CHAPTER XII

[255]Parkman,Half a Century of Conflict, vol. i. p. 79.

[256]Ibid.

[257]Parkman,Half a Century of Conflict, i. p. 139.

[258]Parkman,Half a Century of Conflict, i. p. 144.

[259]Ibid.

[260]Parkman,Half a Century of Conflict, i. p. 144.

[261]Parkman,Half a Century of Conflict, vol. i. p. 161.

[262]Ibid., p. 157.

[263]Parkman,Half a Century of Conflict, vol. i. pp. 166, 167.

[264]Walker,Journal, Introduction.

[265]Swift,Journal to Stella, October 16, 1711.

[266]Parkman,Half a Century of Conflict, vol. i. p. 169.

[267]Ibid., p. 182.

[268]Prowse,History of Newfoundland(1896), p. 258.

[269]Wrong, translator and editor ofLettre d'un habitant de Louisburg, p. 26.

[270]Parkman,Half a Century of Conflict, vol. i. p. 183.

[271]The Five Nations were sometimes called the Six Nations after being joined by the Tuscaroras.

[272]O'Callaghan,Doc. Hist. of New York, vol. i. p. 447.

[273]Parkman,Half a Century of Conflict, vol. ii. p. 54.

[274]See p. 266.

[275]Mitchell,Contest in America, p. 22.

[276]Lucas,Hist. Geo. of Brit. Colonies, Canada, part i. p. 198.

[277]Belknap, vol. ii. p. 160.

[278]Samuel Curwen,Journal and Letters, p. 13.

[279]Doyle,The Colonies under the House of Hanover(1907), p. 532.

[280]Doyle,The Colonies under the House of Hanover(1907), p. 534.

"If we can remove the turbulent Gallics the seat of Empire might be transferred to America."[281]Such were the characteristically pompous words of John Adams, which nevertheless contained something of the spirit that animated a few of the thinking colonists in their final struggle with the power of France. The Conquest of Canada liberated the settlers of the Thirteen Colonies from a state of continuous and watchful alarm; but it also increased their attitude of resistance to interference on the part of England, and was an undoubted cause of the American War of Independence. The actual conquest was, however, due to British commanders, and more than half the troops employed consisted of British regulars. It is not intended to belittle the work of the colonials, for without them many of the stirring scenes which took place between 1750 and 1763 could never have been enacted; but without the discipline and experience of English leaders the great task could never have been accomplished, because of the hopeless internal jealousies of these quarrelsome communities. In the last chapter it has been shown that the burden of the war with the Frenchfell upon the New England group, and in the period now under discussion the men of Massachusetts also played an active part; but, whereas the rapine and murder had been confined to the northern border, the stress of warfare now fell upon the western frontiers of the more southern States, and New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia were called upon to take a serious share in the great struggle. It had long been seen that these provinces as they grew in size must necessarily extend their borders, and the men from Pennsylvania and Virginia must come into hostile contact with the Canadian backwoodsmen who had pushed into the valley of the Ohio.

It is during this period that the want of unity between the Thirteen Colonies is more clearly evidenced than even in previous years. New York was torn by internal factions, and the history of that colony would have been infinitely more sad had it not been that its fighting contingent was led by the redoubtable William Johnson. The state of Pennsylvania was actually worse than that of New York; it was "a sanctuary for sloth, cowardice, and sordid self-interest. The humanity of Penn, the peace principles of the early Quakers, were a cloak behind which the factious and indolent citizen with no sense of public responsibility could always screen himself."[282]The Pennsylvanians were as callous, during this colossal epoch, as if the war had been on the plains of Germany, and were not only inert themselves but endeavoured to neutralise the action of the other Colonies, so that they have earned the reputation of selfishness and disloyalty. Maryland was not like Pennsylvania inits open refusal to help; its attitude was one of indifference, which was partly due to niggardliness, and partly to the fact that it was safely screened by the colonies of Pennsylvania and Virginia. The latter colony has been severely blamed for the ineffective assistance rendered during the war. It is urged with truth that the inhabitants consisted of the very men who should have composed a fine fighting force, but that the Virginian youth exhibited an astounding supineness in following the gallant Washington. There are, however, two reasons that may be found as partial excuses for the unpatriotic attitude of the Virginian settlers. The first was an ever-present dread of a slave insurrection if the militia left the colony; while the second is to be found in the irascible temper of the governor, Robert Dinwiddie.

The year after the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the French governor of Canada, La Galissonière, had sent Celeron de Bienville to register the claims of France to the Ohio valley, and thus carry on the great scheme of shutting in the English settlers behind the Alleghany Mountains. The demonstration was purely peaceful, and for the next three years nothing serious came of it. Galissonière resigned his government to De la Jonquière, who, in turn, was succeeded by the Marquis Duquesne. In the meantime, in 1750, the Virginian traders, for the most part, had formed the Ohio Company for the exploiting of that rich valley. The work of this corporation was not of a successful character, owing to the jealousies between Virginia and Pennsylvania, both colonies trying to shift the burden of fort building on to the shoulders of the other. The French, seeing their opportunity, began to teach these bickering colonials those bitter lessonswhich were at last to be an indirect cause of their union. In June of 1752, the Miami Indians, a confederacy friendly towards the English, were attacked; their town was burnt, and their chief killed. This was not a mere raid upon an insignificant group of Redskins' wigwams, but was the outward and visible sign of the aggressive policy of Duquesne towards the advanced English traders in the Ohio valley. In the spring of the next year, a veteran French officer, Marin, established, by means of two forts, communication between the Great Lakes and the sources of the Ohio. This, indeed, was a direct act of trespass upon that debatable land lying on the borders of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, and was a heavy blow at the Ohio Company and their trading station at Fort Cumberland. The French intrusion aroused the wrath of William Shirley of Massachusetts, and also of the cross-grained Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia. Ill-tempered though the latter was, he possessed clear judgment and tenacity of purpose, and from this moment worked strenuously for the welfare of the colonies against the French.

In November 1753, George Washington, then a young land-surveyor, but already fairly prominent among the Virginians, was despatched to warn off the French trespassers. He found that what had formerly been an English trading station at Venango had been converted into a French Canadian outpost. Resistance was obviously necessary; and Dinwiddie embarked upon a zealous military policy, calling upon the Governors of Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the Carolinas to assist in preventing the Governor of Canada becomingthe master of the valley of the Ohio. Virginia responded cheerfully to the Governor's appeal, and subscribed £10,000; North Carolina gave a small sum and sent a few soldiers; South Carolina and New York also sent a contingent of militiamen; but Pennsylvania refused both men and money. Dinwiddie did what he could by despatching, in February 1754, a small force to build a blockhouse at the junction of the Monongahela and the Alleghany Rivers. The settlers were overpowered by the Canadians in April, and the fort which was erected was the work of French hands, and was called after the Canadian Governor, Fort Duquesne. With a party of Virginians, Washington was ordered to take this fresh example of Canadian insolence, then under the command of Contrecœur. His lieutenant, Jumonville, was killed in a sortie or scouting expedition, but even with this advantage Washington's little army was outnumbered. He was forced to retreat, first to Fort Necessity, and after a nine hours' fight, across the Alleghany Mountains.

The campaign of 1754 had been utterly disastrous for the English settlers, but it only encouraged the indefatigable Robert Dinwiddie to further efforts. He saw that "if the misfortune attending our forces has aroused the spirit of our neighbouring colonies, it has done more than probably a victory could have effected."[283]He now did his best to still further arouse the united enthusiasm of the Middle and Southern colonies, and so stirred the Assembly of Virginia that it voted £20,000. The defeat of Washington also gave a stimulus to a movement towards unity that had already been made in the autumn of 1753. Thedelegates of the seven colonies of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, had met in friendly conference at Albany, and had listened to Benjamin Franklin's great scheme of union, under which a colonial Council of forty-eight members was to be formed, each colony supplying members according to its population. This Council was to have very important powers and privileges, including those of declaring peace or war. Had Franklin's statesmanlike proposals met with the general acceptance of the colonies, North America would have become one great self-governing community, having more independent powers than any of the present-day colonies of Great Britain. The time, however, was not yet ripe; the colonies were still too jealous of their own petty rights and privileges; and those who were acting for the welfare of the English in America did not at the moment wish to rush into some great revolutionary change in the constitution, but desired rather a firm attitude of resistance to the French aggressions in the Ohio valley. Dinwiddie found the task difficult enough. He wrote to the Governor of Pennsylvania that the colonies "seemed satisfied to leave the French at full liberty to perpetrate their utmost designs to their ruin."[284]But he did not despair, and asked help from New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the Carolinas, and received encouraging replies from all the governors, except Glen of South Carolina. In his excellent work he was ably supported by William Shirley of Massachusetts, who, at this time, was working strenuously to stir the home government to realise the danger that threatened the Thirteen Colonies.

The combined efforts of these two men were not in vain; and although there was peace in Europe, two regiments were sent out under Major-General Braddock in January 1755. Edward Braddock has been the subject of much controversy; his character has been torn to pieces by different historians, and certainly the records point to a man of a curious combination of magnanimity and brutality. When in command at Gibraltar, he was adored by his men; whereas in America, Horace Walpole speaks of him as "a very Iroquois."[285]William Shirley, son of the Governor of Massachusetts, said "We have a general most judiciously chosen for being disqualified for the service he is employed in, in almost every respect."[286]This view is upheld by Burke, who wrote of him as "abounding too much in his own sense for the degree of military knowledge he possessed."[287]It is, however, extremely doubtful if the terrible disaster associated with his name can be entirely attributed to the general's own personal character, and recent writers have shown that the charge of utter incompetence cannot be satisfactorily sustained.[288]

Braddock's forces landed at Hampton, Virginia, in February 1755; and a colonial conference was at once held at Alexandria. This important meeting was attended by six of the colonial governors, including the most patriotic and energetic, Dinwiddie, Shirley, and Sharpe. They concluded that four practically simultaneous expeditions should be made againstthe French. The English general was to march against Fort Duquesne; two forces were to converge on Crown Point from a base of operations at Albany; while the fourth effort, under Shirley, was to be made against the French conspirators in Acadia.

The English regiments, the 44th and 48th, were reinforced by two hundred and fifty Virginian rangers, and by small detachments from New York, Maryland, and the Carolinas. The force supplied by the wealthy colony of Virginia was utterly inadequate; while Pennsylvania, as usual, sent no aid in the way of troops, and only voted a sum of money to be collected with such difficulty that it was practically valueless. George Washington, at that time recovering from a severe illness, was requested by Braddock to accompany him as one of his aide-de-camps. After a series of delays, on July 3rd Braddock unexpectedly fell in with a French force under Beaujeu on the right bank of the river Monongahela, about eight miles from Fort Duquesne. The majority of the enemy were Indians trained to forest fighting, while the English, accustomed to European methods, fought in a solid mass, their red coats affording an excellent target for their invisible foes. Braddock fought with heroic perseverance; four horses were shot under him, and it was only when he saw the approaching failure of the ammunition, and that his men were exhibiting distinct signs of panic, that he gave the order to retreat. At that moment he was mortally wounded. "I cannot describe the horror of that scene," wrote Lieutenant Leslie of the 44th, three weeks after the battle: "no pen could do it. The yell of the Indians is fresh on my ear, and the terrific sound will hauntme to the hour of my dissolution."[289]The disaster was immediately attributed to the incompetence of Braddock. The colonials naturally praised the conduct of the Virginian detachment, the members of which had had the common-sense to conceal themselves behind trees, and fought the Indians after their own methods. Thus Washington wrote: "The Virginia companies behaved like men and died like soldiers";[290]but there can be no doubt that Washington and other settlers were prejudiced against the English general and were filled with contempt for his scheme of fighting. They never took into consideration that Braddock's failure was partly due to the delay caused by the quarrels between Pennsylvania and Virginia, and partly owing to the utterly worthless horses supplied to him by the colonial authorities for his transports. Where Braddock's great mistake lay was in the belief that "it was better to be defeated in conformity with orthodox methods than to win by conduct which seemed lacking in courage, and by imitating the hitherto unknown tactics of colonials and barbarians."[291]

Dinwiddie, with that same wonderful energy which he had displayed during the whole of this anxious epoch, did his best to mitigate the harm done by the terrible disaster. He realised clearly what Washington pointed out to him, "the consequences that this defeat may have upon our back settlers."[292]He again sent frantic appeals to the Governors ofMassachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and North Carolina. The apathy, at this time, of the Middle and Southern colonies was extraordinary; and "while sleek Quakers and garrulous Assembly men prated of peace and local liberties, the outlying settlements were given over to fire and sword."[293]The New England States were, however, more energetic; and on the northern frontier an attempt was being made by Shirley and William Johnson to put into execution the other schemes arranged by the colonial conference. William Johnson was a man who had lived a semi-savage life and who had gained remarkable influence over the Iroquois, particularly the Mohawks. Governor Shirley had recognised this man's gifts, and had appointed him commander of the Massachusetts, New England, and New York levies, consisting of about 6000 men. In the early summer of 1755 Johnson rapidly constructed Fort Lyman, and in August moved slowly forward to the southern extremity of Lake George, with the intention of taking Crown Point. The French, hearing of these warlike preparations, despatched Baron Dieskau to Ticonderoga; he marched still farther south and cut off Johnson's communications with his recently constructed fort. At first the French cleverly ambuscaded a party of the English, but in an assault upon Johnson's camp they were defeated, Dieskau being wounded and taken prisoner. The results of the fight were of some slight importance, as the capture of the leader and the repulse of his men were regarded in England and the colonies as some compensation for the disaster of General Braddock. Johnson was rewarded with a baronetcy and £5000;the little camp was converted into Fort William Henry; and the lake, hitherto known as the Lac du Sacrament, was rechristened, in honour of the King, Lake George. On the other hand, the object of the expedition, Crown Point, remained in the hands of the French, and their possibilities of aggrandisement in the West were still as illimitable as they ever had been.

The two other campaigns of 1755 were under the superintendence of Governor Shirley. In June he sent two thousand men of Massachusetts to Acadia. Their commander was the much-respected John Winslow; and by his assistance the English at last defeated the machinations of the French under De Loutre. Governor Laurence, however, was forced to take strong measures to preserve peace, and deported the intriguing and disloyal Acadians to Massachusetts, Virginia, South Carolina, and elsewhere. His action has been severely criticised and the story has been depicted in words of horror by the poet Longfellow. The expulsion of these "men whose lives glided on like rivers" was, as a matter of fact, absolutely essential for the welfare of the English nation in Nova Scotia. Winslow, who assisted in the work of deportation, recognised the necessity although he disliked the action; but he carried out his orders with the greatest humanity that could be shown under exceptionally difficult circumstances. Meantime, Shirley's second expedition, though commanded by himself, was not so successful. His troops were composed for the most part of colonials paid by the British Government. His object of attack was Fort Niagara, a place of considerable danger to the trading station at Oswego, and one of the main connecting links between Canadaand the south-west. The season grew late; the troops were delayed by unexpected obstructions; and towards the end of October, having reinforced Oswego, Shirley found it better to retire.

The campaigns of 1755 had proved most unsatisfactory for the colonists. The southern confines of Virginia continued to be harried, although Washington and his little band, for the most part composed of Ulster Protestants, did what they could to preserve peace along the border-line. In much the same way the frontiers of New England were open to attack, and French animosity was by no means decreased by the skilled scouting expeditions of Robert Rogers and his bold New England rangers. The only great achievement was in Acadia, a province of more value to Great Britain than to the settlers of any particular colony. The French had not only succeeded in remaining in the coveted valley of the Ohio, but had also repulsed with enormous loss a general of some repute, which brought with it the much-desired Indian alliance. Along the shores of the Great Lakes no practical advantages had been gained; and Johnson's victory at Lake George brought rewards to the individual rather than to the New Englanders as a community. The Puritan colonists, however, came out of these campaigns with an enhanced reputation; they were distinguished from their southern brethren by a readiness to sacrifice both men and money in a great imperial cause.

In the early spring of 1756, war in Europe had not yet been declared, but border skirmishes still continued unabated in the distant West. The main effect on the colonies of the declaration of the Seven Years' War, onMay 11th, was an increase in the number of regular troops sent to America. These were largely supplemented by the colonial militia and by colonial royal regiments in the pay of the Crown. Before the arrival of the regulars, the French again began their raids, and, under De Lery, captured Fort Bull, thus threatening the more important neighbouring station of Oswego. Shirley at once despatched Colonel Brodstreet with supplies and reinforcements to the traders at that fort, and for the moment baulked the Canadians. But by this time, a greater than De Lery had been sent to America, in the person of the Marquis de Montcalm, who immediately undertook the capture of Oswego. For this purpose, in July, he started from Ticonderoga, and by August 10th was in close proximity to the doomed blockhouse. The powerful artillery of the French, together with the cunning tactics of their native allies, forced Oswego to surrender after its commander, Colonel Mercer, had been killed. This success was invaluable to the French, for as Braddock's defeat had given to New France the Ohio valley, so now Montcalm's victory made her undisputed mistress of the Great Lakes.

The man who had done this great work may be regarded as the French hero of the Seven Years' War. The Marquis de Montcalm was by this time forty-four years of age, and had gained his military experience on many European battlefields. He owed his command to his own intrinsic merits and not, like so many French generals, to the influences of Court mistresses. He was a gentleman of France; a man of impetuous spirit, but possessed of many lovable characteristics; he was kind, tolerant, and gentle, andyet one of the sternest of soldiers. Owing to his ability and energy, his chivalrous courage and kindliness of manner, he was a leader who not only had his men under perfect discipline, but was also endeared to them by those very sterling qualities which they fully recognised. He hated corruption, cheating, and lying; he detested the brutality of many of his companions; and although Wolfe said that "Montcalm has changed the very nature of war, and has forced us ... to a deterring and dreadful vengeance,"[294]yet in reality he did his best to lift the war from mere butchery and murder on to the higher plane of civilised methods. Montcalm, Marquis of the Château de Candiac, gave his life to an ungrateful country, which repaid him for his sacrifice by cruel and unjust charges.

To oppose so good an officer the English Government selected the unsatisfactory leaders, Colonel Daniel Webb, dilatory in taking action, General Abercromby, in Wolfe's opinion "a heavy man," and the Earl of Loudoun, who lacked tact in his treatment of the settlers, and quickness in his command of troops. To add to the English errors, the home authorities recalled Shirley, who had given up the best of his life to sturdily resisting French aggrandisement. Fortunately the colonial forces were not without their own leaders, in many instances men of merit, such as William Johnson, friend of the Mohawks, John Winslow, famous for his Acadian experiences, Colonel Brodstreet, a good and dashing soldier, and, above all, that daring and clearheaded Prince of Rangers, Robert Rogers of New Hampshire.

The individual settlers were brave and true, but the year 1757 opened with the same petty and local quarrels in the colonial Assemblies, chiefly in Pennsylvania and New York, in the former concerning the everlasting squabble about taxing the proprietors' land, in the latter on the question of billeting. The Earl of Loudoun, though his position had given him some weight and authority in the factious Assembly of New York, failed to win the respect or goodwill of the colonial forces. They doubted his capacity, and blamed him in particular for his mismanagement of what ought to have been the crisis of the war. Ever since the restoration of Louisburg by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the settlers had been anxious to again seize that key of the St Lawrence. Loudoun recognised the importance of such an action, and, in conjunction with Admiral Holborne, in August and September endeavoured either to take the fortification, or at least to tempt the French fleet into a pitched battle. That Loudoun was unsuccessful in both schemes was partly due to those delays that have left deep stains upon colonial history, and partly because the elements warred against the British, and Admiral Holborne's fleet being shattered by storms, the expedition had necessarily to be abandoned.

Meantime Montcalm had again displayed his activity; and while Loudoun was engaged in his abortive attempts on Louisburg, the colonies received a severe blow by the loss of Fort William Henry. Towards the end of 1756, the French had made an attack upon this fort, but had been repulsed. Throughout the following July, Montcalm massed his troops at Ticonderoga, and with Lévis, his second incommand, and La Corne, a noted Canadian irregular, arrived before Fort William Henry on the 4th August. General Webb ought to have pushed forward to its relief, but he felt himself too weak to cope with Montcalm's army of regulars and Indian allies. For four days the defenders made a gallant struggle; and on August 9th only capitulated on the terms of safe-conduct to Fort Edward. The Indians refused to recognise those terms, and fell upon the English. A massacre ensued, horrible in character and of revolting details, though possibly these may have been exaggerated by lapse of years. It is thought that Montcalm and Lévis did what they could to preserve order, but were unable to prevent the many coldblooded murders because of the utter indifference of the French Canadian officers, who had been hardened in the terrible school of border and Indian warfare.

The French had now reached the high-water mark of their triumph in the West; but in Europe the dawn of better things for the English people had already come, for the king had been forced to place William Pitt in office. An end was now to be put to all the dilatory conduct either of the home authorities or of the colonial Assemblies. A man had been found to save England and the Empire. Pitt's plans were not original; they had been tried before; but they were at last to succeed because proper effort was made, and able generals instead of incompetents were sent out, and chiefly because behind all was the man who inspired with his own glorious spirit every one with whom he came in contact. On December 30, 1757, Pitt addressed a letter to the Governors of the Thirteen Colonies, who cheerfully responded by raising a substantial force.

The first expedition—in which the colonials were not employed—was the capture of Louisburg. The possession of this fortress on Cape Breton Island by the English would ensure the starvation of the Canadians, who were at this time, practically without food. The men chosen for the work were Admiral Boscawen, a hard fighter and typical English seaman; General Jeffrey Amherst, a good but cautious soldier; and three others, Whitmore, Laurence, and General James Wolfe, of "whom the youngest was the most noteworthy,"[295]and whose name is so famously connected with the story of the British in North America.

GENERAL JAMES WOLFEGENERAL JAMES WOLFEFROM THE PICTURE BY SCHAAK IN THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

GENERAL JAMES WOLFEFROM THE PICTURE BY SCHAAK IN THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

James Wolfe was born in Kent in 1727. When most modern boys are still at school, he was adjutant of his regiment, and took part in the Battle of Dettingen. He then went through the arduous campaign necessitated by the Jacobite Rising of 1745. At twenty-five years of age he found himself a full colonel. There can be little doubt that he was possessed of many ennobling qualities, but his appearance was much against him, as his face, with its pointed nose and receding forehead and chin, resembled very closely the flap of an envelope. His figure was loose and ungainly, and though over six feet in height, he lacked the smart appearance of the military man. As a soldier he showed the greatest enthusiasm in everything connected with his profession; he worked hard at mathematics, tactics, and strategy, and did his best to perfect himself in the French language. The records of this man's life go to prove that he won the affection and regard of every one, and that he was almost worshipped in thedifferent places in which he was quartered. He never, however, lost his good sense, never became puffed up with pride, never thought himself greater than others. His gallantry in the unfortunate enterprise against Rochefort in January 1758 had come to the notice of the great Pitt, and it was for this reason that he was chosen to accompany Amherst in the attempt to capture the "Dunkirk of America."

Boscawen's fleet with the transports containing the army came in sight of Louisburg in June. Since the capture of the fort by the Massachusetts militia in 1745, something had been done to strengthen its walls, and it was now regarded in Europe as impregnable, though it was probably not so formidable as it looked, since Drucour afterwards referred to it as "crumbling down in every flank, face, and courtine, except the right flank of the king's bastion, which was remounted the first year after my arrival."[296]A town of about four thousand inhabitants nestled in false security beneath the apparently[297]massive walls; but it was of little good for them to imagine that assistance could reach them from France, for the British navy made it impossible for her to send soldiers or supplies. The English force was at last landed, and batteries were at once erected under the distinguished guidance of Wolfe. These fortified entrenchments were moved day by day nearer the doomed stronghold. The guns never ceased to bombard the wretched town that had once considered itself so secure. Within the harbour were eleven French men-of-war, but soon four of these weredeliberately sunk at the mouth of the harbour by Drucour, while the rest were driven on shore or captured by a cutting-out expedition. On the 20th of July, Wolfe had erected his last battery; an enormous shell was sent into the chapel of the town, and a fearful explosion occurred. On the 27th the French, under their Governor, Drucour, were forced to capitulate, and Amherst and Wolfe entered the fortress in triumph. Shortly afterwards the vast fortifications were razed to the ground, and to this day there remains nothing save some few ruined casements and huge, grass-grown stones, lying in dismantled heaps upon the edge of the restless Atlantic, to mark the spot where once stood one of the great triumphs of Vauban's engineering art.

The news that Louisburg had fallen was received with every expression of joy in all the colonies, and even the Quakers, who could not fight themselves, gave way to the general outburst and showed suitable signs of rapture at the victory of British arms. The news came at a moment when such glad tidings were sadly needed, for only three weeks before the colonies had been plunged into despair by the horrors of a great tragedy. General Abercromby, with a large force of regulars and colonials, had set out from Albany in May, and after tedious delays had come on July 5th to within striking distance of Ticonderoga. In a skirmish, two days before the great fight, Lord Howe, the most beloved of the British officers, was killed. On July 7th Montcalm with Lévis hurriedly erected a palisade of pines with their branches outward about half a mile from the actual fort. The English general most foolishly did not bring up his guns, fearing lest they should impede his progress.On the morning of July 8 the assault began upon this palisade manned by the trained marksmen of Canada; regiment after regiment of the English were ordered to their annihilation. The Black Watch, for example, went into action about a thousand strong; they straggled out of that awful Gehenna with only half their numbers. At last, having thrown away the lives of two thousand men, Abercromby ordered the retreat, and left Montcalm for the third time the victor.

Amongst the men who fell in that disastrous expedition, no one was so honestly mourned as Lord Howe. Pitt spoke of him as "a complete model of military virtue in all its branches,"[298]but these words in no way summed up the character of one who was not only beloved by the English Army, but also by every man in the colonial contingent. Wolfe himself wrote, "if the report of Howe's death be true, there is an end of the expedition, for he was the spirit of that army, and the very best officer in the King's service."[299]It was in winning the goodwill, respect, and admiration of the settlers that Howe differed so remarkably from his fellow officers. Burke writes of him, "from the moment he landed in America he had wisely conformed and made his regiment conform to the kind of service which the country required."[300]In other words, he acted in a manner which would have caused Braddock to shudder; but it was the right thing to do. The long-tailed tunic of the British regular, his wonderful pig-tail, his buttons and smart points were ruthlessly cut off because they werein the way. He dressed his men as nearly as possible like the colonials, for he it was who for the first time recognised that from them the English might gain experience in this new and strange warfare. He learnt much from men like Rogers the Ranger; and he taught much. Had Lord Howe and James Wolfe been spared to give more of their short lives to the American people, the later history of the Thirteen Colonies must have been very different.

As a set-off to the Ticonderoga disaster, two great victories marked the last six months of 1758. Colonel Bradstreet, in August, with a small portion of Abercromby's army, took Fort Frontenac, thus temporarily cutting off the communication between the French in the Ohio forts with those on the upper lakes. Besides this, Bradstreet was able to destroy the presents collected for the Western Indians and all the winter provisions for Fort Duquesne. These facts considerably assisted General Forbes, who was no less successful in his undertaking. He had to contend against the squabbles of Virginia and Pennsylvania, but he managed to get both men and money. With a force of about six thousand, for the most part settlers from the southern states, but also including a Highland regiment, he set out for Fort Duquesne. His first attack was repulsed; but in November on again advancing he found that the French commander De Ligneries had been obliged, owing to Indian desertions, to evacuate and destroy the fort. A stockade was at once erected by the English to take the place of the once formidable French fortress, and was now christened by the old general, in honour of his master, Pittsburg.

The year 1759 is called "the year of victories," and one of the chief of these was the capture of Quebec. With the actual struggle for the possession of the capital of New France, the colonials had little or nothing to do; the work was entirely that of the British sailors and soldiers. The expedition against Quebec, however, was only a part of a general plan of attack upon Canada, and in this the settlers showed some activity under the leadership of the Commander-in-Chief General Amherst. In May, acting under Amherst's orders, General Prideaux, with two regiments and a small body of colonials, joined Sir William Johnson and his Mohawks at Schenectady. The plan of campaign was that this force should move forward to Fort Niagara, then commanded by Pouchot, and if possible drive out the French. Prideaux's force was quite sufficient for this, but his lack of skill seems to have delayed the surrender of the fort. On July 20 Prideaux was killed and the command devolved upon the more fiery Johnson, who first marched out and defeated a large French reinforcement, and then returned to receive Pouchet's surrender. The capitulation of Niagara was of considerable importance, as from that moment the French were debarred from exercising any influence on the lower lakes. Burke says that it "broke off effectually that communication so much talked of and so much dreaded between Canada and Louisiana."[301]

Meanwhile Amherst advanced north with a large force composed for the most part of regulars. In July he reached the deserted fort of Ticonderoga; on August 1 he found Crown Point abandoned. From this position Amherst ought to have hurriedforward to the assistance of Wolfe at Quebec, but he suddenly directed his energies into wrong channels, and instead of pushing forward, employed his army in cutting paths and roads during the whole of August and September. The exertions of Robert Rogers and his New England Rangers has alone saved the expedition from contempt. Amherst lost his opportunity, and instead of being the Conqueror of Canada, by sheer sloth and lack of energy he allowed another man to do the work and win immortal glory on the Heights of Abraham.

James Wolfe had returned to England after the capture of Louisburg, but Pitt had other work for him to do, and he was dispatched to undertake the siege of Quebec. His immediate subordinates were Townshend, Monckton, Murray, and Carleton. The men who were to oppose him in this great undertaking were Montcalm and the incapable Vaudreuil, with Bougainville, upon whom his senior maliciously placed all the blame. In June 1759, Wolfe, supported by a strong naval contingent, sailed up the St Lawrence to the attack of Quebec. The town, steep and precipitous, frowned defiance upon the English; all along the Beauport shore was one vast camp, any path being strongly guarded, and the whole ridge being one long extended earthwork. Montcalm knew his business. If he could but keep Wolfe out until the winter months had come, he felt convinced that the expedition must fail. The English general, on the other hand, longed to tempt the French regulars and Canadian militia out of their snug position and beat them in open ground. In vain Wolfe established a battery upon the Ile d'Orleans, opposite to Quebec, and shattered the lower part of the town. Nightafter night the countryside was lighted by the fires of farmsteads and barns which were answered back by the flashing fires of Lower Quebec in flames. Nothing would tempt Montcalm to come out. His position was enormously strong, for his flank was protected by the rushing falls of Montmorency. It was at the foot of these that Wolfe made his first serious attempt on July 31, which proved a failure, not for want of bravery, but because of the rash behaviour of the grenadiers. To the astonishment of the general and his officers, the grenadiers had no sooner landed than without orders they tried to rush the hill. They clambered over the rocks, fought their way through bushes and thickets, and were then suddenly met with a withering fire from the French above them. A rain-storm came on at the moment and the army below stood petrified. The rain ceased almost as quickly as it had begun, and the cliffside was seen to be strewn with the redcoats; and worse, the Indians had rushed out and were wreaking their vengeance by their awful custom of scalping.

This success of Montcalm did not tempt him to leave his position and make an attack upon the English. The latter were now for a short time to lose all hope, for the news passed rapidly through the army that their beloved general was at the point of death owing to an incurable complaint from which he had long suffered. His indomitable spirit, however, overcame his sufferings, and rousing himself he once more spent his time gazing carefully at the beetling cliffs. On the 2nd of September he had found what he wanted and determined to start upon what seemed to him somewhat of a forlorn hope, but which wasdestined to form one of the most glorious pages in British history.

A path had been discovered up the cliffside—the path disclosed seventy years before to Phipps—at the top there was a small guard and nothing more. On the night of the great venture the boats slipped quietly down the river, and as the French were expecting a convoy of provisions two sentries let them go by after a first challenge. Wolfe, sitting in the stem of one of the boats, was murmuring in a solemn whisper the beautiful lines of Grey's Elegy:—

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