made through the woods in the
direction of Fort Edward. Not knowing the movements of
Dieskau, a detachment of 1,000 men, under Colonel Ephraim
Williams, of Massachusetts, and 200 Mohawks, under Hendrick,
marched to relieve that post. The French had information of
their approach and placed themselves in ambush. They were
concealed among the thick bushes of a swamp, on the one side,
and rocks and trees on the other. The English recklessly
marched into the defile. They were vigorously attacked [Sept.
5] and thrown into confusion. Hendrick was almost instantly
killed, and in a short time Williams fell also. The detachment
commenced to retreat, occasionally halting to check their
pursuers. The firing was heard in the camp; as the sound drew
nearer and nearer, it was evident the detachment was
retreating. The drums beat to arms, trees were hastily felled
and thrown together to form a breastwork, upon which were
placed a few cannon, just arrived from the Hudson. Scarcely
were these preparations made when the panting fugitives
appeared in sight, hotly pursued by the French and Indians.
Intending to enter the camp with the fugitives, Dieskau urged
forward his men with the greatest impetuosity. The moment the
fugitives were past the muzzles of the cannon they opened with
a tremendous shower of grape, which scattered the terrified
Indians and checked the Canadians, but the regulars pushed on.
A determined contest ensued, which lasted five hours, until
the regulars were nearly all slain, while the Indians and
Canadians did but little execution; they remained at a
respectful distance among the trees. At length the enemy began
to retreat, and the Americans leaped over the breastworks and
pursued them with great vigor. That same evening, after the
pursuit had ceased, as the French were retreating, they were
suddenly attacked with great spirit by the New Hampshire
regiment, which was on its way from Fort Edward. They were so
panic stricken by this new assault that they abandoned
everything and fled for their lives. Dieskau had been wounded
once or twice at the commencement of the battle, but he never
left his post. ... He was taken prisoner, kindly treated, and
sent to England, where he died. Johnson was slightly wounded
at the commencement of the battle, and prudently retired from
danger. To General Lyman belongs the honor of the victory, yet
Johnson, in his report of the battle, did not even mention his
name. Johnson, for his exertions on that day, was made a
baronet, and received from royal favor a gift of $25,000. He
had friends at court, but Lyman was unknown. Colonel Ephraim
Williams, who fell in this battle, while passing through
Albany, had taken the precaution to make his will, in which he
bequeathed property to found a free school in western
Massachusetts. That school has since grown into Williams
College."

_J. H. Patton, Concise History of the American People,
volume 1, chapter 22._

ALSO IN:
_W. L. Stone, Life and Times of Sir W. Johnson,
volume 1, chapter 16._

_F. Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, volume 1, chapter 9._

CANADA: A. D. 1755 (October-November).
Removal and dispersion in exile of the French Acadians.

See NOVA SCOTIA: A. D. 1755.

CANADA: A. D. 1756.
Formal declarations of war.
The "Seven Years War" of Europe, called the "French and Indian
War" in British America.
Montcalm sent from France.

"On the 18th of May, 1756, England, after a year of open
hostility, at length declared war. She had attacked France by
land and sea, turned loose her ships to prey on French
commerce, and brought some 300 prizes into her ports. It was
the act of a weak government, supplying by spasms of violence
what it lacked in considerate resolution. France, no match for
her amphibious enemy in the game of marine depredation, cried
out in horror; and to emphasize her complaints and signalize a
pretended good faith which her acts had belied, ostentatiously
released a British frigate captured by her cruisers. She in
her turn declared war on the 9th of June: and now began the
most terrible conflict of the 18th century; one that convulsed
Europe and shook America, India, the coasts of Africa, and the
islands of the sea."

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1754-1755, and after;
also GERMANY: A. D. 1755-1756, and after.

"Henceforth France was to turn her strength against her
European foes; and the American war, the occasion of the
universal outbreak, was to hold in her eyes a second place.
... Still, something must be done for the American war; at
least there must be a new general to replace Dieskau. None of
the court favorites wanted a command in the backwoods, and the
minister of war was free to choose whom he would. His choice
fell on Louis Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm-Gozon de Saint
Véran. ... The Chevalier de Lévis, afterwards Marshal of
France, was named as his second in command. ... The troops
destined for Canada were only two battalions, one belonging to
the regiment of La Sarre, and the other to that of Royal
Roussillon. Louis XV. and Pompadour sent 100,000 men to fight
the battles of Austria, and could spare but 1,200 to
reinforce. New France." Montcalm, who reached Quebec in May,
was placed in difficult relations with the governor-general,
Vaudreuil, by the fact that the latter held command of the
colonial troops. The forces in New France, were of three
kinds,--"the 'troupes de terre,' troops of the line, or
regulars from France; the 'troupes de la marine,' or colony
regulars; and lastly the militia.
{373}
The first consisted of the four battalions that had come over with
Dieskau and the two that had come with Montcalm, comprising in
all a little less than 3,000 men. Besides these, the
battalions of Artois and Bourgogne, to the number of 1,100
men, were in garrison at Louisbourg." This constituted
Montcalm's command. The colony regulars and the militia
remained subject to the orders of the governor, who manifested
an early jealousy of Montcalm. The former troops numbered less
than 2,000 men. "All the effective male population of Canada,
from 15 years to 60, was enrolled in the militia. ... In 1750
the militia of all ranks counted about 13,000; and eight years
later the number had increased to about 15,000. Until the last
two years of the war, those employed in actual warfare were
but few. ... To the white fighting force of the colony are to
be added the red men. ... The military situation was somewhat
perplexing. Iroquois spies had brought reports of great
preparations on the part of the English. As neither party
dared offend these wavering tribes, their warriors could pass
with impunity from one to the other, and were paid by each for
bringing information, not always trustworthy. They declared
that the English were gathering in force to renew the attempt
made by Johnson the year before against Crown Point and
Ticonderoga, as well as that made by Shirley against Forts
Frontenac and Niagara. Vaudreuil had spared no effort to meet
the double danger. Lotbinière, a Canadian engineer, had been
busied during the winter in fortifying Ticonderoga, while
Pouchot, a captain in the battalion of Béarn, had rebuilt
Niagara, and two French engineers were at work in
strengthening the defenses of Frontenac. ... Indians presently
brought word that 10,000 English were coming to attack
Ticonderoga." Both Montcalm and Lévis, with troops, "hastened
to the supposed scene of danger ... and reached Ticonderoga at
the end of June. They found the fort ... advanced towards
completion. It stood on the crown of the promontory. ... The
rampart consisted of two parallel walls ten feet apart, built
of the trunks of trees, and held together by transverse logs
dovetailed at both ends, the space between being filled with
earth and gravel well packed. Such was the first Fort
Ticonderoga, or Carillon,--a structure quite distinct from the
later fort of which the ruins still stand on the same spot.
... Ticonderoga was now the most advanced position of the
French, and Crown Point, which had before held that perilous
honor, was in the second line. ... The danger from the English
proved to be still remote. ... Meanwhile, at the head of Lake
George, the raw bands of ever-active New England, were
mustering for the fray."

_F. Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, volume 1, chapter 11._

ALSO IN:
_W. Kingsford, History of Canada,
book 11, chapter 9 (volume 3)._

CANADA: A. D. 1756-1757.
French successes.
Capture of Oswego and Fort William Henry.
Bloody work of the savage allies.

On the death of Braddock, Governor Shirley became
commander-in-chief of the British forces in America, "a
position for which he was not adapted by military knowledge.
... His military schemes for the season of 1756 were grand in
conception and theory, but disastrous failures in practice.
Ten thousand men were to advance against Crown Point--6, 000
for service on Lake Ontario, 3,000 for an attack on Fort
Duquesne, and 2,000 to advance up the river Kennebec, destroy
the settlement adjoining the Chaudière and descending the
mouth of that river within three miles of Quebec, keep all
that part of Canada in alarm. While each of these armies was
being put into motion, the season had become too far advanced
for action at any one point. Moreover, the British Government,
dissatisfied with a Provincial officer being at the head of its
army in America, determined upon sending out General Lord
Loudoun. While Shirley was preparing, Montcalm advanced
against the three forts at Oswego, the terror of the French in
the Iroquois country and which it had been their desire to
destroy for many years back; they likewise commanded the
entrance to Lake Ontario. The English had a garrison of 1,800
men in these divided between Fort Ontario ... Fort Oswego ...
and Fort George, or Rascal ... about a mile distant from each
other." Montcalm took all three of the forts without much
difficulty, and demolished them. "Shirley was much blamed for
this defeat and the failure of his projects, and lost both his
government and command, being succeeded by John Campbell,
fourth Earl of Loudoun, Baron Mauchlaw, one of the sixteen
peers of Scotland, with General Abercromby as second in
command--both notorious for previous incompetency. ... They
were sent out with considerable reinforcements, and had
transferred to them by Shirley 16,000 men in the field, of
whom 6,000 were regulars; but, with that masterly inactivity
and indecision for which Loudoun was most renowned, no further
movement was made this year. The year 1757 was not
distinguished by any military movements of much moment." An
intended attack on Louisbourg was postponed because of news
that a powerful French fleet held possession of its harbor and
that the garrison was very strong. "Montcalm, finding himself
free from attack, penetrated with his army of 7,606 men to
Fort William Henry, at the head of Lake George. Included were
2,000 Indians. The fort was garrisoned by 2,264 regulars under
Colonel Munroe of the 35th Regiment, and in the neighborhood
there was an additional force of 4,600 men under General Webb.
On the 3d of August the fort was invested and, after a summons
to surrender was rejected, the attack was begun and continued
with undiminished fervor until the 9th at noon, when a
capitulation was signed. General Webb did not join Munroe, as
he was instructed to do by Abercromby's plans, some cowardice
being attributed to him by contemporary writers. An incident
of the war which has given rise to a great deal of controversy
and ill-feeling up to the present moment, was the so-called
massacre at Fort William Henry, the outcome of the numerous
horde of savages the French allies had in the engagement. ...
On the morning following the surrender, the garrison was to
march out under a proper escort to protect them from injury at
the hands of the Indians. The evacuation had barely commenced,
when a repetition of the looting of the day previous, which
ensued immediately after the capitulation had been signed, was
attempted.
{374}
An effort being made by the escort to stop it, some drunken
Indians attacked the defile, which resulted in the murdering
and scalping of some 60 or 70 of the prisoners; maltreating
and robbing a large number of others. Upon a careful
investigation of the contemporary authorities, no blame
whatever can be attached to the good fame of the brave and
humane Montcalm or De Lévis. ... Fort George, or William
Henry, as it was indifferently called, like its compeer Fort
Oswego, was razed to the ground and the army retreated into
their winter quarters at Montreal. The termination of the year
left the French masters of Lakes Champlain and George,
together with the chain of great lakes connecting the St.
Lawrence with the Mississippi; also the undisturbed possession
of all the country in dispute west of the Alleghany
Mountains."

_G. E. Hart, The Fall of New France, pages 70-79._

ALSO IN:
_E. Warburton, Conquest of Canada, volume 2, chapter 2-3._

CANADA: A. D. 1758.
The loss of Louisbourg and Fort Du Quesne.
Bloody defeat of the English at Ticonderoga.

"The affairs of Great Britain in North America wore a more
gloomy aspect, at the close of the campaign of 1757, than at
any former period. By the acquisition of fort William Henry,
the French had obtained complete possession of the lake
Champlain, and George. By the destruction of Oswego, they had
acquired the dominion of those lakes which connect the St.
Lawrence with the waters of the Mississippi, and unite Canada
to Louisiana. By means of fort Du Quêsne, they maintained
their ascendency over the Indians, and held undisturbed
possession of the country west of the Allegheny mountains;
while the English settlers were driven to the blue ridge. The
great object of the war in that quarter was gained, and France
held the country for which hostilities had been commenced. ...
But this inglorious scene was about to be succeeded by one of
unrivalled brilliancy. ... The brightest era of British
history was to commence. ... The public voice had, at length,
made its way to the throne, and had forced, on the unwilling
monarch, a minister who has been justly deemed one of the
greatest men of the age in which he lived. ... In the summer
of 1757, an administration was formed, which conciliated the
great contending interests in parliament; and Mr. Pitt was
placed at its head. ... Possessing the public confidence
without limitation, he commanded all the resources of the
nation, and drew liberally from the public purse. ... In no
part of his majesty's dominions was the new administration
more popular than in his American colonies. ... The circular
letter of Mr. Pitt assured the several governors that, to
repair the losses and disappointments of the last inactive
campaign, the cabinet was determined to send a formidable
force, to operate by sea and land, against the French in
America; and he called upon them to raise as large bodies of
men, within their respective governments, as the number of
inhabitants might allow. ... The legislature of Massachusetts
agreed to furnish 7,000 men; Connecticut 5,000; and New
Hampshire 3,000. ... Three expeditions were proposed. The
first was against Louisbourg; the second against Ticonderoga
and Crown Point; and the third against fort Du Quêsne. The
army destined against Louisbourg, consisting of 14,000 men,
was commanded by major general Amherst. [The expedition was
successful and Louisbourg fell, July 26, 1758.]"

See CAPE BRETON ISLAND: A. D. 1758-1760.

"The expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point was
conducted by General Abercrombie in person. His army,
consisting of near 16,000 effectives, of whom 9,000 were
provincials, was attended by a formidable train of artillery,
and possessed every requisite to ensure success. On the 5th of
July he embarked on lake George, and reached the landing place
early the next morning. A disembarkation being effected
without opposition, the troops were immediately formed in four
columns, the British in the centre, and the provincials on the
flanks; in which order they marched towards the advanced guard
of the French, composed of' one battalion posted in a log
camp, which, on the approach of the English, made a
precipitate retreat. Abercrombie continued his march towards
Ticonderoga, with the intention of investing that place; but,
the woods being thick, and the guides unskilful, his columns
were thrown into confusion, and, in some measure, entangled
with each other. In this situation Lord Howe, at the head of
the right centre column, fell in with a part of the advanced
guard of the French; which, in retreating from lake George,
was likewise lost in the wood. He immediately attacked and
dispersed them; killing several, and taking 148 prisoners,
among whom were five officers. This small advantage was
purchased at a dear rate. Though only two officers, on the
side of the British, were killed, one of these was Lord Howe
himself, who fell on the first fire. This gallant young
nobleman had endeared himself to the whole army. ... Without
farther opposition, the English army took possession of the
post at the Saw Mills, within two miles of Ticonderoga. This
fortress [called Carillon by the French], which commands the
communication between the two lakes, is encompassed on three
sides by water, and secured in front by a morass. The ordinary
garrison amounting to 4,000 men, was stationed under the
cannon of the place, and covered by a breast-work, the
approach to which had been rendered extremely difficult by
trees felled in front, with their branches outward, many of
which were sharpened so as to answer the purpose of
chevaux-de-frize. This body of troops was rendered still more
formidable by its general than by its position. It was
commanded by the marquis de Montcalm. Having learned from his
prisoners the strength of the army under the walls of
Ticonderoga, and that a reinforcement of 3,000 men was daily
expected, general Abercrombie thought it advisable to storm
the place before this reinforcement should arrive. The troops
marched to the assault with great intrepidity; but their
utmost efforts could make no impression on the works. ...
After a contest of near four hours, and several repeated
attacks, general Abercrombie ordered a retreat. The army
retired to the camp from which it had marched in the morning;
and, the next day, resumed its former position on the south
side of lake George. In this rash attempt, the killed and
wounded of the English amounted to near 2,000 men, of whom not
quite 400 were provincials. The French were covered during the
whole action, and their loss was inconsiderable. Entirely
disconcerted by this unexpected and bloody repulse, General
Abercrombie relinquished his designs against Ticonderoga
and Crown Point.
{375}
Searching however for the means of repairing the misfortune,
if not the disgrace, sustained by his arms, he readily acceded
to a proposition made by colonel Bradstreet, for an expedition
against fort Frontignac. This fortress stands on the north
side of Ontario. ... Colonel Bradstreet embarked on the
Ontario at Oswego, and on the 25th of August, landed within
one mile of the fort. In two days, his batteries were opened
at so short a distance that almost every shell took effect;
and the governor, finding the place absolutely untenable,
surrendered at discretion. ... After destroying the fort and
vessels, and such stores as could not be brought off, colonel
Bradstreet returned to the army which undertook nothing
farther during the campaign. The demolition of Fort Frontignac
and of the stores which had been collected there, contributed
materially to the success of the expedition against fort Du
Quêsne. The conduct of this enterprise had been entrusted to
General Forbes, who marched from Philadelphia, about the
beginning of July, at the head of the main body of the army,
destined for this service, in order to join colonel Bouquet at
Raystown. So much time was employed in preparing to move from
this place, that the Virginia regulars, commanded by Colonel
Washington, were not ordered to join the British troops until
the month of September. ... Early in October general Forbes
moved from Raystown; but the obstructions to his march were so
great that he did not reach fort Du Quêsne until late in
November. The garrison, being deserted by the Indians, and too
weak to maintain the place against the formidable army which
was approaching, abandoned the fort the evening before the
arrival of the British, and escaped down the Ohio in boats.
The English placed a garrison in it, and changed its name to
Pittsburg, in compliment to their popular minister. The
acquisition of this post was of great importance to
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia."

_J. Marshall, Life of Washington, volume 1, chapter 13._

ALSO IN:
_W. C. Bryant and S. H. Gay,
Popular History of the United States, volume 3, chapter 11._

_B. Fernow, The Ohio Valley in Colonial Days, chapter 7._

_Major R. Rogers, Journals, editor, by Hough, pages 115-123._

_W. Irving, Life of Washington, volume 1, chapter 24._

_N. B. Craig, The Olden Time, volume 1, pages 177-200._

CANADA: A. D. 1759 (June-September).
The Fall of Quebec.

"Wolfe's name stood high in the esteem of all who were
qualified to judge, but, at the same time, it stood low in the
column of colonels in the Army List. The great minister [Pitt]
thought that the former counterbalanced the latter. ... One of
the last gazettes in the year 1758 announced the promotion of
Colonel James Wolfe to the rank of major-general, and his
appointment to the chief command of the expedition against
Quebec. About the middle of February, 1759, the squadron
sailed from England to Louisbourg, where the whole of the
British force destined for the River St. Lawrence was ordered
to assemble. ... Twenty-two ships of the line, five frigates,
and nineteen smaller vessels of war, with a crowd of
transports, were mustered under the orders of the admiral
[Saunders], and a detachment of artillery and engineers, and
ten battalions of infantry, with six companies of Rangers,
formed Wolfe's command; the right flank companies of the three
regiments which still garrisoned Louisbourg soon after joined
the army, and were formed into a corps called the Louisbourg
Grenadiers. The total of the land forces embarked were
somewhat under 8,000."

_E. Warburton, Conquest of Canada, volume 2, chapter 9._

"Wolfe, with his 8,000 men, ascended the St. Lawrence in the
fleet in the month of June. With him came Brigadiers Monckton,
Townshend and Murray, youthful and brave like himself, and,
like himself, already schooled to arms. ... The Grenadiers of
the army were commanded by Colonel Guy Carleton, and part of
the light infantry by Lieutenant-Colonel William Howe, both
destined to celebrity in after years, in the annals of the
American revolution. Colonel Howe was brother of the gallant
Lord Howe, whose fall in the preceding year was so generally
lamented. Among the officers of the fleet was Jervis, the
future admiral, and ultimately Earl St. Vincent; and the
master of one of the ships was James Cook, afterwards renowned
as a discoverer. About the end of June, the troops debarked on
the large, populous, and well-cultivated Isle of Orleans, a
little below Quebec, and encamped in its fertile fields.
Quebec, the citadel of Canada, was strong by nature. It was
built round the point of a rocky promontory, and flanked by
precipices. ... The place was tolerably fortified, but art had
not yet rendered it, as at the present day, impregnable.
Montcalm commanded the post. His troops were more numerous
than the assailants; but the greater part of them were
Canadians, many of them inhabitants of Quebec; and he had a
host of savages. His forces were drawn out along the northern
shore below the city, from the River St. Charles to the Falls
of Montmorency, and their position was secured by deep
intrenchments. ... After much resistance, Wolfe established
batteries at the west point of the Isle of Orleans, and at
Point Levi, on the right (or south) bank of the St. Lawrence,
within cannon range of the city. ... Many houses were set on
fire in the upper town, the lower town was reduced to rubbish;
the main fort, however, remained unharmed. Anxious for a
decisive action, Wolfe, on the 9th of July, crossed over in
boats from the Isle of Orleans to the north bank of the St.
Lawrence, and encamped below the Montmorency. It was an
ill-judged position. ... On the 18th of July, Wolfe made a
reconnoitering expedition up the river, with two armed sloops,
and two transports with troops. He passed Quebec unharmed and
carefully noted the shores above it. Rugged cliffs rose almost
from the water's edge. ... He returned to Montmorency
disappointed, and resolved to attack Montcalm in his camp,
however difficult to be approached, and however strongly
posted. Townshend and Murray, with their brigades, were to
cross the Montmorency at low tide, below the falls, and storm
the redoubt thrown up in front of the ford. Monckton, at the
same time, was to cross, with part of his brigade in boats
from Point Levi. ... As usual in complicated orders, part were
misunderstood, or neglected, and confusion was the
consequence." The assault was repelled and Wolfe fell back
across the river, having lost four hundred men, with two
vessels, which run aground and were burned. He felt the
failure deeply, and his chagrin was increased by news of the
successes of his coadjutors at Ticonderoga and Niagara.
{376}
"The difficulties multiplying around him, and the delay of
General Amherst in hastening to his aid, preyed incessantly on
his spirits. ... The agitation of his mind, and his acute
sensibility, brought on a fever, which for some time
incapacitated him from taking the field. In the midst of his
illness he called a council of war, in which the whole plan of
operations was altered. It was determined to convey troops
above the town, and endeavor to make a diversion in that
direction, or draw Montcalm into the open field. ... The brief
Canadian summer was over; they were in the month of September.
The camp at Montmorency was broken up. The troops were
transported to Point Levi, leaving a sufficient number to man
the batteries on the Isle of Orleans. On the 5th and 6th of
September the embarkation took place above Point Levi, in
transports which had been sent for the purpose. Montcalm
detached De Bougainville with 1,500 men to keep along the
north shore above the town, watch the movements of the
squadron, and prevent a landing. To deceive him, Admiral
Holmes moved with the ships of war three leagues beyond the
place where the landing was to be attempted. He was to drop
down, however, in the night, and protect the landing. ... The
descent was made in flat-bottomed boats, past midnight, on the
13th of September. They dropped down silently, with the swift
current. 'Qui va la?' (who goes there?) cried a sentinel from
the shore. 'La France,' replied a captain in the first boat,
who understood the French language. 'A quel regiment?' was the
demand. 'De la Reine' (the queen's) replied the captain,
knowing that regiment was in De Bougainville's detachment.
Fortunately, a convoy of provisions was expected down from De
Bougainville's, which the sentinel supposed this to be.
'Passe,' cried he, and the boats glided on without further
challenge. The landing took place in a cove near Cape Diamond,
which still bears Wolfe's name. He had marked it in
reconnoitering, and saw that a cragged path straggled up from
it to the Heights of Abraham, which might be climbed, though
with difficulty, and that it appeared to be slightly guarded
at top. Wolfe was among the first that landed and ascended up
the steep and narrow path, where not more than two could go
abreast, and which had been broken up by cross ditches.
Colonel Howe, at the same time, with the light infantry and
Highlanders, scrambled up the woody precipices, helping
themselves by the roots and branches, and putting to flight a
sergeant's guard posted at the summit. Wolfe drew up the men
in order as they mounted; and by the break of day found
himself in possession of the fateful Plains of Abraham.
Montcalm was thunderstruck when word was brought to him in his
camp that the English were on the heights threatening the
weakest part of the town. Abandoning his intrenchments, he
hastened across the river St. Charles and ascended the
heights, which slope up gradually from its banks. His force
was equal in number to that of the English, but a great part
was made up of colony troops and savages. When he saw the
formidable host of regulars he had to contend with, he sent
off swift messengers to summon De Bougainville with his
detachment to his aid; and De Vaudreil to reinforce him with
1,500 men from the camp. In the meantime he prepared to flank
the left of the English line and force them to the opposite
precipices." In the memorable battle which ensued, Wolfe, who
led the English line, received, first, a musket ball in his
wrist, and soon afterward was struck by a second in the
breast. He was borne mortally wounded to the rear, and lived
just long enough to hear a cry from those around him that the
enemy ran. Giving a quick order for Webb's regiment to be
hurried down to the Charles River bridge and there obstruct
the French retreat, he turned upon his side, saying, "Now, God
be praised, I will die in peace," and expired. In the meantime
the French commander, Montcalm, had received his death-wound,
while striving to rally his flying troops. The victory of the
English was complete, and they hastened to fortify their
position on the Plains of Abraham, preparing to attack the
citadel. But, Montcalm dying of his wound the following
morning, no further defence of the place was undertaken. It
was surrendered on the 17th of September to General Townshend,
who had succeeded to the command.

_W. Irving, Life of Washington, volume 1, chapter 25._

ALSO IN:
_F. Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, chapter 27-28 (volume 2)._

_R. Wright, Life of Wolfe, chapter 21-23._

_Lord Mahon (Earl Stanhope), History of England,
1713-1783, chapter 35 (volume 4)._

_W. Smith, History of Canada, volume 1, chapter 6._

_J. Knox, Historical Journal,
volume 1, pages 255-360; volume 2, pages 1-132._

CANADA: A. D. 1759 (July-August).
The fall of Niagara, Ticonderoga and Crown Point.