_Mr. Pitt and Mr. Legge taken into the Administration.....
Obliged to resign..... Restored to their Employments.....
Coalition of Parties..... Descent on the Coast of France
meditated..... Command of the Fleet given to Sir Edward
Hawke, and of the Land-Forces to Sir John. Mordaunt.....
Fleet sails September 8..... Admiral Knowles sent to take
Aix..... Attack and Surrender of Aix..... A Descent resolved
on..... The Fleet returns to Spithead..... His Majesty
appoints a Board of Inquiry into the Reasons of the Fleet’s
Return..... Proceedings of the Court of Inquiry..... Its
Report..... Sir John Mordaunt tried by a Court-Martial, and
acquitted..... Fleets sent to the East and West Indies.....
Success of the English Privateers..... Riots occasioned by
the Price of Corn..... Operations in America..... Lord
Loudon’s Conduct in America..... Fort William-Henry taken
by the French..... Naval Transactions in America.....
Attempt of M. de Kersin on Cape Coast Castle in Africa.....
State of Affairs in the East Indies..... Calcutta
recovered..... The Suba’s Camp forced, and a new Treaty
concluded with him..... Reduction, of Chandernagore.....
Colonel Clive defeats the Suba at Plaissey, who is
afterwards deposed and put to Death..... King of France
assassinated..... Tortures inflicted on the Assassin.....
Changes in the French Ministry..... State of the Confederacy
against the King of Prussia..... Precautions taken by his
Prussian Majesty..... Skirmishes between the Prussians and
Austrians..... Neutrality of the Emperor, and Behaviour of the
Dutch..... The French take Possession of several Towns in
the Low Countries belonging to the King of Prussia.....
Declaration of the Czarina against the King of Prussia.....
Factions in Poland..... Fruitless Endeavours of the English
to restore the Tranquillity of Germany..... King of Prussia
enters Bohemia..... Prince of Bevern defeats the Austrians
at Richenberg..... King of Prussia obtains a complete
Victory over the Austrians near Prague..... Mareschal
Schwerin killed..... Prague invested..... and bombarded.....
Brave defence of the Besieged..... Count Daun takes the Command
of the Austrian Army..... His Character..... King of Prussia
defeated at Kolin..... He raises the Siege of Prague, and
quits Bohemia..... Preparations for the Defence of
Hanover..... The allied Army assembles under the Duke of
Cumberland..... Skirmishes with the French..... Duke of
Cumberland passes the Weser..... The French follow him, and
take Minden and Emden, and lay Hanover under
Contribution..... Battle of Hastenbeck..... The French take
Hamelen..... Duke de Richelieu supersedes Mareschal d’Etrées
in the Command of the French Army..... The French take
Possession of Hanover and Hesse-Cassel..... and reduce
Verden and Bremen..... Duke of Cumberland signs the
Convention of Closter-Seven_
{1757}
MR. PITT AND MR. LEGGE TAKEN INTO THE ADMINISTRATION.
Though the parliament of Great Britain unanimously concurred in
strengthening the hands of government for a vigorous prosecution of the
war, those liberal supplies had like to have proved ineffectual through
a want of harmony in her councils. In the course of the last year
the clamorous voice of dissatisfaction had been raised by a series
of disappointments and miscarriages, which were imputed to want of
intelligence, sagacity, and vigour in the administration. The defeat of
Braddock, the reduction of Oswego, and other forts in America, the delay
of armaments, the neglect of opportunities, ineffectual cruises, absurd
dispositions of fleets and squadrons, the disgrace in the Mediterranean,
and the loss of Minorca, were numbered among the misfortunes that flowed
from the crude designs of a weak dispirited ministry; and the prospect
of their acquiescing in a continental war brought them still farther
in contempt and detestation with the body of the people. In order to
conciliate the good-will of those whom their conduct had disobliged, to
acquire a fresh stock of credit with their fellow-subjects, and remove
from their own shoulders part of what future censure might ensue, they
admitted into a share of the administration a certain set of gentlemen,
remarkable for their talents and popularity, headed by Mr. Pitt and
Mr. Legge, esteemed the two most illustrious patriots of Great Britain,
alike distinguished and admired for their unconquerable spirit and
untainted integrity. The former of these was appointed secretary of
state, and the other chancellor of the exchequer; and their friends were
vested with other honourable though subordinate offices.
So far the people were charmed with the promotion of individuals, upon
whose virtues and abilities they had the most perfect reliance; but
these new ingredients would never thoroughly mix with the old leaven.
The administration became an emblem of the image that Nebuchadnezzar
saw in his dream, the leg was of iron, and the foot was of clay. The
old junta found their new associates very unfit for their purposes. They
could neither persuade, cajole, nor intimidate them into measures which
they thought repugnant to the true interest of their country. The new
ministers combated in council every such plan, however patronised; they
openly opposed in parliament every design which they deemed unworthy of
the crown, or prejudicial to the people, even though distinguished by
the predilection of the sovereign. Far from bargaining for their places,
and surrendering their principles by capitulation, they maintained
in office their independency and candour with the most vigilant
circumspection, and seemed determined to show, that he is the best
minister to the sovereign who acts with the greatest probity towards the
subject. Those who immediately surrounded the throne were supposed to
have concealed the true characters of these faithful servants from the
knowledge of their royal master; to have represented them as obstinate,
imperious, ignorant, and even lukewarm in their loyalty; and to have
declared, that with such colleagues it would be impossible to move the
machine of government according to his majesty’s inclination. These
suggestions, artfully inculcated, produced the desired effect: on the
ninth day of April, Mr. Pitt, by his majesty’s command, resigned the
seals of secretary of state for the southern department. In the room of
Mr. Legge, the king was pleased to grant the office of chancellor of the
exchequer to the right honourable lord Mansfield, chief-justice of the
court of king’s bench, the same personage whom we have mentioned before
under the name of Mr. Murray, solicitor-general, now promoted and
ennobled for his extraordinary merit and important services. The fate
of Mr. Pitt was extended to some of his principal friends: the board of
admiralty was changed, and some other removals were made with the same
intention.
What was intended as a disgrace to Mr. Pitt and Mr. Legge turned out one
of the most shining circumstances of their characters. The whole nation
seemed to rise up, as one man, in the vindication of their fame; every
mouth was opened in their praise; and a great number of respectable
cities and corporations presented them with the freedom of their
respective societies, enclosed in gold boxes of curious workmanship, as
testimonies of their peculiar veneration. What the people highly
esteem, they in a manner idolize. Not contented with making offerings
so flattering and grateful to conscious virtue, they conceived the
most violent prejudices against those gentlemen who succeeded in the
administration; fully convinced, that the same persons who had sunk the
nation in the present distressful circumstances, who had brought on her
dishonour, and reduced her to the verge of destruction, were by no means
the fit instruments of her delivery and redemption. The whole kingdom
caught fire at the late changes; nor could the power, the cunning, and
the artifice of a faction, long support itself against the united voice
of Great Britain, which soon pierced the ears of the sovereign. It was
not possible to persuade the people that salutary measures could be
suggested or pursued, except by the few, whose zeal for the honour of
their country, and steady adherence to an upright disinterested conduct,
had secured their confidence, and claimed their veneration. A great
number of addresses, dutifully and loyally expressed, solicited the
king, ever ready to meet half-way the wishes of his faithful people, to
restore Mr. Pitt and Mr. Legge to their former employments. Upon this
they rested the security and honour of the nation, as well as the
public expectation of the speedy and successful issue of a war, hitherto
attended with disgraces and misfortunes. Accordingly, his majesty was
graciously pleased to redeliver the seals to Mr. Pitt, appointing him
secretary of state for the southern department, on the twenty-ninth day
of June; and, five days after, the office of chancellor of the
exchequer was restored to Mr. Legge; promotions that afforded universal
satisfaction.
COALITION OF PARTIES.
It would not, perhaps, be possible to exclude, from a share in the
administration, all who were not perfectly agreeable to the people:
however unpopular the late ministry might appear, still they possessed
sufficient influence in the privy-council, and credit in the house
of commons, to thwart every measure in which they did not themselves
partake. This consideration, and very recent experience, probably
dictated the necessity I of a coalition, salutary in itself, and
prudent, because it was the only means of assuaging the rage of faction,
and healing those divisions, more pernicious to the public than the most
mistaken and blundering councils. Sir Robert Henley was made lord-keeper
of the great seal, and sworn of his majesty’s privy-council, on the
thirteenth day of June; the custody of the privy-seal was committed to
earl Temple; his grace the duke of Newcastle, Mr. Legge, Mr.
Nugent, lord viscount Dun-cannon, and Mr. Grenville, were appointed
commissioners for executing the office of treasurer to his majesty’s
exchequer. Lord Anson, admirals Boscawen and Forbes, Dr. Hay, Mr. West,
Mr. Hunter, and Mr. Elliot, to preside at the board of admiralty; Mr.
Fox was gratified with the office of receiver and paymaster-general of
all his majesty’s guards, garrisons, and land-forces; and the earl of
Thomond was made treasurer of the king’s household, and sworn of his
majesty’s privy-council. Other promotions likewise took place, with a
design to gratify the adherents of either party; and so equally was
the royal favour distributed, that the utmost harmony for a long time
subsisted. Ingredients, seemingly heterogeneous, consolidated into one
uniform mass, so as to produce effects far exceeding the most sanguine
expectations; and this prudent arrangement proved displeasing only
to those whom violent party attachment had inspired with a narrow and
exclusive spirit.
DESCENT ON THE COAST OF FRANCE MEDITATED.
The accumulated losses and disappointments of the preceding year, made
it absolutely necessary to retrieve the credit of the British arms and
councils by some vigorous and spirited enterprise, which should, at
the same time, produce some change in the circumstances of his Prussian
majesty, already depressed by the repulse at Kolin, and in danger of
being attacked by the whole power of France, now ready to fall upon
him, like a torrent, which had so lately swept before it the army of
observation, now on the brink of disgrace. A well-planned and vigorous
descent on the coast of France, it was thought, would probably give a
decisive blow to the marine of that kingdom, and at the same time effect
a powerful diversion in favour of the Prussian monarch and the duke of
Cumberland, driven from all his posts in the electorate of Hanover, by
drawing a part of the French forces to the defence and protection of
their own coasts. Both were objects of great concern, upon which the
sovereign and ministry were sedulously bent. His royal highness the
duke, in a particular manner, urged the necessity of some enterprise of
this nature, as the only expedient to obviate the shameful convention
now in agitation. The ministry foresaw, that, by destroying the enemy’s
shipping, all succours would be cut off from America, whither they were
daily transporting troops; the British commerce secured, without those
convoys so inconvenient to the board of admiralty, and to the merchants;
and those ideal fears of an invasion, that had in some measure affected
the public credit, wholly dispelled.
COMMAND OF THE FLEET GIVEN TO SIR EDWARD HAWKE, &c.
From these considerations, a powerful fleet was ordered to be got in
readiness to put to sea on the shortest notice, and ten regiments of
foot were marched to the Isle of Wight. The naval armament, consisting
of eighteen ships of the line, besides frigates, fireships,
bomb-ketches, and transports, was put under the command of sir Edward
Hawke, an officer whose faithful services recommended him, above all
others, to this command; and rear-admiral Knowles was appointed his
subaltern. Sir John Mordaunt was preferred to take the command of the
land-forces: and both strictly enjoined to act with the utmost unanimity
and harmony. Europe beheld with astonishment these mighty preparations.
The destination of the armament was wrapped in the most profound
secrecy: it exercised the penetration of politicians, and filled France
with very serious alarms. Various were the impediments which obstructed
the embarkation of the troops for several weeks, while Mr. Pitt
expressed the greatest uneasiness at the delay, and repeatedly urged the
commander-in-chief to expedite his departure; but a sufficient number
of transports, owing to some blunder in the contractors, had not
yet arrived. The troops expressed an eager impatience to signalize
themselves against the enemies of the liberties of Europe; but the
superstitious drew unfavourable presages from the dilatoriness of the
embarkation. At last the transports arrived, the troops were put on
board with all expedition, and the fleet got under sail on the eighth
day of September, attended with the prayers of every man warmed with the
love of his country, and solicitous for her honour. The public, big with
expectation, dubious where the stroke would fall, but confident of its
success, were impatient for tidings from the fleet; but it was not till
the fourteenth, that even the troops on board began to conjecture that
a descent was meditated on the coast of France, near Rochefort or
Rochelle.
ADMIRAL KNOWLES SENT TO TAKE AIX.
On the twentieth, the fleet made the isle of Oleron, and then sir Edward
Hawke sent an order to vice-admiral Knowles, requiring him, if the wind
permitted the fleet, to proceed to Basque road, to stand in as near to
the isle of Aix as the pilot would carry him, with such ships of his
division as he thought necessary for the service, and to batter the
fort till the garrison should either abandon or surrender it. But the
immediate execution of this order was frustrated by a French ship of
war standing in to the very middle of the fleet, and continuing in that
station for some time before she discovered her mistake, or any of the
captains had a signal thrown out to give chase. Admiral Knowles, when
too late, ordered the Magnanime, captain Howe, and Torbay, captain
Keppel, on that service, and thereby retarded the attack upon which he
was immediately sent. A stroke of policy greatly to be admired, as
from hence he gained time to assure himself of the strength of the
fortifications of Aix, before he ran his majesty’s ships into danger.
ATTACK AND SURRENDER OF AIX.
While the above ships, with the addition of the Royal William, were
attending the French ship of war safe into the river Garonne, the
remainder of the fleet was beating to windward off the isle of Oleron;
and the commander-in-chief publishing orders and regulations which did
credit to his judgment, and would have been highly useful, had there
ever been occasion to put them in execution. On the twenty-third the van
of the fleet, led by captain Howe in the Magnanime, stood towards Aix, a
small island situated in the mouth of the river Charente, leading up
to Rochefort, the fortifications half finished, and mounted with about
thirty cannon and mortars, the garrison composed of six hundred men,
and the whole island about five miles in circumference. As the Magnanime
approached, the enemy fired briskly upon her; but captain Howe,
regardless of their faint endeavours, kept on his course without
flinching, dropping his anchors close to the walls, and poured in so
incessant a fire as soon silenced their artillery. It was, however, near
an hour before the fort struck, when some forces were landed to take
possession of so important a conquest, with orders to demolish the
fortifications, the care of which was intrusted to vice-admiral Knowles.
Inconsiderable as this success might appear, it greatly elated the
troops, and was deemed a happy omen of further advantages; but, instead
of embarking the troops that night, as was universally expected, several
successive days were spent in councils of war, soundings of the coast,
and deliberations whether the king’s express orders were practicable, or
to be complied with. Eight days were elapsed since the first appearance
of the fleet on the coast, and the alarm was given to the enemy. Sir
Edward Hawke, indeed, proposed laying a sixty gun ship against Fouras,
and battering that fort, which it was thought would help to secure the
landing of the troops, and facilitate the enterprise on Rochefort. This
a French pilot on board, Thierry, undertook; but after a ship had
been lighted for the purpose, vice-admiral Knowles reported, that a
bomb-ketch had run a-ground at above the distance of two miles from the
fort; upon which the project of battering or bombarding the fort was
abandoned. The admiral likewise proposed to bombard Koch elle; but this
overture was over-ruled, for reasons which we need not mention. It was
at length determined, in a council of war held on the eighth, to make a
descent, and attack the forts leading to and upon the mouth of the river
Charente. An order, in consequence of this resolution, was immediately
issued for the troops to be ready to embark from the transports in the
boats precisely at twelve o’clock at night. Accordingly the boats were
prepared and filled with the men at the time appointed, and now they
remained beating against each other, and the sides of the ships, for the
space of four hours, while the council were determining whether, after
all the trouble given, they should land; when at length an order was
published for the troops to return to their respective transports, and
all thoughts of a descent, to appearance, were wholly abandoned.
The succeeding days were employed in blowing up and demolishing the
fortifications of Aix; after which, the land officers, in a council
of war, took the final resolution of returning to England without any
further attempts, fully satisfied they had done all in their power to
execute the designs of the ministry, and choosing rather to oppose the
frowns of an angry sovereign, the murmurs of an incensed nation, and the
contempt of mankind, than fight a handful of dastardly militia. Such was
the issue of an expedition that raised the expectations of all Europe,
threw the coasts of France into the utmost confusion, and cost the
people of England little less than a million of money.
THE FLEET RETURNS TO SPITHEAD.
The fleet was no sooner returned than the whole nation was in a ferment.
The public expectation had been wound up to the highest pitch, and now
the disappointment was proportioned to the sanguine hopes conceived,
that the pride of France would have been humbled by so formidable an
armament. The ministry, and with them the national voice, exclaimed
against the commanding officers, and the military men retorted the
calumny by laying the blame on the projectors of the enterprise, who had
put the nation to great expense before they had obtained the necessary
information. Certain it was, that blame must fall somewhere, and the
ministry resolved to acquit themselves and fix the accusation, by
requesting his majesty to appoint a board of officers of character and
ability, to inquire into the causes of the late miscarriage. This
alone it was that could appease the public clamours, and afford
general satisfaction. The enemies of Mr. Pitt endeavoured to wrest the
miscarriage of the expedition to his prejudice, but the whispers of
faction were soon drowned in the voice of the whole people of England,
who never could persuade themselves that a gentleman raised to
the height of power and popularity by mere dint of superior merit,
integrity, and disinterestedness, would now sacrifice his reputation
by a mock armament, or hazard incurring the derision of Europe, by
neglecting to obtain all the necessary previous information, or doing
whatever might contribute to the success of the expedition. It was
asked, Whether reason or justice dictated, that a late unfortunate
admiral should be capitally punished for not trying and exerting his
utmost ability to relieve fort St. Philip, invested by a powerful army,
and surrounded with a numerous fleet, while no charge of negligence or
cowardice was brought against those who occasioned the miscarriage of
a well-concerted and well-appointed expedition? The people, they
said, were not to be quieted with the resolutions of a council of war,
composed of men whose inactivity might frame excuses for declining
to expose themselves to danger. It was publicly mentioned, that such
backwardness appeared among the general officers before the fleet
reached the isle of Oleron, as occasioned the admiral to declare, with
warmth, that he would comply with his orders, and go into Basque-road,
whatever might be the consequence. It was asked, Why the army did not
land on the night of the twenty-third or twenty-fourth, and whether the
officers sent out to reconnoitre, had returned with such intelligence
as seemed to render a descent impracticable? It was asked, Whether the
commander-in-chief had complied with his majesty’s orders, “To attempt,
as far as should be found practicable, a descent on the coast of France,
at or near Rochefort, in order to attack, and, by a vigorous impression,
force that place; and to burn and destroy, to the utmost of his power,
all docks, magazines, arsenals, and shipping, as shall be found there?”
Such rumours as these, everywhere propagated, rendered an inquiry no
less necessary to the reputation of the officers on the expedition, than
to the minister who had projected it. Accordingly, a board consisting
of three officers of rank, reputation, and ability, was appointed by
his majesty, to inquire into the reasons why the fleet returned without
having executed his majesty’s orders.
The three general officers, who met on the twenty-first of the
same month, were, Charles duke of Marlborough, lieutenant-general,
major-generals lord George Sackville and John Waldegrave. To judge of
the practicability of executing his majesty’s orders, it was necessary
to inquire into the nature of the intelligence upon which the expedition
was projected. The first and most important was a letter sent to sir
John, afterwards lord Ligonier, by lieutenant-colonel Clark.. This
letter had been frequently examined in the privy-council, and contained,
in substance, that colonel Clark, in returning from Gibraltar, in the
year one thousand-seven hundred and fifty four, had travelled along the
western coast of France, to observe the condition of the fortifications,
and judge how far a descent would be practicable, in case of a rupture
between Great Britain and France. On his coming to Rochefort, where he
was attended by an engineer, he was surprised to find the greatest
part of a good rampart, with a revetment, flanked only with redans;
no outworks, no covered-way, and in many places no ditch, so that the
bottom of the wall was seen at a distance. He remembered, that in other
places, where the earth had been taken out to form the rampart, there
was left around them a considerable height of ground, whence an enemy
might draw a great advantage; that for above the length of a front, or
two or three hundred yards, there was no rampart, or even intrenchment,
but only small ditches, in the low and marshy grounds next the river,
which, however, were dry at low water, yet the bottom remained muddy
and slimy. Towards the river, no rampart, no batteries, no parapet, on
either side appeared, and on the land-side he observed some high ground
within the distance of one hundred and fifty or two hundred yards of
the town; in which condition, the colonel was told by the engineer, the
place had remained for above seventy years. To prevent giving umbrage,
he drew no plan of the place, and even burnt the few sketches he had
by him: however, as to utility, the colonel declared himself as much
satisfied as if he had taken a plan. He could not ascertain the direct
height of the rampart, but thought it could not exceed twenty-five feet,
including the parapet. The river might be about one hundred and thirty
feet broad, and the entrance defended by two or three small redoubts. As
to forces, none are ever garrisoned at Eochefort, except marines, which
at the time the colonel was on the spot amounted to about one thousand.
This was the first intelligence the ministry received of the state of
Rochefort, which afforded sufficient room to believe, that an attack
by surprise might be attended with happy consequences. It was true
that colonel Clark made his observations in time of peace; but it was
likewise probable that no great alterations were made on account of the
war, as the place had remained in the same condition during the two or
three last wars with France, when they had the same reasons as now to
expect their coasts would be insulted. The next information was obtained
from Joseph Thierry, a French pilot, of the protestant religion, who
passed several examinations before the privy-council. This person
declared, that he had followed the business of a pilot on the coast
of France for the space of twenty years, and served as first pilot in
several of the king’s ships; that he had, in particular, piloted the
Magnanime, before she was taken by the English, for about twenty-two
months, and had often conducted her into the road of the isle of Aix;
and that he was perfectly acquainted with the entrance, which indeed is
so easy as to render a pilot almost unnecessary. The road, he said,
afforded good anchorage in twelve or fourteen fathoms water, as far as
Bayonne; the channel between the islands of Oleron and Rhé was three
leagues broad, and the banks necessary to be avoided lay near the land,
except one called the Board, which is easily discerned by the breakers.
He affirmed, that the largest vessels might draw up close to the fort of
Aix, which he would undertake the Magnanime alone should destroy; that
the largest ships might come up to the Vigerot, two miles distant from
the mouth of the river, with all their cannon and stores; that men might
be landed to the north of fort Fouras, out of sight of the fort, upon a
meadow where the ground is firm and level, under cover of the cannon
of the fleet. This landing-place he reckoned at about five miles from
Rochefort, the way dry, and no way intercepted by ditches and morasses.
He said, great part of the city was encompassed by a wall; but towards
the river, on both sides, for about sixty paces, it was enclosed only
with pallisadoes, without a fosse. To the intelligence of colonel
Clark and Thierry, the minister added a secret account obtained of
the strength and distribution of the French forces, whence it appeared
highly probable that no more than ten thousand men could be allowed
for the defence of the whole coast, from St. Valéry to Bourdeaux. In
consequence of the above information the secret expedition was planned;
instructions were given to sir John Mordaunt and admiral Hawke to make
a vigorous impression on the French coast, and all the other measures
projected, which, it was imagined, would make an effectual diversion,
by obliging the enemy to employ a great part of their forces at home,
disturb and shake the credit of their public loans, impair the strength
and resources of their navy, disconcert their extensive and dangerous
operations of war, and, finally, give life, strength, and lustre to the
common cause and his majesty’s arms. The board of inquiry took next into
consideration the several letters and explanatory instructions sent
to sir John Mordaunt, in consequence of some difficulties which might
possibly occur, stated by that general in letters to the minister,
previous to his sailing. Then they examined the report made to sir
Edward Hawke by admiral Broderick, and the captains of the men of war
sent to sound the French shore from Rochelle to fort Fouras, dated
September the twenty-ninth; the result of the councils af war on the
twenty-fifth and twenty-eighth; sir Edward Hawke’s letter to sir
John Mordaunt on the twenty-seventh, and the general’s answer on the
twenty-ninth: after which sir John Mordaunt was called upon to give
his reasons for not putting his majesty’s instructions and orders
into execution. This he did in substance as follows: the attempt on
Rochefort, he understood, was to have been on the footing of a _coup de
main_ or surprise, which it would be impossible to execute if the design
was discovered, or the alarm taken. He also understood that an attempt
could not be made, nay that his majesty did not require it should,
unless a proper place for debarking, and a safe retreat for the troops
was discovered, particularly where the ships could protect them; and a
safe communication with the fleet, and conveyance of supplies from it,
were found. His sentiments, he said, were confirmed by a paper to this
purpose, delivered to him by sir John Ligonier, on his first being
appointed to command the expedition. It was likewise probable, he
thought, that although Rochefort should have remained in the situation
in which colonel Clark and the pilot Thierry had seen it three years
before, yet that a few days’ preparation could make it sufficiently
defensible against a _coup de main_. Judging therefore the dependence
on such an operation alone improper, he applied to the ministry for two
more old battalions, and artillery for a regular attack to force the
place, which, from its construction, appeared as difficult to be made
defensible against the latter, as easily secured against the former.
But this request being refused, he still thought it his duty to obey his
orders on the footing on which the expedition was planned, especially
as he understood his instructions were discretionary, regarding the
circumstances of the time, the condition of the place, and the nature of
the service. He recited the positive and credible intelligence received,
as well before the embarkation as during the voyage, of the alarm given
to France, and the preparations made along the French coasts from Brest
and St. Maloes to Rochefort; the accidents that kept the fleet hovering
along the coasts, and prevented the possibility of an attempt by
surprise; the reports of all the gentlemen employed in sounding the
coasts, so contrary to the intelligence given by Thierry the pilot; the
opinion of the council of war, by which he was enjoined to act, and
with which his own judgment concurred; the endeavours used, after the
twenty-sixth, to find out some expedient for annoying the enemy and
executing his majesty’s instructions; the attempt made to land, in
consequence of the resolution of the second council of war, which was
prevented by boisterous and stormy weather; and lastly, the reasons that
determined him, in concert with the other land officers, to return to
England.
Having considered all these circumstances, and examined several officers
who served in the expedition, the court of inquiry gave in the following
report to his majesty:--“It appears to us, that one cause of the
expedition having failed is, the not attacking fort Fouras by sea, at
the same time that it could have been attacked by land, agreeably to
the first design, which certainly must have been of the greatest utility
towards carrying your majesty’s instructions into execution. It was at
first resolved by admiral Hawke; (Thierry, the pilot, having undertaken
the safe conduct of a ship to fort Fouras for that purpose), but
afterwards laid aside, upon the representation of vice-admiral Knowles,
that the Bar-fleur, the ship designed for that service, was a-ground,
at the distance of between four and five miles from the shore; but
as neither sir Edward Hawke nor the pilot could attend to give any
information upon that head, we cannot presume to offer any certain
opinion thereupon. We conceive another cause of the failure of the
expedition to have been, that, instead of attempting to land when
the report was received, on the twenty-fourth of September, from
rear-admiral Broderick, and the captains who had been out to sound and
reconnoitre, a council of war was summoned and held on the twenty-fifth,
in which it was unanimously resolved not to land, as the attempt on
Rochefort was neither advisable nor practicable; but it does not appear
to us that there were then or at any time afterwards, either a body of
troops or batteries on shore sufficient to have prevented the attempting
a descent, in pursuance of the instructions signed by your majesty;
neither does it appear to us that there were any reasons sufficient to
induce the council of war to believe that Rochefort was so changed in
respect to its strength, or posture of defence, since the expedition was
first resolved on in England, as to prevent all attempts of an attack
upon the place, in order to burn and destroy the docks, magazines,
arsenals, and shipping, in obedience to your majesty’s command. And
we think ourselves obliged to remark, in the council of war on the
twenty-eighth of September, that no reason could have existed sufficient
to prevent the attempt of landing the troops, as the council then
unanimously resolved to land with all possible despatch. We beg leave
also to remark, that after its being unanimously resolved to land, in
the council of war of the twenty-eighth of September, the resolution was
taken of returning to England, without any regular or general meeting of
the said council; but as the whole operation was of so inconsiderable a
nature, we do not offer this to your majesty as a cause of the failure
of the expedition; since we cannot but look upon the expedition to
have failed from the time the great object of it was laid aside in the
council of war of the twenty-fifth.”
{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}
SIR JOHN MORDAUNT TRIED BY A COURT-MARTIAL.
This report, signed by the general officers, Marlborough, Sackville, and
Waldegrave, probably laid the foundation for the court-martial which sat
soon after upon the conduct of the commander-in-chief of the expedition.
The enemies of the minister made a handle of the miscarriage to lessen
him in the esteem of the public, by laying the whole blame on his
forming a project so expensive to the nation, on intelligence not only
slight at the first view, but false upon further examination. But the
people were still his advocates; they discerned something mysterious in
the whole conduct of the commander-in-chief. They plainly perceived that
caution took the place of vigour, and that the hours for action were
spent in deliberations and councils of war. Had he debarked the troops,
and made such an attack as would have distinguished his courage, the
voice of the people would have acquitted him, however unsuccessful,
though prudence perhaps might have condemned him. Even Braddock’s
rashness they deemed preferable to Mor-daunt’s inactivity: the loss of
so many brave lives was thought less injurious and disgraceful to
the nation, than the too safe return of the present armament. The one
demonstrated that the British spirit still existed; the other seemed to
indicate the too powerful influence of wealth, luxury, and those manners
which tend to debauch and emasculate the mind. A public trial of the
commander-in-chief was expected by the people, and it was graciously
granted by his majesty. It is even thought that Sir John Mordaunt
himself demanded to have his conduct scrutinized, by which method alone
he was sensible his character could be re-established. His majesty’s
warrant for holding a court-martial was accordingly signed on the third
day of December. The court was composed of nine lieutenant-generals,
nine major-generals, and three colonels, who sat on the fourteenth, and
continued by several adjournments to the twentieth. Lieutenant-general
Sir John Mordaunt came prisoner before the court, and the following
charge was exhibited against him; namely, that he being appointed,
by the king, commander-in-chief of his majesty’s forces sent on an
expedition to the coast of France, and having received orders and
instructions relative thereto, from his majesty, under his royal
sign-manual, and also by one of his principal secretaries of state, had
disobeyed his majesty’s said orders and instructions. The proceedings
of this court were nearly similar to those of the court of inquiry. The
same evidences were examined, with the addition of sir Edward Hawke’s
deposition; and a defence, differing in no essential point from the
former, made by the prisoner; but the judgment given was clear and
explicit. Sir John Mordaunt was unanimously found Not Guilty, and
therefore acquitted, while the public opinion remained unaltered, and
many persons inveighed as bitterly against the lenity of the present
court-martial, as they had formerly against the severity of the sentence
passed upon a late unfortunate admiral. The evidence of one gentleman
in particular drew attention: he was accused of tergiversation, and
of showing that partial indulgence which his own conduct required.
He publicly defended his character: his performance was censured, and
himself dismissed the service of his sovereign.
FLEETS SENT TO THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
Besides the diversion intended by a descent on the coast of France,
several other methods were employed to amuse the enemy, as well as
to protect the trade of the kingdom, secure our colonies in the West
Indies, and ensure the continuance of the extraordinary success which
had lately blessed his majesty’s arms in the East Indies; but these we
could not mention before without breaking the thread of our narration.
On the ninth of February, admiral West sailed with a squadron of men
of war to the westward, as did admiral Coates with the fleet under his
convoy to the West Indies, and commodore Stevens with the trade to
the East Indies, in the month of March. Admiral Holbourn and commodore
Holmes, with eleven ships of the line, a fire-ship, bomb-ketch, and
fifty transports, sailed from St. Helen’s for America in April. The
admiral had on board six thousand two hundred effective men, exclusive
of officers, under the command of general Hopson, assisted by lord
Charles Hay. In May, admiral Osborne, who had been forced back to
Plymouth with his squadron by stress of weather, set sail for the
Mediterranean, as did two ships of war sent to convoy the American
trade.
In the meantime, the privateers fitted out by private merchants and
societies, greatly annoyed the French commerce. The Antigallican, a
private ship of war, equipped by a society of men who assumed that
name, took the duke de Penthievre Indiaman, off the part of Corunna,
and carried her into Cadiz. The prize was estimated worth two hundred
thousand pounds, and immediate application was made by France to
the court of Spain for restitution, while the proprietors of the
Anti-gallican were squandering in mirth, festivity, and riot, the
imaginary wealth so easily and unexpectedly acquired. Such were
the remonstrances made to his catholic majesty with respect to the
illegality of the prize, which the French East India company asserted
was taken within shot of a neutral port, that the Penthievre was first
violently wrested out of the hands of the captors, then detained as a
deposit, with sealed hatches, and a Spanish guard on board, till the
claims of both parties could be examined, and at last adjudged to be an
illegal capture, and consequently restored to the French, to the great
disappointment of the owners of the privateer. Besides the success which
attended a great number of other privateers, the lords of the admiralty
published a list of above thirty ships of war and privateers taken from
the enemy in the space of four mouths, by the English sloops and ships
of war, exclusive of the duke de Aquitaine Indiaman, now fitted out as
a ship of war, taken by the Eagle and Medway; the Pondicherry Indiaman,
valued at one hundred and sixty thousand pounds, taken by the Doverman
of war; and above six privateers brought into port by the diligent and
brave captain Lockhart, for which he was honoured with a variety of
presents of plate by several corporations, in testimony of their esteem
and regard. This run of good fortune was not, however, without some
retribution on the side of the enemy, who, out of twenty-one ships
homeward bound from Carolina, made prize of nineteen, whence the
merchants sustained considerable damage, and a great quantity of
valuable commodities, indigo in particular, was lost to this country.
RIOTS OCCASIONED BY THE HIGH PRICE OF CORN.
Notwithstanding the large imports of grain from different parts of
Europe and America, the artifice of engrossers still kept up the price
of corn. So incensed were the populace at the iniquitous combinations
entered into to frustrate the endeavours of the legislature, and to
oppress the poor, that they rose in a tumultuous manner in several
counties, sometimes to the number of five or six thousand, and seized
upon the grain brought to market. Nor was it indeed to be wondered
at, considering the distress to which many persons were reduced. The
difficulty of obtaining the necessaries of life, raised the price
of labour at the most unseasonable time, when all manufacturers were
overstocked for want of a proper market, which obliged them to dismiss
above half the hands before employed. Hence arose the most pitiable
condition of several thousands of useful industrious subjects; a
calamity attended only with one advantage to the public, namely, the
facility with which recruits were raised for his majesty’s service. At
last the plentiful crops with which it pleased Providence to bless
these kingdoms, the prodigious quantities of corn imported from foreign
countries, and the wise measures of the legislature, broke all the
villanous schemes set on foot by the forestallers and engrossers, and
reduced the price of corn to the usual standard. The public joy on this
occasion was greatly augmented by the safe arrival of the fleet from
the Leeward islands, consisting of ninety-two sail, and of the Straits
fleet, estimated worth three millions sterling, whereby the silk
manufacturers in particular were again employed, and their distresses
relieved. About the same time the India company was highly elated with
the joyful account of the safe arrival and spirited conduct of three of
their captains, attacked in their passage homewards by two French men
of war, one of sixty-four, the other of twenty-six guns. After a warm
engagement, which continued for three hours, they obliged the French
ships to sheer of, with scarce any loss on their own side. When the
engagement began, the captains had promised a reward of a thousand
pounds to the crews, by way of incitement to their valour; and the
company doubled the sum, in recompence of their fidelity and courage.
His majesty having taken into consideration the incredible damage
sustained by the commerce of these kingdoms, for want of proper harbours
and forts on the western coast to receive and protect merchantmen,
was graciously pleased to order, that a temporary security should be
provided for the shipping which might touch at Milford-haven, until
the fortifications voted in parliament could be erected. How far his
majesty’s directions were complied with, the number of merchant ships
taken by the enemy’s privateers upon that coast sufficiently indicated.
OPERATIONS IN AMERICA.
Whatever reasons the government had to expect the Campaign should be
vigorously pushed in America, almost every circumstance turned out
contrary to expectation. Not all the endeavours of the earl of Loudon
to quiet the dissensions among the different provinces, and to establish
unanimity and harmony, could prevail. Circumstances required that he
should act the part of a mediator, in order to raise the necessary
supplies for prosecuting the war, without which it was impossible he
could appear in the character of a general. The enemy, in the meantime,
were pursuing the blow given at Oswego, and taking advantage of the
distraction that appeared in the British councils. By their successes
in the preceding campaign, they remained masters of all the lakes. Hence
they were furnished with the means of practising on the Indians, in all
the different districts, and obliging them, by rewards, promises, and
menaces, to act in their favour. Every accession to their strength,
was a real diminution of that of the British commander; but then the
ignorance or pusillanimity of some of the inferior officers in our back
settlements was, in effect, more beneficial to the enemy than all the
vigilance and activity of Montcalm. In consequence of the shameful loss
of Oswego, they voluntarily abandoned to the mercy of the French general
the whole country of the Five Nations, the only body of Indians who had
inviolably performed their engagements, or indeed who had preserved any
sincere regard for the British government. The communication with these
faithful allies was now cut off, by the imprudent demolition of the
forts we possessed at the great Carrying-place. A strong fort indeed
was built at Winchester, and called fort Loudon, after the
commander-in-chief, and four hundred Cherokee Indians joined the
English forces at fort Cumberland; but this reinforcement by no means
counterbalanced the losses sustained in consequence of our having
imprudently stopped up Wood-creek, and filled it with logs. Every person
the least acquainted with the country, readily perceived the weakness of
these measures, by which our whole frontier was left open and exposed to
the irruptions of the savages in the French interest, who would not fail
to profit by our blunders, too notorious to escape them. By the removal
of these barriers, a path was opened to our fine settlements on those
grounds called the German Flats, and along the Mohawk’s river, which the
enemy destroyed with fire and sword before the end of the campaign.
LORD LOUDON’S CONDUCT IN AMERICA.
In the meantime, lord Loudon was taking the most effectual steps
to unite the provinces, and raise a force sufficient to strike some
decisive blow. The attack on Crown-Point, which had been so long
meditated, was laid aside as of less importance than the intended
expedition to Louisbourg, now substituted in its place, and undoubtedly
a more considerable object in itself. Admiral Holbourn arrived at
Halifax, with the squadron and transports under his command, on the
ninth day of July; and it was his lordship’s intention to repair thither
with all possible diligence, in order to take upon him the command of
the expedition; but a variety of accidents interposed. It was with the
utmost difficulty he at length assembled a body of six thousand men,
with which he instantly began his march to join the troops lately
arrived from England. When the junction was effected, the whole forces
amounted to twelve thousand men; an army that raised great expectations.
Immediately some small vessels were sent out to examine and reconnoitre
the condition of the enemy, and the intermediate time was employed in
embarking the troops as soon as the transports arrived. The return
of the scouts totally altered the face of affairs: they brought the
unwelcome news, that M. de Bois de la Mothe, who sailed in the month of
May from Brest, with a large fleet of ships of war and transports, was
now safe at anchor in the harbour of Louisbourg. Their intelligence
AAras supported by the testimony of several deserters; yet still it
wanted confirmation, and many persons believed their account of the
enemy’s strength greatly magnified. Such advices, however, could not but
occasion extraordinary fluctuations in the councils of war at Halifax.
Some were for setting aside all thoughts of the expedition for that
season; while others, more warm in their dispositions, and sanguine in
their expectations, were for prosecuting it with vigour, in spite of
all dangers and difficulties. Their disputes were carried on with great
vehemence, when a packet bound from Louisbourg for France, was taken by
one of the English ships stationed at Newfoundland. She had letters on
board, which put the enemy’s superiority beyond all doubt, at least
by sea. It clearly appeared, there were at that time in Louisbourg six
thousand regular troops, three thousand natives, and one thousand three
hundred Indians, with seventeen ships of the line and three frigates
moored in the harbour; that the place was well supplied with ammunition,
provisions, and every kind of military stores; and that the enemy wished
for nothing more than an attack, which it was probable would terminate
to the disgrace of the assailants, and ruin of the British affairs
in America. The commanders at Halifax were fully apprized of the
consequences of an unsuccessful attempt; it was, therefore, almost
unanimously resolved to postpone the expedition to some more convenient
opportunity, especially as the season was now far advanced, which
alone would be sufficient to frustrate their endeavours, and render the
enterprise abortive. This resolution seems, indeed, to have been the
most eligible in their circumstances, whatever construction might
afterwards be given, with intention to prejudice the public against the
commander-in-chief.
FORT WILLIAM-HENRY TAKEN by the FRENCH.
Lord Loudon’s departure from New-York, with all the forces he was able
to collect, afforded the marquis de Montcalm the fairest occasion of
improving the successes of the former campaign. That general had, in the
very commencement of the season, made three different attacks on
fort William-Henry, in all of which he was repulsed by the vigour and
resolution of the garrison. But his disappointment here was balanced by
an advantage gained by a party of regulars and Indians at Ticonderoga.
Colonel John Parker, with a detachment of near four hundred men, went by
water, in whale and bay boats, to attack the enemy’s advanced guard at
that place. Landing at night on an island, he sent before dawn three
boats to the main land, which the enemy waylaid and took. Having
procured the necessary intelligence from the prisoners of the colonel’s
designs, they contrived their measures, placed three hundred men in
ambush behind the point where he proposed landing, and sent three
batteaux to the place of rendezvous. Colonel Parker mistaking these
for his own boats, eagerly put to shore, was surrounded by the enemy,
reinforced with four hundred men, and attacked with such impetuosity,
that, of the whole detachment, only two officers and seventy private
men escaped. Flushed with this advantage, animated by the absence of the
British commander-in-chief, then at Halifax, and fired with a desire to
revenge the disgrace he had lately sustained before fort Henry, Montcalm
drew together all his forces, with intention to lay siege to that place.
Fort William-Henry stands on the southern coast of Lake George; it was
built with a view to protect and cover the frontiers of the English
colonies, as well as to command the lake; the fortifications were good,
defended by a garrison of near three thousand men, and covered by an
army of four thousand, under the conduct of general Webb, posted at
no great distance. When the marquis de Montcalm had assembled all the
forces at Crown-Point, Ticonderoga, and the adjacent posts, together
with a considerable body of Canadians and Indians, amounting in the
whole to near ten thousand men, he marched directly to the fort,
made his approaches, and began to batter it with a numerous train of
artillery. On the very day he invested the place he sent a letter to
colonel Monro the governor, telling him, he thought himself obliged,
in humanity, to desire he would surrender the fort, and not provoke
the great number of savages in the French army by a vain resistance.
“A detachment of your garrison has lately,” say she, “experienced their
cruelty; I have it yet in my power to restrain them, and oblige them
to observe a capitulation, as none of them hitherto are killed. Your
persisting in the defence of your fort can only retard its fate a few
days, and must of necessity expose an unfortunate garrison, who can
possibly receive no relief, considering the precautions taken to prevent
it. I demand a decisive answer, for which purpose I have sent the sieur
Funtbrane, one of my aids-de-camp. You may credit what he will inform
you of, from Montcalm.” General Webb beheld his preparations with an
indifference and security bordering on infatuation. It is credibly
reported, that he had private-intelligence of all the French general’s
designs and motions; yet, either despising his strength, or discrediting
the information, he neglected collecting the militia in time; which, in
conjunction with his own forces, would probably have obliged Montcalm
to relinquish the attempt, or at least have rendered his success very
doubtful and hazardous. The enemy meeting with no disturbance from the
quarter they most dreaded, prosecuted the siege with vigour, and were
warmly received by the garrison, who fired with great spirit till
they had burst almost all their cannon, and expended their ammunition.
Neither Montcalm’s promises or threats could prevail upon them to
surrender, while they were in a condition to defend themselves, or could
reasonably expect assistance from general Webb. They even persisted to
hold out after prudence dictated they ought to surrender. Colonel Monro
was sensible of the importance of his charge, and imagined that general
Webb, though slow in his motions, would surely make some vigorous
efforts either to raise the siege, or force a supply of ammunition,
provisions, and other necessaries, into the garrison. At length
necessity obliged him, after sustaining a siege from the third to the
ninth day of August, to hang out a flag of truce, which was immediately
answered by the French commander. Hostages were exchanged, and articles
of capitulation signed by both parties. It was stipulated, that the
garrison of fort William-Henry, and the troops in the intrenched camp,
should march out with their arms, the baggage of the officers and
soldiers, and all the usual necessaries of war, escorted by a detachment
of French troops, and interpreters attached to the savages; that the
gate of the fort should be delivered to the troops of the most christain
king, immediately after signing the capitulation; and the retrenched
camp, on the departure of the British forces; that the artillery,
warlike stores, provisions, and in general every thing, except the
effects of soldiers and officers, should, upon honour, be delivered
to the French troops; for which purpose it was agreed there should be
delivered, with the capitulation, an exact inventory of the stores and
other particulars specified; that the garrison of the fort, and the
troops in the retrenchment and dependencies, should not serve for the
space of eighteen months, from the date of the capitulation, against his
most christian majesty, or his allies; that with the capitulation there
should be delivered an exact state of the troops, specifying the
names of the officers, engineers, artillery-men, commissaries, and all
employed; that the officers and soldiers, Canadians, women, and savages,
made prisoners by land since the commencement of the war in North
America, should be delivered in the space of three months at Carillon;
in return for whom an equal number of the garrison of fort William-Henry
should be capacitated to serve agreeably to the return given by the
English officer, and the receipt of the French commanding officers, of
the prisoners so delivered: that an officer should remain as an hostage,
till the safe return of the escort sent with the troops of his Britannic
majesty; that the sick and wounded, not in a condition to be transported
to fort Edward, should remain under the protection of the marquis de
Montcalm; who engaged to use them with tenderness and humanity, and to
return them as soon as recovered: that provisions for two days should be
issued out for the British troops: that in testimony of his esteem and
respect for colonel Monro and his garrison, on account of their
gallant defence, the marquis do Montcalm should return one cannon, a
six-pounder. Whether the marquis de Montcalm was really assiduous to
have these articles punctually executed we cannot pretend to determine;
but certain it is, they were perfidiously broke in almost every
instance. The savages in the French interest either paid no regard to
the capitulation, or were permitted, from views of policy, to act
the most treacherous, inhuman, and insidiuous part. They fell upon
the British troops as they marched out, despoiled them of their few
remaining effects, dragged the Indians in the English service out of
their ranks, and assassinated them with circumstances of unheard-of
barbarity. Some British soldiers, with their wives and children, are
said to have been savagely murdered by those brutal Indians, whose
ferocity the French commander could not effectually restrain. The
greater part of the English garrison, however, arrived at fort Edward,
under the protection of the French escort. The enemy demolished the
fort, carried off the effects, provisions, artillery, and every thing
else left by the garrison, together with the vessels preserved in the
lake, and departed, without pursuing their success by any other attempt.
Thus ended the third campaign in America, where, with an evident
superiority over the enemy, an army of twenty thousand regular troops,
a great number of provincial forces, and a prodigious naval power, not
less than twenty ships of the line, we abandoned our allies, exposed our
people, suffered them to be cruelly massacred in sight of our troops,
and relinquished a large and valuable tract of country, to the eternal
reproach and disgrace of the British name.
NAVAL TRANSACTIONS IN AMERICA.
As to the naval transactions in this country, though less infamous, they
were not less unfortunate. Immediately on lord Loudon’s departure from
Halifax, admiral Holbourn, now freed from the care of the transports,
set sail for Louisbourg, with fifteen ships of the line, one ship of
fifty guns, three small frigates, and a fire-ship. What the object
of this cruise might have been can only be conjectured. Some imagine
curiosity was the admiral’s sole motive, and the desire of informing
himself with certainty of the enemy’s strength, while others persuade
themselves that he was in hopes of drawing M. de la Mothe to an
engagement, notwithstanding his superiority in number of ships and
weight of metal. Be this as it may, the British squadron appeared off
Louisbourg on the twentieth day of August, and approaching within
two miles of the batteries, saw the French admiral make the signal to
unmoor. Mr. Holbourn was greatly inferior in strength, and it is obvious
that his design was not to fight the enemy, as he immediately made
the best of his way to Halifax. About the middle of September,
being reinforced with four ships of the line, he again proceeded to
Louisbourg, probably with intention, if possible, to draw the enemy
to an engagement; but he found de la Mothe too prudent to hazard an
unnecessary battle, the loss of which would have greatly exposed all the
French colonies. Here the English squadron continued cruising until
the twenty-fifth, when they were overtaken by a terrible storm from the
southward. When the hurricane began, the fleet were about forty leagues
distant from Louisbourg; but were driven in twelve hours within
two miles of the rocks and breakers on that coast, when the wind
providentially shifted. The ship Tilbury was wrecked upon the rocks, and
half her crew drowned. Eleven ships were dismasted, others threw their
guns overboard; and all returned in a very shattered condition to
England, at a very unfavourable season of the year. In this manner ended
the expedition to Louisbourg, more unfortunate to the nation than the
preceding designs upon Rochefort; less disgraceful to the commanders,
but equally the occasion of ridicule and triumph to our enemies.
Indeed, the unhappy consequences of the political disputes at home, the
instability of the administration, and the frequent revolutions in our
councils, were strongly manifested by that langour infused into all our
military operations, and general unsteadiness in our pursuits. Faction,
in the mother-country, produced divisions and misconduct in the
colonies. No ambition to signalize themselves appeared among the
officers, from the uncertainty whether their services were to be
rewarded or condemned. Their attachment to particular persons weakened
the love they ought to have entertained for their country in general,
and destroyed that spirit of enterprise, that firmness and resolution
which constitutes the commander, and without which the best capacity,
joined to the most uncorruptible integrity, can effect nothing.
The French king not only exerted himself against the English in America,
but even extended his operations to their settlements in Africa, where
he sent one of his naval commanders with a small squadron, to reduce.
This gentleman, whose name was Kersin, had scoured the coast of Guinea,
and made prize of several English trading ships; but his chief aim was
to reduce the castle at Cape-coast, of which, had he gained possession,
the other subordinate forts would have submitted without opposition.
When Mr. Bell, the governor of this castle, received intelligence that
M. de Kersin was a few leagues to windward, and certainly intended to
attack Cape-coast, his whole garrison did not exceed thirty white men,
exclusive of a few mulatto soldiers: his stock of ammunition was reduced
to half a barrel of gunpowder; and his fortifications were so crazy and
inconsiderable, that, in the opinion of the best engineers, they could
not have sustained for twenty minutes the fire of one great ship, had
it been properly directed and maintained. In these circumstances, few
people would have dreamed of making any preparation for defence; but
Mr. Bell entertained other sentiments, and acquitted himself with equal
courage and discretion. He forthwith procured a supply of gunpowder, and
a reinforcement of about fifty men, from certain trading vessels that
happened to be upon that part of the coast. He mounted some spare cannon
upon an occasional battery, and assembling a body of twelve hundred
negroes, well armed, under the command of their chief, on whose
attachment he could depend, and ordered them to take post at the
place where he apprehended the enemy would attempt a landing. These
precautions were hardly taken, when the French squadron, consisting of
two ships of the line and a large frigate, appeared, and in a little
time their attack began; but they met with such a warm reception, that
in less than two hours they desisted, leaving the castle very little
damaged, and immediately made sail for the West Indies, very much to the
disappointment and mortification of the Dutch officers belonging to
the fort of Elmina, in the same neighbourhood, who made no scruple of
expressing their wishes publicly in favour of the French commodore, and
at a distance viewed the engagement with the most partial eagerness and
impatience. M. de Kersin was generally blamed for his want of conduct
and resolution in this attempt; but he is said to have been deceived in
his opinion of the real state of Capecoast castle, by the vigorous and
resolute exertions of the governor, and was apprehensive of losing a
mast in the engagement; a loss which he could not have repaired on the
whole coast of Africa. Had the fort of Cape-coast been reduced on
this occasion, in all probability every petty republic of the negroes,
settled under the protection of the forts on the Gold-coast, would have
revolted from the British interest; for while the French squadron, in
their progress along-shore, hovered in the offing at Annamaboe,
an English settlement a few leauges to leeward of Cape-coast, John
Corrantee, the caboceiro, chief magistrate and general of the blacks on
that part of the coast, whose adopted son had a few years before been
caressed, and even treated as a prince in England, taking it for granted
that this enterprise of the French would be attended with success,
actually sent some of his dependants, with a present of refreshments for
their commodore; the delivery of which, however, was prevented by Mr.
Brew, the English chief of the fort, who shattered in pieces the canoe
before it could be launched, and threatened with his cannon to level the
black town with the dust. The caboceiro, though thus anticipated in
his design, resolved to be among the first who should compliment M. de
Kersin on his victory at Cape-coast; and, with this view, prepared an
embassy or deputation to go there by land; but understanding that the
French had failed in their attempt, he shifted his design, without the
least hesitation, and despatched the same embassy to Mr. Bell, whom he
congratulated on his victory, assuring him he had kept his men ready
armed, to march at the first summons to his assistance.
{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}
STATE OF AFFAIRS IN THE EAST INDIES.
In the East Indies the scene was changed greatly to the honour and
advantage of Great Britain. There the commanders acted with that
harmony, spirit, and unanimity becoming Britons, zealous for the credit
of their king and the interest of their country. We left admiral Watson
and colonel Clive advancing to Calcutta, to revenge the cruel tragedy
acted upon their countrymen the preceding year. On the twenty-eighth
of December, the fleet proceeded up the river: next day colonel Clive
landed, and with the assistance of the squadron, in twenty-four hours
made himself master of Busbudgia, a place of great strength, though
very ill defended. On the first of January the admiral, with two ships,
appeared before the town of Calcutta, and was received by a brisk fire
from the batteries. This salute was returned so warmly, that the enemy’s
guns were soon silenced, and in less than two hours the place and fort
were abandoned. Colonel Clive, on the other side, had invested the
town, and made his attack with that vigour and intrepidity peculiar
to himself, which greatly contributed to the sudden reduction of the
settlement. As soon as the fort was surrendered, the brave and active
captain Coote, with his majesty’s troops, took possession, and found
ninety-one pieces of cannon, four mortars, abundance of ammunition,
stores, and provisions, with every requisite for sustaining an obstinate
siege. Thus the English were re-established in the two strongest
fortresses in the Ganges, with the inconsiderable loss of nine seamen
killed, and three soldiers. A few days after, Hughley, a city of
great trade, situated higher up the river, was reduced with as little
difficulty, but infinitely greater prejudice to the nabob, as here his
storehouses of salt, and vast granaries for the support of his army,
were burnt and destroyed. Incensed at the almost instantaneous loss of
all his conquests, and demolition of the city of Hughley, the viceroy of
Bengal discouraged all advances to an accommodation which was proposed
by the admiral and chiefs of the company, and assembled an army of
twenty thousand horse and fifteen thousand foot, fully resolved to
expel the English out of his dominions, and take ample vengeance for the
disgraces he had lately sustained. He was seen marching by the English
camp in his way to Calcutta on the second of February, where he
encamped, about a mile from the town. Colonel Clive immediately made
application to the admiral for a reinforcement; and six hundred men,
under the command of captain Warwick, were accordingly drafted from the
different ships, and sent to assist his little army. Clive drew out
his forces, advanced in three columns towards the enemy, and began
the attack so vigorously, that the viceroy retreated, after a feeble
resistance, with the loss of a thousand men killed, wounded, and taken
prisoners, five hundred horses, great numbers of draft bullocks, and
four elephants. Though this advantage was less decisive than could be
wished, yet it sufficiently intimidated the nabob into concessions much
to the honour and advantage of the company. Admiral Watson gave him to
understand in a letter, that this was no more than a specimen of what
the British arms, when provoked, could perform. The suba desired
the negotiation might be renewed, and in a few days the treaty was
concluded. He promised not to disturb the English in any of those
privileges or possessions specified in the firm, and granted by the
Mogul; that all merchandise belonging to the company should pass and
repass, in every part of the province of Bengal, free of duty; that all
the English factories seized the preceding year, or since, should be
restored, with the money, goods, and effects appertaining; that all
damages sustained by the English should be repaired, and their losses
repaid: that the English should have liberty to fortify Calcutta in
whatever manner they thought proper without interruption: that they
should have the liberty of coining all the gold and bullion they
imported, which should pass current in the province: that he would
remain in strict friendship and alliance with the English, use his
utmost endeavours to heal up the late divisions, and restore the former
good understanding between them.
All which several articles were solemnly signed and sealed with the
nabob’s own hand.
SEDUCTION OF CHANDERNAGORE.
Such were the terms obtained for the company, by the spirited and
gallant conduct of the two English commanders. They had, however, too
much discernment to rely on the promises of a barbarian, who had so
prefidiously broken former engagements; but they prudently dissembled
their sentiments, until they had thoroughly reinstated the affairs of
the company, and reduced the French power in this province. In order to
adjust the points that required discussion, the select committee for the
company’s affairs appointed Mr. Watts, who had been released from his
former imprisonment, as their commissary at the court of the suba, to
whom he was personally known, as well as to his ministers, among whom he
had acquired a considerable influence. Nothing less could have balanced
the interest which the French, by their art of intriguing, had raised
among the favourites of the viceroy. While Mr. Watts was employed at
Muxadavad in counter-working those intrigues, and keeping the suba
steady to his engagements, the admiral and Mr. Clive resolved to avail
themselves of their armament in attacking the French settlements
in Bengal. The chief object of their designs was the reduction
of Chandernagore, situated higher up the river than Calcutta, of
considerable strength, and the chief in importance of any possessed by
that nation in the bay. Colonel Clive being reinforced by three hundred
men from Bombay, began his march to Chandernagore, at the head of seven
hundred Europeans and one thousand six hundred Indians, where, on
his first arrival, he took possession of all the out-posts except
one redoubt mounted with eight pieces of cannon, which he left to be
silenced by the admiral. On the eighteenth day of March, the admirals
Watson and Pocoke arrived within two miles of the French settlement,
with the Kent, Tiger, and Salisbury men of war, and found their passage
obstructed by booms laid across the river, and several vessels sunk in
the channel. These difficulties being removed, they advanced early on
the twenty-fourth, and drew up in a line before the fort, which they
battered with great fury for three hours; while colonel Clive was
making his approaches on the land side, and playing vigorously from the
batteries he had raised. Their united efforts soon obliged the enemy
to submission. A flag of truce was waved over the walls, and the place
surrendered by capitulation. The keys were delivered to captain Latham
of the Tiger; and in the afternoon colonel Clive, with the king’s
troops, took possession. Thus the reduction of a strong fortress,
garrisoned by five hundred Europeans, and one thousand two hundred
Indians, defended by one hundred and twenty-three pieces of cannon, and
three mortars, well provided with all kinds of stores and necessaries,
and of very great importance to the enemy’s commerce in India, was
accomplished with a loss not exceeding forty men on the side of the
conquerors. By the treaty of capitulation the director; counsellors, and
inferior servants of the settlement, were allowed to depart with their
wearing apparel: the Jesuits were permitted to take away their church
ornaments, and the natives to remain in the full exertion of their
liberties; but the garrison were to continue prisoners of war. The
goods and money found in the place were considerable; but the principal
advantage arose from the ruin of the head settlement of the enemy on the
Ganges, which could not but interfere with the English commerce in these
parts.
COLONEL CLIVE DEFEATS THE SUBA AT PLAISSEY, &c.