CHAPTER IV.

During the disastrous campaign of 1757, a strife of greater importance than that on the American continent was carried on in the English House of Commons. In the preceding year, the falsehood and incompetency of the Duke of Newcastle, prime minister of England, had aroused a storm of indignation, to which the shameful losses of Minorca and Oswego had given overwhelming force. Mr. Fox, the only commoner of character and ability who still adhered to the ministry, determined to lend his name no longer to the premier's policy, and in the month of October resigned the seals of office. This blow proved fatal for the tottering cabinet. To the almost universal joy of the people, the Duke of Newcastle did not dare the encounter with his gifted rival in the approaching session of Parliament, and reluctantly yielded up those powers the exercise of which, in his hands, had led the nation to embarrassment and shame.

By the wish of the king, Mr. Fox endeavored to induce Mr. WILLIAM PITT to join him in the conduct of the national councils. The "Great Commoner," however, decisively rejected this overture.[108] The Duke of Devonshire, lord lieutenant of Ireland, a man more remarkable for probity and loyalty than for administrative capacity, next received the royal commands to form a ministry; he sacrificed his personal predilections toward Mr. Fox to the public good, and at once appointed Pitt Secretary of State, with Legge as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Most of the subordinate members of the cabinet retained their places, but several of Pitt's relatives received appointments to important offices.

Almost the first step of the new cabinet was to apply to Parliament for the means of aiding the King of Prussia against "the vindictive designs of France." Notwithstanding the great popularity of the ministry, and the general confidence in its capacity and integrity, the apparent contrast between this proposition and former protestations against continental interference excited the hostility of many, and the observation of all. The supplies, however, were voted to the full extent demanded by the minister.

Despite these concessions to the king's Hanoverian interests, nothing could overcome the personal dislike of his majesty to Pitt, and to his brother-in-law Lord Temple. The appointment of the Duke of Cumberland to command the British force on the Continent gave opportunity for the manifestation of this royal hostility. The duke refused to undertake his duties while such an anti-Hanoverian as Pitt remained as virtual head of the ministry. The king's love for his son, and hatred of his gifted servant, combined to prompt him to the decided step of dismissing the great minister from his councils. An interval of nearly three months elapsed in vain attempts to form a cabinet from which Pitt should be excluded. There was, however, another party interested in these arrangements, which neither prerogative nor parliamentary influence might long venture to oppose--the British nation. As with one voice, all ranks and classes spoke out their will that Pitt should hold the helm. His rivals saw that it was impossible to stem the stream, and wisely counseled the king to yield to the wishes of his people. In June the patriot minister was once again the ruler of England's destiny.[109]

This illustrious man knew no party but the British nation, acknowledged no other interest. To exalt the power and prosperity of his country, and to humble France, was his sole aim and object. Personally disagreeable to the highest power in the state, and from many causes regarded with hostility by the several aristocratic confederacies, it needed the almost unanimous voice of his countrymen, and the unacknowledged confidence of those powerful men whose favor he neither possessed nor desired, to sweep away these formidable difficulties, and give to England in the hour of need the services of her greatest son.

For the remainder of the campaign of 1757, however, the energy and wisdom of Pitt were too late brought to the council, and the ill-conducted schemes of his predecessors bore, as has been shown, the bitter fruit of disaster and disgrace. But no sooner was he firmly established in office, and his plans put in execution, than the British cause began to revive in the Western hemisphere, and, although still checkered with defeat, glory and success rewarded his gigantic efforts. He at once determined to renew the expedition against Cape Breton, and, warned by previous failures, urged upon the king the necessity of removing both the naval and military officers who had hitherto conducted the operations. With that admirable perception which is one of the most useful faculties of superior minds, he readily discerned in others the qualities requisite for his purpose--his judgment ever unwarped and his keen vision unclouded by personal or political considerations. In Colonel Amherst he had discovered sound sense, steady courage, and an active genius; he therefore recalled him from the army in Germany, and, casting aside the hampering formalities of military rule, promoted him to the rank of major-general, and to the command of the troops destined for the attack of Louisburg.[110] At the same time, from the British navy's brilliant roll, the minister selected the Hon. Edward Boscawen as admiral of the fleet, and gave him also, till the arrival of General Amherst, the unusual commission of command over the land forces. With vigorous zeal the equipments were hurried on, and on the 19th of February a magnificent armament sailed from Portsmouth for the harbor of Halifax on the Acadian peninsula. The general was delayed by contrary winds, and did not reach Halifax till the 28th of May, where he met Boscawen's fleet coming out of the harbor; the admiral, impatient of delay, having put all the force in motion, with the exception of a corps 1600 strong left to guard the post. No less than 22 ships of the line and 15 frigates, with 120 smaller vessels, sailed under his flag; and 14 battalions of infantry, with artillery and engineers, in all 11,600, almost exclusively British regulars, were embarked to form the army of General Amherst. The troops were told off in three brigades of nearly equal strength, under the brigadier-generals Whitmore, Lawrence, and JAMES WOLFE.[111]

At dawn on the 2d of June the armament arrived off Cape Breton, where the greatest part of the fleet came to anchor in the open roadstead of Gabarus Bay. Amherst entertained a strong hope to surprise the garrison of Louisburg, and with that view issued an order to forbid the slightest noise, or the exhibition of any light, on board the transports near the shore; he especially warned the troops to preserve a profound silence as they landed. But the elements rendered these judicious orders of no avail. In the morning a dense fog shrouded the rocky shore, and as the advancing day cleared away the curtains of the mist, a prodigious swell rolled in from the Atlantic, and broke in impassable surf upon the beach. Nevertheless, in the evening the general, with Lawrence and Wolfe, approached close to the dangerous shore, and reconnoitered the difficulties which nature and the enemy might oppose to their landing. They found that the French had formed a chain of posts for some distance across the country, and that they had also thrown up works and batteries at the points where a successful debarkation seemed most probable. The next morning the sea had not abated, and for six successive days the heavy roll of the ocean broke with undiminished violence upon the rugged shore. During this interval the enemy toiled day and night to strengthen their position, and lost no opportunity of opening fire with guns and mortars upon the ships.

On the 8th the sea subsided into calm, and the fog vanished from the shore. Before daybreak the troops were assembled in boats, formed in three divisions; at dawn Commodore Durell examined the coast, and declared that the landing was now practicable. When his report was received, seven of the smaller vessels at once opened fire, and in about a quarter of an hour the boats of the left division began to row in toward the shore: in them were embarked twelve companies of Grenadiers, 550 Light Infantry men, with the Highlanders and a body of Provincial Rangers: Brigadier-general Wolfe was their chief. The right and center brigades, under Whitmore and Lawrence, moved at the same time toward other parts of the shore, and three sloops were sent past the mouth of the harbor to distract the attention of the enemy.

The left division was the first to reach the beach, at a point a little eastward of Fresh-water Cove, and four miles from the town.[112] The French stood firm, and held their fire till the assailants were close in shore; then, as the boats rose on the dangerous surf, they poured in a rattling volley from every gun and musket that could be brought to bear. Many of the British troops were struck down, but not a shot was returned. Wolfe's flag-staff was shivered by a bar-shot, and many boats badly damaged; still, with ardent valor, the sailors forced their way through the surging waves, and in a very few minutes the whole division was ashore, and the enemy flying in disorder from all his intrenchments. The victors pressed on rapidly in pursuit, and, despite the rugged and difficult country, inflicted a heavy loss on the fugitives, and took seventy prisoners. At length the cannon of the ramparts of Louisburg checked their further advance. In the mean time the remaining British divisions had landed, but not without losing nearly 100 boats and many men from the increasing violence of the sea.

During the two following days the fury of the waves forbade all attempts to land the artillery and the necessary stores for the attack of the hostile stronghold; on the 11th, however, the weather began to clear, and some progress was made in the preparations. Hitherto the troops had suffered much from want of provisions and tents; now their situation was somewhat improved.

Louisburg is a noble harbor: within is ample shelter for the largest fleets England or France have ever sent from their shores. A rugged promontory, on which stood the town and somewhat dilapidated fortifications, protects it from the southwest wind; another far larger arm of the land is its shelter to the southeast. About midway across the entrance of this land-locked bay stands Goat Island, which at that time was defended by some works, with a formidable array of guns; a range of impassable rocks extends thence to the town. From an elevation to the northwest of the harbor, the grand battery showed a threatening front to those who might seek to force the entrance of the Sound. For the defense of this important position, M. de Drucour, the French chief, had at his disposal six line-of-battle ships; five frigates, three of which he sank, to impede the entrance of the harbor; 3000 regular troops and burgher militia, with 350 Canadians and Indians.

On the 12th the French withdrew all their outposts, and even destroyed the grand battery that commanded the entrance of the harbor, concentrating their whole power upon the defense of the town. Wolfe's active light troops soon gave intelligence of these movements, and the following day the brigadier pushed on his advance round the northern and eastern shores of the bay, till they gained the high lands opposite Goat Island with little opposition; there, as soon as the perversity of the weather would permit, he mounted some heavy artillery, but it was not till the 20th that he was enabled to open fire upon the ships and the land defenses. On the 25th the formidable French guns on Goat Island were silenced. Wolfe then left a detachment in his battery, and hastened round with his main force to a position close to the town, where he erected works, and from them assailed the ramparts and the shipping.

For many days the slow and monotonous operations of the siege continued, under great difficulties to the assailants, the marshy nature of the ground rendering the movement of artillery very tedious. The rain poured down in torrents, swamping the labors of the engineers; the surf still foamed furiously upon the shore, embarrassing the landing of the necessary material and impeding the communication with the fleet. On the night of the 9th of July, the progress of the besiegers was somewhat interrupted by a fierce and sudden sally; five companies of light troops, supported by 600 men, burst upon a small English work during the silence of the night, surprising and overwhelming the defenders. The young Earl of Dundonald, commanding the grenadiers of the 17th, who held the post, paid for this want of vigilance with his life; his lieutenant was wounded and taken, and his men struck down, captured, or dispersed. Major Murray, however, with the Grenadiers of the 22d and 28th, arrived ere long, and restored the fight. After a time the French again betook themselves to the shelter of their walls, having left twenty of their men dead upon the scene of strife, and eighty more wounded or prisoners in the hands of the besiegers.

Meanwhile the British generals pushed on the siege with unwearied zeal, and, at the same time, with prudent caution, secured their own camp by redoubts. Day and night the batteries[113] poured their ruinous shower upon the ramparts, the citadel, and shipping. On the 21st, three large vessels of war took fire in the harbor from a live shell, and the English gunners dealt death to those who sought to extinguish the flames. The next day the citadel was in a blaze; the next, the barracks were burned to the ground, and Wolfe's trenches were pushed up to the very defenses of the town. The French could no longer stand to their guns. On the night of the 25th, two young captains, La Forey and Balfour, with the boats of the fleet, rowed into the harbor under a furious fire, boarded the two remaining vessels of war, and thus destroyed the last serious obstacle to British triumph.[114] The following morning, M. de Drucour surrendered at discretion.

In those days, the taking of Louisburg was a mighty triumph for the British arms: a place of considerable strength, defended with skill and courage, fully manned, and aided by a powerful fleet, had been bravely won; 5600 men, soldiers, sailors, and marines were prisoners; eleven ships of war taken or destroyed; 240 pieces of ordnance, 15,000 stand of arms, and a great amount of ammunition, provisions, and military stores, had fallen into the hands of the victors, and eleven stand of colors were laid at the feet of the British sovereign: they were afterward solemnly deposited in St. Paul's Cathedral.

But while the wisdom and zeal of Amherst, and the daring skill of Wolfe,[115] excite the gratitude and admiration of their countrymen, it must not be forgotten that causes beyond the power and patriotism of man mainly influenced this great event. The brave admiral doubted the practicability of the first landing.[116] Amherst hesitated, and the chivalrous Wolfe himself, as he neared the awful surf, staggered in his resolution, and, purposing to defer the enterprise, waved his hat for the boats to retire. Three young subaltern officers, however, commanding the leading craft, pushed on ashore, having mistaken the signal for what their stout hearts desired--the order to advance; some of their men, as they sprung upon the beach, were dragged back by the receding surge and drowned, but the remainder climbed up the rugged rocks, and formed upon the summit. The brigadier then cheered on the rest of the division to the support of this gallant few, and thus the almost desperate landing was accomplished.

Nor should due record be omitted of that which enhances the glory of the conquerors--the merit of the conquered. To defend the whole line of coast with his garrison was impossible; for nearly eight miles, however, the energetic Drucour had thrown up a chain of works, and occupied salient points with troops; and when at length the besiegers effected a landing, he still left no means untried to uphold the honor of his flag. Hope of relief or succor there was none; beyond the waters of the bay the sea was white with the sails of the hostile fleet. Around him, on every side, the long red line of British infantry closed in from day to day. His light troops were swept from the neighboring woods; his sallies were interrupted or overwhelmed. Well-armed batteries were pushed up to the very ramparts; a murderous fire of musketry struck down his gunners at their work; three gaping breaches lay open to the assailants;[117] his best ships burned or taken; his officers and men worn with fatigue and watching; four fifths of his artillery disabled; then, and not till then, did the brave Frenchman give up the trust which he had nobly and faithfully held. To the honor of the garrison, not a man deserted his colors through all the dangers, privations, and hardships of the siege, with the exception of a few Germans who served as unwilling conscripts. This spirited defense was in so far successful that it occupied the bulk of the British force, while Abercromby was being crushed by the superior genius and power of Montcalm. By thus delaying for seven weeks the progress of the campaign, the season became too far advanced for further operations, and the final catastrophe of French American dominion was deferred for another year.[118]

On the 7th of August detachments were sent, under Major Dalling and Lord Rollo, to take possession of the other settlements in Cape Breton, and of the Isle de St. Jean, now Prince Edward's Island. This latter territory had long been an object of great importance to Canada; the fertility of the soil, the comparative mildness of the climate, and the situation commanding the navigation of the Great River, rendered it invaluable to the settlers of New France.

On the 15th the French prisoners were dispatched to Europe in transports. On the 28th, Admiral Sir Charles Hardy, with seven ships of the line and three frigates, conveying a force of some Artillery, and three battalions of Infantry, was sent round to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The object of this expedition was to destroy the French settlements at Miramichi, the Baye de Chaleurs, Gaspe, and as far up the banks of the Great River as the season might permit; then to disperse or carry away the inhabitants: by this it was hoped that the troublesome marauders on the English frontier might be chastised and kept in check, and that a portion of the enemy's strength might be diverted from Abercromby's front. The execution of this painful duty was committed to Brigadier-general Wolfe.

These stern orders were punctually obeyed, but as much humanity as was possible tempered the work of destruction. All the Acadian villages on the northeastern coast were laid in ruins: some hundreds of the inhabitants were borne away to captivity, and the rest driven from their blackened hearths and desolated farms to the grim refuge of the wilderness. Among the settlements devastated by this expedition was the flourishing fishing station of Mont Louis.[119] The intendant in charge of the place offered a ransom of 150,000 livres to save the stores and provisions his people's industry had created, but the relentless law of retribution took its course, and the hoarded magazines of corn, fish, and other supplies for their own use and for the market of Quebec, were totally destroyed. Colonel Monckton, with three other battalions, was sent on a similar errand to the Bay of Fundy and to the River St. John, and in like manner fulfilled his task.

It may, perhaps, be partial or unjust to single out one tale of woe from among the crowded records of this war's gigantic misery to hold up in the strong light of contrast with the glory of the recent victory. But we may not hear, without a blush of shame and sorrow, how the simple Acadian peasantry were made to pay the penalties of banishment and ruin for the love of France and for loyalty to their king, at a time when Pitt was the minister, Amherst the general, and Wolfe the lieutenant.

Having executed his orders, Wolfe repaired to Halifax and assumed the command of the troops in garrison. Admiral Boscawen and General Amherst came to a conclusion that for that season nothing more could be effected by them against the power of France. They therefore agreed, although their instructions did not extend to any part of the continent beyond Nova Scotia, that it would be advisable to detach a portion of the army to strengthen Abercromby, and assist him to repair his disaster, of which they were informed. Accordingly, Amherst sailed for Boston on the 30th of August with five battalions, arrived on the 13th of September, and the next day landed his troops. Despite the interested remonstrances of the local authorities, he soon pushed on through the difficult district of the Green Woods, by Kinderhook Mills, and through Albany to Lake George. Having there held counsel with the unfortunate Abercromby, and delivered over his seasonable re-enforcement, he returned to Boston, and finally to Halifax, where he had been instructed to await orders from the English government.

[Footnote 108: "But though Pitt desired high office, he desired it only for high and generous ends. He did not seek it for patronage like Newcastle, or for lucre like Fox. Glory was the bright star that ever shone before his eyes, and ever guided him onward--his country's glory and his own. 'My lord!' he once exclaimed to the Duke of Devonshire, 'I am sure that I can save this country, and that no one else can.'"--Lord Mahon's _Hist. of England_, vol. iv., p. 77.]

[Footnote 109: At this period commenced the brilliant era justly called MR. PITT'S ADMINISTRATION, in which he became the soul of the British councils, conciliated the good-will of the king, infused a new spirit into the British nation, and curbed the united efforts of the house of Bourbon.

The following picture of affairs at the moment when Pitt became secretary of state (29th of June, 1757) is contained in a letter from Lord Chesterfield to Mr. Dayrolles: "Whoever is in or whoever is out, I am sure we are undone both at home and abroad: at home, by our increasing debt and expenses; abroad, by our ill luck and incapacity.... The French are masters to do what they please in America. We are no longer a nation. I never yet saw so dreadful a prospect."--_Correspondence of the Earl of Chatham_, edited by William Stanhope Taylor, Esq., vol. i., _note_, p. 238.]

[Footnote 110: "What alarms me most, is the account Lady Hester brought, of some men-of-war, a few, very few, being got into Louisburg; because, upon the issue of that attempt I think the whole salvation of this country and Europe does essentially depend," (Letter of Earl Temple to Mr. Pitt, Stowe, July 3, 1758.)--_Chatham Correspondence_, vol. i., p. 325.]

[Footnote 111: See Appendix, No. LXIV.]

[Footnote 112: The place where the British troops landed, near Fresh-water Cove, before the successful siege of Louisburg, was called Cormoran Creek.]

[Footnote 113: "It may not be amiss to observe that a cavalier, which Admiral Knowles had built, at enormous expense to the nation, while Louisburg remained in the hands of the English during the last war, was in the course of this siege entirely demolished by two or three shots from one of the British batteries; so admirably had this piece of fortification been contrived and executed, under the eye of that profound engineer."--Smollett, vol. iv., p. 303.]

[Footnote 114: "The renowned Captain Cook, then serving as a petty officer on board of a British ship of war, co-operated in this exploit, and wrote an account of it to a friend in England. That he had honorably distinguished himself may be inferred from his promotion to the rank of lieutenant in the royal navy, which took place immediately after."--Graham's _United States_, vol. iv., p. 28.]

[Footnote 115: "Brigadier Wolfe has performed prodigies of valor.... We could not land before the 8th, which we fortunately effected after encountering dangers that are almost incredible." (Letter from the camp before Louisburg.)--Knox's _Historical Journal_, vol. i., p. 144.]

[Footnote 116: "Captain Ferguson, an old, brave, and distinguished navy officer, earnestly prayed the admiral not to put the fate of the expedition on the uncertain chances of a council of war,[120] but at once to attempt the landing, despite all difficulties. His spirited appeal was successful."--_The Field of Mars_; Article, Louisburg. London, 1801.]

[Footnote 117: So ruinous were the fortifications, that "General Wolfe himself was obliged to place sentinels upon the ramparts, for the private men and the sutlers entered through the breaches and gaps with as much ease as if there had only been an old ditch."--_Translation of a Letter from M. de Drucour to M. ----_, dated Andover, October 1, 1758, when he was a prisoner in England.]

[Footnote 118:

"DEAR WOLFE,

"Camp, August 8, 1758.

"I have your letter this morning, to which I can say no more to you than what I have already done: that my first intentions and hopes were, after the surrender of Louisburg, to go with the whole army (except what is absolutely necessary for Louisburg) to Quebec, as I am convinced it is the best thing we could do, if practicable. The next was, to pursue my orders as to future operations; and this affair unluckily happening at Ticonderoga, I quitted the thoughts of the future operations in part, as ordered, to assist Major-general Abercromby by sending five or six regiments to him, which I told Brigadier Lawrence he should command, in case we could not go to Quebec.... I have proposed this to the admiral for the day after the surrender of the town, and I am thoroughly convinced he will not lose one moment's time in pursuing every thing for forwarding and expediting the service.... Whatever schemes you may have, or information that you can give to quicken our motions, your communicating of them would be very acceptable, and will be of much more service than your thoughts of quitting the army, which seem by no means agreeable, as all my thoughts and wishes are confined at present to pursuing our operations for the good of his majesty's service; and I know nothing that can tend more to it than your assisting in it.

"I am, dear sir, your most obedient humble servant,

"JEFF. AMHERST."

--_Chatham Correspondence_, vol. i., p. 332.]

[Footnote 119: "The Bay of Mont Louis is situated upon the southern side of the River St. Lawrence, bounded on one side by the inaccessible mountains of Notre Dame. It is nearly half way between Quebec and the sea, and all the vessels that ascend to Quebec pass within view."--Charlevoix, tom. iii., p. 325.]

[Footnote 120: "Lord Clive declared to the Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry, instituted A.D. 1773, that 'he never called a council of war but once, which was previous to his passing the Ganges on his famous expedition to Moorshedabad; and if he had then followed the decision of the council, the company had been undone.'"--Belsham, vol. ii., p. 401.]