_State of the Island of Martinique..... Expedition against
that Island..... Attempt upon St. Pierre..... Descent on the
Island of Guadaloupe..... Skirmishes with the Islanders.....
Fort Louis reduced..... Fate of Colonel Debrisay..... The
English Fleet sails to Dominique..... General Harrington
takes Gosier, and Storms the Post of Licorne..... He takes
Petitbourg and St. Mary’s..... The Island capitulates.....
Island of Marigalante taken by General Barrington..... He
returns to England..... Treaty with the Indians in North
America..... Plan of the Campaign..... Ticonderoga and Crown
Point abandoned by the French..... General Amherst embarks
on Lake Champlain..... Niagara reduced..... Introduction to
the Expedition against Quebec..... General Wolfe lands on
the Island of Orleans, and takes Point Levi..... The English
Fleet damaged by a Storm..... General Wolfe encamps near the
Falls of the River Montmorenci, and attacks the French
Intrenchments there, but is repulsed..... Brigadier Murray
detached up the River..... Council of War called..... The
Troops land at the Heights of Abraham..... Battle of
Quebec..... Quebec taken..... Rejoicings in England_
STATE OF THE ISLAND OF MARTINIQUE.
Having finished the detail of the actions achieved in the European seas
by the naval force of Great Britain, within the compass of the present
year, we shall now proceed to record the exploits of the British arms
within the tropics, and particularly the expedition to Martinique and
Guadaloupe, which is said to have succeeded even beyond the expectation
of the ministry. A plan had been formed for improving the success of
the preceding year in North America, by carrying the British arms up
the river St. Laurence, and besieging Quebec, the capital of Canada.
The armament employed against the French islands of Martinique and
Guadaloupe constituted part of this design, inasmuch as the troops
embarked on that expedition were, in case of a miscarriage at
Martinique, intended to reinforce the British army in North America,
which was justly considered as the chief seat of the war. What hope of
success the administration conceived from an attempt upon Martinique,
may be guessed from the state of that island, as it appeared in a
memorial presented by the French king’s lieutenants of its several
districts, to the general of the French island, in consequence of an
order issued in November, for holding them in readiness to march and
defend the island from the English, of whose design they were apprized.
They represented that the trade with the Dutch was become their sole
dependence: that they could expect no succour from Europe, by which
they had been abandoned ever since the commencement of the war: that the
traders vested with the privileges of trafficking among them had abused
the intention of the general; and, instead of being of service to the
colony, had fixed an arbitrary price for all the provisions which they
brought in, as well as for the commodities which they exported; of
consequence, the former was valued at as high a price as their avarice
could exact, and the latter sunk as low in value as their own selfish
hearts could conceive: that the colony for two months had been destitute
of all kinds of provision; the commodities of the planters lay upon
their hands, and their negroes were in danger of perishing through
hunger; a circumstance that excited the apprehension of the most
dreadful consequences; as to slaves, half starved, all kinds of bondage
were equal; and people reduced to such a situation were often driven
to despair, seeking in anarchy and confusion a remedy from the evils
by which they were oppressed; that the best provided of the inhabitants
laboured under the want of the common necessaries of life; and others
had not so much as a grain of salt in their houses: that there was an
irreparable scarcity of slaves to cultivate their land; and the planters
were reduced to the necessity of killing their own cattle to support
the lives of those who remained alive; so that the mills were no
longer worked, and the inhabitants consumed beforehand what ought to be
reserved for their sustenance, in case of being blocked up by the enemy.
They desired, therefore, that the general would suppress the permission
granted to particular merchants, and admit neutral vessels freely into
their ports, that they might trade with the colonists unmolested and
unrestrained. They observed, that the citadel of Port-Royal seemed
the principal object on which the safety and defence of the country
depended; as the loss of it would be necessarily attended with the
reduction of the whole island: they therefore advised that this fort
should be properly provided with every thing necessary for its safety
and defence; and that magazines of provision, as well as ammunition,
should be established in different quarters of the island.--This
remonstrance plainly proves that the island was wholly unprepared to
repel the meditated invasion, and justifies the plan adopted by the
ministry of Great Britain. The regular troops of Martinique consisted
of about twenty independent companies, greatly defective in point of
number. The militia was composed of burghers and planters distressed and
dissatisfied, mingled with a parcel of wretched negro slaves, groaning
under the most intolerable misery, from whence they could have no hope
of deliverance but by a speedy change of masters; their magazines were
empty, and their fortifications out of repair.
EXPEDITION AGAINST THAT ISLAND.
Such was the state of Martinique, when the inhabitants every day
expected a visit from the British armament, whose progress we shall now
relate. On the twelfth day of November in the preceding year, captain
Hughes sailed from St. Helen’s with eight sail of the line, one frigate,
four bomb-ketches, and a fleet of transports, having on board six
regiments of infantry, and a detachment of artillery, besides eight
hundred marines distributed among the ships of war; this whole force
being under the command of major-general Hopson, an old experienced
officer, assisted by major-general Barrington, the colonels Armigerand
Haldane, the lieutenant-colonels Trapaud and Clavering, acting in the
capacity of brigadiers. After a voyage of seven weeks and three days,
the fleet arrived at Barbadoes, and anchored in Carlisle-bay; where they
joined commodore Moore, appointed by his majesty to command the united
squadron, amounting to ten ships of the line, besides frigates and
bomb-ketches. Ten days were employed in supplying the fleet with
wood and water, in waiting for the hospital ship, in reviews,
re-embarkations, councils of war, assemblies of the council belonging to
the island, in issuing proclamations, and beating up for volunteers.
At length, every great ship being reinforced with forty negroes, to be
employed in drawing the artillery; and the troops, which did not
exceed five thousand eight hundred men, being joined by two hundred
Highlanders, belonging to the second battalion of the regiment commanded
by lord John Murray in North America, who were brought as recruits from
Scotland under convoy of the ship Ludlow-castle; the whole armament
sailed from Carlisle-bay on the thirteenth day of January; but by
this time the troops, unaccustomed to a hot climate, were considerably
weakened and reduced by fevers, diarrhoeas, the scurvy, and the
small-pox; which last disease had unhappily broke out amongst the
transports. Next morning the squadron discovered the island of
Martinique, which was the place of its destination. The chief
fortification of Martinique was the citadel of Port-Royal, a regular
fort, garrisoned by four companies, that did not exceed the number of
one hundred and fifty men, thirty-six bombardiers, eighty Swiss, and
fourteen officers. One hundred barrels of beef constituted their whole
store of provisions; and they were destitute of all other necessaries.
They were almost wholly unprovided with water in the cisterns, with
spare carriages for their cannon, match, wadding, and langrage; they had
but a small stock of other ammunition; and the walls were in many parts
decayed. The only preparations they had made for receiving the English
were some paltry intrenchments thrown up at St, Pierre, and a place
called Casdenavires, where they imagined the descent would probably
be attempted. On the fifteenth day of the month, the British squadron
entered the great bay of Port-Royal, some of the ships being exposed to
the shot of a battery erected on the isle de Ranieres, a little island
about half way up the bay. At their first appearance, the Florissant, of
seventy-four guns, which had been so roughly handled by captain Tyrrel
in the Buckingham, then lying under the guns of Fort-Negro, along with
two frigates, turned up under the citadel, and came to an anchor in
the Carenage, behind the fortification. One frigate, called the Vestal,
under favour of the night, made her escape through the transports, and
directed her course for Europe; where she was taken by captain Hood, as
we have already related. Next day three ships of the line were ordered
to attack Fort-Negro, a battery at the distance of three miles from the
citadel, which, being mounted with seven guns only, was soon silenced,
and immediately possessed by a detachment of marines and sailors; who,
being sanded in flat-bottomed boats, clambered up the rock, and entered
through the embrasures with their bayonets fixed. Here, however,
they met with no resistance: the enemy had abandoned the fort with
precipitation. The British colours were immediately hoisted, and
sentinels of marines posted upon the parapet. The next care was to spike
and disable the cannon, break the carriages, and destroy the powder
which they found in the magazine: nevertheless, the detachment
was ordered to keep possession of the battery. This service being
successfully performed, three ships were sent to reduce the other
battery at Casdenavires, which consisted only of four guns, and these
were soon rendered unserviceable. The French troops, reinforced
with militia which had been detached from the citadel to oppose the
disembarkation, perceiving the whole British squadron, and all the
transports, already within the bay, and Fort-Negro occupied by the
marines, retired to Port-Royal, leaving the beach open; so that the
English troops were landed without opposition; and, being formed,
advanced into the country towards Fort-Negro, in the neighbourhood of
which they lay all night upon their arms; while the fleet, which had
been galled by bomb-shells from the citadel, shifted their station,
and stood farther up the bay. By ten next day, the English officers had
brought up some field-pieces to an eminence, and scoured the woods,
from whence the troops had been greatly annoyed by the small shot of the
enemy during the best part of the night, and all that morning. At noon
the British forces advanced in order towards the hill that overlooked
the town and citadel of Port-Royal, and sustained a troublesome fire
from enemies they could not see; for the French militia were entirely
covered by the woods and bushes. This eminence, called the Morne
Tortueson, though the most important post of the whole island, was
neglected by the general of Martinique, who had resolved to blow up the
fortifications of the citadel: but, luckily for the islanders, he had
not prepared the materials for this operation, which must have been
attended with the immediate destruction of the capital, and indeed of
the whole country. Some of the inferior officers, knowing the importance
of the Morne Tortueson, resolved to defend that post with a body of
the militia, which was reinforced by the garrisons of Fort-Negro and
Casdenavires, as well as by some soldiers detached from the Florissant:
but, notwithstanding all their endeavours, as they were entirely
unprovided with cannon, extremely defective in point of discipline,
dispirited by the pusillanimity of their governor, and in a great
measure disconcerted by the general consternation that prevailed among
the inhabitants, in all probability they could not have withstood a
spirited and well-conducted attack by regular forces. About two o’clock
general Hopson thought proper to desist from his attempt. He gave the
commodore to understand that he could not maintain his ground, unless
the squadron would supply him with heavy cannon, landed near the town
of Port-Royal, at a savannah, where the boats must have been greatly
exposed to the fire of the enemy; or assist him in attacking the
citadel by sea, while he should make his approaches by land. Both these
expedients* being deemed impracticable by a council of war, the troops
were recalled from their advanced posts, and re-embarked in the evening,
without any considerable molestation from the enemy.
* The commodore offered to land the cannon on the other side
of Point-Negro, at a place equally near the road from the
English army to Port-Royal, and even cause them to be drawn
up by the seamen, without giving the troops the least
trouble. But this offer was not accepted. General Hopson
afterwards declared, that he did not understand Mr. Moore’s
message in the sense which it was meant to imply.
Their attempt on the Morne Tortueson had cost them several men,
including two officers, killed or wounded in the attack; and, in revenge
for this loss, they burned the sugar-canes, and desolated the country,
in their retreat. The inhabitants of Martinique could hardly credit the
testimony of their own senses, when they saw themselves thus delivered
from all their fears, at a time when they were overwhelmed with terror
and confusion; when the principal individuals among them had resigned
all thought of further resistance, and were actually assembled at the
public hall in Port-Royal, to send deputies to the English general, with
proposals of capitulation and surrender.
ATTEMPT UPON ST. PIERRE.
The majority of the British officers, who constituted a council of war
held for this purpose,* having given their opinion, that it might be
for his majesty’s service to make an attack upon St. Pierre, the
fleet proceeded to that part of the island, and entered the bay on the
nineteenth.
* The commodore did not attend at this council: it was
convoked to deliberate upon the opinion of the chief
engineer, who thought they should make another landing to
the southward of the Carenage. In this case, the pilots
declared it would be extremely difficult, if not
impracticable, for the fleet to keep up a communication with
the army.
The commodore told the general, that he made no doubt of being able to
reduce the town of St. Pierre; but as the ships might be disabled in
the attack so as not to be in a condition to proceed immediately on any
material service; as the troops might be reduced in their numbers, so as
to be incapable of future attacks; and as the reduction of the island
of Guadaloupe would be of great benefit to the sugar colonies; Mr. Mooro
proposed that the armament should immediately proceed to that island,
and the general agreed to the proposal. The reasons produced on this
occasion are, we apprehend, such as may be urged against every operation
of war. Certain it is, no conquest can be attempted, either by sea or
land, without exposing’ the ships and troops to a possibility of being
disabled and diminished; and the same possibility militated as strongly
against an attempt upon Guadeloupe, as it could possibly discourage
the attack of St. Pierre. Besides, Martinique was an object of greater
importance than Guadaloupe;* as being the principal place possessed
by the French in those seas, and that to which the operations of the
armament were expressly limited by the instructions received from the
ministry.
* Only as being the seat of government; for Guadaloupe makes
a much greater quantity of sugar, and equipped a much
greater number of privateers, with the assistance of the
Dutch of St. Eustatia, situated in its neighbourhood.
St. Pierre was a place of considerable commerce; and at that very
juncture, above forty sail of merchant ships lay at anchor in the bay.
The town was defended by a citadel regularly fortified, but at that time
poorly garrisoned, and so situated as to be accessible to the fire of
the whole squadron; for the shore was bold, and the water sufficient
to float any ship of the line. Before the resolution of proceeding to
Gua-daloupe was taken, the commodore had ordered the bay to be sounded;
and directed the Rippon to advance, and silence a battery situated a
mile and a half to the northward of St. Pierre. Accordingly, captain
Jekyll, who commanded that ship, stood in, and anchoring close to the
shore, attacked it with such impetuosity, that in a few minutes it was
abandoned. At the same time the Rippon was exposed to the fire of three
other batteries, from which she received considerable damage both in
her hull and rigging; and was in great danger of running aground, when
orders were given to tow her out of danger.
DESCENT ON GUADALOUPE.
The whole armament having abandoned the design on Martinique, directed
their course to Guadeloupe, another of the Caribbee islands, lying at
the distance of thirty leagues to the westward, about fifteen leagues
in length, and twelve in breadth; divided into two parts by a small
channel, which the inhabitants cross in a ferry-boat. The western
division is known by the name of Basseterre; and here the metropolis
stands, defended by the citadel and other fortifications. The eastern
part, called Grandterre, is destitute of fresh water, which abounds in
the other division; and is defended by fort Louis, with a redoubt, which
commands the road in the district of Gosier. The cut, or canal, that
separates the two parts, is distinguished by the appellation of the
Salt-river, having a road or bay at each end; namely, the great Cul
de Sac, and the small Cul de Sac. Gua-daloupe is encumbered with high
mountains and precipices, to which the inhabitants used to convey their
valuable effects in time of danger; but here are also beautiful plains
watered by brooks and rivers, which fertilize the soil, enabling it to
produce a great quantity of sugar, cotton, indigo, tobacco, and cassia;
besides plenty of rice, potatoes, all kinds of pulse, and fruit
peculiar to the island. The country is populous and flourishing, and
the government comprehends two smaller islands called All-Saints and
Deseada, which appear at a small distance from the coast, on the eastern
side of the island. The British squadron having arrived at Bassaterre,
it was resolved to make a general attack by sea upon the citadel, the
town, and other batteries by which it was defended. A disposition being
made for this purpose, the large ships took their respective stations
next morning, which was the twenty-third day of January. At nine, the
Lion, commanded by captain Trelawney, began the engagement against
a battery of nine guns; and the rest of the fleet continued to place
themselves abreast of the other batteries and the citadel, which mounted
forty-six cannon, besides two mortars. The action in a little time
became general, and was maintained on both sides for several hours with
great vivacity; while the commodore, who had shifted his pendant into
the Woolwrch frigate, kept aloof without gun-shot, that he might be the
more disengaged to view the state of the battle, * and give his orders
with the greater deliberation.
* He shifted lus broad pendant on board the Woolwich, as
well to direct and keep the transports together in a proper
posture for the landing of the troops, as to cover the
disembarkation; and also to consult proper measures with the
general, who saw the necessity of Mr. Moore’s being with
him; and requested that he, with the other general officers
and engineers, might be admitted on board the Woolwich, in
order to consult, and take the earliest opportunity of
landing the troops, as the service necessarily required.
This expedient of an admiral’s removing his flag, and retiring from the
action while his own ship is engaged, however consonant to reason., we
do not remember to have seen practised upon any occasion, except in one
instance, at Carthagena, where sir Chaloner Ogle quitted his own ship,
when she was ordered to stand in and cannonade the fort of Boca-Chica.
In this present attack, all the sea-commanders behaved with
extraordinary spirit and resolution, particularly the captains Leslie,
Burnet, Gayton, Jekyll, Trelawney, and Shuldam, who, in the hottest
tumult of the action, distinguished themselves equally by their courage,
impetuosity, and deliberation. About five in the afternoon the fire of
the citadel slackened. The Burford and Berwick were driven out to
sea: so that captain Shuldam, in the Panther, was unsustained; and two
batteries played upon the Rippon, captain Jekyll, who, by two in the
afternoon, silenced the guns of one, called the Morne-rouge; but at the
same time could not prevent his ship from running aground. The enemy
perceiving her disaster, assembled in great numbers on the hill,
and lined the trenches, from whence they poured in, a severe fire of
musketry. The militia afterwards brought up a cannon of eighteen pound
ball, and for two hours raked her fore and aft with considerable effect:
nevertheless, captain Jekyll returned the fire with equal courage and
perseverance, though his people dropped on every side, until all his
grape-shot and wadding were expended, and all his rigging cut to pieces;
to crown his misfortune, a box, containing nine hundred cartridges,
blew up on the poop, and set the ship on fire: which, however, was
soon extinguished. In the meantime, the captain threw out a signal
of distress, to which no regard was paid,* till captain Leslie of the
Bristol, coming from sea, and observing his situation, ran in between
the Rippon and the battery, and engaged with such impetuosity, as made
an immediate diversion in favour of captain Jekyll, whose ship remained
aground, notwithstanding all the assistance that could be given,
till midnight, when she floated, and escaped from the very jaws of
destruction.
* In all probability it was not perceived by the Commodore.
At seven in the evening, all the other large ships, having silenced the
guns to which they had been respectively opposed, joined the rest of the
fleet. The four bombs being anchored near the shore, began to ply the
town with shells and carcasses; so that in a little time the houses were
in flames, the magazines of gunpowder blew up with the most terrible
explosion; and about ten o’clock the whole place blazed out in one
general conflagration. Next day, at two in the afternoon, the fleet came
to an anchor in the road of Bassaterre, where they found the hulls of
divers ships which the enemy had set on fire at their approach: several
ships turned out and endeavoured to escape, but were intercepted and
taken by the English squadron. At five, the troops landed without
opposition, and took possession of the town and citadel, which they
found entirely abandoned. They learned from a Genoese deserter, that
the regular troops of the island consisted of five companies only, the
number of the whole not exceeding one hundred men; and that they had
lain a train to blow up the powder magazine in the citadel: but had been
obliged to retreat with such precipitation as did not permit them to
execute this design. The train was immediately cut off, and the magazine
secured. The nails with which they had spiked up their cannon were
drilled out by the matrosses; and in the meantime the British colours
were hoisted on the parapet. Part of the troops took possession of an
advantageous post on an eminence, and part entered the town, Which still
continued burning with great violence. In the morning at day-break, the
enemy appeared, to the number of two thousand, about four miles from the
town, as if they intended to throw up intrenchments in the neighbourhood
of a house where the governor had fixed his head-quarters, declaring
he would maintain his ground to the last extremity. To this resolution,
indeed, he was encouraged by the nature of the ground, and the
neighbourhood of a pass called the Dos d’Ane, a cleft through a
mountainous ridge, opening a communication with Capesterre, a more level
and beautiful part of the island. The ascent from Basseterre to this
pass was so very steep, and the way so broken and interrupted by rocks
and gullies, that there was no prospect of attacking it with success,
except at the first landing, when the inhabitants were under the
dominion of a panic. They very soon recovered their spirits and
recollection, assembled and fortified themselves among the hills,
armed and arrayed their negroes, and affected to hold the invaders at
defiance. A flag of truce being sent, with offers of terms to their
governor, the chevalier d’Etriel, he rejected them in a letter, with
which his subsequent conduct but ill agreed. [504] _[See note 3 U, at
the end of this Vol.]_ Indeed, from the beginning his deportment had
been such as gave a very unfavourable impression of his character. When
the British squadron advanced to the attack, instead of visiting in
person the citadel and the batteries, in order to encourage and animate
his people by his exhortation and example, he retired out of the reach
of danger to a distant plantation, where he remained a tame spectator of
the destruction in which his principal town and citadel were involved.
Next morning, when he ought to have exerted himself in preventing the
disembarkation of the English troops, who had a difficult shore
and violent surf to surmount, and when he might have defended the
intrenchments and lines which had been made to oppose their landing,
he abandoned all these advantages, and took shelter among the mountains
that were deemed inaccessible.
But, howsoever deficient the governor might have been in the article of
courage, certain it is, the inhabitants behaved with great spirit and
activity in defence of their country. They continually harassed
the scouring detachments, by firing upon them from woods and sugar
plantations, which last the English burned about their ears in
resentment. Their armed negroes were very expert in this kind of bush
fighting. The natives or militia appeared in considerable parties,
and even encountered detached bodies of the British army. A lady of
masculine courage, whose name was Ducharmy, having armed her slaves,
they made several bold attempts upon an advanced post occupied by major
Melville, and threw up intrenchments upon a hill opposite to the station
of this officer, who had all along signalized himself by his uncommon
intrepidity, vigilance, and conduct. At length the works of this virago
were stormed by a regular detachment, which, after an obstinate and
dangerous conflict, entered the intrenchment sword in hand, and burned
the houses and plantations. Some of the enemy were killed, and a great
number taken. Of the English detachment twelve soldiers were slain, and
thirty wounded, including three subaltern officers, one of whom lost his
arm. The greatest body of the enemy always appeared at the governor’s
head-quarters, where they had raised a redoubt, and thrown up
intrenchments. From these a considerable detachment advanced on the
sixth day of February, in the morning, towards the citadel, and fell in
with an English party, whom they engaged with great vivacity; but, after
a short though warm dispute, they were obliged to retire with some
loss. Without all doubt, the inhabitants of Guadaloupe pursued the most
sensible plan that could possibly have been projected for their own
safety. Instead of hazarding a general engagement against regular
troops, in which they could have no prospect of success, they resolved
to weary them out by maintaining a kind of petty war in separate
parties, to alarm and harass the English with hard duty in a sultry
climate, where they were but indifferently supplied with provisions and
refreshments. Nor were their hopes in this particular disappointed.
Both the army and the navy were invaded with fevers, and other diseases,
epidemical in those hot countries; and the regimental hospitals were so
crowded, that it was judged convenient to send five hundred sick men to
the island of Antigua, where they might be properly attended.
{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}
FORT-LOUIS REDUCED, &c.
In the meantime, the reduction of the islanders on the side of
Guadaloupe appearing more and more impracticable, the general determined
to transfer the seat of war to the eastern and more fertile part of
the island, called Grandterre, which, as we have already observed, was
defended by a strong battery, called Fort-Louis. In pursuance of this
determination, the great ships were sent round to Grandterre, in order
to reduce this fortification, which they accordingly attacked on the
thirteenth day of February. After a severe cannonading, which lasted six
hours, a body of marines being landed, with the Highlanders,* they drove
the enemy from their intrenchments sword in hand; and, taking possession
of the fort, hoisted the English colours.
* A reinforcement of two or three hundred Highlanders, had
joined the fleet immediately before the troops landed on
Guadaloupe.
In a few days after this exploit, general Hopson dying at Basseterre,
the chief command devolved on general Barrington, who resolved to
prosecute the final reduction of the island with vigour and despatch. As
one step towards this conquest, the commodore ordered two ships of
war to cruise off the island of Saint Eustatia, and prevent the Dutch
traders from assisting the natives of Guadaloupe, whom they had hitherto
constantly supplied with provisions since they retired to the mountains.
General Barrington, on the very first day of his command, ordered the
troops who were encamped to strike their tents and huts, that the enemy
might imagine he intended to remain in this quarter; but in a few days
the batteries in and about Basseterre were blown up and destroyed,
the detachments recalled from the advanced posts, and the whole army
re-embarked, except one regiment, with a detachment of artillery, left
in garrison at the citadel, the command of which was bestowed on colonel
Debrisay, an accomplished officer of great experience. The enemy no
sooner perceived the coast clear than they descended from the hills,
and endeavoured to take possession of the town, from which, however
they were driven by the fire of the citadel. They afterwards erected a
battery, from whence they annoyed this fortification both with shot
and shells, and even threatened a regular attack; but as often as they
approached the place, they were repulsed by sallies from the castle. *
* The battery which they had raised was attacked at noon,
taken, and destroyed by captain Blomer, of the sixty-first
regiment.
In the midst of these hostilities, the gallant Debrisay, together with
major Trollop, one lieutenant, two bombardiers, and several common
soldiers, were blown up, and perished, by the explosion of a powder
magazine at the flanked angle of the south-east bastion. The confusion
necessarily produced by such an unfortunate accident, encouraged the
enemy to come pouring down from the hills, in order to make their
advantage of the disaster; but they were soon repulsed by the fire
of the garrison. The general, being made acquainted with the fate
of colonel Debrisay, conferred the government of the fort upon major
Melville, and sent thither the chief engineer to repair and improve the
fortifications.
ENGLISH FLEET SAILS TO DOMINIQUE.
In the meantime, commodore Moore having received certain intelligence
that monsieur de Bompart had arrived at Martinique, with a squadron
consisting of eight sail of the line and three frigates, having on board
a whole battalion of Swiss, and some other troops, to reinforce
the garrisons of the island, he called in his cruisers, and sailed
immediately to the bay of Dominique, an island to windward, at the
distance of nine leagues from Guadaloupe, whence he could always sail
to oppose any design which the French commander might form against the
operations of the British armaments. For what reason Mr. Moore did not
sail immediately to the bay of Port-Royal in Martinique, where he knew
the French squadron lay at anchor, we shall not pretend to determine.
Had he taken that step, M. Bompart must either have given him battle, or
retired into the Carenage, behind the citadel; in which last case,
the English commander might have anchored between Pigeon-Island
and Fort-Negro, and thus blocked him up effectually. By retiring to
Dominique, he left the sea open to French privateers, who rowed along
the coasts of these islands, and in a very little time carried into
Martinique above fourscore merchant-ships, belonging to the subjects of
Great Britain. These continual depredations, committed under the nose
of the English commodore, irritated the planters of the English islands,
some of whom are said to have circulated unfavourable reports of that
gentleman’s character. [505] _[See note 3 X, at the end of this Vol.]_
GENERAL BARRINGTON TAKES GOSIER, &c.
General Barrington being left with no more than one ship of forty guns
for the protection of the transports, formed a plan of prosecuting the
war in Guadaloupe by detachments, and the success fully answered his
expectation. He determined to make a descent on the division of the
island called Grandterre, and for that purpose allotted six hundred men;
who, under the command of colonel Crump, landed between the towns of St.
Anne and St. Francois, and destroyed some batteries of the enemy, from
whom he sustained very little opposition. While he was thus employed,
a detachment of three hundred men attacked the town of Gosier, which,
notwithstanding a severe fire, they took by storm, drove the garrison
into the woods, set fire to the place, and demolished the battery
and intrenchment raised for its defence. This service being happily
performed, the detachment was ordered to force their way to Fort-Louis,
while the garrison of that castle was directed to make two sallies in
order to favour their irruption. They accordingly penetrated, with
some loss sustained in forcing a strong pass, and took possession of
a battery which the enemy had raised against the English camp, in the
neighbourhood of Fort Louis. The general, having hitherto succeeded in
his designs, formed the scheme of surprising at one time the three towns
of Petitbourg, Gonoyave, and St. Mary’s situated on the Basseterre
side of the little Cul de Sac, and committed the execution of it to the
colonels Crump and Clavering: but the night appointed for the service
proved exceedingly dark and tempestuous; and the negro conductors were
so frightened, that they ran several of the flat-bottomed boats on the
shoals that skirt this part of the island. Colonel Clavering landed with
about eighty men; but found himself so entangled with mangrove trees,
and the mud so impassably deep, that he was obliged to re-embark, though
not before the enemy had discovered his design. This project having
miscarried, the general detached the same commanders, whose gallantry
and conduct cannot be sufficiently applauded, with a detachment of
fifteen hundred men, including one hundred and fifty volunteers from
Antigua, to land in a bay not far from the town of Arnonville, at the
bottom of the little Cul de Sac, under the protection of his majesty’s
ship Woolwich. The enemy made no opposition to their landing; but
retreated, as the English advanced, to a strong intrenchment thrown up
behind the river Licorne, a post of the utmost importance, as it covered
the whole country as far as the bay of Ma-haut, where provisions and
supplies of all sorts were landed from St. Eustatia. The river was
rendered inaccessible by a morass covered with mangroves, except at
two narrow passes, which they had fortified with a redoubt, and
intrenchments well pallisadoed, mounted with cannon, and defended by
a numerous militia: besides, the narrow roads, through which only
they could be attacked, were intersected with deep and wide ditches.
Notwithstanding these disadvantages, the English commanders determined
to hazard an assault. While four field-pieces and two howitzers
maintained a constant fire upon the top of the intrenchments, the
regiment of Duroure and the Highlanders advanced under this cover,
firing by platoons with the utmost regularity. The enemy, intimidated
by their cool and resolute behaviour, began to abandon the first
intrenchment on the left. Then the Highlanders, drawing their swords,
and sustained by part of the regiment, threw themselves in with their
usual impetuosity, and followed the fugitives pell-mell into the
redoubt, of which they took possession: but they still maintained their
ground within the intrenchments on the right, from whence they annoyed
the assailants both with musquetry and cannon. In half an hour, an
occasional bridge being made, the English troops passed the river in
order to attack this post, which the enemy abandoned with precipitation;
notwithstanding all their haste, however, about seventy were taken
prisoners, and among those some of the most considerable inhabitants of
the island. This advantage cost the English two officers and thirteen
men killed, and above fifty wounded.
The roads being mended for the passage of the artillery, the troops
advanced towards Petitbourg, harassed in their march by flying bodies of
the enemy, and arrived late at night on the banks of the river
Lizarde, the only ford of which the French had fortified with strong
intrenchments, protected by a battery of four cannon erected on a rising
ground in the rear. Colonel Clavering, while he amused them all night
at this place by a constant fire into their lines, transported in two
canoes, which he launched about a mile and a half farther down the
river, a sufficient number of troops, by day-break, to attack them on
the other side in flank, while he advanced in front at the head of his
little army; but they did not think proper to sustain the assault. On
the contrary, they no sooner perceived his intention, than they forsook
the post, and fled without order. Colonel Clavering, having passed the
river, pursued them to Petit bourg, which they had also fortified;
and here he found captain Uvedale, of the Grenada bomb-ketch, throwing
shells into the redoubt. He forthwith sent detachments to occupy the
neighbouring heights; a circumstance which the enemy no sooner observed,
than they deserted the place, and retired with great expedition. On the
fifteenth day of April, captain Steel destroyed a battery at Gonoyave, a
strong post, which, though it might have been defended against an
army, the French abandoned at his approach, after having made a hasty
discharge of their artillery. At the same time colonel Crump was
detached with seven hundred men to the bay of Mahaut, where he burned
the town and batteries which he found abandoned, together with a vast
quantity of provisions which had been brought from the island of St.
Eustatia. Colonel Clavering, having left a small garrison at Petitbourg,
began his march on the twentieth day of the month towards St. Mary’s,
where he understood the enemy had collected their whole force, thrown
up intrenchments, and raised barricadoes; but they had left their rear
unguarded. The English commander immediately detached colonel Barlow
with a body of troops to attack them from that quarter, while he himself
advanced against the front of their intrenchment. They stood but one
cannon-shot, and then fled to their lines and batteries at St. Mary’s,
the flanks of which were covered with woods and precipices. When
they perceived the English troops endeavouring to surmount these
difficulties, and turn their lines, they quitted them in order to oppose
the design, and were immediately attacked with such vivacity, in the
face of a severe fire of musketry and cannon, that they abandoned their
ground, and fled in the utmost confusion, leaving the field and all
their artillery to the victors, who took up their quarters for that
night at St. Mary’s. Next day they entered the charming country of
Capesterre, where eight hundred and seventy negroes belonging to one
planter surrendered at discretion. Here colonel Clavering was met
by messieurs de Clainvilliers and Duqueruy, deputed by the principal
inhabitants of the island to know what capitulation would be granted.
These he conducted to Petitbourg, where they were presented to general
Barrington; who, considering the absence of the fleet, the small number
of his forces daily diminishing, the difficulty of the country, and the
possibility of the enemy’s being reinforced from Martinique, wisely took
the advantage of the present panic, and settled terms of capitulation
without delay. The sanity of this resolution soon appeared. The
inhabitants had just signed the agreement, when a messenger arrived in
their camp with information that M. de Beauharnois, the general of
the French islands, had landed at St. Anne’s, to the windward, with a
reinforcement from Martinique, consisting of six hundred regulars from
Europe, about fifteen hundred volunteers, besides a great number of the
militia drafted from the companies of Martinique, with a great supply of
arms and ammunition, mortars and artillery, under convoy of the squadron
commanded by M. de Bompart, who no sooner learned that the capitulation
was signed, than he re-embarked the troops and stores with all possible
expedition, and returned to Martinique. Thus we see the conquest of this
important island, which is said to produce a greater quantity of sugar
than is made in any of the English plantations, was as much owing to
accident as to the valour of the troops and the conduct of the general;
for, had the reinforcement arrived an hour sooner than it actually
landed, in all probability the English would have found it impracticable
to finish the reduction of Guadaloupe. Be that as it may, the natives
certainly deserved great commendation, not only for persevering so
gallantly in defence of their country, but also for their fortitude in
bearing every species of distress. They now quitted the Dos d’Ane, and
all their other posts, and returned to their respective habitations.
The town of Basseterre being reduced to a heap of ashes, the inhabitants
began to clear away the rubbish, and erect occasional sheds, where they
resumed their several occupations with that good humour so peculiar to
the French nation; and general Barrington humanely indulged them with
all the assistance in his power.
ISLAND OF MARIGALANTE TAKEN.
The small islands of Deseada, Los Santos, and Petit-terre, were
comprised in the capitulation of Guadaloupe. The inhabitants of
Marigalante, which lies about three leagues to the south-east of
Grandterre, extending twenty miles in length, fifteen in breadth, flat
and fertile, but poorly watered and ill fortified, having refused to
submit when summoned by the squadron to surrender, general Barrington
resolved to reduce them by force. He embarked a body of troops on board
of transports, which sailed thither under convoy of three ships of war
and two bomb vessels from Prince Rupert’s Bay, and at their appearance
the islanders submitting, received an English garrison. Before this
period, commodore Moore having received intelligence that M. de Bompart
had sailed from Martinique, with a design to land a reinforcement on
Guadaloupe, and that his squadron was seen seven leagues to windward of
Marigalante, he sailed from Prince Rupert’s Bay, and turned to windward.
After having been beating about for five days to very little purpose,
he received notice from one of his cruisers, that the French admiral had
returned to Martinique; upon which information he retired quietly to
his former station in the bay of Dominique, the people of which were so
insolent as to affirm, in derision, that the English squadron sailed on
one side of the island, and the French upon the other, that they
might be sure of not meeting; but this, without doubt, was an impudent
calumny.*
* The commodore declared that he carried a press-sail night
and day, in order to come up with the French squadron, and
took every step that could be devised for that purpose. He
says, if he had pursued any other course, the French
commander might have run into the road of St. Kitt’s, and
destroyed or taken a great number of merchant ships which
were then loading with sugar for England. He says he tried
every stratagem he could contrive for bringing M. de Bompart
to action. He even sent away part of his squadron out of
sight of the inhabitants of Dominique, that they might
represent to their friends at Martinique his force much
inferior to what it really was; but this expedient had no
effect upon M. de Bompart, who made the best of his way to
Cape François, on the island of Hispaniols.
General Barrington, having happily finished the conquest of Guadaloupe,
gave notice to the commodore, that he intended to send back part of the
troops with the transports to England, about the beginning of July. In
consequence of this intimation, Mr. Moore sailed with his squadron to
Basseterre road, where he was next day joined by two ships of the line
from England, which rendered him greatly superior in strength to the
commander of the French squadron, who had retired to the island
of Grenada, lying about eight leagues from Guadaloupe. Here he was
discovered by the ship Rippon, whose captain returned immediately to
Basseterre, to make the commodore acquainted with this circumstance: but
before he could weigh anchor, a frigate arrived with information, that
Bompart had quitted Grenada, and was supposed to have directed his
course to Hispaniola. The commodore immediately despatched the Ludlow
Castle with this intelligence to admiral Coats, who commanded the
squadron at Jamaica. General Barrington having made a tour of the
island, in order to visit and repair such fortifications as he thought
necessary to be maintained, and the affairs relating to the inhabitants
being entirely settled, he sent the Highlanders, with a body of drafts,
to North America, under convoy: he garrisoned the principal strength
of the island, and left the chief command to colonel Crump, who had for
some time acted as brigadier-general; colonel Clavering having been sent
home to England with the account of the capitulation. Colonel Melville,
who had signalized himself in a remarkable manner ever since their first
landing, continued governor of the citadel at Basseterre; and the
command at Grandterre was conferred on colonel Delgarno. Three complete
regiments were alloted as a sufficient guard for the whole island, and
the other three were embarked for England. General Barrington himself
went on board the Roebuck in the latter end of June, and took his
departure for England. About a month after, the transports, under convoy
of captain Hughes, with a small squadron, set sail for Great Britain;
while commodore Moore, with his large fleet, directed his course to
Antigua.
TREATY WITH THE INDIANS.
While this armament had been employed in the conquest of Guadaloupe,
North America exhibited still more sanguinary scenes of war and
devastation; which, in order properly to introduce, it will be necessary
to explain the steps that were taken on this continent, previous to this
campaign. In October of the preceding year, a grand assembly was held
at Easton, about ninety miles from Philadelphia; and there, peace was
established, by a formal treaty, between Great Britain and the several
nations of Indians inhabiting the country between the Apalachian
mountains and the lakes. The Twightwees, however, settled between the
river Ohio and the lakes, did not assist at this treaty, though
some steps had been taken towards an alliance with that people. The
conferences were managed by the governors of Pennsylvania and new
Jersey, accompanied by sir William Johnston’s deputy for Indian
affairs, four members of the council of Pennsylvania, six members of the
assembly, two agents for the province of New Jersey, a great number of
planters and citizens of Philadelphia, chiefly Quakers. They were met by
the deputies and chiefs of the Mohawks, Oneidoes, Onondagoes, Cayugas,
Senecas, Tuscaroras, Nanticoques, and Conoys; the Tuteloes, Chugnues,
Delawares, and Unamies; the Minisinks, Mohicans, and Wappingers; the
whole number, including their women and children, amounting to five
hundred. Some of the Six Nations, thinking themselves aggrieved by
the British colonists, who had imprisoned certain individuals of their
nation, and had killed a few, and treated others with contempt, did not
fail to express their resentment, which had been artfully fomented by
the French emissaries, even into an open rapture. The Delewares and
Minisinks, in particular, complained that the English had encroached
upon their lands, and on that account were provoked to hostilities:
but their chief, Teedyuscung, had made overtures of peace; and in
the character of ambassador from all the Ten Nations, had been very
instrumental in forming this assembly. The chiefs of the Six Nations,
though very well disposed to peace, took umbrage at the importance
assumed by one of the Delawares, over whom, as their descendants, they
exercise a kind of parental authority; and on this occasion they made
no scruple to disclose their dissatisfaction. The business, therefore, of
the English governors at this congress, was to ascertain the limits of
the lands in dispute, reconcile the Six Nations with their nephews the
Delawares, remove every cause of misunderstanding between the English
and the Indians, detach these savages entirely from the French interest,
establish a firm peace, and induce them to exert their influence in
persuading the Twightwees to accede to this treaty. Those Indians,
though possessed of few ideas, circumscribed in their mental faculties,
stupid, brutal, and ferocious, conducting themselves nevertheless, in
matters of importance to the community, by the general maxims of reason
and justice; and their treaties are always founded upon good sense,
conveyed in a very ridiculous manner. Their language is guttural, harsh,
and polysyllabical; and their speech consists of hyperbolical metaphors
and similies, which invest it with an air of dignity and heighten the
expression. They manage their conferences by means of wampum, a kind of
bead formed of a hard shell, either in single strings, or sewed in
broad belts of different dimensions, according to the importance of the
subject. Every proposition is offered, every answer made, every promise
corroborated, every declaration attested, and every treaty confirmed, by
producing and interchanging these belts of wampum. The conferences were
continued from the eighth to the twenty-sixth day of October, when
every article was settled to the mutual satisfaction of all parties. The
Indian deputies were gratified with a valuable present, consisting
of looking-glasses, knives, tobacco-boxes, sleeve-buttons, thimbles,
sheers, gun-locks, ivory combs, shirts, shoes, stockings, hats,
caps, handkerchiefs, thread, clothes, blankets, gartering, serges,
watch-coats, and a few suits of laced clothes for their chieftains.
To crown their happiness, the stores of rum were opened; they drank
themselves into a state of brutal intoxication, and next day returned in
peace to their respective places of habitation.
PLAN OF THE CAMPAIGN.
This treaty with the Indians, who had been debauched from the interest
of Great Britain, auspiciously paved the way for those operations which
had been projected against the French settlements in Canada. Instead of
employing the whole strength of the British arms in North America
against one object, the ministry proposed to divide the forces, and
make impressions on three different parts at once, that the enemy might
be divided, distracted, and weakened, and the conquest of Canada
completed in one campaign. That the success might be the more certain,
the different expeditions were planned in such a manner as to
co-operate with each other, and even join occasionally; so practicable
was it thought for them to maintain such a correspondence as would
admit of a junction of this nature. The project of this campaign
imported, that general Wolfe, who had distinguished himself so
eminently in the siege of Louis-bourg, should proceed up the river St.
Laurence, as soon as the navigation should be clear of ice, with a body
of eight thousand men, and a considerable squadron of ships from
England, to undertake the siege of Quebec, the capital of Canada: that
general Amherst, who commanded in chief, should, with another army of
regular troops and provincials, amounting to twelve thousand men,
reduce Ticonderoga and Crown Point, cross the lake Champlain, and,
proceeding along the river Richelieu to the banks of the river St.
Laurence, join general Wolfe in the siege of Quebec: that
brigadier-general Prideaux, with a third body, reinforced with a
considerable number of friendly Indians, assembled by the influence and
under the command of sir William Johnston, should invest the French
fort erected at the fall or cataract of Niagara, which was certainly
the most important post of all French America, as it in a manner
commanded all the interior parts of that vast continent. It overawed
the whole country of the Six Nations, who were cajoled into a tame
acquiescence in its being built on their territory: it secured all the
inland trade, the navigation of the great lakes, the communication
between Canada and Louisiana, and opened a passage for inroads into the
colonies of Great Britain. It was proposed that the British forces,
having reduced Niagara, should be embarked on the lake Ontario, fall
down the river St. Laurence, besiege and take Montreal, and then join
or co-operate with Amherst’s army. Besides these larger armaments,
colonel Stanwix commanded a smaller detachment for reducing smaller
forts, and scouring the banks of the lake Ontario. How far this project
was founded on reason and military knowledge may be judged by the
following particulars, of which the projectors were not ignorant. The
navigation of the river St. Laurence is dangerous and uncertain. The
city of Quebec was remarkably strong from situation, and fortification,
from the bravery of the inhabitants, and the number of the garrison.
Monsieur de Montcalm, an officer of great courage and activity, kept
the field between Montreal and Quebec, with a body of eight or ten
thousand men, consisting of regular troops and disciplined militia,
reinforced by a considerable number of armed Indians; and another body
of reserve hovered in the neighbourhood of Montreal, which was the
residence of monsieur de Vaudreuil, governor-general of Canada. The
garrison of Niagara consisted of above six hundred men; the march to it
was tedious and embarrassed; and monsieur de Levi scoured the country
with a flying detachment, well acquainted with all the woods and
passes. With respect to general Amherst’s share of the plan, the forts
of Ticonderoga and Crown-Point stood in his way. The enemy were masters
of the lake Champlain, and possessed the strong fort of Chambly, by the
fall of the river Richelieu, which defended the pass to the river St.
Laurence. Even had these obstacles been removed, it was hardly possible
that he and Mr. Wolfe should arrive at Quebec in the same instant of
time. The first that reached it, far from being in condition to
undertake the siege of Quebec, would have run the risk of being engaged
and defeated by the covering army; in which case the other body must
have been exposed to the most imminent hazard of destruction, in the
midst of an enemy’s country, far distant from any place of safety to
which it could retreat. Had these disasters happened (and, according to
the experience of war, they were the natural consequences of the
scheme), the troops at Niagara would in all probability have fallen an
easy sacrifice, unless they had been so fortunate as to receive
intelligence in time enough to accomplish their retreat before they
could be intercepted. The design would, we apprehend, have been more
justifiable, or at least not so liable to objection, had Mr. Amherst
left two or three regiments to protect the frontiers of New-York, and,
joining Mr. Wolfe with the rest, sailed by the river St. Laurence to
besiege Quebec. Even in that case the whole number of his troops would
not have been sufficient, according to the practice of war, to invest
the place, and cope with the covering enemy. Nevertheless, had the
enterprise succeeded, Montcalm must either have hazarded an engagement
against great odds, or retired farther into the country; then the route
would have been open by land and water to Montreal, which could have
made little resistance. The two principal towns being taken, and the
navigation of the river St. Laurence blocked up, all the dependent
forts must have surrendered at discretion, except Niagara, which there
was a bare possibility of supplying at an incredible trouble and
expense, from the distant Mississippi; but even then, it might have
been besieged in form, and easily reduced. Whatever defects there might
have been in the plan, the execution, though it miscarried in some
essential points, was attended with surprising success. The same good
fortune that prospered the British arms so remarkably in the conquest
of Guadaloupe, seemed to interpose still more astonishingly in their
favour at Quebec, the siege of which we shall record in its proper
place. At present, we must attend the operations of general Amherst,
whose separate army was first in motion, though such impediments were
thrown in his way as greatly retarded the progress of his operations;
impediments said to have arisen from the pride, insolence, and
obstinacy of certain individuals, who possessed great influence in that
part of the world, and employed it all to thwart the service of their
country. The summer was already far advanced before general Amherst
could pass lake George with his forces, although they met with no
opposition, and reached the neighbourhood of Ticonderoga, where, in the
preceding year, the British troops had sustained such a terrible
disaster. At first the enemy seemed determined to defend this fortress:
but perceiving the English commander resolute, cautious, and well
prepared for undertaking the siege; having, moreover, orders to retreat
from place to place, towards the centre of operations at Quebec, rather
than run the least risk of being made prisoners of war, they, in the
night of July the twenty-seventh, abandoned the post, after having in
some measure dismantled the fortifications; and retired to Crown-Point,
a fort situated on the verge of lake Champlain, General Amherst having
taken possession of this important post, which effectually covered the
frontiers of New-York, and secured to himself a safe retreat in case of
necessity, ordered the works to be repaired, and allotted a strong
garrison for its defence. This acquisition, however, was not made
without the loss of a brave accomplished young officer, colonel Boger
Townshend, who, in reconnoitering the fort, was killed with a
cannon-shot, and fell near the same spot which, in the former year, had
been enriched with the blood of the gallant lord Howe, whom he strongly
resembled in the circumstances of birth, age, qualifications and
character.
{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}
GENERAL AMHERST EMBARKS ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN.
While the general superintended the repairs of Ticonderoga, and the
men were employed in preparing batteaux and other vessels, his scouting
parties hovered in the neighbourhood of Crown-Point, in order to watch
the motions of the enemy. From one of these detachments he received
intelligence, on the first day of August, that the enemy had retired
from Crown-Point. He immediately detached a body of rangers before him
to take possession of the place: then he embarked with the rest of the
army, and on the fourth day of the month landed at the fort, where
the troops were immediately encamped. His next care was to lay the
foundation of a new fort, to be maintained for the further security of
the British dominions in that part of the country; and particularly for
preventing the inroads of scalping parties, by whom the plantations had
been dreadfully infested. Here information was received that the
enemy had retired to the Isle aux Noix, at the other end of the lake
Champlain, five leagues on the hither side of St. John’s; that their
force encamped in that place, under the command of M. de Burlemaque,
consisted of three battalions and five piquets of regular troops, with
Canadians and marines, amounting in the whole to three thousand five
hundred effective men, provided with a numerous artillery; and that the
lake was occupied by four large vessels mounted with cannon, and manned
with piquets of different regiments, under the command and direction of
M. le Bras, a captain in the French navy, assisted by M. de Rigal, and
other sea-officers. In consequence of this intimation, general Amherst,
who had for some time employed captain Loring to superintend the
building of vessels at Ticonderoga, being resolved to have the
superiority on the lake, directed the captain to build with all possible
expedition a sloop of sixteen guns, and a radeau eighty-four feet in
length, capable of carrying six large cannon. These, together with a
brigantine, being finished, victualled, and manned by the eleventh
day of October, the general embarked with the whole of the troops
in batteaux, in order to attack the enemy; but next day, the weather
growing tempestuous, was obliged to take shelter in a bay on the western
shore, where the men were landed for refreshment. In the meantime,
captain Loring, with his small squadron, sailing down the lake, gave
chase to a French schooner, and drove three of their ships into a bay,
where two of them were sunk, and the third run aground by their own
crew, who escaped; one, however, was repaired and brought away by
captain Loring, so that now the French had but one schooner remaining.
General Amherst, after having been some days wind-bound, re-embarked his
forces, and proceeded down the lake; but the storm, which had abated,
beginning to blow with redoubled fury, so as to swell the waves
mountains high, the season for action being elapsed, and winter
setting in with the most rigorous severity, he saw the impossibility of
accomplishing his design, and was obliged to desist. Returning to the
same bay where he had been sheltered, he landed the troops, and began
his march for Crown-Point, where he arrived on the twenty-first day of
October. Having secured a superiority on the lake, he now employed all
his attention in rearing the new fortress at Crown-Point, together
with three small outforts for its better defence; in opening roads of
communication with Ticonderoga, and the governments of Massachusetts and
New Hampshire; and in making dispositions for the winter-quarters of his
troops, so as to protect the country from the inroads of the enemy.
NIAGARA REDUCED.
During this whole summer he received not the least intelligence of Mr.
Wolfe’s operations, except a few hints in some letters relating to the
exchange of prisoners, that came from the French general Montcalm, who
gave him to understand that Mr. Wolfe had landed in the neighbourhood of
Quebec, and seemed determined to undertake the siege of that city; that
he had honoured him (the French general) with several notes, sometimes
couched in a soothing strain, sometimes filled with threats; that the
French army intended to give him battle, and a few days would determine
the fate of Quebec. Though Mr. Amherst was ignorant of the proceedings
of the Quebec squadron, his communication continued open with the forces
which undertook the siege of Niagara; and he received an account of
their success before he had quitted the lines of Ticonderoga. General
Prideaux, with his body of troops, reinforced by the Indian auxiliaries
under sir William Johnston, advanced to the cataract of Niagara, without
being exposed to the least inconvenience on his march; and investing the
French fortress about the middle of July, carried on his approaches with
great vigour till the twentieth day of that month, when, visiting the
trenches, he was unfortunately slain by the bursting of a cohorn.
Mr. Amherst was no sooner informed of his disaster, than he detached
brigadier-general Gage from Ticonderoga, to assume the command of that
army. In the meantime it devolved on sir William Johnston, who happily
prosecuted the plan of his predecessor with all the success that could
have been desired. The enemy, alarmed with the apprehension of losing
a place of such importance, resolved to exert their endeavours for its
relief. They assembled a body of regular troops, amounting to twelve
hundred men, drawn from Detroit, Venango, and Presque Isle; and these,
with a number of Indian auxiliaries, were detached under the command of
monsieur d’Aubry, on an attempt to reinforce the garrison of Niagara.
Sir William Johnston having received intelligence of their design,
made a disposition to intercept them in their march. In the evening he
ordered the light infantry and picquets to post themselves to the left,
on the road leading from Niagara Falls to the fortress; these
were reinforced in the morning with the grenadiers and part of the
forty-sixth regiment, commanded by lieutenant-colonel Massey; and
another regiment, under lieutenant-colonel Farquhar, was posted at the
tail of the works, in order to support the guard of the trenches. About
eight in the morning, the enemy being in sight, the Indians in the
English army advanced to speak with their countrymen who served under
the French banners; but this conference was declined by the enemy.
Then the French Indians having uttered the horrible scream called the
war-whoop, which by this time had lost its effect among the British
forces, the enemy began the action with impetuosity; but they met with
such a hot reception in front, while the Indian auxiliaries fell upon
their flanks, that in a little more than half an hour their whole army
was routed, their general, with all his officers, taken, and the
pursuit continued through the woods for several miles with considerable
slaughter. This battle, which happened on the twenty-fourth day of
July, having been fought in sight of the French garrison at Niagara,
sir William Johnston sent major Harvey with a trumpet to the commanding
officer, to present him with a list of seventeen officers taken in the
engagement, and to exhort him to surrender before more blood was shed,
while he had it in his power to restrain the Indians. The commandant,
having certified himself of the truth, by sending an officer to visit
the prisoners, agreed to treat, and in a few hours the capitulation was
ratified. The garrison, consisting of six hundred and seven effective
men, marched out with the honours of war, in order to be embarked in
vessels on the lake, and conveyed in the most expeditious manner
to New-York. They laid down their arms when they embarked; but were
permitted to keep their baggage, and by proper escort protected from
the savage insolence and rapacity of the Indians. All the women were
conducted, at their own request, to Montreal; and the sick and wounded,
who could not bear the fatigue of travelling, were treated with
humanity. This was the second complete victory obtained on the continent
of North America, in the course of the same war, by sir William
Johnston, who, without the help of a military education, succeeded so
signally in the field by dint of innate courage and natural sagacity.
What remarkably characterizes these battles, is the circumstance of his
having taken, in both, the commanders of the enemy. Indeed, the war in
general may be distinguished by the singular success of this gentleman
and the celebrated lord Clive, two self-taught generals; who, by a
series of shining actions, have demonstrated that uninstructed genius
can, by its own internal light and efficacy, rival, if not eclipse, the
acquired art of discipline and experience. Sir William Johnston was not
more serviceable to his country by his valour and conduct in the field,
than by the influence and authority which his justice, benevolence, and
integrity, had acquired among the Indian tribes of the Six Nations, whom
he not only assembled at Niagara to the number of eleven hundred, but
also restrained within the bounds of good order and moderation.
INTRODUCTION TO THE EXPEDITION AGAINST QUEBEC.
The reduction of Niagara, and the possession of Crown-Point, were
exploits much more easily achieved than the conquest of Quebec, the
great object to which all these operations were subordinate. Of that
we now come to give the detail fraught with singular adventures and
surprising events; in the course of which a noble spirit of enterprise
was displayed, and the scenes of war were exhibited in all the variety
of desolation. It was about the middle of February that a considerable
squadron sailed from England for Cape Breton, under the command of
admirals Saunders and Holmes, two gentlemen of worth and probity, who
had on several occasions signalised their courage and conduct in the
service of their country. By the twenty-first day of April they were in
sight of Louisbourg; but the harbour was blocked up with ice in such a
manner, that they were obliged to bear away for Halifax in Nova-Scotia.
From hence rear-admiral Durell was detached with a small squadron to
sail up the river St. Laurence as far as the Isle de Coudres, in
order to intercept any supplies from France intended for Quebec: he
accordingly took two store-ships; but he was anticipated by seventeen
sail, laden with provision, stores, and some recruits, under convoy
of three frigates, which had already reached the capital of Canada.
Meanwhile admiral Saunders arrived at Louisbourg; and the troops being
embarked, to the number of eight thousand, proceeded up the river
without further delay. The operations by land were intrusted to the
conduct of major-general James Wolfe, whose talents had shone with such
superior lustre at the siege of Louisbourg; and his subordinates in
command were the brigadiers Monckton, Townshend, and Murray; all four
in the flower of their age, who had studied the milifeiry art with
equal eagerness and proficiency, and though young in years, were old in
experience. The first was a soldier by descent, the son of major-general
Wolfe, a veteran officer of acknowledged capacity: the other three
resembled each other, not only in years, qualifications, and station,
but also in family rank, all three being the sons of noblemen. The
situation of brigadier Townshend was singular; he had served abroad in
the last war with reputation, and resigned his commission during
the peace, in disdain at some hard usage he had sustained from his
superiors. That his military talents, however, might not be lost to
his country, he exercised them with equal spirit and perseverance
in projecting and promoting the plan of a national militia. When
the command and direction of the army devolved to a new leader, so
predominant in his breast was the spirit of patriotism and the love of
glory, that though heir-apparent to a British peerage, possessed of
a very affluent fortune, remarkably dear to his acquaintance, and
solicited to a life of quiet by every allurement of domestic felicity;
he waived these considerations: he burst from all entanglements;
proffered his services to his sovereign; exposed himself to the perils
of a disagreeable voyage, the rigours of a severe climate, and
the hazard of a campaign peculiarly fraught with toil, danger, and
difficulty.
GENERAL WOLFE LANDS ON THE ISLAND OF ORLEANS.
The armament intended for Quebec sailed up the river St. Laurence,
without having met with any interruption, or having perceived any of
those difficulties and perils with which it had been reported that the
navigation of it was attended. Their good fortune in this particular,
indeed, was owing to some excellent charts of the river, which had been
found in vessels taken from the enemy. About the latter end of June the
land-forces were disembarked in two divisions upon the isle of Orleans,
situated a little below Quebec, a large fertile island, well cultivated,
producing plenty of grain, abounding with people, villages, and
plantations. General Wolfe no sooner landed on the island of Orleans,
than he distributed a manifesto among the French colonists, giving them
to understand that the king his master, justly exasperated against the
French monarch, had equipped a considerable armament in order to humble
his pride, and was determined to reduce the most considerable French
settlements in America. He declared it was not against the industrious
peasants, their wives and children, nor against the ministers of
religion, that he intended to make war; on the contrary, he lamented
the misfortunes to which they must be exposed by the quarrel; he offered
them his protection; and promised to maintain them in their temporal
possessions, as well as in the free exercise of their religion, provided
they would remain quiet, and take no part in the difference between the
two crowns. He observed, that the English were masters of the river St.
Laurence, so as to intercept all succours from Europe; and had besides a
powerful army on the continent, under the command of general Amherst. He
affirmed, that the resolution they ought to take was neither difficult
nor doubtful; as the utmost exertion of their valour would be useless,
and serve only to deprive them of the advantages which they might reap
from their neutrality. He reminded them that the cruelties exercised by
the French upon the subjects of Great Britain in America, would excuse
the most severe reprisals; but Britons were too generous to follow such
barbarous examples. He again offered to the Canadians the sweets of
peace, amidst the horrors of war; and left it to themselves to determine
their own fate by their own conduct. He expressed his hope that the
world would do him justice, should they oblige him, by rejecting these
favourable terms, to adopt violent measures. He expatiated upon the
strength and power, as well as upon the generosity, of Great Britain, in
thus stretching out the hand of humanity; a hand ready to assist them on
all occasions, even when France was by her weakness compelled to abandon
them in the most critical conjuncture. This declaration produced no
immediate effect; nor indeed did the Canadians depend on the sincerity
and promised faith of a nation, whom their priests had industriously
represented as the most savage and cruel enemy on earth. Possessed of
these notions, which prevailed even among the better sort, they chose to
abandon their habitations, and expose themselves and families to certain
ruin, in provoking the English by the most cruel hostilities, rather
than be quiet, and confide in the general’s promise of protection.
Instead of pursuing this prudent plan of conduct, they joined the
scalping parties * of Indians who skulked among the woods; and falling
upon the English stragglers by surprise, butchered them with the most
inhuman barbarity.
* The operation of scalping, which, to the shame of both
nations, was encouraged both by French and English, the
savages performed in this manner--The hapless victim being
disabled, or disarmed, the Indian, with a sharp knife,
provided and worn for the purpose, makes a circular incision
to the bone round the upper part of the head, and tears off
the scalp with his fingers. Previous to this execution, he
generally despatches the prisoner by repeated blows on the
head, with the hammer-side of the instrument called a
tomahawk: but sometimes they save themselves the trouble,
and sometimes the blows prove ineffectual; so that the
miserable patient is found alive, groaning in the utmost
agony of torture. The Indian strings the scalps he has
procured, to be produced as a testimony of his prowess, and
receives a premium for each from the nation under whose
banners he has been enlisted.
Mr. Wolfe, whose nature revolted against this wanton and perfidious
cruelty, sent a letter to the French general, representing that such
enormities were contrary to the rules of war observed among civilized
nations, dishonourable to the service of France, and disgraceful to
human nature; he therefore desired that the French colonists and Indians
might be restrained within due bounds, otherwise he would burn their
villages, desolate their plantations, and retaliate upon the persons of
his prisoners whatever cruelties should, in the sequel, be committed on
the soldiers or subjects of his master. In all probability the French
general’s authority was not sufficient to bridle the ferocity of
the savages, who continued to scalp and murder, with the most brutal
appetite for blood and revenge, so that Mr. Wolfe, in order to
intimidate the enemy into a cessation of these outrages, found it
necessary to connive at some irregularities in the way of retaliation.
M. de Montcalm, who commanded the French troops, though superior in
number to the invaders, very wisely resolved to depend upon the natural
strength of the country, which appeared almost insurmountable, and had
carefully taken all his precautions of defence. The city of Quebec was
tolerably fortified, secured with a numerous garrison, and plentifully
supplied with provisions and ammunition. Montcalm had reinforced the
troops of the colony with five regular battalions formed of the best
of the inhabitants, completely disciplined all the Canadians of the
neighbourhood capable of bearing arms, and several tribes of savages.
With this army he had taken the field in a very advantageous situation,
encamped along the shore of Beaufort, from the river St. Charles to the
Falls of Montmorenci, every accessible part being deeply intrenched. To
undertake the siege of Quebec against such odds and advantages, was
not only a deviation from the established maxims of war, but a rash
enterprise, seemingly urged in diametrical opposition to the dictates of
common sense. Mr. Wolfe was well acquainted with all the difficulties of
the undertaking; but he knew at the same time he should always have
it in his power to retreat, in case of emergency, while the British
squadron maintained its station in the river; he was not without hope
of being joined by general Amherst; and he was stimulated by an appetite
for glory, which the prospect of accumulated dangers could not allay.
Understanding that there was a body of the enemy posted, with cannon, at
the Point of Levi, on the south shore, opposite the city of Quebec,
he detached against them brigadier Monckton, at the head of four
battalions, who passed the river at night; and next morning, having
skirmished with some of the enemy’s irregulars, obliged them to retire
from that post, which the English immediately occupied. At the same time
colonel Carlton, with another detachment, took possession of the western
point of the island of Orleans: and both these posts were fortified, in
order to anticipate the enemy; who, had they kept possession of either,
might have rendered it impossible for any ship to lie at anchor within
two miles of Quebec. Besides, the Point of Levi was within cannon
shot of the city, against which a battery of mortars and artillery was
immediately erected. Montcalm, foreseeing the effect of this manoeuvre,
detached a body of sixteen hundred men across the river, to attack and
destroy the works before they were completed; but the detachment fell
into disorder, fired upon each other, and retired in confusion. The
battery being finished without further interruption, the cannons and
mortars began to play with such success, that in a little time the upper
town was considerably damaged, and the lower town reduced to a heap of
rubbish.
ENGLISH FLEET DAMAGED BY A STORM.
In the meantime, the fleet was exposed to the most imminent danger.
Immediately after the troops had been landed on the island of Orleans,
the wind increased to a furious storm, which blew with such violence,
that many transports ran foul of one another, and were disabled. A
number of boats and small craft foundered, and divers large ships lost
their anchors. The enemy resolving to take advantage of the confusion
which they imagined this disaster must have produced, prepared seven
fire ships; and at midnight sent them down from Quebec among the
transports, which lay so thick as to cover the whole surface of the
river. The scheme, though well contrived, and seasonably executed, was
entirely defeated by the deliberation of the British admiral, and the
dexterity of his mariners, who resolutely boarded the fire ships, and
towed them fast aground, where they lay burning to the water’s edge,
without having done the least prejudice to the English squadron. On
the very same day of the succeeding month they sent down a raft of
fire-ships, or radeaux, which were likewise consumed without producing
any effect.
GENERAL WOLFE ENCAMPS NEAR THE FALLS OF THE RIVER MONTMORENCI.
The works for the security of the hospital and the stores, on the island
of Orleans, being finished, the British forces crossed the north channel
in boats; and, landing under cover of two sloops, encamped on the side
of the river Montmorenci, which divided them from the left of the
enemy. Next morning a company of rangers, posted in a wood to cover
some workmen, were attacked by the French Indians, and totally defeated;
however, the nearest troops advancing, repulsed the Indians in their
turn with considerable loss. The reasons that induced general Wolfe
to choose this situation by the Falls of Montmorenci, in which he was
divided from Quebec by this and another river called St. Charles, he
explained in a letter to the secretary of state. He observed, that the
ground which he had chosen was high, and in some measure commanded the
opposite side on which the enemy was posted: that there was a ford below
the Falls passable in every tide for some hours, at the latter part of
the ebb and beginning of the flood; and he hoped that means might be
found of passing the river higher up, so as to fight the marquis
de Montcalm upon less disadvantageous terms than those of directly
attacking his intrenchments. Accordingly, in reconnoitring the river
Montmorenci, a ford was discovered about three miles above; but the
opposite banks, which were naturally steep and covered with woods,
the enemy had intrenched in such a manner, as to render it almost
inaccessible. The escort was twice attacked by the Indians, who were as
often repulsed; but these rencounters cost the English about forty men
killed and wounded, including some officers. Some shrewd objections
might be started to the general’s choice of ground on this occasion.
He could not act at all without passing the river Montmorenci at a
very great disadvantage, and attacking an enemy superior to himself in
number, secured by redoubts and intrenchments. Had he even, by dint of
extraordinary valour, driven them from these strong posts, the success
must have cost him a great number of officers and men: and the enemy
might have retreated behind the river St. Charles, which he also must
have passed under the same disadvantages, before he could begin his
operations against the city of Quebec. Had his good fortune enabled him
to surmount all these difficulties, and after all to defeat the enemy in
a pitched battle, the garrison of Quebec might have been reinforced
by the wreck of their army; and he could not, with any probability of
success, have undertaken the siege of an extensive fortified place,
which he had not troops sufficient to invest, and whose garrison would
have been nearly equal in number to the sum total of the troops he
commanded. At any rate, the chance of a fair engagement in the open
field was what he had little reason to expect in that situation, from
the known experience, and the apparent conduct, of the French general.
These objections appeared so obvious and important, that general Wolfe
would not determine to risk an attack, until he had surveyed the upper
part of the river St. Laurence, in hopes of finding some place more
favourable for a descent.
On the eighteenth day of July, the admiral, at his request, sent two
ships of war, two armed sloops, and some transports with troops on
board, up the river; and they passed the city of Quebec, without
having sustained any damage. The general, being on board of this little
armament, carefully observed the banks on the side of the enemy, which
were extremely difficult from the nature of the ground; and these
difficulties were redoubled by the foresight and precaution of the
French commander. Though a descent seemed impracticable between the city
and Cape Rouge, where it was intended, general Wolfe, in order to divide
the enemy’s force, and procure intelligence, ordered a detachment, under
the command of colonel Carleton, to land higher up, at the Point
au Tremble, to which place he was informed a great number of the
inhabitants of Quebec had retired with their most valuable effects. This
service was performed with little loss; and some prisoners were brought
away, but no magazine was discovered. The general, thus disappointed in
his expectation, returned to Montmorenci, where brigadier Townshend had,
by maintaining a superior fire across that river, prevented the enemy
from erecting a battery, which would have commanded the English camp;
and now he resolved to attack them, though posted to great advantage,
and everywhere prepared to give him a warm reception. His design was,
first to reduce a detached redoubt close to the water’s edge, seemingly
situated without gunshot of the intrenchment on the hill. Should this
fortification be supported by the enemy, he foresaw that he should be
able to bring on a general engagement: on the contrary, should they
remain tame spectators of its reduction, he could afterwards examine
their situation at leisure, and determine the place at which they could
be most easily attacked. Preparations were accordingly made for storming
the redoubt. On the last day of July, in the forenoon, part of brigadier
Monckton’s brigade was embarked in the boats of the fleet, to be
transported from the Point of Levi. The two brigades, commanded by the
brigadiers Townshend and Murray, were drawn out in order to pass the
ford when it should be necessary. To facilitate their passage, the
admiral had stationed the Centurion ship of war in the channel, to
check the fire of the lower battery, by which the ford was commanded: a
numerous train of artillery was placed upon the eminence, to batter and
enfilade the left of the enemy’s intrenchment; and two flat-bottomed
armed vessels, prepared for the purpose, were run aground near the
redoubt, to favour the descent of the forces. The manifest confusion
produced among the French by these previous measures, and by the fire
of the Centurion, which was well-directed and sustained, determined
Mr. Wolfe to storm this intrenchment without further delay. Orders were
issued that the three brigadiers should put their troops in motion at a
certain signal, which was accordingly made at a proper time of the tide.
Many of the boats from Point Levi ran aground upon a ledge that runs off
a considerable distance from the shore; and this accident occasioned a
disorderly which so much time was lost, that the general was obliged to
stop the march of brigadier Townshend’s corps, which he perceived to be
in motion. In the meantime, the boats were floated, and ranged in proper
order, though exposed to a severe fire of shot and shells; and the
general in person sounding the shore, pointed out the place where the
troops might disembark with the least difficulty. Thirteen companies of
Grenadiers, and two hundred men of the second American battalion, were
the first who landed. They had received orders to form in four distinct
bodies, and begin the attack, supported by the corps of brigadier
Monckton, as soon as the other troops should have passed the ford, and
be near enough to contribute to their assistance. These instructions,
however, were entirely neglected. Before Mr. Monckton had landed, and
while brigadier Townshend was on his march at a considerable distance,
the grenadiers, without waiting to be drawn up in a regular form,
impetuously rushed towards the enemy’s intrenchments in the utmost
disorder. Their courage served only to increase their misfortune. The
first fire they received did such execution among them, that they were
obliged to shelter themselves under the redoubt which the French had
abandoned at their approach. In this uncomfortable situation they
remained some time, unable to form under so hot a fire, notwithstanding
the utmost efforts of many gallant officers, who lavishly exposed, and
even lost their lives in the honourable discharge of their duty. [511]
_[See note 3 Y, at the end of this Vol.]_ The general, seeing all their
efforts abortive, ordered them to retreat, and form behind Monckton’s
brigade, which was by this time landed, and drawn up on the beach in
order. They accordingly retired in confusion, leaving a considerable
number lying on the field, to the barbarity of the Indian savages, who
massacred the living, and scalped the dead, even in the sight of their
indignant companions. This unhappy accident occasioned a new delay, and
the day was already far advanced. The wind began to blow with uncommon
violence, and the tide to make; so that in case of a second repulse, the
retreat of brigadier Townshend might have been rendered hazardous and
uncertain; Mr. Wolfe, therefore, thought proper to desist, and returned
without further molestation to the other side of the river Montmorenci.
The admiral ordered the two vessels which were aground to be set
on fire, that they might not fall into the hands of the enemy. The
advantages that favoured an attack in this part, consisted of the
following particulars:--All the artillery could be used with good
effect; all the troops could act at once; and in case of a miscarriage,
the retreat was secure and open, at least for a certain time of
the tide. These, however, seemed to be over-balanced by other
considerations. The enemy were posted on a commanding eminence; the
beach was covered with deep mud, slippery, and broken into holes and
gullies; the hill was steep, and in some places impracticable; the
enemy were numerous, and poured in a very severe fire from their
intrenchments. Had the attack succeeded, the loss of the English must
have been very heavy, and that of the French inconsiderable, because the
neighbouring woods afforded them immediate shelter. Finally, the
river St. Charles still remained to be passed before the town could be
invested.
{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}
BRIGADIER MURRAY DETACHED UP THE RIVER.
Immediately after this mortifying check, in which above five hundred
men, and many brave officers, were lost, the general detached brigadier
Murray, with twelve hundred men, in transports, above the town, to
co-operate with rear-admiral Holmes, whom the admiral had sent up with
some force against the French shipping, which he hoped to destroy. The
brigadier was likewise instructed to seize every opportunity of fighting
the enemy’s detachments, and even of provoking them to battle. In
pursuance of these directions, he twice attempted to land on the north
shore; but these attempts were unsuccessful. The third effort was
more fortunate. He made a sudden descent at Chambaud, and burned a
considerable magazine, filled with arms, clothing, provisions, and
ammunition. The enemy’s ships being secured in such a manner as not to
be approached, and nothing else occurring that required the brigadier’s
longer stay, he returned to the camp, with intelligence obtained
from his prisoners, that the fort of Niagara was taken, Crown Point
abandoned, and general Amherst employed in making preparations to attack
the corps at the isle aux Nois, commanded by M. Burlemaque. The disaster
at the Falls of Montmorenci made a deep impression on the mind of
general Wolfe, whose spirit was too great to brook the most distant
prospect of censure or disgrace. He knew the character of the English
people--rash, impatient, and capricious; elevated to exultation by
the least gleam of success, dejected even to despondency by the most
inconsiderable frown of adverse fortune; sanguine, even to childish
hyperbole, in applauding those servants of the public who have prospered
in their undertakings; clamorous, to a degree of prosecution, against
those who have miscarried in their endeavours, without any investigation
of merit, without any consideration of circumstances. A keen sense
of these vexatious peculiarities conspiring with the shame of
disappointment, and eager desire of retrieving the laurel that he might
by some be supposed to have lost at the Falls of Montmorenci, and the
despair of finding such an occasion, excited an internal agitation,
which visibly affected his external frame, and disordered his whole
constitution, which was naturally delicate and tender. Among those who
shared his confidence, he was often seen to sigh; he was often heard
to complain; and even in the transports of his chagrin declare, that he
would never return without success, to be exposed, as other unfortunate
commanders had been, to the censure and reproach of an ignorant and
ungrateful populace. This tumult of the mind, added to the fatigues of
the body he had undergone, produced a fever and dysentery, by which for
some time he was totally disabled.
Before he recovered any degree of strength, he desired the general
officers to consult together for the public utility. It was their
opinion, that, the Points of Levi and Orleans being left in a proper
state of defence, the rest of the troops should be conveyed up the
river, with a view to draw the enemy from their present situation, and
bring them if possible to an engagement. This measure, however, was
not adopted, until the general and admiral had reconnoitred the town of
Quebec, with a view to a general assault; and concluded from their own
observations, reinforced by the opinion of the chief engineer, who was
perfectly well acquainted with the interior of the place, that such an
attack could not be hazarded with any prospect of success. The ships of
war, indeed, might have silenced the batteries of the lower town,
but they could not affect the upper works, from which they must have
sustained considerable damage. When we consider the situation of this
place, and the fortifications with which it was secured; the natural
strength of the country; the great number of vessels and floating
batteries they had provided for the defence of the river; the skill,
valour, superior force, and uncommon vigilance of the enemy; their
numerous bodies of savages continually hovering about the posts of the
English, to surprise parties, and harass detachments; we must own that
there was such a combination of difficulties as might have discouraged
and perplexed the most resolute and intelligent commander.
THE TROOPS LAND AT THE HEIGHTS OF ABRAHAM.
In consequence of the resolution taken to quit the camp at Montmorenci,
the troops and artillery were re-embarked, and landed at Point Levi:
they afterwards passed up the river in transports, while admiral Holmes
made a movement with his ships to amuse the enemy posted on the north
shore; and the men being much crowded on board, the general ordered
one-half of them to be landed for refreshment on the other side of the
river. As no possibility appeared of annoying the enemy above the town,
the scheme of operations was totally changed. A plan was formed for
conveying the troops farther down in boats, and landing them in the
night within a league of Cape Diamond, in hopes of ascending the heights
of Abraham, which rise abruptly with a steep ascent from the banks of
the river, that they might take possession of the ground on the back
of the city, where it was but indifferently fortified. The dangers and
difficulties attending the execution of this design were so peculiarly
discouraging, that one would imagine it could not have been embraced but
by a spirit of enterprise that bordered on desperation. The stream was
rapid; the shore shelving; the bank of the river lined with sentinels;
the landing place so narrow as to be easily missed in the dark; and the
ground so difficult as hardly to be surmounted in the day-time, had no
opposition been expected. If the enemy had received the least intimation
from spy or deserter, or even suspected the scheme; had the embarkation
been disordered in consequence of the darkness of the night, the
rapidity of the river, or the shelving nature of the north shore, near
which they were obliged to row; had one sentinel been alarmed, or the
landing place much mistaken; the heights of Abraham must have
been instantly secured by such a force as would, have rendered the
undertaking abortive: confusion would necessarily have ensued in the
dark; and this would have naturally produced a panic, which might have
proved fatal to the greater part of the detachment. These objections
could not escape the penetration of the gallant Wolfe, who nevertheless
adopted the plan without hesitation, and even executed it in person;
though at that time labouring under a severe dysentery and fever, which
had exhausted his constitution, and reduced him almost to an extremity
of weakness. The previous steps being taken, and the time fixed for this
hazardous attempt, admiral Holmes moved with his squadron farther up
the river, about three leagues above the place appointed for the
disembarkation, that he might deceive the enemy, and amuse M. de
Bougainville, whom Montcalm had detached with fifteen hundred men to
watch the motions of that squadron; but the English admiral was directed
to sail down the river in the night, so as to protect the landing of the
forces; and these orders he punctually fulfilled. On the twelfth day of
September, an hour after midnight, the first embarkation, consisting of
four complete regiments, the light infantry commanded by colonel Howe,
a detachment of Highlanders, and the American grenadiers, was made
in flat-bottomed boats, under the immediate command of the brigadiers
Monck-ton and Murray; though general Wolfe accompanied them in person,
and was among the first who landed; and they began to fall down with the
tide, to the intended place of disembarkation, rowing close to the north
shore in order to find it the more easily. Without any disorder the
boats glided gently along: but by the rapidity of the tide, and the
darkness of the night, the boats over-shot the mark, and the troops
landed a little below the place at which the disembarkation was
intended. [513] _[See note 3 Z, at the end of this Vol.]_ As the troops
landed the boats were sent back for the second embarkation, which was
superintended by brigadier Townshend. In the meantime, colonel Howe,
with the light infantry and the Highlanders, ascended the woody
precipices with admirable courage and activity, and dislodged a
sergeant’s guard which defended a small intrenched narrow path, by which
alone the rest of the forces could reach the summit. Then they mounted
without further molestation from the enemy, and the general drew them up
in order as they arrived. Monsieur de Montcalm no sooner understood
that the English had gained the heights of Abraham, which in a manner
commanded the town on its weakest part, than he resolved to hazard a
battle; and began his march without delay, after having collected his
whole force from the side of Beauport.
BATTLE OF QUEBEC.
General Wolfe, perceiving the enemy crossing the river St. Charles,
began to form his own line, which consisted of six battalions and the
Louisbourg grenadiers; the right commanded by brigadier Monckton, and
the left by brigadier Murray: to the rear of the left, colonel Howe was
posted with his light infantry, just returned from a four-gun battery,
which they had taken without opposition. M. de Montcalm advancing in
such a manner as to show his intention was to flank the left of the
English, brigadier Townshend was sent thither with the regiment of
Amherst, which he formed _en potence_, presenting a double front to the
enemy: he was afterwards reinforced by two battalions; and the reserve
consisted of one regiment drawn up in eight sub-divisions, with large
intervals. The right of the enemy was composed of half the colony
troops, two battalions, and a body of Canadians and savages; their
centre consisted of a column formed by two other regular battalions; and
on the left one battalion, with the remainder of the colony troops,
was posted; the bushes and corn-fields in their front were lined with
fifteen hundred of their best marksmen, who kept up an irregular galling
fire, which proved fatal to many brave officers, thus singled out for
destruction. This fire, indeed, was in some measure checked by the
advanced posts of the British line, who piqueered with the enemy for
some hours before the battle began. Both armies were destitute of
artillery, except two small pieces on the side of the French, and a
single gun which the English seamen made shift to draw up from the
landing place. This was very well served, and galled their column
severely. At length, about nine in the morning, the enemy advanced
to the charge with great order and vivacity, though their fire was
irregular and ineffectual. On the contrary, the British forces reserved
their shot until the French had approached within forty yards of their
line: then they poured in a terrible discharge; and continued the fire
with such deliberation and spirit, as could not fail to produce a very
considerable effect. General Wolfe was stationed on the right, at the
head of Bragg’s regiment and the Louisbourg grenadiers, where the attack
was most warm. As he stood conspicuous in the front of the line, he had
been aimed at by the enemy’s marksmen, and received a shot in the wrist,
which however did not oblige him to quit the field. Having wrapped a
handkerchief round his hand, he continued giving orders without the
least emotion; and advanced at the head of the grenadiers with their
bayonets fixed; when another ball unfortunately pierced the breast of
this young hero,* who fell in the arms of victory, just as the enemy
gave way.
* When the fatal ball took place, general Wolfe, finding
himself unable to stand, leaned upon the shoulder of a
lieutenant, who sat down for that purpose. This officer
seeing the French give way, exclaimed, “They run! they
run!”--“Who run?” cried the gallant Wolfe, with great
eagerness. When the lieutenant replied, “The French.”--
“What!” said he, “do the cowards run already? then I die
happy.” So saying, the glorious youth expired.
[Illustration 513.jpg DEATH OF GENERAL WOLFE]
At that very instant, every separate regiment of the British army seemed
to exert itself for the honour of its own peculiar character. While the
right pressed on with their bayonets, brigadier Murray briskly advanced
with the troops under his command, and soon broke the centre of the
enemy: then the High landers, drawing their broad-swords, fell in among
them, with irresistible impetuosity, and drove them with great slaughter
into the town, and the works they had raised at the bridge of the river
St. Charles. On the left and rear of the English, the action was not so
violent. Some of the light infantry had thrown themselves into houses;
where, being attacked, they defended themselves with great courage and
resolution. Colonel Howe having taken post with two companies behind a
small copse, sallied out frequently on the flanks of the enemy during
this attack, and often drove them into heaps; while brigadier Townshend
advanced platoons against their front; so that the right wing of the
French were totally prevented from executing their first intention.
The brigadier himself remained with Amherst’s regiment, to support this
disposition, and to overawe a body of savages posted opposite to the
light infantry, waiting for an opportunity to fall upon the rear of
the British army. General Wolfe being slain, and at the same time Mr.
Monckton dangerously wounded at the head of Lascelles’ regiment, where
he distinguished himself with remarkable gallantry, the command devolved
on brigadier Townshend, who hastened to the centre; and finding the
troops disordered in the pursuit, formed them again with all possible
expedition. This necessary task was scarce performed, when M. de
Bougainville, with a body of two thousand fresh men, appeared in the
rear of the English. He had begun his march from Cape Rouge, as soon as
he received intelligence that the British troops had gained the heights
of Abraham, but did not come up in time to have any share in the battle.
Mr. Townshend immediately ordered two battalions, with two pieces
of artillery, to advance against this officer; who retired, at their
approach, among woods and swamps, where general Townshend very wisely
declined hazarding a precarious attack. He had already obtained a
complete victory, taken a great number of French officers, and was
possessed of a very advantageous situation, which it would have been
imprudent to forego. The French general, M. de Montcalm, was mortally
wounded in the battle, and conveyed into Quebec; from whence, before he
died, he wrote a letter to general Townshend, recommending the prisoners
to that generous humanity by which the British nation is distinguished.
His second in command was left wounded on the field; and next day
expired on board an English ship, to which he had been conveyed. About
one thousand of the enemy were made prisoners, including a great number
of officers; and about five hundred were slain on the field of battle.
The wreck of their army, after they had reinforced the garrison of
Quebec, retired to Point-au-Tremble; from whence they proceeded to
Jacques Quatiers, where they remained intrenched until they were
compelled by the severity of the weather to make the best of their way
to Trois Rivieres and Montreal. This important victory was obtained at
the expense of fifty men killed, including nine officers; and of about
five hundred men wounded: but the death of general Wolfe was a national
loss, universally lamented. He inherited from nature an animating
fervour of sentiment, an intuitive perception, an extensive capacity,
and a passion for glory, which stimulated him to acquire every species
of military knowledge that study could comprehend, that actual service
could illustrate and confirm. This noble warmth of disposition, seldom
fails to call forth and unfold the liberal virtues of the soul. Brave
above all estimation of danger, he was also generous, gentle, complacent
and humane; the pattern of the officer, the darling of the soldier:
there was a sublimity in his genius which soared above the pitch of
ordinary minds; and had his faculties been exercised to their full
extent by opportunity and action, had his judgment been fully matured by
age and experience, he would without doubt have rivalled in reputation
the most celebrated captains of antiquity.
QUEBEC TAKEN.
Immediately after the battle of Quebec, admiral Saunders, who, together
with his subordinates Durell and Holmes, had all along co-operated
heartily with the land-forces for the advantage of the service, sent
up all the boats of the fleet with artillery and ammunition; and on the
seventeenth day of the month sailed up with all the ships of war, in
a disposition to attack the lower town, while the upper part should be
assaulted by general Townshend. This gentleman had employed the time
from the day of action in securing the camp with redoubts, in forming
a military road for the cannon, in drawing up the artillery, preparing
batteries, and cutting off the enemy’s communication with the country.
On the seventeenth, before any battery could be finished, a flag of
truce was sent from the town, with proposals of capitulation; which,
being maturely considered by the general and admiral, were accepted, and
signed at eight next morning. They granted the more favourable terms, as
the enemy continued to assemble in the rear of the British army; as the
season was become wet, stormy, and cold, threatening the troops with
sickness, and the fleet with accident; and as a considerable advantage
would result from taking possession of the town while the walls were in
a state of defence. What rendered the capitulation still more fortunate
for the British general, was the information he afterwards received from
deserters, that the enemy had rallied, and were reinforced behind cape
Rouge, under the command of M. de Levy, arrived from Montreal for that
purpose, with two regular battalions; and that M. de Bougainville, at
the head of eight hundred men, with a convoy of provisions, was actually
on his march to throw himself into the town on the eighteenth, that very
morning on which it was surrendered. The place was not then completely
invested, as the enemy had broke the bridge of boats, and posted
detachments in very strong works on the other side of the river St.
Charles. The capitulation was no sooner ratified, than the British
forces took possession of Quebec on the land side; and guards were
posted in different parts of the town, to preserve order and discipline;
at the same time captain Palliser, with a body of seamen, entered the
lower town and took the same precautions. Next day about a thousand
prisoners were embarked on board transports, which proceeded to France
with the first opportunity. Meanwhile the inhabitants of the country
came in great numbers, to deliver up their arms, and take the oath of
fidelity to the English government. The death of Montcalm, which was
indeed an irreparable loss to France, in all probability overwhelmed the
enemy with consternation, and confounded all their councils; otherwise
we cannot account for the tame surrender of Quebec to a handful of
troops, even after the victory they had obtained: for although the place
was not regularly fortified on the land-side, and most of the houses
were in ruins, their walls and parapets had not yet sustained the
least damage; the besiegers were hardly sufficient to complete the
investiture; a fresh army was assembled in the neighbourhood, with which
their communication continued open; the season was so far advanced, that
the British forces in a little time must have been forced to desist by
the severity of the weather, and even retire with their fleet before
the approach of winter, which never fails to freeze up the river St.
Laurence.
Immediately after the action at the Falls of Montmorenci, general Wolfe
had despatched an officer to England, with a detail of that disaster,
written with such elegance and accuracy, as would not have disgraced the
pen of a Cæsar. Though the public acquiesced in his conduct, they were
exceedingly mortified at his miscarriage; and this mortification was
the greater, as he seemed to despair of being able to strike any other
stroke of importance for the accomplishment of their hope, which had
aspired at the absolute conquest of Canada. The first transports of
their chagrin were not yet subsided, when colonel Hale arrived in the
ship Alcide, with an account of the victory and surrender of Quebec;
which was immediately communicated to the people in an Extraordinary
Gazette. The joy which this excited among the populace rose in
proportion to the despondence which the former had produced: all was
rapture and riot; all was triumph and exultation, mingled with the
praise of the all-accomplished Wolfe, which they exalted even to a
ridiculous degree of hyperbole. The king expressed his satisfaction by
conferring the honour of knighthood upon captain Douglas, whose ship
brought the first tidings of this success; and gratified him and colonel
Hale with considerable presents. A day of solemn thanksgiving was
appointed by proclamation through all the dominions of Great Britain.
The city of London, the universities, and many other corporations of
the kingdom, presented congratulatory addresses to his majesty. The
parliament was no sooner assembled, than the secretary of state, in the
house of commons, expatiated upon the successes of the campaign, the
transcendent merit of the deceased general, the conduct and courage of
the admirals and officers who assisted in the conquest of Quebec. In
consequence of this harangue, and the motion by which it was succeeded,
the house unanimously resolved to present an address, desiring his
majesty would order a monument to be erected in Westminster-abbey to
the memory of major-general Wolfe; at the same time they passed
another resolution, that the thanks of the house should be given to the
surviving generals and admirals employed in the glorious and successful
expedition to Quebec. Testimonies of this kind, while they reflect
honour upon the character of the nation, never fail to animate
individuals to a spirited exertion of their talents in the service of
the public. The people of England were so elevated by the astonishing
success of this campaign, which was also prosperous on the continent
of Europe, that, far from expressing the least sense of the enormous
burdens which they bore, they, with a spirit peculiar to the British
nation, voluntarily raised large contributions to purchase warm jackets,
stockings, shoes, coats, and blankets, for the soldiers who were exposed
to the rigours of an inclement sky in Germany and America. But they
displayed a more noble proof of unrestrained benevolence, extended even
to foes. The French ministry, straitened in their finances, which were
found scarce sufficient to maintain the war, had sacrificed their
duty to their king, and every sentiment of compassion for his unhappy
subjects, to a thirst of vengeance, and sanguinary views of ambition.
They had withdrawn the usual allowance from their subjects who were
detained prisoners in England; and those wretched creatures, amounting
in number to near twenty thousand, were left to the mercy of those
enemies whom their sovereign had taken such pains to exasperate. The
allowance with which they were indulged by the British government
effectually secured them from the horrors of famine; but still they
remained destitute of other conveniences, and particularly exposed to
the miseries of cold and nakedness. The generous English beheld these
forlorn captives with sentiments of sympathy and compassion; they
considered them as their fellow-creatures and brethren in humanity, and
forgot their country while they beheld their distress. A considerable
subscription was raised in their behalf; and in a few weeks they were
completely clothed by the charity of their British benefactors. This
beneficent exertion was certainly one of the noblest triumphs of the
human mind, which even the most inveterate enemies of Great Britain
cannot but regard with reverence and admiration.--The city of Quebec
being reduced, together with great part of the circumjacent country,
brigadier Townshend, who had accepted his commission with the express
proviso that he should return to England at the end of the campaign,
left a garrison of five thousand effective men, victualled from the
fleet, under the command of brigadier Murray; and, embarking with
admiral Saunders, arrived in Great Britain about the beginning of
winter. As for brigadier Monckton, he was conveyed to New York, where he
happily recovered of his wound.