Читать книгу The Life & Legacy of George Washington - John Marshall - Страница 20

Table of Contents

Preparations for the campaign of 1758. … Admiral Boscawen and general Amherst arrive at Halifax. … Plan of the campaign. … Expedition against Louisbourg, Ticonderoga, and Crown Point. … General Abercrombie repulsed under the walls of Ticonderoga. … Fort Frontignac taken. … Expedition against fort Du Quêsne. … Preparations for the campaign of 1759. … General Amherst succeeds general Abercrombie. … Plan of the campaign. … Ticonderoga and Crown Point taken. … Army goes into winter quarters. … French repulsed at Oswego. … Defeated at Niagara. … Niagara taken. … Expedition against Quebec. … Check to the English army. … Battle on the Plains of Abraham. … Death of Wolfe and Montcalm. … Quebec capitulates. … Garrisoned by the English under the command of general Murray. … Attempt to recover Quebec. … Battle near Sillery. … Quebec besieged by Monsieur Levi. … Siege raised. … Montreal capitulates. … War with the southern Indians. … Battle near the town of Etchoe. … Grant defeats them and burns their towns. … Treaty with the Cherokees. … War with Spain. … Success of the English. … Peace.

1758

The affairs of Great Britain in North America wore a more gloomy aspect, at the close of the campaign of 1757, than at any former period. By the acquisition of fort William Henry, the French had obtained complete possession of the lakes Champlain and George. By the destruction of Oswego, they had acquired the dominion of those lakes which connect the St. Lawrence with the waters of the Mississippi, and unite Canada to Louisiana. By means of fort Du Quêsne, they maintained their ascendency over the Indians, and held undisturbed possession of the country west of the Allegheny mountains; while the English settlers were driven to the Blue Ridge. The great object of the war in that quarter was gained, and France held the country for which hostilities had been commenced. With inferior numbers, the French had been victorious in every campaign, and had uniformly gained ground on the English colonies. Nor were they less successful elsewhere. The flame of war which was kindled in America, had communicated itself to Europe and Asia. In every quarter of the world where hostilities had been carried on, the British arms were attended with defeat and disgrace.

But this inglorious scene was about to be succeeded by one of unrivalled brilliancy. From the point of extreme depression to which their affairs had sunk, the brightest era of British history was to commence. Far from being broken by misfortune, the spirit of the nation was high; and more of indignation than dismay was inspired by the ill success of their arms. The public voice had, at length, made its way to the throne, and had forced, on the unwilling monarch, a minister who has been justly deemed one of the greatest men of the age in which he lived.

Mr. Pitt had been long distinguished in the House of Commons, for the boldness and the splendour of his eloquence. His parliamentary talents, and the independent grandeur of his character, had given him a great ascendency in that body, and had made him the idol of the nation. In 1756, he had been introduced into the cabinet, but could not long retain his place. The public affection followed him out of office; and, the national disasters continuing, it was found impracticable to conduct the complicated machine of government without his aid. In the summer of 1757, an administration was formed, which conciliated the great contending interests in parliament; and Mr. Pitt was placed at its head. The controlling superiority of his character gave him the same ascendency in the cabinet which he had obtained in the house of commons; and he seemed to dictate the measures of the nation. Only a short time was required to show that qualities, seldom united in the same person, were combined in him; and his talents for action seemed to eclipse even those he had displayed in debate. His plans partaking of the proud elevation of his own mind, and the exalted opinion he entertained of his countrymen, were always grand; and the means he employed for their execution, were always adequate to the object. Possessing the public confidence without limitation, he commanded all the resources of the nation, and drew liberally from the public purse; but the money was always faithfully and judiciously applied to the public service. Too great in his spirit, too lofty in his views, to become the instrument of faction; when placed at the head of the nation, he regarded only the interest of the nation; and, overlooking the country or the party, which had given birth to merit, he searched for merit only, and employed it wherever it was found. From the elevation of the house of Brunswick to the British throne, a great portion of the people, under the denomination of tories, had been degraded, persecuted, and oppressed. Superior to this narrow and short sighted policy, Mr. Pitt sought to level these enfeebling and irritating distinctions, and to engage every British subject in the cause of his country. Thus commanding both the strength and the wealth of the kingdom, with perhaps greater talents, he possessed certainly greater means, than any of his predecessors.[156]

In no part of his majesty's dominions was the new administration more popular than in his American colonies. Deeply and peculiarly interested in the events of the war, they looked for a change of fortune from this change of men, and cheerfully made every exertion, of which they were capable, for the ensuing campaign. The circular letter of Mr. Pitt assured the several governors that, to repair the losses and disappointments of the last inactive campaign, the cabinet was determined to send a formidable force, to operate by sea and land, against the French in America; and he called upon them to raise as large bodies of men, within their respective governments, as the number of inhabitants might allow. Arms, ammunition, tents, provisions, and boats, would, he said, be furnished by the crown; and he required the colonies to clothe and pay their men; assuring them, at the same time, that it should be recommended to parliament to make them compensation.

Great preparations for the campaign.

The legislature of Massachusetts agreed to furnish seven thousand men; Connecticut five thousand; and New Hampshire three thousand. These troops, great as were their numbers, when compared with the population of the country, were in the field early in May; and the transports for carrying those of Massachusetts to Halifax, were ready to sail in fifteen days after they were engaged. Near one-third of the effective men of that province, are said to have been in military service; and the taxes were so heavy that, in the capital, they amounted to two-thirds of the income of real estate.[157]

In the mother country too, the utmost activity was transfused into every department. Her fleets blocked up in the French ports the men and stores designed for Canada, and captured, on the seas, most of those which had been able to make their way into the ocean. Admiral Boscawen and General Amherst arrive.At the same time, a powerful armament, equipped with unusual expedition, sailed from her ports. Early in the spring, admiral Boscawen arrived at Halifax with a formidable fleet, and twelve thousand British troops, under the command of general Amherst.

The earl of Loudoun had returned to England, and the command of the British and American forces in the colonies, had devolved on general Abercrombie. That officer found himself at the head of the most powerful army ever seen in the new world. His whole numbers, comprehending troops of every description, have been computed by Mr. Belsham at fifty thousand men, of whom twenty thousand were provincials.

The objects of the campaign were no longer defeated by delays. The preparations for action were made during the winter, and military operations commenced in the spring.

Plan of the campaign.

Three expeditions were proposed. The first was against Louisbourg; the second against Ticonderoga and Crown Point; and the third against fort Du Quêsne.[158]

Expedition against Louisbourg.

The army destined against Louisbourg, consisting of fourteen thousand men, was commanded by major general Amherst; and the fleet, consisting of twenty ships of the line and eighteen frigates, by admiral Boscawen. On the 24th of May, the troops embarked at Halifax; and, on the 2d of June, arrived before Louisbourg.

The use made by Great Britain of her naval superiority was felt in no part of the possessions of his Most Christian Majesty more sensibly than in Louisbourg. The garrison of that important place was composed of only two thousand five hundred regulars, aided by six hundred militia. The harbour was defended by five ships of the line; one ship of fifty guns; and five frigates, three of which were sunk across the mouth of the basin.

Soon after investment of the place, one of the large ships was set on fire by a bomb from a battery on the light house point, and blown up. The flames were communicated to two others which shared the same fate. The English admiral then sent a detachment of six hundred seamen, in boats, into the harbour, under captains La Forcey and Balfour, to make an attempt on the two remaining ships of the line, which still kept possession of the basin. This service was executed with great gallantry. One, which was aground, was destroyed, and the other was towed off in triumph.

The harbour being in possession of the English, and several practicable breaches made in the works, the place was no longer deemed defensible, and the governor was under the necessity of capitulating. The garrison became prisoners of war, and Louisbourg, with its artillery, provisions and military stores; and also Island Royal, St. Johns, and their dependencies, were surrendered to the English, who encountered no farther difficulty in taking possession of the whole island.[159]

This important acquisition was made with the loss of between five and six hundred men, killed and wounded. The joy it diffused throughout the colonies, long familiarised to disaster, was in proportion to their former disappointments.

Against Ticonderoga.

The expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point was conducted by general Abercrombie in person. His army, consisting of near sixteen thousand effectives, of whom nine thousand were provincials, was attended by a formidable train of artillery, and possessed every requisite to ensure success.

On the 5th of July, he embarked on lake George, and reached the landing place early the next morning. A disembarkation being effected without opposition, the troops were immediately formed into four columns, the British in the centre, and the Provincials on the flanks; in which order they marched towards the advanced guard of the French, composed of one battalion posted in a log camp, which, on the approach of the English, made a precipitate retreat.

Abercrombie continued his march towards Ticonderoga, with the intention of investing that place; but, the woods being thick, and the guides unskilful, his columns were thrown into confusion, and, in some measure, entangled with each other. In this situation lord Howe, at the head of the right centre column, fell in with a part of the advance guard of the French, which, in retreating from lake George, was likewise lost in the wood. He immediately attacked and dispersed them; killing several, and taking one hundred and forty-eight prisoners, among whom were five officers.

This small advantage was purchased at a dear rate. Though only two officers, on the side of the British, were killed, one of these was lord Howe himself, who fell on the first fire. This gallant young nobleman had endeared himself to the whole army. The British and provincials alike lamented his death; and the assembly of Massachusetts passed a vote for the erection of a superb cenotaph to his memory, in the collegiate church of Westminster, among the heroes and patriots of Great Britain.

Without farther opposition, the English army took possession of the post at the Saw Mills, within two miles of Ticonderoga. This fortress, which commands the communication between the two lakes, is encompassed on three sides by water, and secured in front by a morass. The ordinary garrison amounting to four thousand men, was stationed under the cannon of the place, and covered by a breast-work, the approach to which had been rendered extremely difficult by trees felled in front, with their branches outward, many of which were sharpened so as to answer the purpose of chevaux-de-frize. This body of troops was rendered still more formidable by its general than by its position. It was commanded by the marquis de Montcalm.

Having learned from his prisoners the strength of the army under the walls of Ticonderoga, and that a reinforcement of three thousand men was daily expected, general Abercrombie thought it advisable to storm the place before this reinforcement should arrive. Being informed by an engineer directed to reconnoitre the works, that they were unfinished, and were practicable, he resolved, without waiting for his artillery, to storm the lines; and the dispositions for an assault were instantly made.

The rangers, the light infantry, and the right wing of the provincials, were ordered to form a line out of cannon shot of the intrenchments, with their right extending to lake George, and their left to lake Champlain. The regulars who were to storm the works, were formed in the rear of this line. The piquets were to begin the attack, and to be sustained by the grenadiers; and the grenadiers by the battalions. The whole were ordered to march up briskly, to rush upon the enemy's fire, and to reserve their own until they had passed the breast-work.

The troops marched to the assault with great intrepidity; but their utmost efforts could make no impression on the works. The impediments in front of the intrenchments retarded their advance, and exposed them, while entangled among the boughs of the trees, to a very galling fire. The breast-work itself was eight or nine feet high, and much stronger than had been represented; so that the assailants, who do not appear to have been furnished with ladders, were unable to pass it. After a contest of near four hours, and several repeated attacks, general Abercrombie ordered a retreat.

General Abercrombie repulsed under the walls of Ticonderoga.

The army retired to the camp from which it had marched in the morning; and, the next day, resumed its former position on the south side of lake George.[160]

In this rash attempt, the killed and wounded of the English amounted to near two thousand men, of whom not quite four hundred were provincials. The French were covered during the whole action, and their loss was inconsiderable.[161]

Entirely disconcerted by this unexpected and bloody repulse, General Abercrombie relinquished his designs against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Searching however for the means of repairing the misfortune, if not the disgrace, sustained by his arms, he readily acceded to a proposition made by colonel Bradstreet, for an expedition against fort Frontignac. This fortress stands on the north side of Ontario, at the point where the St. Lawrence issues from that lake; and though a post of real importance, had been left, in a great degree, undefended.

The detachment designed for this service was commanded by colonel Bradstreet. It consisted of three thousand men, of whom two hundred were British, and was furnished with eight pieces of cannon, and three mortars.

Fort Frontignac taken.

Colonel Bradstreet embarked on the Ontario at Oswego, and on the 25th of August, landed within one mile of the fort. In two days, his batteries were opened at so short a distance that almost every shell took effect; and the governor, finding the place absolutely untenable, surrendered at discretion. The Indians having deserted, the prisoners amounted only to one hundred and ten men. A great quantity of military stores, together with nine armed vessels, mounting from eight to eighteen guns, also fell into the hands of the English.[162]

After destroying the fort and vessels, and such stores as could not be brought off, colonel Bradstreet returned to the army which undertook nothing farther during the campaign.

Expedition against Fort Du Quêsne.

The demolition of fort Frontignac and of the stores which had been collected there, contributed materially, to the success of the expedition against fort Du Quêsne. The conduct of this enterprise had been entrusted to general Forbes, who marched from Philadelphia, about the beginning of July, at the head of the main body of the army, destined for this service, in order to join colonel Bouquet at Raystown. So much time was employed in preparing to move from this place, that the Virginia regulars, commanded by colonel Washington, were not ordered to join the British troops until the month of September. It had been determined not to use the road made by Braddock, but to cut a new one from Raystown to fort du Quêsne. About the time this resolution was formed, and before the army was put in motion, major Grant was detached from the advanced post at Loyal Hannan with eight hundred men, to reconnoitre the fort and the adjacent country. This gentleman invited an attack from the garrison, the result of which was that upwards of three hundred of the detachment were killed and wounded, and major Grant himself was made a prisoner.[163]

Fort Du Quêsne evacuated.

Early in October general Forbes moved from Raystown; but the obstructions to his march were so great that he did not reach fort Du Quêsne until late in November. The garrison, being deserted by the Indians, and too weak to maintain the place against the formidable army which was approaching, abandoned the fort the evening before the arrival of the British, and escaped down the Ohio in boats. The English placed a garrison in it, and changed its name to Pittsburg, in compliment to their popular minister. The acquisition of this post was of great importance to Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. Its possession had given the French an absolute control over the Indians of the Ohio, who were accustomed to assemble at that place, for the purpose of making their destructive incursions into those colonies. Their route was marked by fire and the scalping knife; and neither age nor sex could afford exemption from their ferocity. The expulsion of the French gave the English entire possession of the country, and produced a complete revolution in the disposition of the Indians inhabiting it. Finding the current of success to be running against their ancient friends, they were willing to reconcile themselves to the most powerful; and all the Indians between the lakes and the Ohio concluded a peace with the English.

Although the events of 1758 did not equal the expectations which had been formed from the force brought into the field, the advantages were decisive. The whole country constituting the original cause of the war, had changed masters, and was in possession of the English. The acquisition of the island of Cape Breton opened the way to Quebec; and their success in the west enabled them to direct all their force against Canada. The colonists, encouraged by this revolution in their affairs, and emboldened, by the conquests already made, to hope for others still more extensive, prepared vigorously on the application of Mr. Pitt, for the farther prosecution of the war.

General Amherst succeeds General Abercrombie.

Late in the year 1758, general Abercrombie was succeeded in the command of the army by major general Amherst, who formed the bold plan of conquering Canada in the course of the ensuing campaign.

1759

The decided superiority of Great Britain at sea, and the great exertions of France in other quarters of the world, still prevented the arrival of such reinforcements as were necessary for the preservation of his most christian majesty's possessions in North America. Plan of the campaign.To take advantage of this weakness, the English proposed to enter Canada by three different routes, with three powerful armies; and to attack all the strongholds by which that country was defended.

It was determined that one division of the army, to be commanded by brigadier general Wolfe, a young officer who had signalised himself in the siege of Louisbourg, should ascend the St. Lawrence, and lay siege to Quebec. A strong fleet was to escort the troops destined for this enterprise, and to co-operate with them.

Major general Amherst was to lead the central and main army against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. After making himself master of these places, he was to proceed over lake Champlain, and by the way of Richelieu, to the St. Lawrence, and down that river, so as to effect a junction with general Wolfe before the walls of Quebec. From their combined force, the conquest of the capital of Canada was expected.

The third army was to be commanded by general Prideaux. Its first destination was against Niagara. After the reduction of this place, Prideaux was to embark on lake Ontario, and proceed down the St. Lawrence against Montreal. Should Montreal fall into his hands before the surrender of Quebec, he was to join the grand army at that place.[164]

It could not be expected that a plan so extensive and so complex, should succeed in all its parts; and it was greatly to be apprehended, that the failure of one part might defeat the whole. But it suited the daring spirit which eminently distinguished the officers then commanding the British forces, and was entered upon with zeal and activity.

As the other two expeditions, especially that against Quebec, were supposed to depend greatly on the celerity with which the movements of the main army should be made, general Amherst began his preparations in the commencement of winter, for the enterprise he was to undertake. Early in the spring, he transferred his head quarters from New York to Albany, where his troops were assembled by the last of May. Notwithstanding his continued exertions, the summer was far advanced before he could cross lake George; Ticonderoga abandoned.nor did he reach Ticonderoga until the 22d of July. The lines drawn around that place were immediately abandoned, and the English took possession of them.

The French troops in this quarter being unequal to the defence of the posts they held, their object seems to have been to embarrass and delay the invading army; but not to hazard any considerable diminution of strength, by persevering in the defence of places until the retreat of the garrison should become impracticable. The hope was entertained, that by retreating from post to post, and making a show of intending to defend each, the advance of the English might be retarded, until the season for action on the lakes should pass away; while the French would be gradually strengthened by concentration, and thus enabled to maintain some point, which would arrest the progress of Amherst down the St. Lawrence.

In pursuance of this plan, as soon as the English had completed their arrangements for taking possession of lake Champlain, the garrison of Ticonderoga retreated to Crown Point.

and Crown Point.

Early in the month of August, Amherst advanced to Crown Point, which was abandoned on his approach; and the garrison retired to isle Aux Noix, at the northern extremity of lake Champlain. The French had collected between three and four thousand men at this place, in an entrenched camp, defended by artillery, and protected by several armed vessels on the lake. After making great exertions to obtain a naval superiority, General Amherst embarked his army on lake Champlain; but, a succession of storms compelling him to abandon the farther prosecution of the enterprise, he returned to Crown Point, where the troops were put into winter quarters.[165]

In the beginning of July, general Prideaux, embarked on lake Ontario with the army destined against Niagara. Immediately after his departure from Oswego, that place, which was defended by twelve hundred men under the command of colonel Haldiman, was vigorously attacked by a body of French and Indians, who were repulsed with some loss.

In the mean time, Prideaux proceeded towards Niagara, and landed without opposition, about three miles from the fort. The place was invested in form, and the siege was carried on by regular approaches. In its progress, General Prideaux was killed by the bursting of a cohorn, and the command devolved on general Johnson. Great efforts were made to relieve this important place. A considerable body of troops drawn from the neighbouring garrisons, aided by some Indian auxiliaries, advanced on the English army, with the determination to risk a battle, in order to raise the siege. Early in the morning of the 24th, the approach of this party was announced, and a strong detachment marched out to meet it. The action, which immediately commenced, was not of long duration. The French were forsaken by their savage allies, and victory soon declared in favour of the English.