Great plans of the belligerents.
France contemplated, not only the recovery of Cape Breton and Nova Scotia, but the total devastation of the sea coast, if not the entire conquest of New England.
Britain, on her part, calculated on the reduction of Canada, and the entire expulsion of the French from the American continent.
Shirley repaired to Louisbourg, after its surrender, where he held a consultation with Warren and Pepperel on the favourite subject of future and more extensive operations against the neighbouring possessions of France.1746From that place he wrote pressingly to administration, for reinforcements of men and ships to enable him to execute his plans. The capture of Louisbourg gave such weight to his solicitations that, in the following spring, the duke of New Castle, then secretary of state, addressed a circular letter to the governors of the provinces as far south as Virginia, requiring them to raise as many men as they could spare, and hold them in readiness to act according to the orders that should be received. Before this letter was written, an extensive plan of operations had been digested in the British cabinet. It was proposed to detach a military and naval armament which should, early in the season, join the troops to be raised in New England, at Louisbourg; whence they were to proceed up the St. Lawrence to Quebec. The troops from New York, and from the more southern provinces, were to be collected at Albany, and to march against Crown Point, and Montreal.
This plan, so far as it depended on the colonies, was executed with promptness and alacrity. The men were raised, and waited with impatience for employment; but neither troops, nor orders, arrived from England. The fleet destined for this service, sailed seven times from Spithead; and was compelled as often, by contrary winds, to return.
Late in the season, the military commanders in America, despairing of the succours promised by England, determined to assemble a body of provincials at Albany, and make an attempt on Crown Point. While preparing for the execution of this plan, they received accounts stating that Annapolis was in danger from a body of French and Indians assembled at Minas; upon which, orders were issued for the troops of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire, to embark for Nova Scotia. Before these orders could be executed, intelligence was received which directed their attention to their own defence.
It was reported that a large fleet and army, under the command of the duke D'Anville, had arrived in Nova Scotia, and the views of conquest, which had been formed by the northern colonies, were converted into fears for their own safety. For six weeks, continual apprehensions of invasion were entertained; and the most vigorous measures were taken to repel it. From this state of anxious solicitude, they were at length relieved by the arrival of some prisoners set at liberty by the French, who communicated the extreme distress of the fleet.
This formidable armament consisted of near forty ships of war, seven of which were of the line; of two artillery ships; and of fifty-six transports laden with provisions and military stores, carrying three thousand five hundred land forces, and forty thousand stand of small arms, for the use of the Canadians and Indians.The French fleet dispersed by a storm.The fleet sailed in June, but was attacked by such furious and repeated storms, that many of the ships were wrecked, and others dispersed. In addition to this disaster, the troops were infected with a disease which carried them off in great numbers. While lying in Chebucto, under these circumstances, a vessel which had been dispatched by governor Shirley to admiral Townshend at Louisbourg, with a letter stating his expectation that a British fleet would follow that of France to America, was intercepted by a cruiser, and brought in to the admiral. These dispatches were opened in a council of war, which was considerably divided respecting their future conduct. This circumstance, added to the calamities already sustained, so affected the commander in chief, that he died suddenly. The vice-admiral fell by his own hand; and the command devolved on Monsieur le Jonguiere, governor of Canada, who had been declaredchef d'escadreafter the fleet sailed.
The design of invading New England was relinquished, and it was resolved to make an attempt on Annapolis. With this view the fleet sailed from Chebucto, but was again overtaken by a violent tempest which scattered the vessels composing it. Those which escaped shipwreck returned singly to France.[142]
"Never," says Mr. Belknap, "was the hand of divine providence more visible than on this occasion. Never was a disappointment more severe on the part of the enemy, nor a deliverance more complete, without human help, in favour of this country."
As soon as the fears excited by this armament were dissipated, the project of dislodging the French and Indians, who had invaded Nova Scotia, was resumed. Governor Shirley detached a part of the troops of Massachusetts on this service; and pressed the governors of Rhode Island and New Hampshire, to co-operate with him. The quotas furnished by these colonies were prevented by several accidents from joining that of Massachusetts, which was inferior to the enemy in numbers. The French and Indians, under cover of a snow storm, surprised the English at Minas; who, after an obstinate resistance, in which they lost upwards of one hundred men, were compelled to capitulate, and to engage not to bear arms against his Most Christian Majesty, in Nova Scotia for one year. De Ramsay, who commanded the French, returned soon afterwards to Canada.
No farther transactions of importance took place in America during the war, which was terminated by the treaty of Aix la Chapelle. By this treaty, it was stipulated that all conquests made during the war should be restored; and the colonists had the mortification to see the French re-possess themselves of Cape Breton.
The heavy expenses which had been incurred by the New England colonies, and especially by Massachusetts, had occasioned large emissions of paper money, and an unavoidable depreciation. Instead of availing themselves of peace, to discharge the debts contracted during war, they eagerly desired to satisfy every demand on the public treasury, by farther emissions of bills of credit, redeemable at future and distant periods. Every inconvenience under which commerce was supposed to labour, every difficulty encountered in the interior economy of the province, was attributed to a scarcity of money; and this scarcity was to be removed, not by increased industry, but by putting an additional sum in circulation. The rate of exchange, and the price of all commodities, soon disclosed the political truth that, however the quantity of the circulating medium may be augmented, its aggregate value cannot be arbitrarily increased; and that the effect of such a depreciating currency must necessarily be, to discourage the payment of debts, by holding out the hope of discharging contracts with less real value than that for which they were made; and to substitute cunning and speculation, for honest and regular industry. Yet the majority had persevered in this demoralising system. The depreciation had reached eleven for one; and the evil was almost deemed incurable, when the fortunate circumstance of a reimbursement in specie, made by parliament for colonial expenditures on account of the expeditions against Louisbourg and Canada, suggested to Mr. Hutchinson, speaker of the house of representatives in Massachusetts, the idea of redeeming the paper money in circulation, at its then real value.
This scheme, at first deemed Utopian, was opposed by many well meaning men who feared that its effect would be to give a shock to the trade and domestic industry of the province; and who thought that, as the depreciation had been gradual, justice required that the appreciation should be gradual also.
Paper money redeemed.
With great difficulty, the measure was carried; and the bills of credit in circulation, were redeemed at fifty shillings the ounce. The evils which had been apprehended were soon found to be imaginary. Specie immediately took the place of paper. Trade, so far from sustaining a shock, nourished more than before this change in the domestic economy of the colony; and the commerce of Massachusetts immediately received an impulse, which enabled it to surpass that of her neighbours who retained their paper medium.[143]
Renewal of contests with the French colonies respecting boundary.
The treaty of Aix la Chapelle did not remove the previously existing controversies between the colonies of France and England respecting boundary. These controversies, originating in the manner in which their settlements had been made, and at first of small consequence, were now assuming a serious aspect. America was becoming an object of greater attention; and, as her importance increased, the question concerning limits became important also.
1749
In settling this continent, the powers of Europe, estimating the right of the natives at nothing, adopted, for their own government, the principle, that those who first discovered and took possession of any particular territory, became its rightful proprietors. But as only a small portion of it could then be reduced to actual occupation, the extent of country thus acquired was not well ascertained. Contests respecting prior discovery, and extent of possession, arose among all the first settlers. England terminated her controversy with Sweden and with Holland, by the early conquest of their territories; but her conflicting claims with France and with Spain, remained unadjusted.
On the south, Spain had pretensions to the whole province of Georgia, while England had granted the country as far as the river St. Matheo, in Florida.
On the north, the right of France to Canada was undisputed; but the country between the St. Lawrence and New England had been claimed by both nations, and granted by both. The first settlement appears to have been made by the French; but its principal town, called Port Royal, or Annapolis, had been repeatedly taken by the English; and, by the treaty of Utrecht, the whole province, by the name of Nova Scotia, or Acadié, according to its ancient limits had been ceded to them.
But the boundaries of Nova Scotia, or Acadié, had never been ascertained. Though the treaty of Utrecht had provided that commissioners should be appointed by the two crowns, to adjust the limits of their respective colonies, the adjustment had never been made. France claimed to the Kennebec; and insisted "that only the peninsula which is formed by the bay of Fundy, the Atlantic ocean, and the gulf of St. Lawrence," was included in the cession of "Nova Scotia, or Acadié, according to its ancient limits." England, on the other hand, claimed all the country on the main land south of the river St. Lawrence. Under the treaty of Aix la Chapelle, commissioners were again appointed to settle these differences, who maintained the rights of their respective sovereigns with great ability, and laborious research; but their zeal produced a degree of asperity unfavourable to accommodation.
While this contest for the cold and uninviting country of Nova Scotia was carried on with equal acrimony and talents, a controversy arose for richer and more extensive regions in the south and west.
Discovery of the Mississippi.
So early as the year 1660, information was received, in Canada, from the Indians, that, west of that colony, was a great river, flowing neither to the north, nor to the east. The government, conjecturing that it must empty itself either into the gulf of Mexico or the south sea, committed the care of ascertaining the fact to Joliet, an inhabitant of Quebec, and to the Jesuit Marquette. These men proceeded from lake Michigan up the river of the Foxes, almost to its source, whence they travelled westward to the Ouisconsing, which they pursued to its confluence with the Mississippi. They sailed down this river to the 33d degree of north latitude, and returned by land, through the country of the Illinois, to Canada.
The mouth of the Mississippi was afterwards discovered by la Salle, an enterprising Norman, who, immediately after his return to Quebec, embarked for France, in the hope of inducing the cabinet of Versailles to patronise a scheme for proceeding by sea to the mouth of that river and settling a colony on its banks.
Having succeeded in this application, he sailed for the gulf of Mexico, with a few colonists; but, steering too far westward, he arrived at the bay of St. Bernard, about one hundred leagues from the mouth of the Mississippi. In consequence of a quarrel between him and Beaulieu, who commanded the fleet, the colonists were landed at this place. La Salle was, soon afterwards, assassinated by his own men; and his followers were murdered or dispersed by the Spaniards and the Indians.
Several other attempts were made by the French to settle the country; but, by some unaccountable fatality, instead of seating themselves on the fertile borders of the Mississippi, they continually landed about the barren sands of Biloxi, and the bay of Mobile. It was not until the year 1722, that the miserable remnant of those who had been carried thither at various times, was transplanted to New Orleans; nor until the year 1731, that the colony began to flourish.
Scheme for connecting Louisiana with Canada.
It had received the name of Louisiana, and soon extended itself by detached settlements, up the Mississippi and its waters, towards the great lakes.[144]As it advanced northward, the vast and interesting plan was formed of connecting it with Canada by a chain of forts.
The fine climate and fertile soil of upper Louisiana enabling it to produce and maintain an immense population, rendered it an object which promised complete gratification to the views of France; while the extent given to it by that nation, excited the most serious alarm among the colonies of Britain.
The charters granted by the crown of England to the first adventurers, having extended from the Atlantic to the South Sea, their settlements had regularly advanced westward, in the belief that their title to the country in that direction, could not be controverted. The settlements of the French, stretching from north to south, necessarily interfered with those of the English. Their plan, if executed, would completely environ the English. Canada and Louisiana united, as has been aptly said, would form a bow, of which the English colonies would constitute the chord.
While Great Britain claimed, indefinitely, to the west, as appertaining to her possession of the sea coast; France insisted on confining her to the eastern side of the Apalachian, or Alleghany, mountains; and claimed the whole country drained by the Mississippi, in virtue of her right as the first discoverer of that river. The delightful region which forms the magnificent vale of the Mississippi was the object for which these two powerful nations contended; and it soon became apparent that the sword must decide the contest.
The white population of the English colonies was supposed to exceed one million of souls, while that of the French was estimated at only fifty-two thousand.[145]
This disparity of numbers did not intimidate the governor of New France—a title comprehending both Canada and Louisiana; nor deter him from proceeding in the execution of his favourite plan. The French possessed advantages which, he persuaded himself, would counterbalance the superior numbers of the English. Their whole power was united under one governor, who could give it such a direction as his judgment should dictate. The genius of the people and of the government was military; and the inhabitants could readily be called into the field, when their service should be required. Great reliance too was placed on the Indians. These savages, with the exception of the Five Nations, were generally attached to France, and were well trained to war. To these advantages was added a perfect knowledge of the country about to become the theatre of action.
The British colonies, on the other hand, were divided into distinct governments, unaccustomed, except those of New England, to act in concert; were jealous of the power of the crown; and were spread over a large extent of territory, the soil of which, in all the middle colonies, was cultivated by men unused to arms.
The governors of Canada, who were generally military men, had, for several preceding years, judiciously selected and fortified such situations as would give them most influence over the Indians, and facilitate incursions into the northern provinces. The command of Lake Champlain had been acquired by the erection of a strong fort at Crown Point; and a connected chain of posts was maintained from Quebec, up the St. Lawrence, and along the great lakes. It was intended to unite these posts with the Mississippi by taking positions which would favour the design of circumscribing and annoying the frontier settlements of the English.
Great Meadows
Great Meadows and the Site of Fort Necessity
On this battleground in the western Pennsylvania wilderness, which marked the beginning of the French and Indian War, July 3, 1754, a force of 400 men under young Major Washington was defeated by 900 French and Indian allies, and for the first and last time in his military career Washington surrendered. He stipulated, however, that he and his troops were to have safe conduct back to civilization, and agreed not to build a fort west of the Allegheny Mountains for a year. Washington was then twenty-two years old.
On this battleground in the western Pennsylvania wilderness, which marked the beginning of the French and Indian War, July 3, 1754, a force of 400 men under young Major Washington was defeated by 900 French and Indian allies, and for the first and last time in his military career Washington surrendered. He stipulated, however, that he and his troops were to have safe conduct back to civilization, and agreed not to build a fort west of the Allegheny Mountains for a year. Washington was then twenty-two years old.
1750
The execution of this plan was, probably, accelerated by an act of the British government. The year after the conclusion of the war, several individuals both in England and Virginia who were associated under the name of the Ohio company, obtained from the crown a grant of six hundred thousand acres of land, lying in the country claimed by both nations. The objects of this company being commercial as well as territorial, measures were taken to derive all the advantages expected from their grant, in both these respects, by establishing trading houses, and by employing persons to survey the country.
The governor of Canada, who obtained early information of this intrusion, as he deemed it, into the dominions of his most christian majesty, wrote to the governors of New York and Pennsylvania, informing them that the English traders had encroached on the French territory by trading with their Indians; and giving notice that, if they did not desist, he should be under the necessity of seizing them wherever they should be found. At the same time the jealousy of the Indians was excited by impressing them with fears that the English were about to deprive them of their country.
His threat having been disregarded, the governor of Canada put it in execution by seizing the British traders among the Twightwees, and carrying them prisoners to Presque-isle, on Lake Erie; where he was erecting a strong fort. About the same time, a communication was opened from Presque-isle, down French creek, and the Alleghany river, to the Ohio. This communication was kept up by detachments of troops, posted at proper distances from each other, in works capable of covering them from an attack made only with small arms.[146]
1753
This territory having been granted as part of Virginia, to the Ohio company, who complained loudly of these aggressions, Dinwiddie, the lieutenant governor of that province, laid the subject before the assembly, and dispatched MAJOR WASHINGTON, the gentleman who afterwards led his countrymen to independence, with a letter to the commandant of the French forces on the Ohio; requiring him to withdraw from the dominions of his Britannic majesty.
This letter was delivered at a fort on the river Le Boeuf, the western branch of French creek, to Monsieur le Guarduer de St. Pierre, the commanding officer on the Ohio, who replied that he had taken possession of the country by the directions of his general, then in Canada, to whom he would transmit the letter of the lieutenant governor, and whose orders he should implicitly obey.
1754
Preparations were immediately made, in Virginia, to assert the rights of the British crown; and a regiment was raised for the protection of the frontiers. Early in the spring, Major Washington had advanced with a small detachment from this regiment into the country to be contended for, where he fell in with and defeated a party of French and Indians who were approaching him in a manner indicating hostile designs. On being joined by the residue of his regiment, the command of which had devolved on him, he made great exertions to pre-occupy the post at the confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers; but, on his march thither, was met by a much superior body of French and Indians,Defeat at the Little Meadows.who attacked him in a small stockade hastily erected at the Little Meadows, and compelled him, after a gallant defence to capitulate. The French had already taken possession of the ground to which Washington was proceeding, and, having driven off some militia, and workmen sent thither by the Ohio company, had erected thereon a strong fortification called fort Du Quêsne.
The earl of Holderness, secretary of state, perceiving war to be inevitable, and aware of the advantages of union, and of securing the friendship of the Five Nations, had written to the governors of the respective colonies recommending these essential objects; and, at the same time, ordering them to repel force by force; and to take effectual measures to dislodge the French from their posts on the Ohio.
Convention at Albany.
At the suggestion of the commissioners for the plantations, a convention of delegates from the several colonies met at Albany, to hold a conference with the Five Nations on the subject of French encroachments, and to secure their friendship in the approaching war. Availing himself of this circumstance governor Shirley had recommended to the other governors to instruct their commissioners on the subject of union. Ample powers for this object were given to the delegates of Massachusetts; and those of Maryland were instructed to observe what others should propose respecting it. But no direct authority for concerting any system to call out and employ the strength of the colonies, was given by any other of the governments.
The congress, consisting of delegates from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, with the lieutenant governor and council of New York, after endeavouring to secure the friendship of the Five Nations by large presents, directed a committee, consisting of one member for each colony, to draw and report a plan of union.
Plan of union.
Aplan[147]was reported which was approved on the 4th of July. Its essential principles were, that application be made for an act of parliament authorising the formation of a grand council to consist of delegates from the several legislatures, and a president general, to be appointed by the crown, and to be invested with a negative power. This council was to enact laws of general import; to apportion their quotas of men and money on the several colonies; to determine on the building of forts; to regulate the operations of armies; and to concert all measures for the common protection and safety.
The delegates of Connecticut alone dissented from this plan. That cautious people feared that the powers vested in the president general might prove dangerous to their welfare.
In England, the objections were of a different character. The colonies had, in several instances, manifested a temper less submissive than was required; and it was apprehended that this union might be the foundation of a concert of measures opposing the pretensions of supremacy maintained by the mother country.
This confederation, therefore, notwithstanding the pressure of external danger, did not prevail. It was not supported in America, because it was supposed to place too much power in the hands of the King; and it was rejected in England from the apprehension that the colonial assemblies would be rendered still more formidable by being accustomed to co-operate with each other.
In its stead, the minister proposed that the governors, with one or two members of the councils of the respective provinces, should assemble to consult, and resolve on measures necessary for the common defence, and should draw on the British treasury for the sums to be expended, which sums should be afterwards raised by a general tax, to be imposed by parliament on the colonies.
This proposition being entirely subversive of all the opinions which prevailed in America, was not pressed for the present; and no satisfactory plan for calling out the strength of the colonies being devised, it was determined to carry on the war with British troops, aided by such reinforcements as the several provincial assemblies would voluntarily afford.[148]
General Braddock arrives.... Convention of governors and plan of the campaign.... French expelled from Nova Scotia, and inhabitants transplanted.... Expedition against fort Du Quêsne.... Battle of Monongahela.... Defeat and death of general Braddock.... Expedition against Crown Point.... Dieskau defeated.... Expedition against Niagara.... Frontiers distressed by the Indians.... Meeting of the governors at New York.... Plan for the campaign of 1756.... Lord Loudoun arrives.... Montcalm takes Oswego.... Lord Loudoun abandons offensive operations.... Small-pox breaks out in Albany.... Campaign of 1757 opened.... Admiral Holbourne arrives at Halifax.... Is joined by the earl of Loudoun.... Expedition against Louisbourg relinquished.... Lord Loudoun returns to New York.... Fort William Henry taken.... Controversy between lord Loudoun and the assembly of Massachusetts.
General Braddock arrives.... Convention of governors and plan of the campaign.... French expelled from Nova Scotia, and inhabitants transplanted.... Expedition against fort Du Quêsne.... Battle of Monongahela.... Defeat and death of general Braddock.... Expedition against Crown Point.... Dieskau defeated.... Expedition against Niagara.... Frontiers distressed by the Indians.... Meeting of the governors at New York.... Plan for the campaign of 1756.... Lord Loudoun arrives.... Montcalm takes Oswego.... Lord Loudoun abandons offensive operations.... Small-pox breaks out in Albany.... Campaign of 1757 opened.... Admiral Holbourne arrives at Halifax.... Is joined by the earl of Loudoun.... Expedition against Louisbourg relinquished.... Lord Loudoun returns to New York.... Fort William Henry taken.... Controversy between lord Loudoun and the assembly of Massachusetts.
1755
Theestablishment of the post on the Ohio, and the action at the Little Meadows, being considered by the British government as the commencement of war in America, the resolution to send a few regiments to that country was immediately taken;General Braddock.and early in the year, general Braddock embarked at Cork, at the head of a respectable body of troops destined for the colonies.
An active offensive campaign being meditated, general Braddock convened the governors of the several provinces, on the 14th of April, in Virginia, who resolved to carry on three expeditions.
Plan of the campaign.
The first, and most important, was against fort Du Quêsne. This was to be conducted by general Braddock in person at the head of the British troops, with such aids as could be drawn from Maryland and Virginia.
The second, against Niagara and fort Frontignac, was to be conducted by governor Shirley. The American regulars, consisting of Shirley and Pepperel's regiments, constituted the principal force destined for the reduction of these places.
The third was against Crown Point. This originated with Massachusetts; and was to be prosecuted entirely with colonial troops, to be raised by the provinces of New England, and by New York. It was to be commanded by colonel William Johnson of the latter province.[149]
While preparations were making for these several enterprises, an expedition, which had been previously concerted by the government of Massachusetts, was carried on against the French in Nova Scotia.
It has been already stated that the limits of this province remained unsettled. While the commissioners of the two crowns were supporting the claims of their respective sovereigns in fruitless memorials, the French occupied the country in contest, and established military posts for its defence. Against these posts this enterprise was to be conducted.
On the 20th of May, the troops of Massachusetts, together with Shirley's and Pepperel's regiments, amounting in the whole to about three thousand men, embarked, at Boston, under the command of lieutenant colonel Winslow. The fleet anchored about five miles from fort Lawrence, where a reinforcement was received of three hundred British troops and a small train of artillery. The whole army, commanded by lieutenant colonel Monckton, immediately after landing, marched against Beau Sejour, the principal post held by the French in that country. At the river Mussaquack, which the French considered as the western boundary of Nova Scotia, some slight works had been thrown up with the intention of disputing its passage. After a short conflict, the river was passed with the loss of only one man; and, in five days, Beau Sejour capitulated.French expelled from Nova Scotia.Other small places fell in succession, and, in the course of the month of June, with the loss of only three men killed, the English acquired complete possession of the whole province of Nova Scotia.
The recovery of this province was followed by one of those distressing measures which involve individuals in indiscriminate ruin, and aggravate the calamities of war.
Nova Scotia having been originally settled by France, its inhabitants were, chiefly, of that nation. In the treaty of Utrecht, it was stipulated for the colonists that they should be permitted to hold their lands on condition of taking the oaths of allegiance to their new sovereign. With this condition they refused to comply, unless permitted to qualify it with a proviso that they should not be required to bear arms in defence of the province. Though this qualification, to which the commanding officer of the British forces acceded, was afterwards disallowed by the crown, yet the French inhabitants continued to consider themselves as neutrals. Their devotion to France, however, would not permit them to conform their conduct to the character they had assumed. In all the contests for the possession of their country, they were influenced by their wishes rather than their duty; and three hundred of them were captured with the garrison of Beau Sejour.
Their continuance in the country, during the obstinate conflict which was commencing, would, it was feared, endanger the colony; and to expel them from it, leaving them at liberty to choose their place of residence, would be to reenforce the French in Canada. A council was held by the executive of Nova Scotia aided by the admirals Boscawen and Morty, for the purpose of deciding on the destiny of these unfortunate people;The inhabitants transported.and the severe policy was adopted of removing them from their homes, and dispersing them through the other British colonies. This harsh measure was immediately put in execution; and the miserable inhabitants of Nova Scotia were, in one instant, reduced from ease and contentment to a state of beggary. Their lands, and moveables, with the exception of their money and household furniture, were declared to be forfeited to the crown; and, to prevent their return, the country was laid waste, and their houses reduced to ashes.[150]
As soon as the convention of governors had separated, general Braddock proceeded from Alexandria to a fort at Wills' creek, afterwards called fort Cumberland, at that time the most western post in Virginia or Maryland; from which place the army destined against fort Du Quêsne was to commence its march. The difficulties of obtaining wagons, and other necessary supplies for the expedition, and delays occasioned by opening a road through an excessively rough country, excited apprehensions that time would be afforded the enemy to collect in such force at fort Du Quêsne, as to put the success of the enterprise into some hazard.
Under the influence of this consideration, it was determined to select twelve hundred men, who should be led by the general in person to the point of destination. The residue of the army, under the command of colonel Dunbar, was to follow, with the baggage, by slow and easy marches.
This disposition being made, Braddock pressed forward to his object, in the confidence that he could find no enemy capable of opposing him; and reached the Monongahela on the eighth of July.
As the army approached fort Du Quêsne, the general was cautioned of the danger to which the character of his enemy, and the face of the country, exposed him; and was advised to advance the provincial companies in his front, for the purpose of scouring the woods, and discovering ambuscades. But he held both his enemy and the provincials in too much contempt, to follow this salutary counsel. Three hundred British troops comprehending the grenadiers and light infantry, commanded by colonel Gage, composed his van; and he followed, at some distance, with the artillery, and the main body of the army, divided into small columns.
Within seven miles of fort Du Quêsne, immediately after crossing the Monongahela the second time, in an open wood, thick set with high grass, as he was pressing forward without fear of danger, his front received an unexpected fire from an invisible enemy.Battle of Monongahela.The van was thrown into some confusion; but, the general having ordered up the main body, and the commanding officer of the enemy having fallen, the attack was suspended, and the assailants were supposed to be dispersed. This delusion was soon dissipated. The attack was renewed with increased fury; the van fell back on the main body; and the whole army was thrown into utter confusion.
The general possessed personal courage in an eminent degree; but was without experience in that species of war, in which he was engaged; and seems not to have been endowed with that rare fertility of genius which adapts itself to the existing state of things, and invents expedients fitted to the emergency. In the impending crisis, he was peculiarly unfortunate in his choice of measures. Neither advancing nor retreating, he exerted his utmost powers to form his broken troops, under an incessant and galling fire, on the very ground where they had been attacked. In his fruitless efforts to restore order, every officer on horseback except Mr. Washington, one of his aides-de-camp, was killed or wounded. At length, after losing three horses, the general himself received a mortal wound; upon which his regulars fled in terror and confusion. Fortunately, the Indian enemy was arrested by the plunder found on the field, and the pursuit was soon given over. The provincials exhibited an unexpected degree of courage, and were among the last to leave the field.
Death of Braddock.
The defeated troops fled precipitately to the camp of Dunbar, where Braddock expired of his wounds. Their panic was communicated to the residue of the army. As if affairs had become desperate, all the stores, except those necessary for immediate use, were destroyed; and the British troops were marched to Philadelphia, where they went into quarters. The western parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, were left exposed to the incursions of the savages; the frontier settlements were generally broken up; and the inhabitants were driven into the interior. So excessive was the alarm, that even the people of the interior entertained apprehensions for their safety, and many supposed that the seaboard itself was insecure.
The two northern expeditions, though not so disastrous as that against fort Du Quêsne, were neither of them successful. That against Crown Point was so retarded by those causes of delay to which military operations conducted by distinct governments are always exposed, that the army was not ready to move until the last of August. At length general Johnson reached the south end of lake George, on his way to Ticonderoga, of which he designed to take possession.
An armament fitted out in the port of Brest for Canada, had eluded a British squadron which was stationed off the banks of Newfoundland to intercept it; and, with the loss of two ships of war, had entered the St. Lawrence. After arriving at Quebec the baron Dieskau, who commanded the French forces, resolved, without loss of time, to proceed against the English. At the head of about twelve hundred regulars, and about six hundred Canadians and Indians, he marched against Oswego. On hearing of this movement, general Johnson applied for reinforcements; and eight hundred men were ordered by Massachusetts to his assistance. An additional body of two thousand men was directed to be raised for the same object, and the neighbouring colonies also determined to furnish reinforcements.
Dieskau did not wait for their arrival. Perceiving that Johnson was approaching lake George, and being informed that the provincials were without artillery, he determined to postpone his designs upon Oswego, and to attack them in their camp.
On being informed that Dieskau was approaching, Johnson detached colonel Williams, with about one thousand men, to reconnoitre and skirmish with him. This officer met the French about four miles from the American camp, and immediately engaged them. He fell early in the action; and his party was soon overpowered and put to flight.Dieskau defeated.A second detachment, sent in aid of the first, experienced the same fate; and both were closely pursued to the main body, who were posted behind a breast-work of fallen trees. At this critical moment, within about one hundred and fifty yards of this work, the French halted for a short time. This interval having given the Americans an opportunity to recover from the first alarm, they determined on a resolute defence.
When the assailants advanced to the charge, they were received with firmness. The militia and savages fled; and Dieskau was under the necessity of ordering his regulars to retreat. A close and ardent pursuit ensued; and the general himself, being mortally wounded and left alone, was taken prisoner.
During the engagement, a scouting party from fort Edward, under captains Folsom and McGennis, fell in with the baggage of the enemy and routed the guard which had been placed over it. Soon afterwards, the retreating army of Dieskau approached, and was gallantly attacked by the Americans. This unexpected attack from an enemy whose numbers were unknown, completed the confusion of the defeated army, which, abandoning its baggage, fled towards the posts on the lake.[151]
The repulse of Dieskau, magnified into a splendid victory, had some tendency to remove the depression of spirits occasioned by the defeat of Braddock, and to inspire the provincials with more confidence in themselves. General Johnson, who was wounded in the engagement, received very solid testimonials of the gratitude and liberality of his country. Five thousand pounds sterling, and the title of baronet, were the rewards of his service.
This success was not improved. The hopes and expectations of the public were not gratified; and the residue of the campaign was spent in fortifying the camp. Massachusetts pressed a winter campaign; but when her commissioners met those of Connecticut and the lieutenant governor and council of New York, it was unanimously agreed that the army under general Johnson should be discharged, except six hundred men to garrison fort Edward, on the great carrying place between the Hudson and lake George, and fort William Henry on that lake.
The French took possession of Ticonderoga, and fortified it.
Expedition against Niagara.
The expedition against Niagara and fort Frontignac, was also defeated by delays in making the preparations necessary for its prosecution. Shirley did not reach Oswego till late in August. After ascertaining the state of the garrison, he determined to abandon that part of the enterprise which respected fort Frontignac, and to proceed against Niagara. While employed in the embarkation of his troops on the lake, the rains set in with such violence as to suspend his operations until the season was so far advanced that the attempt against Niagara was also relinquished, and Shirley returned to Albany.[152]
Thus terminated the campaign of 1755. It opened with so decided a superiority of force on the part of the English, as to promise the most important advantages. But, if we except the expulsion of the French from Nova Scotia, no single enterprise was crowned with success. Great exertions were made by the northern colonies, but their efforts were productive of no benefit. From the want of one general superintending authority in their councils, which could contemplate and control the different parts of the system, which could combine all their operations, and direct them with effect towards the attainment of the object pursued, every thing failed. Such delays and deficiencies were experienced that, though a considerable force was in motion, it could not be brought to the point against which it was to act, until the season for action was over; nor execute the plans which were concerted until the opportunity had passed away.
General Braddock's Grave
General Braddock's Grave
Showing the monument recently erected
It is not generally appreciated that this British commander was chosen to head the expedition to destroy the French power in America, in 1754-5, because of his distinguished army record. In the Battle of Fontency, for instance, he was colonel in command of the famous Coldstream Guards, who covered themselves with glory; and shortly before embarking for America he was made major-general of the line. Braddock had won his promotion solely through gallantry and at a time when a lieutenant-colonelcy in this crack British regiment sold for £5000 Sterling.Despite his fatal mistake in not heeding the advice of his aide, Washington, in conducting his expedition against Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh), Braddock regarded Washington and Franklin as the greatest men in the colonies. Meeting the French and Indians on July 9, 1755, the British were routed and Braddock was fatally wounded, after having four horses shot under him. Dying four days later at Great Meadows, where he is buried, he bequeathed his favorite surviving horse and body servant to Washington, then a colonel.
It is not generally appreciated that this British commander was chosen to head the expedition to destroy the French power in America, in 1754-5, because of his distinguished army record. In the Battle of Fontency, for instance, he was colonel in command of the famous Coldstream Guards, who covered themselves with glory; and shortly before embarking for America he was made major-general of the line. Braddock had won his promotion solely through gallantry and at a time when a lieutenant-colonelcy in this crack British regiment sold for £5000 Sterling.
Despite his fatal mistake in not heeding the advice of his aide, Washington, in conducting his expedition against Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh), Braddock regarded Washington and Franklin as the greatest men in the colonies. Meeting the French and Indians on July 9, 1755, the British were routed and Braddock was fatally wounded, after having four horses shot under him. Dying four days later at Great Meadows, where he is buried, he bequeathed his favorite surviving horse and body servant to Washington, then a colonel.
The system adopted by the British cabinet, for conducting the war in America, left to the colonial governments to determine, what number of men each should bring into the field; but required them to support their own troops, and to contribute to the support of those sent from Great Britain to their assistance. But this system could not be enforced. The requisitions of the minister were adopted, rejected, or modified, at the discretion of the government on which they were made; and, as no rule of apportionment had been adopted, each colony was inclined to consider itself as having contributed more than its equal share towards the general object, and as having received, less than its just proportion, of the attention and protection of the mother country. This temper produced a slow and reluctant compliance on the part of some, which enfeebled and disconcerted enterprises, for the execution of which the resources of several were to be combined.
Distress of the frontiers.
In the mean time the whole frontier, as far as North Carolina, was exposed to the depredations of the savages, who were, almost universally, under the influence of the French. Their bloody incursions were made in all directions, and many settlements were entirely broken up.
It is a curious and singular fact that, while hostilities were thus carried on by France and England against each other in America, the relations of peace and amity were preserved between them in Europe. Each nation had, in consequence of the military operations in 1754, determined to fit out a considerable armament to aid the efforts made in its colonies; and, when it was understood that admiral Boscawen was ordered to intercept that of France, the Duc de Mirepoix, the French ambassador at London, complained of the proposed measure, and gave formal notice that the King his master would consider the first gun fired at sea, as a declaration of war. On receiving intelligence of the capture of a part of the squadron by Boscawen, the French minister at the court of St. James was recalled without asking an audience of leave; upon which, letters of marque and reprisal were issued by the British government. This prompt and vigorous measure had much influence on the war, which was declared, in form, the following spring.
General Shirley, on his return to Albany after the close of the campaign in 1755, received a commission appointing him commander in chief of the King's forces in North America. A meeting of all the governors was immediately called at New York, for the purpose of concerting a plan for the ensuing campaign. Operations equally extensive with those proposed for the preceding campaign were again contemplated. To ensure their success, it was determined to raise ten thousand men, for the expedition against Crown Point; six thousand, for that against Niagara; and three thousand, for that against fort Du Quêsne. To favour the operations of this formidable force, it was farther determined that two thousand men should advance up the Kennebec, destroy the settlement on the Chaudière, and, descending to the mouth of that river, keep all that part of Canada in alarm.
In the mean time, it was proposed to take advantage of the season when the lake should be frozen, to seize Ticonderoga, in order to facilitate the enterprise against Crown Point. This project was defeated by the unusual mildness of the winter; and, about the middle of January, general Shirley repaired to Boston in order to make the necessary preparations for the ensuing campaign.
Such was the solicitude to accomplish the objects in contemplation, and so deep an interest did the colonists take in the war, that every nerve was strained, to raise and equip the number of men required.