CHAPTER XXIV End of the French and Indian War A Change for the Better-William Pitt, Prime Minister-Vigorous Measures Adopted-Recall of the Earl of Loudon Capture of Louisburg-Abercrombie on Lake George-Advances Against Ticonderoga-Death of Lord HoweFailure of the English Attack Upon Ticonderoga-Disgraceful Conduct of Abercrombie-His Retreat-Capture of Fort Frontenac-Advance of General Forbes-Grant's Defeat-The Virginians Again Save the Regulars-Capture of Fort Duquesne-Washington Retires from the Army-Ticonderoga and Crown Point Occupied by the EnglishCapture of Fort Niagara-The Expedition Against Quebec-Failure of the First Operations-Despondency of Wolfe-He Discovers a Landing Place-The Army Scales the Heights of Abraham-Montcalm's Surprise-Battle of the Plains of Abraham-Death of Wolfe-Defeat of the French-Death of Montcalm-Surrender of QuebecCapture of Montreal-Treaty of Paris-Canada Ceded to England-France Loses All Her American Possessions—The Cherokee War-Hostility of the Indians to the English-Pontiac's War-Death of Pontiac-Bouquet Relieves Fort Duquesne-Results of the War. T HE gross mismanagement of affairs in America aroused a storm of indignation in England, and King George was obliged to yield to the popular sentiment and change his ministers. At the head of the new ministry he placed William Pitt, the leader of the popular party, who was destined to become one of the greatest of English statesmen. His great talents had raised him from the insignificant position of ensign in the guards to the leadership of the government of Great Britain, and were now to be the means of retrieving the disasters of his country and regaining for her her lost power and prestige. sums expended by the colonies for the public defence, since the commencement of hostilities, would be refunded, and that henceforth the British government would provide the funds for the prosecution of the war. The colonies were each required to furnish troops, but Pitt" stipulated that the colonial troops raised for this purpose should be supplied with arms, ammunition, tents and provisions in the same manner as the regular troops and at the king's expense; so that the only charge to the colonies would be that of levying, clothing, and paying the men. The governors were also authorized to issue commissions to provincial officers, from colonels downwards, and these officers were to hold rank in the united army according to their commissions. Had this liberal and just system been adopted at the outset, it would have put a very different face upon the affairs of the colonies."* These energetic and just measures were promptly responded to by the A truly great man, Pitt knew how to admire and sympathize with merit in others, and was not blinded by the glitter of rank, nor hampered by an aristocratic faith in the divinity of royalty. He appreciated and sympathized with the Americans more perfectly than any of his predecessors in office, and began his career with the wise determi-colonies, which placed a force of twentynation to encourage and develop their patriotism by a generous and systematic assistance of their efforts. He caused the government of Great Britain to assume the expenses of the war, and announced that the eight thousand men in the field. To these Pitt added twenty-two thousand British regulars, making a total of fifty thousand men, * Sparks' Writings of Washington, vol. ii., p. 289—Note. the largest army that had ever been assembled in America, and exceeding in number the entire male population of Canada. The Earl of Loudon was recalled, and instead of a single supreme command three separate expeditions were organized under different officers. An expedition against WILLIAM PITT. -Louisburg was placed under the orders of Lord Jeffrey Amherst, an able and upright soldier, assisted by Brigadier General James Wolfe; who, though only thirty-one years old, had spent eighteen years in the army, and had served at Dettingen, Fontenoy and Laffeldt. He was considered one of the ablest commanders in the English service, and was universally beloved. To General Forbes the task of conquering the Ohio valley was assigned; and the expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point was intrusted to General Abercrombie. Pitt had little faith in Abercrombie, who had been Lord Loudon's most trusted lieutenant; but retained him to please Lord Bute, and associated with him, as his second in command, the young and gifted Lord George Howe, in the hope that Howe's genius would redeem Abercrombie's faults, and lead him to victory. The expedition against Louisburg consisted of a fleet of twenty ships of the line and eighteen frigates, under Admiral Boscawen, and an army of fourteen thousand men, under General Amherst. The fleet reached Cabarus Bay on the second of June, 1758. The fortifications of Louisburg were somewhat dilapidated, but were held by a garrison of thirtytwo hundred men, com manded by Chevalier Drucour, an officer of experience and determination. These frigates were sunk across the mouth of the harbor to close it against the English, and within the basin lay five ships of the line, one fifty-gun ship and two frigates, which took part in the defence of the place. The surf was so heavy that Amherst was unable to land his troops until the eighth. | The first division was led by Wolfe, under the cover of the fire of the fleet. He forbade a gun to be fired from his command, and, upon nearing the shore, leaped into the water, followed by his men, and in the face of a sharp resistance, drove the French from their outposts into the town. The place was now regularly invested, and, after a bombardment of fifty days, during which the shipping in the harbor was destroyed, the town and fortifications were surrendered to the English on the twenty-seventh of July. With Louisburg the French gave up the islands of Cape Breton and Prince Edward. Five thousand prisoners and an immense quantity of military supplies were secured by the English. Halifax being already the chief naval station of the English in these waters, Louisburg was abandoned. Amherst, Wolfe and Boscawen were honored by the English government for their victory. The season was too far advanced after the capture of Louisburg to admit of the commencement of operations against Quebec, and Amherst was suddenly called away from the coast to take charge of the army on Lake George. Down Lake George. Abercrombie had assembled a force of seven thousand English regulars and nine. thousand Americans at the head of Lake George. Among the American troops were Stark and Putnam, afterwards famous in the war for independence, the former serving as a captain in the New Hampshire regiment, the latter as a major of Connecticut troops. Abercrombie was commander-in-chief, but the troops had little confidence in him. They were devoted to Lord Howe, who was the real leader of the expedition. On the fifth of July the army broke up its camp, and embarking in ten hundred and thirty-five boats, with the artillery on rafts, descended the lake to its lower end, from which they were to advance overland upon Fort Carillon, which the French had erected on the promontory of Ticonderoga. The next morning Lord Howe pushed forward with the advanced guard, and encountered a scouting party of the French. A sharp conflict ensued. The French were easily driven back, but Lord Howe was killed almost at the first fire. His death cast a gloom over the army, which promised ill for the success of the undertaking. Gallant Attack. Abercrombie continued to advance, and on the morning of the ninth sent Clerk, his chief engineer, to reconnoitre the French position at Ticonderoga. Clerk reported that the French works were feeble, and imperfectly armed. Stark, of New Hampshire, and some of the English officers saw that they were both strong and well provided with artillery. They so reported to Abercrombie, but he accepted the statement of his engineer, and, without waiting for his artillery, ordered an assault upon the French lines that very day. The Marquis of Montcalm was commanding in person at Ticonderoga, and had disposed his small force of thirty-six hundred and fifty men in a line of breastworks thrown up about half a mile beyond the fort, and extending across the promontory on which that work stood. The death of Lord Howe had deprived the English of their only leader capable of contending against this accomplished commander, and the incompetency of Abercrombie was to render easy what might have been, under other circumstances, a most difficult undertaking. Abercrombie could have brought up his artillery by the next day, but he was unwilling to wait for it, as he anticipated an easy victory. He stationed himself in a place | suit. Arrived at the head of Lake George, The the frightened Abercrombie sent the artillery and ammunition back to Albany for safety, and occupied his army with the erection of Fort George, near the ruins of Fort William Henry. The news of this disaster caused General Amherst to hasten with four regiments and a battalion from Louisburg to Lake George. He reached the camp of of safety about two miles from the field, and ordered his troops to assail the French intrenchments with the bayonet. The attack was made in gallant style, and was continued with energy during the afternoon. English performed prodigies of valor, but were not able to overcome the strength of the French works, or the activity with which the defenders maintained their position. Un-Abercrombie on the fifth of October. In like the English commander, Montcalm was everywhere along his line, cheering his men with his presence and example, and distributing refreshments to them with his own hands. November orders arrived from England appointing Amherst commander-in-chief of the royal forces in America, and recalling Abercrombie, who returned to England to attempt to excuse his cowardice by villifying America and the Americans. He could not deceive Pitt, however, whose indignation at his pusillanimous conduct was only restrained by the influence of Lord Bute in the royal councils. Sudden Flight. Without a commander who dared place himself under fire, with no one on the spot to direct their movements, the valor of the English was thrown away. A volley from an advanced party of their own men completed their confusion, and they broke helplessly and fell back in disorder towards Lake George. Abercrombie made no effort to rally them; he was too badly frightened for that; and led the army towards the landing-street, of New York, at his earnest solicitaplace, on Lake George, with such haste that but for the energetic action of Colonel Bradstreet the troops would have rushed pell-mell into the boats, without any semblance of order, and with a still greater loss of life. The English Retreat. After Abercrombie's retreat, Colonel Brad tion, obtained leave from the council of war to undertake an expedition against Fort Frontenac, which, being situated at the foot of Lake Ontario, commanded both the lake and the St. Lawrence. Its possession was of the highest importance to the French, as it was their main depot for the supply of the posts on the upper lakes and the Ohio with military stores. Collecting a force of twentyseven hundred men, all Americans, consisting chiefly of troops from New York and Massachusetts, Bradstreet hastened to Oswego before his movements were known to the enemy. From Oswego he crossed the lake in open boats, and landed on the Canada side within a mile of Fort Frontenac. The English lost nearly two thousand men in the attack upon the French works, but they still had left a force of more than four times the strength of the French, and their artillery had not been engaged. With this force they might have taken Ticonderoga, but Abercrombie was too much terrified to attempt anything of the kind. On the morning of the ninth he embarked his troops and hastened to the head of Lake George. Montcalm was astounded at his retreat, but as he had too small a force, and his men were exhausted, he made no effort at pur-day the fort surrendered. The victors cap His sudden arrival struck terror to the garrison, and the greater part secured their safety by an instantaneous flight. The next Forbes, resolved to attempt the capture of the fort by a sudden blow. tured with it a vast quantity of military | Bouquet, without orders from General stores destined for the forts in the interior, and a fleet of nine armed vessels, with which the French controlled the lake. Two of the vessels were laden with a part of the stores and sent to Oswego, and the remainder of the vessels and stores, together with the fort, were destroyed. The English then recrossed the lake to Oswego. The capture of Fort Frontenac was an event of great importance, as it led, as we shall see further on, to the abandonment by the French of their posts in the valley of the Ohio. For the reduction of Fort Duquesne a force of seven thousand men was assembled under General Forbes. Of these, five thousand were from Pennsylvania and Virginia, the troops from the latter colony being under the command of Colonel Washington. The Pennsylvania troops assembled at Raystown, on the Juniata, and the Virginians at Fort Cumberland. Washington urged upon Forbes the advantages of adopting the old road cut by Braddock's army in his advance to the Ohio, but Forbes, at the suggestion of some land-speculators, decided to construct a new and a better road farther to the north. As regarded the future settlement of the west this was an excellent plan, but as far as it concerned the immediate object of the campaign it was a mistake, as it involved a large expenditure of labor and a great waste of time. While this road was being constructed General Bouquet, with the advanced guard, crossed Laurel Hill and established a post at Loyal Hanna. The new road progressed very slowly, only forty-five miles being constructed in six weeks. Bouquet had with him a force of about two thousand men, chiefly Highlanders and Virginians. Learning from his scouts that Fort Duquesne was held by a garrison of only eight hundred men, of whom three hundred were Indians, He detached a force of eight hundred Highlanders and a company of Virginians, under Major Grant, to reconnoitre Fort Duquesne. The French were fully informed of all of Grant's movements, but they allowed him to approach unmolested, intending to disarm his vigilance and then attack him. Grant affected the usual contempt for the provincial troops, and upon arriving before the fort, placed Major Lewis with the Virginians to guard the baggage, and sent hist regulars forward to reconnoitre and make a sketch of the work. He was greatly encouraged by the fact that the French allowed him to approach without firing a gun at him, and in his self-complacency marched right into an ambuscade which the enemy had prepared for him. The Regulars' Narrow Escape. The French commander had posted the Indians along the sides of the defile by which Grant was advancing, and at a given signal the garrison made a sudden sally from the fort against the Highlanders, while the Indians opened a heavy fire upon them from their place of concealment. The regulars were quickly thrown into confusion, and their officers were found incapable of conducting such a mode of warfare. Attracted by the firing, Major Lewis, with a company of Virginians, hastened to the scene of the encounter, and by engaging the enemy handto-hand enabled the regulars to save themselves from a general massacre. The detachment was routed with heavy loss, and both Grant and Lewis were taken prisoners. The fugitives retreated to the point where the baggage had been left. It was guarded by Captain Bullit, whom Lewis had left there with one company of Virginians. |