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,