From the brilliant successes on the island of Cape Breton, it is now
necessary to turn to the painfully checkered course of events on the
American continent, where the execution of Pitt's magnificent
designs[121] was unhappily intrusted to very different men from the
conquerors of Louisburg. The great minister's plan of operations had
embraced the whole extent of French American dominions, from the
embattled heights of Louisburg and Quebec, to the lone but luxuriant
wilderness of the West. By the protracted defense of the loyal and
skillful Drucour, the overwhelming forces of Amherst and Boscawen were
delayed till the advancing season had rendered impossible, for that
year, their descent upon the Valley of the St. Lawrence.
The next British expedition in order and in importance was directed
against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. By the possession of these
strongholds the French had long been enabled to harass the English
frontier almost with impunity, and to command the navigation of the
extensive lakes which formed the high road to the heart of Canada.
The third army was destined to march upon Fort du Quesne, of disastrous
memory, and to establish the British power in the Valley of the Ohio,
for the possession of which the sanguinary war had commenced, and the
spot where blood had first been shed. By the success of this object, all
communication between the French of Canada and Louisiana would be
effectually cut off, and the countries watered by the St. Lawrence and
the Mississippi left at the mercy of England's naval power.
The same express that bore the tidings of Lord Loudon's recall, conveyed
a circular letter from Mr. Pitt to the colonial governors, declaring the
determination of the British cabinet to repair, at any cost, the losses
and disasters of the last campaign.[122] To encourage the vigorous
co-operation of the colonists, they were informed that his majesty would
recommend Parliament to grant the several provinces such compensation
for the expenses which they might incur as their efforts should appear
to justly merit, and that arms, ammunition, tents, provisions, and boats
would be furnished by the crown. At the same time, the colonial
governors were required to raise as numerous levies of Provincial
militia as their districts would supply, to pay and clothe them, and
appoint their officers. Inspired by the energy of the great minister,
and excited to a generous emulation with the awakened spirit of the
parent state, the American colonies came nobly forward in the common
cause, and used their utmost efforts to strengthen, by their
co-operation, the promised armament from England. Massachusetts raised
7000 men, Connecticut 5000, and the thinly-peopled State of New
Hampshire 900; the numbers of the Rhode Island, New York, and New
Jersey levies have not been specified. These troops were ordered to take
the field early in May, but the muster proceeded slowly and irregularly,
insomuch that no movements were made toward the scenes of action until
the middle of June, 1757.
The largest European army ever yet seen on the American continent was
assembled at Albany and in the neighborhood, under the command of
Abercromby, the general-in-chief since Lord Loudon's recall. A
detachment of the Royal Artillery, and seven strong battalions of the
line, amounting altogether to 6350 regulars, with 9000 of the Provincial
militia, composed this formidable force. Their object was the
destruction of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Toward the end of June they
broke up from Albany, and encamped upon the ground where the melancholy
ruins of Fort William Henry still remained. On the 5th of July, the
cannon, ammunition, and stores arrived, and on that day the army
embarked on the waters of Lake George: 1035 boats conveyed this powerful
expedition, and a number of rafts, armed with artillery, accompanied
them, to overcome any opposition that might be offered to the landing.
The armament continued its progress steadily through the day. When
evening fell, Abercromby gave the signal to lie to at a place called
Sabbath Point, on the shores of the lake: there the troops landed for a
time, and lighted large fires to distract the attention of the enemy. In
the dead of night they were suddenly re-embarked, and hurried on to the
Narrows, where the waters contract into the stream that communicates
with Wood Creek:[123] there they arrived at five o'clock the following
morning. An advanced guard of 2000 men was thrown ashore at first dawn
under the gallant Bradstreet, and these having encountered no enemy, the
remainder of the army was rapidly landed. As the troops disembarked they
were formed into four columns, some Light Infantry were sent on to scour
the line of march, and the advance was sounded. They soon reached a
small encampment which had been occupied by a detachment of the regiment
of Guienne, but found it abandoned, the ammunition and provisions
destroyed, the camp itself in flames.
Ticonderoga,[124] the first object of the British attack, was a fort of
some strength, situated on the most salient point of the peninsula
between Lakes George and Champlain. To the eastward the rugged shore
afforded sufficient protection; to the west and north regular lines of
defense had been erected by the French engineers, and an extensive
swamp, spreading over nearly all the landward face, embarrassed the
approaches of an enemy. The neighboring country was a dense and tangled
forest.
Early in the summer of this year, the Marquis de Vaudreuil, governor of
Canada, had received intelligence of Abercromby's extensive preparations
to gain the positions of Ticonderoga and Crown Point,[125] and with them
the command of the important chain of waters leading to the River St.
Lawrence and the heart of the French possessions. The governor saw the
necessity of defeating this enterprise at any cost. He called to his aid
Montcalm, already famous by deserved success, and placed at his disposal
all the troops that could be spared from every part of the colony: on
the 20th of June they reached the position, they were directed to
defend.
On the first of July Montcalm sent an advance of three regiments, under
M. de Bourlemaque, along the northwestern shores of Lake George; he
himself followed with three regiments, and the second battalion of Berry
to a place called the Falls, at the head of the lake, where he encamped.
The following day, two active and intelligent officers, Captains de
Bernard and Duprat, with some light troops, were pushed on over the
mountains toward the lower end of the lake where Abercromby's army lay.
When the boats of the English force covered the waters on the morning of
the 5th of July, these French detachments signalized to their general
that the time for action was come. M. de Bourlemaque immediately
dispatched 300 men, under the command of Captain de Trepeze, to watch
the hostile armament from the shore, and, if possible, to oppose its
landing. The next day, however, when the British disembarked, they were
in such force as to render opposition hopeless; this corps of
observation therefore fell back upon M. de Bourlemaque, and he too
retired toward the main body, under the command of Montcalm.
So difficult and tangled were the woods on their retreat, that, in spite
of their knowledge of the country, one French column of 500 men lost
their way, fell into confusion, and in their bewilderment almost
retraced their steps. The English pressed rapidly on in pursuit, and,
from the ignorance of the guides, their divisions also became
confounded, and mixed up together in alarming disorder. The officers
vigorously exerted themselves to restore the broken ranks, but, in the
midst of their efforts, the right center column, led by the good and
gallant Lord Howe, was suddenly fronted by the body of the enemy who had
gone astray in the forest. They joined in bitter strife: almost hand to
hand, in the swamps, or from tree to tree on the hill side, the stout
Frenchmen held their own against the British troops, and, nothing
daunted by the unexpected danger, disdained to yield.[126] At the first
shock many of Howe's Light Infantry went down; he himself, hurrying to
the front, was struck by a musket ball in the breast, and instantly
expired.[127] His men, infuriated by the loss of their beloved
leader,[128] swarmed on through the thick woods, and finally overpowered
or destroyed the enemy; not, however, till four fifths of the French
were wounded, slain, or taken, and some of the conquerors killed and
disabled, did they yield their ground.
That night the victors occupied the field of battle; to this their
advantage was confined, for the disorganization of the troops had
frightfully increased during the unpropitious march, in the hard-fought
skirmish, and by the loss of their best and most trusted chief. The
vigor and spirit of Abercromby's army seemed to pass away with Lord
Howe. This gallant man, from the time he had landed in America, had
wisely instructed his regiment for the peculiar service of that
difficult country: no useless incumbrance of baggage was allowed; he
himself set the example, and encountered privation and fatigue in the
same chivalrous spirit with which he faced the foe. Graceful and kind in
his manners, and considerate to the humblest under his charge, his
officers and soldiers heartily obeyed the chief because they loved the
man. At the fatal moment when he was lost to England, her glory and
welfare most needed his aid. He lived long enough for his own honor, but
not for that of his country.
The price of this slight advantage was ruinous to the English army. From
the unhappy moment when Lord Howe was slain, the general lost all
resolution, and, as a natural consequence, the troops lost all
confidence. Order and discipline were no longer observed, and the
after-operations can only be attributed to infatuation. At dawn on the
day subsequent to the combat, Abercromby actually marched his forces
back to the place where they had disembarked the day before, through the
dreary and almost impassable wilderness, traversed with the utmost
difficulty but a few hours before. However, on the return of the army to
the landing place, a detachment was sent to gain an important post held
by the French at some saw-mills, two miles from Ticonderoga. Colonel
Bradstreet was selected for this duty; with him were sent the 44th
regiment, six companies of the 60th, some Rangers, and a number of
boatmen; among them were those who had forced the passage of the
Onondaga River: altogether nearly 7000 men.
The point to be assailed was approachable only by one narrow bridge;
this the French destroyed, and, not caring to encounter a very superior
force, fell back toward their stronghold. Bradstreet was not to be
deterred by difficulties. Accustomed to the necessity of finding
resources, the stream was soon spanned by a temporary arch. With
unwearied zeal he urged on the exertions of his men, and that very
night, not only his own command, but the whole British army, was once
more advanced across the stream, and established in an advantageous
position near Ticonderoga.
At earliest light, Colonel Clark, chief engineer, and several officers
of rank, reconnoitered the enemy's position to the best of their power.
They could discover but little: a dense forest and a deep morass lay
between them and Ticonderoga. They observed, indeed, a breast-work, with
some felled trees in front, rising out of the only accessible part of
the dreary swamp, but as to its nature, strength, and disposition for
defense, their military skill and experience could afford them no light.
Their report included a variety of opinions: some treated the defenses
as slight and inconsiderable, and presenting only a deceptive show of
strength; others, and they far better qualified to judge, acknowledged
their formidable strength. Abercromby unfortunately adopted the former
opinion, and rashly resolved to attack without waiting the essential aid
of his artillery: his penalty was severe.
Prisoners informed the English chief that his enemies had assembled
eight battalions, with some Canadians and Indians, and that they
mustered altogether a force of 6000 men. They were encamped at a place
called Carillon, in front of the fort, and busily occupied in
strengthening their position, that they might make good their defense
till the arrival of M. de Levi, who hastened to their aid, with 3000
men, from the banks of the Mohawk River, where he had been making an
incursion against the British Indian allies. General Abercromby was
determined by this information, which, however, subsequently proved much
exaggerated. M. de Levi's force had in fact already arrived, and was
only 800 strong, and the French regular troops in the position barely
reached 3000 men, although battalions of the splendid, but then much
reduced regiments of La Reine, La Sarre, Bearn, Guienne, Berry,
Languedoc, and Royal Roussillon were present in their camp.
On the morning of the 8th of July the French garrison was called to
arms, and marched into the threatened intrenchments. The regiments of
Bearn, La Reine, and Guienne, under M. de Levi, occupied the right of
the defenses; those of La Sarre, Languedoc, and two strong detachments
under M. de Bourlemaque, the left. In the center Montcalm held under his
own command the regiments of Berry, Royal Roussillon, and the light
troops. The colonial militia and Canadian irregulars, with the Indians,
were posted behind some field-works in the plain on the flanks of the
main defense, supported by a small reserve. The French intrenchment
presented in front, as was too late discovered, an almost impassable
barrier: a solid earthen breast-work of eight feet in height protected
the defenders from the hostile shot, and the gradual slope from its
summit was covered for nearly 100 yards with abattis of felled trees
laid close together, the branches sharpened and turned toward the foe.
However, on either flank this grim position was open; no obstacle
presented itself that could have stopped the stride of an English
grenadier. Of this the hapless Abercromby was ignorant or unobservant.
The French chief knew it well, and gave orders that, in case of the
assailants appearing on either of these weak points, his troops should
abandon the field and retreat to their boats as they best might.
With the rashness that bears no relation to courage, the British general
determined to throw the flower of his force upon the very center of the
enemy's strength. While the army was forming for the ill-starred attack,
Sir William Johnson arrived with 440 Indians, who were at once pushed
forward into the woods to feel the way and occupy the enemy. The
American Rangers formed the left of Abercromby's advance, Bradstreet's
boatmen were in the center, and on the right some companies of Light
Infantry. Behind these, a line of the Massachusetts militia extended its
ranks on either side toward Lake Champlain and Lake George. Next were
ranged the British battalions of the line, with the 42d, Murray's
Highlanders,[129] and the 55th, the corps trained by Lord Howe, in
reserve: on them fell the brunt of this desolating day. A numerous mass
of the Connecticut and New Jersey Provincial regiments formed the rear
guard. Strict orders were issued that no man should fire a shot till he
had surmounted the breast-work; then the arrangements were complete.
During these formations and through the forenoon, some French
detachments came forward and skirmished with the advance, but they were
always overpowered with ease, and driven hurriedly back to shelter.
At one o'clock, when the mid-day sun poured down its burning rays upon
the scene of strife, Abercromby gave the fatal order to attack. As his
advance felt the fire, the light troops and the militia were moved
aside, and the regular battalions called to the front. The Grenadier
companies of the line led the way, Murray's Highlanders followed close
behind. With quick but steady step, these intrepid men pressed on
through the heavy swamp and tangled underwood, their ranks now broken by
the uneven ground, now shattered by the deliberate fire of the French:
impeded, though not confused, they passed the open ground, and, without
one faltering pause or random shot, the thinned but unshaken column
dashed against the abattis.
Then began a cruel and hopeless slaughter. With fiery valor the British
Grenadiers forced themselves through the almost impenetrable fence; but
still new obstacles appeared; and while, writhing among the pointed
branches, they threatened the inaccessible enemy in impotent fury, the
cool fire of the French from behind the breast-work smote them one by
one. The Highlanders, who should have remained in reserve, were not to
be restrained, and rushed to the front; they were apparently somewhat
more successful; active, impetuous, lightly clad and armed, they won
their way through the felled trees, and died upon the very parapet;[130]
ere long, half of these gallant men[131] and nearly all their officers
were slain or desperately wounded. Then fresh troops pressed on to the
deadly strife, rivaling the courage and sharing the fate of those who
had led the way. For nearly four hours, like the succeeding waves of an
ebb tide, they attacked again and again, each time losing somewhat of
their vantage-ground, now fiercely rushing on, unflinchingly enduring
the murderous fire, then sullenly falling back to re-form their broken
ranks for a fresh effort. It was vain at last as it was at first: the
physical difficulties were impassable, and upon that rude barrier--which
the simplest maneuver would have avoided, or one hour of well-plied
artillery swept away[132]--the flower of British chivalry was crushed
and broken. The troops that strove with this noble constancy were surely
worthy of a better fate than that of sacrificing their lives and honor
to the blind presumption of such a general.
An accident at length arrested this melancholy carnage. One of the
British columns, in a hurried advance, lost their way, and became
bewildered in the neighboring forest. When, after a time, they emerged
upon the open country, a heavy fire was perceived close in front, as
they thought, from the French intrenchments. With unhappy promptitude,
they poured a deadly volley upon the supposed enemy; but when a breeze
from the lake lifted the curtain of the smoke from the bloody scene,
they saw that their shot had fallen with fatal precision among the red
coats of their countrymen. Then indeed hesitation, confusion, and panic
arose in the English ranks; their desperate courage had proved vain; a
frightful loss had fallen upon their best and bravest; most of their
officers were struck down; the bewildered general gave them no orders,
sent them no aid; their strength was exhausted by repeated efforts under
the fiery sun; and still, from behind the inaccessible breast-work, the
French, steady and almost unharmed, poured a rolling fire upon their
defenseless masses. The painful tale must now be told: the English
Infantry turned and fled. The disorder in a few minutes became
irretrievable; those who had been foremost in the fierce assault were
soon the first in the disgraceful flight. Highlanders and Provincials,
Rangers and Grenadiers, scarce looked behind them in their terror, nor
saw that no man pursued. In this hour of greatest need, General
Abercromby remained at the saw-mills, nearly two miles from the field
of battle.[133]
When the fugitives found that the French did not venture to press upon
their rear, they in some measure rallied upon a few still unbroken
battalions that were posted around the position occupied by the general.
Scarcely, however, had any thing of confidence been restored, when an
unaccountable command[134] from Abercromby, to retreat to the
landing-place, renewed the panic. The soldiers instantly concluded that
they were to embark with every speed to escape the pursuit of the
victorious enemy, and, breaking from all order and control, crowded
toward the boats. Happily, the brave Bradstreet still held together a
small force, like himself, unshaken by this groundless terror: with
prompt decision, he threw himself before the landing place, and would
not suffer a man to embark. To this gallant officer may be attributed
the preservation of Abercromby's army: had the disordered masses been
allowed to crowd into the boats, thousands must have perished in the
waters of the lake. By this wise and spirited step, regularity was in a
little time again restored, and the troops held their ground for the
night.
The loss remains to be recorded: 1950 of the English army was slain,
wounded, and missing; of these, 1642 were regular troops, with a large
proportion of officers. The French had nearly 390 killed and disabled;
but, as their heads only were exposed above the breast-work, few of
those who were hit recovered. It is unnecessary to speak of their
admirable conduct and courage, or of the merit of their chief: their
highest praise is recorded with the deeds of those they conquered.[135]
The sad story of Ticonderoga is now seldom told and almost forgotten;
the disasters or triumphs of that year's campaign have left upon its
scene no traces more permanent than those of the cloud and sunshine of
an April day. In the eventual century since passed, our country has
emerged from the direst strife that ever shook the world, triumphant by
land and sea, great in power and in wisdom, proudest among the nations
of the earth, still humblest in reverence of Heaven. The memory of this
remote disaster can not now, even for a moment, dim the light of
"England's matchless glory." But such records give a lesson that may not
be forgotten. Men bearing the same name have each at different periods
played important parts in British military history; though both have
long since passed away, their examples are still before us.[136] The
British soldier, in time of danger, will not hesitate to elect between
the fate of Abercromby who survived the shameful rout of Ticonderoga,
and that of the stout Sir Ralph who fell upon the Egyptian plains.[137]
On the 9th the troops were ordered to embark and retire to Fort William
Henry, which place they reached that night. Even when there the general
did not consider his army safe till he had strengthened the defenses.
Still diffident, he sent the artillery and ammunition on to Albany, and
afterward even to New York. By this defensive attitude he neutralized
the advantage which his greatly superior strength gave him over the
enemy, and thus for another year was deferred the acquisition of the
"Gates of Canada"--the Lakes George and Champlain, and the Richelieu
River.
When Abercromby was fully secured in his old position, and discipline in
a measure re-established in the army, he hearkened to the earnest
solicitations of the indefatigable Bradstreet, that a force might be
sent to revenge on Fort Frontenac the ruin of Oswego, and thus to gain
the command of Lake Ontario. The carrying out of this plan was worthily
committed to him who had designed it, and a detachment of Artillery, and
two companies of regulars, with 2800 Provincial militia and boatmen,
were allotted for the task. The pusillanimous destruction of the
navigation of Wood Creek by General Webb in 1756 proved a most vexatious
and harassing difficulty in this expedition. But the resolution and
energy of Bradstreet overcame every obstacle; with immense labor and
hardship, his men removed the logs from the river, and at length
rendered it navigable. On the 13th of August the artillery and stores
were embarked, and the same day the army moved by land to the Oneida
Lake; thence, by the stream of the Onondaga, past the scene of their
leader's brilliant victory, to the waters of Lake Ontario, where they
again embarked.
On the 25th, Bradstreet landed without opposition within a mile of Fort
Frontenac; he found this famed position[138] weakly fortified and worse
garrisoned, through the unaccountable negligence of the Marquis de
Vaudreuil. After the victory at Ticonderoga, the French governor had
dispatched the Chevalier de Longueuil, with immense presents, to meet
the chiefs of the Iroquois at Oswego, with a view of gaining their
important alliance, and of inducing them to abandon all relations with
the English, by representing their cause as ruined through Abercromby's
defeat. He in some measure succeeded in his mission; the Indian deputies
assured him of their attachment, but said that, as all their brethren
had not been consulted, they must communicate with them before giving a
decisive answer. When the conference ended, the chevalier returned to
Montreal by Fort Frontenac, where he stopped for a day, and informed M.
de Noyan, the commandant, of the danger that threatened his position
from Bradstreet's advance. Every thing was speedily done to strengthen
the fort which the limited means at hand permitted; but De Noyan, well
aware that without aid resistance would be vain, urged upon De Longueuil
to send him re-enforcements as soon as he could reach the governor. This
the chevalier neglected, and Fort Frontenac and its worthy commandant
were left to their fate. When too late indeed, the Marquis de Vaudreuil
dispatched M. de Plessis Fabiot, with 1500 Canadian militia, toward Lake
Ontario, but by the time they reached La Chine intelligence arrived that
caused the greater part of the force to return to whence they came.
Bradstreet at first threw up his works at 500 yards from the fort.
Finding that the distance was too great, and the fire of the enemy
little to be feared, he pushed closer on, and gained possession of an
old intrenchment near the defenses, whence he opened fire with vigor and
effect. A little after seven o'clock on the morning of the 27th, the
French surrendered, being without hope of succor, and of themselves
alone utterly incapable of a successful defense. The garrison,
consisting of only 120 regular soldiers and forty Indians, became
prisoners of war; and sixty pieces of cannon, sixteen mortars, an
immense supply of provisions, stores, and ammunition, with all the
shipping on the lake, fell into the hands of the victors. Among the
prizes were several vessels richly laden with furs, to the value, it is
said, of 70,000 louis d'ors. The attacking army had not to lament the
loss of a single soldier.[139]
The fort thus easily won was a quadrangle, each face about 100 yards in
length; thirty pieces of cannon were mounted upon the walls, and the
rest of the artillery was in reserve, but the garrison was altogether
insufficient for the defense of the works. The very large amount of
stores, ammunition, and provision which were thus left exposed were of
vital importance to the supply of the distant Western forts, and the
detachments on the Ohio, at Fort du Quesne and elsewhere. In obedience
to an unaccountable order of General Abercromby, Bradstreet had no
choice but to burn and destroy the artillery, provisions, and stores of
every kind, and even the shipping, except two vessels which were
retained to convey the valuable peltries to the southern shores of the
lake. The fort was also ruined and abandoned; however, M. du Plessis
Fabiot sent on a detachment from La Chine, with M. de Pont le Roy, the
engineer, who speedily restored it. At the same time, another body of
troops was sent to strengthen the distant post of Niagara. In the mean
while, Bradstreet re-embarked his force and returned to the British
colonies by the same route as he had advanced.[140]
At this time Fort Frontenac was the general rendezvous of all the
Northern and Western Indian nations, the center of trade not only with
the French, but also among themselves. Thither they repaired from all
directions, even from the distance of 1000 miles, bearing with them
their rich peltries, with immense labor, to exchange for European goods.
The French traders had learned the art of conciliating these children of
the forest, and among them attachment and esteem overcame even the force
of interest. It was notorious that the British merchants at Albany could
supply far better and cheaper articles, and actually forwarded large
stores of all kinds to furnish the warehouses of their Canadian rivals;
yet the savages annually passed by this favorable market, and bore the
spoils of the chase to the French settlement on the distant shores of
Lake Ontario.
These annual meetings of the Red Men, however, had another object
besides that of commerce; the events of the preceding year were related
and canvassed, and council held upon the conduct of the future. Here
feuds were reconciled by the good offices of neutral tribes, old
alliances were strengthened, and new ones arranged. In these assemblies,
the actual presence of the French gave them an important influence over
the deliberations, and colored, to a considerable extent, the policy of
the Indian nations. On every account, therefore, the destruction of Fort
Frontenac was a great gain to the British cause.
It now remained for the Marquis de Vaudreuil to announce the loss of
Fort Frontenac to the court of France, and to endeavor to make it appear
that he was free from blame in the unfortunate transaction. He
determined at all hazards to conceal the fact that his neglecting to
forward the required re-enforcements was the direct cause of the
disaster. The only mode of escape which suggested itself to his mean
mind was to throw the blame upon another; the unhappy commandant, De
Noyan, was selected as the victim of his falsehood. To prevent that
officer from forwarding to France his own statement of the case, the
treacherous governor himself undertook to represent the affair in a
light that could not fail to clear De Noyan of all responsibility. The
snare was successful; the brave commandant, guileless himself, doubted
not the honor of his chief, and blindly trusted him. De Vaudreuil,
unmindful alike of truth and justice, threw the whole weight of blame
upon his subordinate, and ascribed without scruple the loss of the fort
to the pusillanimity of the defenders. De Noyan, when too late, found
that he had been cruelly deceived; he appealed in vain, again and again,
to the court for redress, and at length retired from the service in
which he had met only with treachery and injustice.
While Abercromby's intrenchments afforded him complete security, the
presence of his great but now useless army gave no protection to the
English frontier. The ever active and vigilant Montcalm lost no
opportunity of harassing outposts, assailing remote settlements, and
intercepting convoys. On the 17th of July, a party of twenty
Provincials, with three officers, was destroyed by the French light
troops in the neighborhood of Half-way Brook, and ten days afterward,
near the same place, 116 wagoners, with their escort of sixteen Rangers,
were surprised and horribly massacred, in spite of the late severe
warning. At length the general was aroused to exertion: he selected
Major Rogers, already famous in partisan warfare, and, with a force of
700 men, sent him to seek the marauders; they, however, effected their
escape unharmed. When the British were returning from this vain pursuit,
a dispatch arrived from head-quarters, directing them to scour the
country to the south and east of Lake Champlain, and retire by the route
of Fort Edward.
According to these orders, Rogers pursued his difficult march, without,
however, much success in distressing the enemy, as, from the superior
information furnished to the French by the Indians, they always managed
to avoid the unequal combat. On the 8th of August, however, they
assembled a force of about 500 men, and, choosing a favorable situation,
in some measure surprised the British detachment, despite the unsleeping
caution of its able chief. Rogers's strength had been by this time,
through hardship, desertion, and other causes, reduced almost to a level
with that of his present opponents, and it was not without extreme
difficulty that he succeeded in holding his ground. In the first onset a
major and two lieutenants fell into the hands of the enemy, and several
of his advance guard were slain. However, under his brave and skillful
conduct, the British soon, in turn, won the advantage, and, after a
sharp and sanguinary combat of an hour's duration, the assailants
abandoned the field, leaving no less than 190 of their men killed and
wounded. Although the victors lost only forty of their number, fatigue,
and the cautions observed by the enemy during the retreat forbade
pursuit. Rogers therefore continued his march homeward, and arrived at
head-quarters without any thing further worthy of record having
occurred.
Brigadier-general Stanwix had been detached, with a considerable force
of Provincial troops, to erect a fort in a favorable position on the
important carrying place between Wood Creek, at the Oneida Lake, and the
Mohawk River, with a view to encourage and protect the friendly Indians
in those districts from the enmity of the French and their allies. He
performed this valuable but unostentatious service with ability and
success; the works which he there established and garrisoned still bear
his name.[141]
We must now return to the third expedition of the campaign against Fort
du Quesne, led by General Forbes. Although this chief had put his army
in motion before Abercromby marched upon the Northern Lakes, he had not
been able to get his last division out of Philadelphia till the 30th of
June: 350 of the 60th, or Royal American regiment, 1200 of the 77th,
Montgomery's Highlanders,[142] and upward of 5000 Provincials, composed
his force.
The march over the Alleganies was long and difficult; the defiles,
forests, swamps, and mountains were in themselves formidable obstacles,
had there even been no hostile force in front. But the judicious
arrangements of the general overcame alike the impediments and the
perils of the advance, and some dangerous attacks of the Indians were
repelled with vigorous alacrity. When the army reached Raystown,[143] a
place about 90 miles from Fort du Quesne, Forbes halted his main body,
and detached Lieutenant-colonel Bouquet, with 2000 men, to take post in
advance of Loyal Hanning, while he constructed a new road, being
determined not to avail himself of the route used by Braddock.
Bouquet was unfortunately fired with ambition to reduce the hostile
stronghold before the arrival of his chief, and accordingly he detached
Major Grant and 800 Highlanders to reconnoiter the works of Fort du
Quesne. The major, probably with a similar ambition to that of his
chief, endeavored to induce the French to give battle, and drew up his
men on a neighboring height, beating a march as a challenge. The combat
was accepted; the garrison sallied out, and, after a very severe action,
routed the Highlanders with loss, and took 300 prisoners, including the
commander. The broken remnant of Grant's force fell back in great
disorder upon their comrades at Loyal Hanning.[144]
Cautioned, but not dispirited, by this untoward occurrence, Forbes
advanced with his whole army as rapidly as the rugged country and
unfavorable weather would permit, although so debilitated from illness
that he was obliged to be borne on a litter. Several parties of French
and Indians endeavored to impede his march, but were always repulsed;
once, however, in a night attack, some loss and confusion were
occasioned by the Highlanders and the Virginian Provincials firing upon
each other through mistake. The French were not sufficiently elated by
their victory over Grant to venture any serious opposition to Forbes's
advance, and the loss of Fort Frontenac, from whence they had been
expecting a supply of provisions and warlike stores, rendered successful
resistance hopeless: M. de Lignieres, their leader, therefore dismantled
and abandoned the celebrated fort, and dropped down the stream of the
Ohio to the friendly settlements on the Mississippi. The following day,
the 25th of November, the British took possession of the deserted
stronghold, and at once proceeded to put it in repair. Under the new
owners, Pittsburg[145] was substituted for the former name of disastrous
memory--Fort du Quesne.[146]
This advantage was of considerable importance to the British; the
respect for their power among the Indians, which recent disasters in
that country had much shaken, was fully restored, and most of the
Western native tribes sent to offer aid, or, at least, neutrality.
Brigadier-general Forbes lived but a brief space to enjoy the credit
gained by this success; his naturally weak constitution was broken by
the hardships of the expedition, and he died soon afterward at
Philadelphia, in honor, and regretted by all who knew him.
With this expedition concluded the campaign of the year 1758. Although
its events were checkered with disaster and disgrace, the general result
was eminently favorable to England, and honorable to the illustrious
minister who then directed her councils. The reduction of Louisburg and
its dependencies would have been of itself sufficient to reward the
sacrifices so freely made by her patriotic people. Now in possession of
a magnificent harbor--the key of the River St. Lawrence, it would be an
easy task to intercept any succor which France might endeavor to send to
prop her tottering sway in Canada. The reduction of the Forts Frontenac
and du Quesne had paralyzed the enemy's power in the West, and given to
England all the territory for the possession of which the war had
arisen. Abercromby's defeat had been solely a negative event; his
overwhelming force still hung like a thunder-cloud upon the shores of
the lakes, and Montcalm well knew that he owed his brilliant victory to
the incapacity of the British general, not to the want of military
virtue in the British troops. The men--whose desperate valor had been
wasted against the impassable barrier at Carillon--burning with ardor to
avenge their defeat under an abler chief, were still straining, like
bloodhounds on a leash, by the Canadian frontier.
With the full accord of the British king and people, the great minister
distributed honor and punishment to the principal actors in the
important events of the past campaign. General Abercromby was superseded
in his command,[147] and Amherst, the conqueror of Louisburg, appointed
chief of the American armies in his place. Immediately on receiving this
commission, the new general embarked at Halifax for Boston, and thence
proceeded to New York, where he arrived on the 12th of December, and
assumed the command of the forces. On the 24th of January following, the
unhappy Abercromby sailed for England in the Remmington man-of-war.
Brigadier-general Wolfe accompanied him, in consequence of permission
granted in his original order of service to return when the expedition
had succeeded. Colonel Monckton was left in command at Nova Scotia.
[Footnote 121: "Le Comte de Chatam, Guillaume Pitt, genie vaste,
audacieux, intrepide, procure en peu d'annees a l'Angleterre des succes
si prodigieux, que l'evenement seul en prouvoit la possibilite."--Millot,
tom. v., p. 47.]
[Footnote 122: "An immediate conquest of the settlements of the French
seemed to be requisite to the vindication of British power. How far such
conquest, if effected, ought in policy to be preserved, was a more
perplexing question; and, on the whole, the British minister was rather
animated to prosecute hostilities than fixed in decisive purpose with
regard to their ultimate issue.... From the extent and precision of
political information for which Pitt was so justly renowned, it is
impossible to suppose that he was unacquainted with the doubts which had
been openly expressed, both in Britain and America, of the expediency of
attempting the entire conquest of the French settlements in the New
World; and a conviction prevailed with many American politicians that
this conquest would destroy the firmest pledge which Britain possessed
of the obedience of her transatlantic colonies."--Graham's _Hist. of the
United States_, vol. iv., p. 24-26.]
[Footnote 123: The Wood Creek connected with Lakes George and Champlain
is to be distinguished from the Wood Creek more frequently mentioned in
these wars, which was situated between the Mohawk River and Oneida
Lake.]
[Footnote 124: "This place was originally called Che-on-der-o-ga by the
Indians, signifying, in their language, _noise_. Its name was afterward
slightly changed by the French into its present appellation, which it
has borne ever since it was first occupied and fortified by them in
1756. It was sometimes called Fort Carillon. This fortification cost the
French a large sum of money, and was considered very strong both by
nature and art. Its ruins are situated in the town of Ticonderoga, Essex
county, they are among the most interesting in the country, and are
annually visited by a great number of travelers."--_Picturesque
Tourist,._ p. 209.]
[Footnote 125: "The ruins of the old fortifications of Crown Point
present an interesting object from the water. The embankments are
visible, and indicate an immense amount of labor expended to make this
place invulnerable to an approaching foe, either by land or water. Crown
Point is eighteen miles north of Ticonderoga."--_Picturesque Tourist_,
p. 113.]
[Footnote 126: Graham, whose authority is always questionable where the
comparative merits of the British regulars and Provincials[148] are
concerned, asserts that "the French party consisted of regulars and a
few Indians; and, notwithstanding their surprise and inferiority of
numbers, displayed a promptitude of skill and courage that had nearly
reproduced the catastrophe of Braddock.... The suddenness of their
assault, the terror inspired by the Indian yell, and the grief and
astonishment created by the death of Lord Howe, excited a general panic
among the British regulars; but the Provincials, who flanked them, and
were better acquainted with the mode of fighting practiced by the enemy,
stood their ground and soon defeated them."--Graham's _Hist. of the
United States_, vol. iv., p. 30.]
[Footnote 127: "He was," says General Abercromby, "the first man that
fell; and as he was, very deservedly, universally beloved and respected
throughout the whole army, it is easy to conceive the grief and
consternation his untimely fall occasioned."--_Letter from the Right
Honorable G. Grenville to Mr. Pitt_, Wotton, August 23d, 1758.
"The great number of officers and men in the regular troops killed and
wounded, and particularly the grievous loss we have sustained in the
death of Lord Howe, are circumstances that would cloud a victory, and
must therefore aggravate our concern for a repulse. I was not personally
acquainted with Lord Howe, but I admired his virtuous, gallant
character, and regret his loss accordingly. I can not help thinking it
peculiarly unfortunate for his country and his friends that he should
fall in the first action of this war, before his spirit and his example,
and the success and glory which, in all human probability, would have
attended them, had produced their full effect on our own troops and
those of the enemy. You have a melancholy task indeed, affected as you
justly are with this public and private sorrow, to communicate the death
of Lord Howe to a brother that most tenderly loved him.
"I am ever your most affectionate brother,
"GEORGE GRENVILLE."
--_Chatham Correspondence._
Even Graham admits that "Lord Howe exhibited the most promising military
talents, and his valor, virtue, courtesy, and good sense, had
wonderfully endeared him both to the English and to the Provincial
troops. He was the first to encounter the danger to which he conducted
others, and to set the example of every sacrifice which he required them
to incur. He was the idol and soul of the army."--Vol. iv., p. 29. See
Smollett's _History of England_, vol. iv., p. 306.
"Lord Howe's memory was honored by a vote of the Assembly of
Massachusetts for the erection of a superb cenotaph at the expense of
the province, among the heroes and patriots of Britain, in the
collegiate church of Westminster."--Belsham, vol. ii., p. 205.
"The popularity of his name has been, perhaps, impaired by the
circumstance that his brother, Sir William Howe, commanded the British
army in the Revolutionary war in America. It is still doubtful whether
Lord Howe fell by the fire of the enemy, or by a misdirected shot from
some unhappy hand among his own confused and startled soldiers."--Graham's
_History of the United States_, vol. iv., p. 30.
Lord Howe was succeeded in his title by his brother Richard, afterward
the celebrated admiral. He had already distinguished himself by the
capture of the Alcide and the Lys.]
[Footnote 128: See Appendix, No. LXV.]
[Footnote 129: "The 42d regiment was then in the height of deserved
reputation; in it there was not a private man that did not consider
himself as rather above the lower class of people, and peculiarly bound
to support the honor of the very singular corps to which he belonged.
This brave, hard-fated regiment was then commanded by a veteran of great
experience and military skill, Colonel Gordon Graham,[149] who had the
first point of attack assigned to him: he was wounded at the first
onset. How many this regiment, in particular, lost of men and officers,
I can not now exactly say; what I distinctly remember having often heard
of it since is, that of the survivors, every one officer retired wounded
off the field. Of the 55th regiment, to which my father had newly been
attached, ten officers were killed, including all the field officers. No
human beings could show more determined courage than this brave army
did."--_Memoirs of an American Lady_, vol. ii., p. 81.]
[Footnote 130: "Captain John Campbell and a few men forced their way
over the breast-work, but were instantly dispatched with the
bayonet."--Stewart's _Sketches of the Highlanders_, vol. ii., p. 61.]
[Footnote 131: It was at this period that Pitt commenced his bold, yet,
as it proved, most safe and wise policy of raising Highland regiments
from the lately disaffected clans. I have already alluded to this
measure by anticipation. Let me now add only the glowing words which
Chatham himself applied to it in retrospect. "My lords, we should not
want men in a good cause. I remember how I employed the very rebels in
the service and defense of their country. They were reclaimed by this
means; they fought our battles; they cheerfully bled in defense of those
liberties which they had attempted to overthrow but a few years
before."--Lord Chatham's _Speech in the House of Lords_, December 2d,
1777, quoted by Lord Mahon, _History of England_, vol. iv., p. 133.]
[Footnote 132: "So misinformed or so presumptuous was General
Abercromby, that he expected to force this strong position by musketry
alone, and had resolved to commence the attack without awaiting his
artillery, which, for want of good roads, was yet lagging in the
rear."--Lord Mahon's _History of England_, vol. iv., p. 203.]
[Footnote 133: Entick's _Hist._, vol. iii., p. 258; Mante's _Hist. of
the War_, p. 151.]
[Footnote 134: "How far Mr. Abercromby acquitted himself in the duty of
a general, we shall not pretend to determine; but if he could depend
upon the courage and discipline of his forces, he surely had nothing to
fear, after the action, from the attempts of the enemy, to whom he would
have been superior in number, even though they had been joined by the
re-enforcement which he falsely supposed they expected. He might,
therefore, have remained on the spot, in order to execute some other
enterprise, when he should be re-enforced in his turn, for General
Amherst no sooner heard of his disaster than he returned with the troops
from Cape Breton to New England, having left a strong garrison in
Louisburg,"--Smollett's _History of England_, vol. iv., p. 309; Smith's
_History of Canada_, vol. i., p. 265.
"The British army, still amounting to nearly 14,000 men, greatly
outnumbered the enemy; and if the artillery had been brought up to their
assistance, might have overpowered with little difficulty the French and
their defenses at Ticonderoga. Next to the defeat of Braddock, this was
the most disgraceful catastrophe that had befallen the arms of Britain
in America."--Graham's _History of the United States_, vol. iv., p. 32.]
[Footnote 135: Letter from the Earl of Bute to Mr. Pitt:
"August 20, 1751.
"MY DEAR FRIEND--I feel most sensibly this cruel reverse, and the loss
of so many gallant men; but when I reflect on the part they have acted,
I congratulate my country and my friend on the revival of that spirit
which in former times was so conspicuous in this island. I think this
check, my dear Pitt, affects you too strongly. The general (!!) and the
troops have done their duty, and appear by the numbers lost to have
fought with the greatest intrepidity; to have tried all that men could
do to force their way. The commander seems broken-hearted at being
forced (!!) to a retreat.
"Adieu, my dear Pitt, your ever most affectionate
"BUTE."
--_Chatham Correspondence_, vol. i., p. 336.]
[Footnote 136: "Thus does history transmit the virtues of one age to
another, and thus does it hold forth warning of shame."--Bolingbroke.]
[Footnote 137: See Appendix, No. LXVII.]
[Footnote 138: "M. de Courcelers originated the design of building the
fort at Catarocouy, but, being recalled before it could be carried into
execution, M. de Frontenac carried out his plans in 1672, and gave his
name to the fort. Lake Ontario also, for a long time afterward bore the
name of Frontenac."--Charlevoix, tom. ii., p. 245.
"This fort was rebuilt by Frontenac in 1695, against the orders of M. de
Pontchartrain. The after importance of this celebrated position fully
justified Frontenac's opposition to the wishes of the French minister.
The connection between Canada and Louisiana mainly depended upon the
possession of Fort Frontenac, as was manifest upon its loss by the
French. Kingston stands on the site of old Fort Frontenac; next to
Quebec and Halifax, it is considered the strongest military position in
British America."--_Picturesque Tourist_, p. 222.]
[Footnote 139: Extract of a letter from an officer in Albany to a member
of Parliament here (London), dated Sept. 13, 1758: "Frontenac (called
here Cadaraque) was of great consequence to the French, both as to their
influence on the Indians, by keeping up a communication between Fort du
Quesne and Canada, and annoying us on the Mohawk River.... Colonel
Bradstreet is a captain in our regiment.... He is a man of great spirit
and activity; has been most of his life in this country, and understands
things very well.... Col. Bradstreet has been near three years pressing
the commanding general in North America to let him go against this fort,
but they thought the undertaking too desperate, which he has now
accomplished without the loss of a man, and at a very critical
juncture.... Thus the French expedition against the German Flats, and
probably this very town, is happily prevented; their shipping on the
Lake Ontario, which made them so formidable, is destroyed; they have no
vessels to send provisions into the other forts, and their fort, which
kept the Indians so much in their interest, is destroyed; and the Six
Nations (who, all but the Mohawks, would have left us) will now be more
in our interest than ever. The taking of Frontenac gave more joy to the
inhabitants of this place than even Louisburg itself, for it more nearly
concerned them, and they say there will be now no more scalping."--_The
Public Advertiser_, Jan. 20, 1759.]
[Footnote 140: Extract of a letter from New York, dated Nov. 20, 1758:
"Our army is gone into winter quarters, and I hope, when we make an
attack again, to succeed; but we must first have more regulars from
England. Our militia are not fit for a campaign. Our English soldiers
will kill ten Provincials in point of fatigue. The affair of Colonel
Bradstreet was a brave thing for us, but not one in five could go
through that tiresome affair; for, after the place was taken, they
buried thirty and forty in a day at Schenectady."--_The Public
Advertiser_, Feb. 3, 1759.]
[Footnote 141: "The village of Rome, fourteen miles west of Utica, is
situated near the head waters of the Mohawk: it stands on the site of
old Fort Stanwix, which was an important post during the Revolutionary
and French wars."--_Picturesque Tourist_, p. 139.]
[Footnote 142: "Several soldiers of this and other regiments fell into
an ambush, and were captured by the Indians. Allan Macpherson, seeing
his comrades horribly tortured to death, and knowing that the same fate
awaited him, told the savages, through an interpreter, that he knew a
wonderful secret of a certain medicine, which, if applied to the skin,
would render it proof against any weapon. His tale was believed by the
superstitious Indians, and, anxious to see the proof, they allowed him
to gather herbs, and, having mixed and boiled them, to apply the
concoction to his neck; he then laid his head upon a block, and
challenged the strongest man to strike. A warrior came forward, and, to
prove the virtue of the medicine, struck a blow with his tomahawk at
full strength; the head flew off several yards. The Indians stood at
first amazed at their own credulity, but were afterward so pleased at
the Highlander's ingenuity in escaping the torture, that they refrained
from inflicting further cruelties on their surviving victims."--Stewart's
_Sketches of the Highlanders_, vol. ii., p. 61.
Some of the Highland regiments sent to America were newly raised, and
still, in a great degree, retained the wildness of their Celtic
countrymen, as the following anecdote illustrates: "A soldier of another
regiment, who was a sentinel detached from an advanced guard, seeing a
man coming out of the wood with his hair hanging loose, and wrapped up
in a dark-colored plaid, he challenged him repeatedly, and, receiving no
answer (the weather being hazy), fired at him and killed him. The guard
being alarmed, the sergeant ran out to know the cause, and the unhappy
sentinel, strongly prepossessed that it was an Indian, with a blanket
about him, who came skulking to take a prisoner, or a scalp, cried out,
'I have killed an Indian! I have killed an Indian!' but upon being
undeceived by the sergeant, who went to take a view of the dead man, and
being told that he was one of our own men and a Highlander, he was so
oppressed with grief and fright that he fell ill, and was despaired of
for some days. In consequence of this accident, most of these young
soldiers being raw and inexperienced, and very few of them conversant in
or able to talk English (which was particularly his case who was
killed), these regiments were ordered to do no more duty for some
time."--Knox's _Historical Campaign_, vol. i., p. 48.]
[Footnote 143: Raystown is near Bedford.]
[Footnote 144: Loyal Hanning, when fortified by General Forbes, on his
return to Philadelphia, was called Fort Ligonier.]
[Footnote 145: "With the unanimous concurrence of his officers, he
altered the name of Fort du Quesne to Pittsburg, a well-earned
compliment to the minister who had planned its conquest."--Lord Mahon's
_History of England_, vol. iv., p. 203.]
[Footnote 146: "New York, Dec. 13. Early on Monday last an express
arrived hither from the westward, and brought sundry letters which gave
an account that General Forbes was in possession of Fort du Quesne; one
of those letters said: 'Fort du Quesne, Nov. 26, 1756. I have now the
pleasure to write to you from the ruins of the fort.... We arrived at
six o'clock last night, and found it in a great measure destroyed. There
are two forts about twenty yards distant; the one built with immense
labor, small, but a great deal of strong works collected into little
room, and stands at the point of a narrow neck of land at the confluence
of the two rivers: it is square, and has two ravelins, gabions at each
corner, &c. The other fort stands on the bank of the Allegany, in the
form of a parallelogram, but not near so strong as the other. They
sprung a mine, which ruined one of their magazines; in the other we
found sixteen barrels of ammunition, &c., and about a cart-load of
scalping-knives. A boy, who had been their prisoner about two years,
tells us ... that they had burned five of the prisoners they took at
Major Grant's defeat, on the parade, and had delivered others to the
Indians, who were tomahawked on the spot. We found numbers of dead
bodies within a quarter of a mile of the fort, unburied, so many
monuments of French humanity. Mr. Bates is appointed to preach a
thanksgiving sermon for the remarkable superiority of his majesty's
arms. We left all our tents at Loyal Hanning, and every conveniency,
except a blanket and a knapsack.' Another letter mentions that 'only
2500 picked men marched from Loyal Hanning ... that 200 of our people
were to be left at Fort du Quesne, now Pittsburg--100 of the oldest
Virginians, the others of our oldest Pennsylvanians.... The French
judged rightly in abandoning a fort, the front of whose polygon is only
150 feet, and which our shells would have destroyed in three days. We
have fired some howitzer shells into the face of the work, which is made
of nine-inch plank, and rammed between with earth, and found that, in
firing but a few hours, we must have destroyed the entire face."--_The
Public Advertiser_, Jan. 20, 1757.]
[Footnote 147: "He was a person of slender abilities, and utterly devoid
of energy and resolution, and Pitt too late regretted the error he had
committed in intrusting a command of such importance to one so little
known to him, and who proved so unfit to sustain it."--Graham, vol. IV.,
p. 19.]
[Footnote 148: "It was a circumstance additionally irritating and
mortifying to England, that the few advantages which had been gained
over the French were exclusively due to the colonial troops, while
unredeemed disaster and disgrace had attended all the efforts of the
British forces (1757)."--Graham's _Hist. of the United States_, vol.
iv., p. 16.]
[Footnote 149: Graham, in his "History," falls into the mistake of
supposing that Lord John Murray commanded the 42d regiment, because it
bore his name.]