Part 119

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See, also, NOVA SCOTIA:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{372}

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

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

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

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

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

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

See NOVA SCOTIA: A. D. 1755.

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

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

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