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The campaign of 1755 had opened with evil promise for the cause of France in the Western world; four formidable armies were arrayed to check her progress, and turn back the tide of war upon her own territory. A powerful fleet, under the brave and vigilant Boscawen, swept the Atlantic coast, insulted her eastern harbors, and captured her re-enforcements and supplies. The doubtful allegiance of many of her Indian neighbors was far overbalanced by the avowed hostility of others no less numerous and powerful.

But the close of the year presented results very different from those that might have been anticipated. Braddock was defeated and slain; the whole of that vast Valley of the Mississippi, whose unequaled fertility is now the wonder of mankind, had been freed from the presence of a British soldier by one decisive victory. Niagara was strengthened and unassailed; Crown Point had not been compromised by Johnson's partial success. The undisputed superiority upon Lake Ontario was upon the Canadian shore. From dangerous foes, or almost as dangerous friends, the forest tribes had generally become zealous allies, and thrown themselves with ready policy into the apparently preponderating scale; the ruined settlements and diminished numbers of the British frontier colonists marked the cruel efficiency of their co-operation. Notwithstanding the check of the Baron Dieskau's detachment, there still remained to the French more than 3000 regular troops, with a large force of the Canadian militia, who were in some respects even better qualified for forest warfare than their veteran brethren from the mother country. All these, united under one able chief, formed a much more formidable military power than the English colonies, with their jarring interests and independent commanders, could bring forward. Nova Scotia, again severed from the territories of New France, and the Acadian peasants reduced to British rule, formed but a slight offset to these hostile gains.

The civil progress of the French colony was, however, far from satisfactory. For two years past the scarcity of grain and other provisions had almost amounted to famine. The inhabitants of the country, constantly employed in warfare against their English neighbors were forced to neglect the cultivation of the soil, till absence from their own homesteads was almost as ruinous to themselves as their destructive presence to the enemy. Although the scanty supply of corn was too well known, the intendant Bigot, with infamous avarice, shipped off vast quantities of wheat to the West Indies for his own gain and that of his creatures. The price of food rose enormously, and the commerce of the country, hampered by selfish and stupid restrictions, rapidly declined.

The Marquis de Vaudreuil de Cavagnac, the successor of the Marquis du Quesne as governor, soon lost the confidence of his people. To him they had looked hopefully and earnestly for protection against the fatal monopolies of the Merchant Company, but they found that he readily sanctioned the oppression under which they suffered, and, indeed, rather increased its severity. Great stores of wheat had been purchased from the settlers by the company in anticipation of a scarcity; when they had obtained a sufficient quantity to command the market, they arranged with the intendant to fix the price at an immense advance, which was maintained in spite of the misery and clamors of the people. Again, the intendant pretended that the dearth was caused by the farmers having secreted their grain, and, in consequence, he issued an order that the city and troops should be immediately supplied at a very low rate, and those who would not submit to these nefarious conditions had their corn seized and confiscated without any remuneration whatever.

Abuses and peculations disgraced every department of the public service; the example set in high places was faithfully followed by the petty officials all over the colony. The commissaries who had the supply of the distant posts enriched themselves at the cost of the mother country; and, to the detriment of the hardy and adventurous men occupying those remote and dreary settlements, boats were not allowed to visit them without paying such heavy fees that the venture became ruinous, and thus the trade was soon altogether confined to the commissaries.

Vessels sent to Miramichi with provisions for the unfortunate Acadians, returned loaded with that people, who, faithful to their king and nation, had left their happy homes, refusing the proffered protection of their conquerors. When they reached Quebec they met with a cruel reception. The intendant gave to a creature named Cadet the office of ministering to their wants. This heartless man shamefully abused the trust, and only considered it as a means of selfish profit, providing them with unwholesome and insufficient food: thus many fell victims to his cruel avarice. Some, indeed, who settled on lands belonging to the governor or his favorites, were amply supplied, for the private advantage of the proprietors.

On the other hand, the dangerous British rivals had rapidly advanced to prosperity and to the possession of formidable resources. The State of Massachusetts alone mustered 40,000 men capable of bearing arms, by one third a greater number than all Canada could produce. The militia of Connecticut was 27,000 strong, and that of New Hampshire and Rhode Island also considerable. Pennsylvania, Virginia, and other states were also in themselves powerful, but in military matters New England ever took the lead. The sturdy Nonconformists who first peopled that country had been long accustomed to encounter and overcome difficulties: they had continually waged a war of mutual extermination with the Indians. The unbending spirit of their ancestors lost nothing under such training. Each separate settlement possessed an independent vitality; the habit of self-government engendered a feeling of confidence in their own power, and they who had marched with steady step over the barriers of an almost impenetrable forest, and swept away the warlike hordes of its savage inhabitants, were no mean foes to match even against the brilliant chivalry of France.

The peculiar and distinct institutions of these British colonies, while they fostered the development of individual energy and stimulated general prosperity, forbade, at the same time, that compact and centralized organization which rendered the external power of New France so formidable. It was difficult or impossible to unite all the different states in one great effort, and hopeless to induce them to act in concert. The borderers of Maine or Massachusetts heard with almost indifference of Indian massacres upon the banks of the Susquehanna, and the men of Virginia felt but little sympathy with the victors of the north. English colonization had already progressed to unheard of prosperity in its component parts, in spite of its utter want of large and comprehensive system, while that of France, planned on a scheme of magnificent ambition, had proved but a sickly exotic under the over-anxious care of the founders. In the one, powerful elements formed but a disjointed and unwieldy aggregate; in the other, indifferent materials were rendered strong by the firm frame-work in which they were united.

The defensive power of the British colonies was, however, very great. In cases of real peril, when the farmer tore himself from his fields, the merchant from his store-house, and the hunter from the chase, a militia formidable in numbers and composition was at the service of the state, while the vast extent and the scattered situations of the settlements would have rendered complete conquest difficult, and occupation impossible.

The campaign of 1756 opened with a partial success of the French arms. The Marquis de Vaudreuil had learned that the British had erected a chain of small forts to protect their route to Oswego, and that they purposed building ships at that port to command the navigation of Lake Ontario, and thus break up the chain of his communications. He therefore ordered a detachment of about 350 Canadians and Indians, under M. Chaussegros de L?ry, to march to Montreal, from whence they proceeded westward on the 17th of March.

After a harassing journey of great length through the wilderness, they came upon one of the small English forts on the Oswego route, garrisoned by Lieutenant Bull and twenty-five men. The British officer at once rejected the proposal of a capitulation, and prepared to offer a vigorous resistance; he was, however, speedily overpowered, and he and his little party, with the exception of two, were massacred and scalped by the Indians, whose ferocity could not be repressed; the fort was then blown up, and the ammunition destroyed.

The French, fully alive to the danger of allowing their enemies to hold possession of the important position of Oswego, were determined to spare no efforts to drive them away. Another expedition was accordingly prepared to accomplish this grand object, consisting of 300 men, led by M. de Villiers. They proceeded to within a short distance of Oswego, where they constructed a small fort, placed among the dense woods in such a manner as to be unseen by the enemy: from this hiding-place they frequently intercepted parties with provisions destined for Oswego. When the Iroquois became aware of the designs of the French, they summoned Sir William Johnson, whom they greatly respected, to meet them in council, for the purpose of considering the means of diverting hostilities from their country. He strongly advised them, if possible, to prevent the attack upon the fort, and thus avoid a war that would deluge the frontier with blood. Pursuing this counsel, they dispatched thirty deputies to Montreal to assure M. de Vaudreuil that they wished to preserve the strictest neutrality, and to entreat him not to draw the sword in their country or interrupt their communications. The governor answered that he would seek his enemies wherever he could find them, but that the people of the Five Nations should be protected from every insult as long as they did not join the English.

From this time the war was to assume a more important form, and new and more illustrious actors were to appear upon the stage. The British government determined to increase its efforts in North America; and as the Earl of Loudon, lately appointed general-in-chief of the forces on that continent, was unavoidably detained in England for some time, Major-general Abercromby was ordered to precede him and hold command until his arrival. Lord Loudon was intrusted with extraordinary powers, to enable him to promote the essential object of union among the English colonies; he was also appointed governor of Virginia, and made colonel of a regiment of four battalions, chiefly officered by foreigners, called the Royal American.

In the mean time, the preparations were made in British America to forward the execution of the plans recommended by the great council of war, and the militia of the several provinces were assembled at Albany, where they awaited the arrival of the English general. Abercromby did not reach the army till the latter end of June, 1756, and at that time only brought with him two regiments, the 35th and the 42d, or Murray's Highlanders. The British troops in North America at this time consisted of those two corps, the 44th and 48th of the line, Shirley's and Pepperel's battalions, eight independent companies from New York and Carolina, and a large body of the Provincial militia.

General Abercromby considered the force under his command insufficient to carry out the extensive schemes recommended by the council at Albany; he was, however, cordially agreed with them upon the advantages to be gained by their execution. Desirous to avoid responsibility, he determined to await the arrival of the commander-in-chief, but in the mean time he marched the Provincial forces upon Fort William Henry, under the command of General Winslow, who there awaited re-enforcements previous to his advance against Crown Point.

In the West, however, British energy and courage found employment under the able and adventurous Lieutenant-colonel Bradstreet. He determined to execute, as far as in his power lay, the resolves of the council at Albany, and left Schenectady with about 300 boatmen, bearing supplies and military stores to strengthen the important post of Oswego. His detachment consisted of raw Irish recruits, utterly unacquainted with discipline, and unaccustomed to the sight of an enemy; but their native courage overcame all disadvantages, and they bravely did their duty, as their countrymen have ever done when striving for a good cause, and led by a worthy chief. Bradstreet passed in safety up the Onondaga River, reached Oswego, and accomplished his object. The French, being apprized of this expedition, collected in force some miles to the eastward of Oswego, and detached 700 men to intercept their enemy. Happily, however, they became embarrassed in the tangled wilderness, and lost their way: when, at last, after much difficulty, they reached the banks of the Onondaga, the English had already passed up the stream in safety. They well knew, however, that Bradstreet must soon return by the same route; they therefore patiently awaited their opportunity, concealed beneath the favoring cloak of the dense forests surrounding the river.

The English chief--either informed of this ambuscade, or mistrusting the facility with which the dangerous navigation had been before accomplished--took the only precaution his difficult position permitted. To scour the neighborhood of the rapid stream with light troops would have been impossible, owing to the thick underwood every where arresting the human foot; and yet, from each dark clump of cedars, or from behind each projecting crag on the rugged banks, he might at any moment expect to see the deadly flash of the Canadian musket, and to hear the war-whoop of the savage. Bradstreet therefore determined on the precaution of proceeding in three divisions of canoes, within easy distances of each other; that thus, if any one were attacked, his stout boatmen might land from the others, and on equal terms encounter the assailants on the shore. He entered the first canoe; his gallant men followed with somewhat tumultuous good will. The day of their departure was the 3d of July; in that burning season the stream was low and difficult of navigation, and the stately trees and luxuriant underwood, rich in leafy honors, afforded complete concealment to the dangerous enemy.

For nine miles the party forced their way up the Onondaga, laboriously but without interruption; at length they reached a spot where the waters flow in shallow rapids past a small island, and the dense woods throw their shade over the very margin of the stream. Suddenly, from the north shore, a loud volley, and a louder yell, broke through the silence of the wilderness. This first fire fell with deadly effect upon the leading division; but Bradstreet, with six of the survivors, forced their canoes quickly across the eddying current toward the island. Twenty of the enemy had at the same time plunged into the river, and, taking advantage of the ford, arrived before him; nevertheless, Bradstreet threw himself on shore, and with desperate courage faced the foe. After a sharp struggle, he even dislodged them from the island, and drove them back upon the main land. When the remaining canoes of the advanced division joined, his little force amounted to no more than twenty men. The French, enraged at their first repulse, vigorously renewed the attack with doubled numbers, but they were again beaten, and, leaving many of their foremost dead in the stream, returned to the shelter of the shore. A third time, however, the assailants, brave even in defeat, pushed across the ford with seventy men, and threw themselves upon the little knot of English. For nearly an hour, with fiery courage on the one side and stubborn resolution on the other, they fought among the rocks and trees, till the secluded spot, where perhaps human foot had never before trodden, was red with human blood. At length the French gave way, and, scattered and depressed, fell back upon the main body of their countrymen.

In Bradstreet's absence, another large body of the French swarmed across the ford by the little island where they had been before repeatedly repulsed, but this last effort was even more disastrous than the preceding. Before they could form in the tangled swamps, the boatmen and their gallant chief came down at a running pace, flushed with recent success. One short struggle on the woody bank, and the assailants were forced back in utter rout. The remainder of the enemy dispersed in the forest and attacked no more, but above 100 of their number had perished in the stream or had fallen by the sword, while seventy prisoners and a great quantity of arms rewarded the successful valor of the conquerors. Many of the French regular soldiers, strangers to the American wilderness, became bewildered in its mazes, and died miserably of starvation. On the other hand, no less than sixty of Bradstreet's boatmen were killed and wounded in this gallant action.

The English were too much fatigued and weakened by their hard-won victory to venture on pursuit, and prepared to rest that night upon the battle-field; they were, however, soon aroused by the approach of a body of troops, which, to their great joy, proved to be a detachment of their own grenadiers, on the march to Oswego, and the next morning 200 men also joined them from that garrison. But, in the mean time, the rain had poured down in torrents, and the stream of the Onondaga swelled to an angry flood; to cross and follow up their success was therefore impossible, and the remnant of the French found refuge in their vessels on the waters of Lake Ontario. After a time, when the subsiding flood permitted, the detachment and the grenadiers descended the river to Oswego, and the victorious boatmen, with their leader, pushed on for Schenectady, where they arrived in safety on the 14th of July. The following day Bradstreet set out for Albany to warn General Abercromby of the designs of the French against Oswego: the prisoners had informed him that a force of 1200 men was encamped on the shores of the lake, not far from the eastern fort of that port, where the thick covert of the forest concealed them from the British garrison. Abercromby at once ordered the remains of the 44th regiment, under Colonel Webb, to hasten to Oswego, but, owing to the interference of the Provincial governors, a fatal delay intervened before this corps was put in motion.

On the 26th of July Lord Loudon arrived at New York from Europe; on the 29th he reached Albany, and assumed the command of the army. He found a body of nearly 3000 regular troops, besides a large Provincial force, under his orders at Albany and Schenectady, including the survivors of the two unfortunate regiments which had been crippled and broken in Braddock's disaster. In the fort of Oswego were mustered 1400 bayonets, principally of Shirley's and Pepperel's regiments, besides sailors and peasants, and nearly 500 men, in scattered detachments, preserved the difficult communications through the Iroquois territories.

On the other hand, the French held Crown Point and Ticonderoga with 3000 veterans, and found means to assemble a still more formidable force at Fort Frontenac for the purpose of attacking Oswego.

This year had arrived at Quebec from France a large body of regulars, under the command of the MARQUIS DE MONTCALM, with the Brigadier de Levi, and Colonel de Bourlemaque. Montcalm remained but a few days at Quebec, and then hastened on with his veteran re-enforcements to strengthen the force destined to act against Oswego. Rigaud de Vaudreuil, with a large body of Canadian militia raised at Montreal, was detached as the vanguard of the army, and arrived undiscovered on the 9th of August within a mile and a half of the British position; on the night of the 10th the first division also arrived; on the 12th, at midnight, the second division joined. Then the French chief, having made all necessary preparations, opened his trenches before Fort Ontario, which was situated at the opposite side of the river from the important position of Oswego.

From break of day until six in the evening Montcalm kept up a heavy fire, which was vigorously replied to by the defenders; then, however, the resistance suddenly ceased. The unpardonable neglect of the British authorities had left this important post almost unprovided with ammunition, and in the hour of extremest need the scanty supply failed. Further defense was impossible; the survivors of the little garrison spiked their cannon, and retreated without interruption to the neighboring position of Fort Oswego, on the opposite side of the river. When the French perceived that the defenders had yielded the post, they quickly took possession, and turned such of the guns as in the hurry of retreat had been still left uninjured upon the walls of the remaining stronghold. The defenses of the feeble fort soon crumbled beneath the crushing fire from Montcalm's battering train and the now hostile guns of Fort Ontario. Colonel Mercer, the English chief, and many of his men, were struck down, and the remainder, hopeless of a successful defense, surrendered upon not unfavorable terms on the evening of the 14th of August.

Seven armed vessels, mounting from 8 to 18 guns each, 200 bateaux, a vast quantity of provisions and warlike stores, with 1200 prisoners, were gained by the victors; and for a brief space, several British flags, the unwonted trophies of French conquest, decked with drooping folds the walls of the Canadian churches. This brilliant and important success was, however, stained by cruelty and doubtful faith. Notwithstanding the terms of the capitulation, the savages were permitted to plunder all, and massacre many of the captives; and, to the shame of Montcalm, the sick and wounded who had been intrusted to his protection were slain and scalped under the Indian knife. The remaining prisoners, however, were escorted to Montreal, where they were treated with kindness and consideration, and soon afterward exchanged. The French, having demolished the works at Oswego, returned to the eastern part of the province.

This conquest established Montcalm's already rising reputation. Canada rejoiced, and the British colonies were proportionately discouraged. The sad news was first carried to Albany by some French deserters, but remained unconfirmed for several days, till two sailors arrived who had escaped subsequently to the disaster. Indian rumor was also busy with the melancholy tale. It was for a time believed that the whole garrison of Oswego had been put to the sword, and that the bodies of the slain were left unburied upon the desolate shores of Lake Ontario. A panic spread. Colonel Webb, with the 44th regiment, nearly 900 strong, and 800 boatmen, stopped short in his advance, now useless through culpable delay, and employed his whole force in felling trees to block up the navigation of the important passage of Wood Creek, while the French, equally anxious to avoid collision, performed a similar labor higher up the river.

The province of New York was the first to suffer by the unhappy loss of Oswego, and the pusillanimous retreat of Webb. The rich and beautiful settlements called the German Flats were speedily desolated by the Indians and the scarcely less vindictive Canadians; the crops were destroyed, the houses and homesteads burned, and such of the inhabitants as could not escape were captured, or slain and scalped.

It has been before stated that all the resources of the British colonies were taxed to enable General Winslow to act against Crown Point, with a view to master the important navigation of Lake Champlain, and to demolish the French forts upon its shores, but these preparations produced no results beyond that of strengthening Forts Edward and William Henry. No blow was struck, notwithstanding the opportunity afforded by the withdrawal of nearly all the French regular troops from that neighborhood to aid the Oswego expedition. The inglorious campaign concluded by the retirement of the British regiments of the line to Albany, and the return of the Provincials to their several localities.

But while the genius and good fortune of Montcalm raised the military reputation of New France and strengthened her external power, tyranny and corruption withered her budding prosperity, and blighted it with premature decay. The paltry peculations and narrow despotism of the petty magnates of colonial government are nauseous and ungrateful subjects. The "habitans" were oppressed and plundered, the troops were defrauded of their hard-earned stipend, traders were ground down under infamous extortions, and the unhappy Acadian refugees robbed of the generous bounties of the state. Eminent among the perpetrators of these shameless wrongs stood Bigot, the intendant; Cadet and others of his creatures were worthy of their principal. A scarcity almost amounting to famine, which inflicted the severest privations upon the colony, was again seized as an opportunity of gain by these relentless men, under the pretense of the general good; great stores of provisions were bought by them at a low, compulsory price, and resold at an enormous advance for their private benefit. Even the sacred calling of the missionaries did not in all instances preserve them from the taint of these unworthy acts; and where wealth, was thus largely and by such means increased, morals were naturally deteriorated.

The loss of Oswego was in some degree compensated to the English by the progress of Colonel Lawrence in Acadia, but sad it is to say that the stain of cruelty tainted our success, as it had the victory of Montcalm. When the French settlers refused to acknowledge allegiance to the British crown and laws, they were pursued with fire and sword, their villages and farms destroyed, and at last many thousands were suddenly shipped off, and dispersed among the Atlantic colonies, where friends and kinsfolk might never meet again; thus, to use the language of the time, "establishing peace and tranquillity throughout the whole province." In the ensuing February, some of these ill-fated Acadians with a few allied Indians, about 300 in all, unexpectedly sallied out upon the new English settlements, driven by desperation from the snowy forests; but Lieutenant-colonel Scott promptly called together an equal force of Provincials, and drove them back, with heavy loss, upon the inhospitable wilderness.

In the month of August of the year 1756, a small post on the borders of Pennsylvania, called Fort Granville, was surprised by a party of French and Indians, and the garrison carried into captivity. At the same time, the Moravian savages from the banks of the Ohio, rejoicing in the opportunity afforded by the contentions of the white men, suddenly burst upon the English western frontier, and massacred no less than 1000 of the scattered settlers. Then the thirst of vengeance burned among the hardy colonists. Infuriated rather than appalled by this horrid butchery, 280 men hastily assembled, and with untiring energy pushed on toward the rugged Alleganies to an Indian town called Kittaning, the rendezvous of the fierce marauders. The road was rude and difficult, the distance 150 miles, but the furious hatred of the pursuers spurred them forward, and on the morning of the fifth day the foremost scouts brought word that the Indian murderers were close at hand, celebrating their bloody triumph in songs and dances.

When morning light first chased away the darkness of the forest, the English Provincials burst upon the Indian camp. Armstrong, their leader, offered quarter, but the savages, conscious of their unpardonable cruelties, dared not submit. Then ensued a terrible slaughter; the Indians were beaten down in furious rage, or shot in attempting to fly, or shut up in their wooden huts and burned to death; some were seized and scalped, in horrible imitation of their own ferocity, and not a few were blown up and destroyed by the stores of ammunition they had collected during their late incursion. Terrible as was this vengeance, it availed but little. On almost every other part of the British frontiers, parties of the Indians, and their almost equally savage French allies, swarmed among the woods, concealed in ambush during the day, and by night busied in their bloody work.

In the mean time, the season had become too far advanced for the commencement of any important enterprise; the English colonies were divided in spirit, and all efforts for the general good were perpetually thwarted by jealousy and parsimony. Lord Loudon, with his armament, had not reached New York till the end of July; by that time little remained practicable but to strengthen some frontier forts, and push forward parties of observation into the French territories. Thus closed the campaign of 1756. England had a sorry account of her wasted blood and treasure in these Western wars; opportunities had been neglected, resources wasted, laurels lost. The Indian trade and the commerce of the great lakes had been forfeited by the surrender of Oswego. To us only remained the barren boast of Bradstreet's gallant victory. The Indians were not slow to perceive the weakness of British councils, and Sir William Johnson's powerful influence was barely sufficient to restrain the politic Iroquois from openly declaring for the enemy.

In the mean while the Earl of Loudon exerted himself to the utmost in collecting a sufficient force to strike a decisive blow. The favorite object of carrying Crown Point was laid aside, and the grander scheme of reducing the formidable stronghold of Louisburg, in Acadia, adopted instead. There the naval power of England could be brought to bear, and the distracting jealousies of the several colonies might not interfere to paralyze vigorous action. Preparations for this enterprise were rapidly pushed on in England, and by the end of January, 1757, seven regiments of infantry and a detachment of artillery, all commanded by Major-general Hopson, were ordered to assemble at Cork, and await the arrival of a powerful fleet of fourteen line-of-battle ships, destined to bear them to America. June had nearly closed, however, before this powerful armament, under Admiral Holborne, arrived at the place of rendezvous. Lord Loudon had arranged to meet the expedition at Halifax with all the force he could collect; to accomplish this transport, he was injudiciously led to lay an embargo on all the ships in the British North American ports. This arbitrary measure at once aroused a storm of indignation among the merchants and planters, whose trade it ruinously affected. The home government, ever jealous of commercial liberty, immediately disapproved the high-handed proceeding, and issued peremptory orders against its repetition.

Much valuable time was wasted at Halifax in unnecessary drills and silly sham fights; at length, however, on the 1st and 2d of August, the troops were embarked, with orders to proceed to Gabarus Bay, to the westward of Louisburg; but on the 4th, information received by a captured sloop that eighteen ships of the line and 3000 regular troops, with many militia-men and Indians, were prepared to defend the harbor, altered the views of the English chiefs. The attack was abandoned, the troops were directed to land in various places on the Acadian peninsula, while the fleet was to cruise off Louisburg and endeavor to bring the French to action. About the middle of the month, a dispatch from Boston, containing the disastrous news of the loss of Fort William Henry, reached Lord Loudon; in consequence, his orders were again altered. The luckless general himself, with a part of the troops and fleet, made sail for New York; the remaining regiments, not before landed, were directed upon the Bay of Fundy, and Admiral Holborne, with the bulk of this vast armament, bore away for the harbor of Louisburg.

The objects of this cruise can hardly be even conjectured; some imagine that curiosity was Holborne's sole motive. It is obvious that he did not mean to engage the enemy; for, when he approached within two miles of the hostile batteries, and saw the French admiral's signal to unmoor, he immediately made the best of his way back to Halifax. Being re-enforced by four ships of the line about the middle of September, Holborne again sailed within sight of Louisburg, being then certain that the French would not leave the shelter of their batteries to encounter his superior strength, and thus risk unnecessarily the safety of their colony.

While continuing this useless demonstration, a violent storm from the southwest assailed the British fleet on the 24th of October, at the distance of about forty leagues from the rock-bound coast. In twelve hours the ships were driven almost to within gunshot of the shore, when a happy shift of wind saved them from total destruction. But the Tilbury, a magnificent vessel of sixty guns, went to pieces on Cape Breton, and 225 of her crew perished in the waves; the Newark drove into Halifax crippled and damaged; others subsequently gained the same shelter, dismasted, and in a still more disastrous plight. When the weather moderated, Admiral Holborne made the best of his way for England with the remainder of the fleet, leaving, however, a small squadron, under Lord Colville, to protect the British traders in those northern seas.

While the main force of the British armies had been occupied in the ill-fated expedition against Louisburg, Colonel Stanwix had marched to protect the Western frontier with a detachment of regular troops, and nearly 2000 of the Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia militia. At the same time, the borders of Carolina were intrusted to the care of Colonel Bouquet with a nearly similar force. But to the north, the province of New York and the New England states were feebly held by Colonel Webb with about 4000 men, and Colonel Monro with his garrison of Fort William Henry, against the able and vigilant Montcalm. Although Webb could not but be aware of the movements of his dangerous enemy, he unaccountably neglected to avail himself of the means of defense within his reach. With an indifference bordering on infatuation, he abstained from calling out the numerous and hardy militia of the surrounding states, in themselves a force sufficient to overpower his active antagonist. At length, when the white banner of France had actually been unfurled on the shores of Lake Champlain, Webb awoke from his lethargy, but only to make a precipitate and disgraceful retreat. He fell back upon Fort Edward the following day, leaving Colonel Monro, with about 2000 men, to bear the brunt of battle, and defend the post which he had thus shamefully abandoned.

When Lord Loudon had put to sea with the main army, Montcalm instantly seized the opportunity of renewing his favorite project of gaining the command of Lake George, through the reduction of Fort William Henry. He rapidly concentrated his forces at Ticonderoga, including a considerable body of Indians, numbering altogether 8000 men, well appointed and provisioned, with a proportionate force of artillery, and, without delay, pushed on a large division of his army, under M. de Levi, along the shores of the lake. On the 1st of August he followed with the remainder, who, together with the heavy ordnance and warlike stores, were embarked in canoes and bateaux. On the night of the 2d, both divisions met in a bay near the English fort, and soon afterward the general learned from some prisoners, who were the survivors of a party surprised by the Indians, the retreat of Webb and the weakness of the British garrison. He immediately advanced upon the fort in three columns, sending M. de Levi, with all his savage allies, to scour the neighboring woods; these fierce warriors suddenly fell upon a small foraging party of the English, slew and scalped forty of their number, and carried off fifty head of cattle.

Montcalm spent the 3d of August in reconnoitering the fort and neighborhood, and in erecting batteries; but the Indians scorned the delays of regular warfare, and urged an immediate attack without waiting for the aid of artillery. The chief listened not unwillingly to this daring counsel; first, however, he determined to try the virtue of negotiation, and dispatched a peremptory summons to Colonel Monro, demanding an immediate surrender. The English chief, although but too well aware of his own weakness, returned a spirited answer to this haughty message: "I will defend my trust," said he, "to the last extremity."

This bold reply quickened the ardor of the French: during the 4th and 5th, day and night, their labors ceased not; they dug and delved into the earth with vindictive and untiring zeal, pushing on the trenches of the attack close to the ramparts of the fort. At daybreak on the 6th, ten guns and a large mortar broke the silence of the morning with a salvo upon the beleaguered garrison. The British paid back the deadly salute vigorously, but with far inferior power. Meanwhile, the Indians and some Canadian sharp-shooters swarmed around at every point; some hiding behind the stumps of the forest trees, others finding shelter in an adjoining garden, from their covert swept the works of the defenders with a murderous fire. The odds were great, but in a vain hope that Webb would not see him lost without an effort, Monro held out with stubborn courage. His loss was heavy, his defenses rapidly giving way under the crashing artillery of the French, yet still he resisted the threats and promises of the enemy. At length ammunition failed; the savages soon perceived this, and redoubled their fire, crowding closer round the failing defenders. While yet they strove to hold their ground, an intercepted letter from Webb to Monro was sent in by the French general; this destroyed the last remaining hope, for it stated that no timely relief could reach them, and advised that they should make the best terms in their power. Monro then no longer hesitated, and a capitulation was signed, with conditions such as a chivalrous conqueror should give to those who had nobly but unsuccessfully performed their duty.

The sequel of this gallant defense is as sad as it is unaccountable. The Indians despised the rights of the conquered. When they saw the garrison march out on the following day with arms and baggage, and protected by a French escort, their rage knew no bounds; but with savage cunning they suffered their victims to proceed uninterruptedly till a place was reached favorable to their murderous designs, when suddenly, with horrible yells, they burst from the woods, upon the English column. This unexpected onslaught paralyzed with terror the men who but the day before had fought with dauntless bravery; few attempted to resist, some were instantly struck down by the tomahawks of the savages, others found tardy protection from the French escort, and about 600 dispersed among the woods, and finally reached Fort Edward in miserable plight.

The endeavor to clear the memory of the illustrious Montcalm from the dark stain of connivance with this ferocious treachery is now a grateful task. While the dreadful story was fresh on the English ear, few voices were raised in his defense; the blood of the murdered men was laid at his door; the traitor to a soldier's faith was held in scornful detestation. But time, "that reverses the sentence of unrighteous judges," has served to clear away the cloud that shaded the brightness of the gallant Frenchman's fame. He may, indeed, still be censured for not having provided a sufficient escort for the surrendered garrison. Surely, however, he may well have deemed 2000 men, such as those who had before defended themselves with becoming bravery against his host, might hold their own against an inferior number of savages. When the onslaught began, he used his utmost endeavor to arrest it; he rushed into the bloody scene, and strove earnestly to stop its progress. Baring his breast, he called upon the savages to slay him, their father, but to spare the English for whom his honor was plighted. Then, finding his interference useless, he called upon the prisoners to defend themselves, and fire upon their pursuers; it was in vain, however, so overpowering were the terrors of the Indian tomahawk. Montcalm's officers also threw themselves in the way of the vindictive savages, and some were even wounded in the attempt.

Immediately after the victory Montcalm demolished the fort, destroyed all the English vessels and boats upon the lake, triumphantly carried off the artillery, warlike stores, and baggage, 100 live oxen, and provisions for six months for a garrison of 5000 men. They did not endeavor to push further their important advantages, but once again retired within their own territories.

The Marquis de Vaudreuil took the earliest opportunity to inform the court of France that his gallant general's expedition had been thus eminently successful. He moreover accompanied the cheering news by earnest demands for aid in troops, artillery, and warlike stores, and prayed that he might be speedily informed of the intentions of the ministry, and their plans for the defense of the still endangered colony.

Immediately on Lord Loudon's return from the disgraceful expedition to Halifax, he repaired to Fort Edward, which was the English advanced post in the direction of Canada since the loss of Fort William Henry. As soon as he had given directions for its defense, he took up his winter quarters at Albany: thence he dispatched Captain Rogers, with a small party, to capture stragglers of the enemy, and gain intelligence of their movements. This officer succeeded in ascertaining that the important posts of Ticonderoga and Crown Point had been left insufficiently garrisoned. The English general formed designs, and even made extensive preparations to take advantage of the opportunity thus offered, but, with vacillating weakness, soon abandoned the project. In Acadia some ineffectual marching and counter-marching was performed by his orders, and the troops suffered considerably from privation and from the harassing enmity of the French and Indians.

The feeble conduct and the contemptible results of this campaign demonstrated the inability of the English chief for military command; but Lord Loudon's merits in council should not be overlooked, while he stands condemned as a general. He aroused the different colonial governments from a dangerous apathy, induced them to unite, in some measure, their great but disjointed power, and exert for the general good the means which Providence had abundantly supplied. These favorable conditions were improved by the politic wisdom of his successors in the post of commander-in-chief in North America.

The return of Holborne's shattered fleet and the news of the resultless maneuvers of Lord Loudon aroused a storm of indignation in England. Enormous preparations had proved fruitless, a vast force had warred only against the hardships of the wilderness or the dangers of the ocean. Twenty thousand regular troops, with a large Provincial army, had wasted the precious season of action in embarkations and disembarkations, disgraceful retreats, and advances almost equally disgraceful. Twenty magnificent ships of the line had left the British ports for the American shore in the pride of irresistible power, and, without firing a gun for the honor of their flag, returned to whence they came, or, maimed and dismantled, sought refuge in friendly ports. England had to lament her gallant children, her stately ships, her hard-earned treasures, and, above all, her military glory, lost in the Western deserts or swallowed up in the waters of the Atlantic.

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.

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.

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