Читать книгу The Black Watch at Ticonderoga and Major Duncan Campbell of Inverawe - Frederick B. Richards - Страница 3

Table of Contents

By Frederick B. Richards, A. M., Glens Falls, N. Y.

A residence of ten years in Ticonderoga inspired me with an appreciation of the history of that most historic spot in America, and when as secretary of the Ticonderoga Historical Society I was instrumental in securing the erection of the Black Watch Memorial in that village, I became particularly interested in the record of that famous Highland Regiment which this building commemorates.

It has for several years been my wish to write so complete an account of the Black Watch at Ticonderoga that one would need look in no other place for any detail in the history of that regiment from the time it left Scotland in 1756 until after the capture of Ticonderoga by Amherst in 1759. As a meeting of the New York State Historical Association on Lake Champlain seemed an appropriate time to present such a paper and the printed histories of that period give only meagre accounts on this subject, Mrs. Richards and I made this an excuse for a trip to the British Isles and a large part of August and September, 1910, was spent on a Black Watch pilgrimage. We had a very enjoyable trip and gained many interesting facts but I am sorry to say that the story is still far from complete.

The reason for the lack of more detailed information about the Regiment in the Ticonderoga period is found in the following which is copied from the preface of Stewart of Garth’s first edition:

“The origin of these Sketches and Military Details was simply this: When the Forty-second regiment was removed from Dublin to Donaghadee in the year 1771, the baggage was sent round by sea. The vessel having it on board was unfortunately driven on shore by a gale of wind, and wrecked; the greater part of the cargo and baggage was lost, and the portion saved, especially the regimental books and records, was much injured. A misfortune somewhat similar occurred, when the army, under the Earl of Moira, landed at Ostend in June, 1794. The transports were ordered round to Helvoetsluys, with orders to wait the further movements of the troops. But the vessels had not been long there, when the enemy invaded Holland in great force, and, entering Helvoetsluys, seized on the transports in the harbour. Among the number of vessels taken were those which had conveyed the Forty-second to Flanders, having on board every article of regimental baggage, except the knapsacks with which the officers and soldiers had landed at Ostend in light marching order. Along with the baggage, a well-selected library, and, what was more to be regretted, all that remained of the historical records of the regiment, from the period of its formation till the year 1793, fell into the hands of the enemy.

“After the conclusion of the late war, his Royal Highness, the Commander-in-Chief, directed that the Forty-second should draw up a record of its services and enter it in the regimental books, for the information of those who should afterwards belong to the corps. As none of the officers who had served previously to the loss of the records in 1794 were then in the regiment, some difficulty arose in drawing up the required statement of service; indeed, to do so correctly was found impossible, as, for a period of fifty-four years previous to 1793, the materials were very defective. In this situation, the commanding officer, in the year 1817, requested me to supply him with a few notices on the subject.”

It seemed to have been the custom in the British army of that period for a Regiment to carry its entire belongings with it from place to place and this unfortunate practice has swept from existence every trace of the Regimental records of the Black Watch of Ticonderoga.

It may be readily seen that if Colonel Stewart who had all the information in 1817 which the British government was able to supply and who was also fortunate in having had an intimate acquaintance during his service in the Regiment with officers who have served almost from its formation, was unable to write a complete record, the task nearly one hundred years later might be considered well nigh hopeless. There was the hope, however, that some record which was then lost might have been discovered since Colonel Stewart’s time or that interesting matter might be found in the archives of the families who had sons in the Black Watch of 1758. It is a fact that only recently the regimental records of the Black Watch of two decades later were found in an old second-hand book store in Portsmouth and it is still possible that the regimental records of 1758-9, which are now lost, may yet come to light.

We find that nearly all the histories of the Highland Regiments follow Stewart of Garth nearly word for word in their accounts of the early history of the Black Watch. A notable exception, however, is “A Military History of Perthshire,” which has much that is new. There are also many interesting letters and other records in “The Chronicles of the Atholl and Tullibardine Families,” relating to the service of those of the Black Watch who came from the Atholl Family or estate, and at London we found some dispatches in the Public Record Office in the War Department which I have not seen published. The chief merit, however, if any, which I can claim for this address is that while it does not add much that is new, it does, I think, collect in one article nearly all that is known about the Black Watch of the Ticonderoga period.

I might say here, also, that whatever was lacking in information was more than made up by the cordiality of our reception, as we found nearly every Scotsman interested in the oldest Highland Regiment of the British Army and glad to help us in any way possible. We are under special obligation, which I here wish to acknowledge, to Lt. Col. Hugh Rose, the present commander of the First Battalion of the Black Watch; Major D. L. Wilson Farquharson, D. S. O., who represented the Regiment at the unveiling of the memorial tablet at Ticonderoga, July 4, 1906, now retired and living in Allargue in Aberdeenshire, the home of the Farquharson’s for many generations; W. Skeoch Cumming of Edinburgh, artist and authority on Scottish costumes and tartans of the 18th century; Mrs. Campbell of Dunstaffnage, present owner of old Inverawe House; the Marchioness of Tullibardine, editor of “A Military History of Perthshire,” and the Duke of Atholl, present head of the Clan Murray, Honorary Colonel of the Third Battalion of the Black Watch and compiler of the “Chronicles of the Atholl and Tullibardine Families.”

Before proceeding to the Black Watch of Ticonderoga, it would perhaps be well to give a brief history of the Regiment. There is considerable difference of opinion as to just when the independent companies which were afterwards to become the present regiment of the line were raised. The earliest record I have seen is that on the 3rd of August, 1667, King Charles II issued a commission under the Great Seal to John, second Earl of Atholl “to raise and keep such a number of men as he should think fit to be a constant guard for securing the peace in the Highlands” and “to watch upon the braes.”[1]

From this time until 1739 the Black Watch was in various stages of formation.[2]

It was at the period of the independent companies that the name Black Watch was given—Black from the sombre tartan in contrast to the regular soldiers who at that time had coats, waistcoats and breeches of scarlet cloth, and Watch because their duties were to watch or keep order in the Highlands. The character of the rank and file of the Black Watch of this period was exceedingly high, many gentlemen with servants serving as privates, and in addition to the enlistment being from the best families it was also possible to select only “men of full height, well proportioned and of handsome appearance.” There were several reasons for this, the principal one being probably the fact that at that period the carrying of arms was prohibited by penalties and it became an “object of ambition with all the young men of spirit to be admitted even as privates into a service which gave them the privilege of wearing arms.” Our interest in the Black Watch, however, is principally in the Regiment of the line as such and this dates from the commission given by George II, October 25, 1739, as follows:

“GEORGE R.—Whereas we have thought fit, that a regiment of foot be forthwith formed under your command, and to consist of ten companies, each to contain one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign, three serjeants, three corporals, two drummers, and one hundred effective private men; which said regiment shall be partly formed out of six Independent Companies of Foot in the Highlands of North Britain, three of which are now commanded by captains, and three by captain-lieutenants. Our will and pleasure therefore is, that one serjeant, one corporal, and fifty private men, be forthwith taken out of the three companies commanded by captains, and ten private men from the three commanded by captain-lieutenants, making one hundred and eighty men, who are to be equally distributed into the four companies hereby to be raised; and the three serjeants and three corporals, draughted as aforesaid, to be placed to such of the four companies as you shall judge proper; and the remainder of the non-commissioned officers and private men, wanting to complete them to the above number, to be raised in the Highlands with all possible speed; the men to be natives of that country, and none other to be taken.

This regiment shall commence and take place according to the establishment thereof. And of these our orders and commands, you, and the said three captains, and the three captain-lieutenants commanding at present the six Independent Highland Companies, and all others concerned, are to take notice, and to yield obedience thereunto accordingly.

Given at our Court at St. James’s, this 25th day of October, 1739, and in the 13th year of our reign.

By His Majesty’s Command,

(Signed): Wm. Yonge.

To our Right Trusty and Right Well-

Beloved Cousin, John Earl of

Craufurd and Lindsay.”

PW Reynolds

1909.

Grenadier, 42^nd Reg^t 1751. (From a painting at Windsor Castle.)

The tallest men of the Regiment of that period were formed into a Grenadier Company and wore the Grenadier bearskin. The rest of the uniform as above and the substitution of the blue bonnet for the bearskin was the uniform for the rest of the Regiment.

May, 1740, these ten companies were mustered in a field between Taybridge and Aberfeldy and in the army list of that year were known as “Earl of Crawford’s Regiment of Foot in the Highlands.”[3] There have been several changes of the official name of the Regiment but the “Black Watch” was always the familiar one in the country where it has drawn its recruits and since 1881 has been the official name in the British Army List.[4]

The uniform of this period was a “scarlet jacket and waistcoat, with buff facings and white lace, tartan plaid of twelve yards plaited round the middle of the body, the upper part being fixed on the left shoulder, ready to be thrown loose and wrapped over both shoulders and firelock in rainy weather. At night, the plaid served the purpose of a blanket, and was a sufficient covering for the Highlanders. These were called belted plaids, from being kept tight to the body by a belt, and were worn on guards, reviews, and on all occasions when the men were in full dress. On this belt hung the pistols and dirk when worn. In the barracks, and when not on duty, the little kilt or philibeg was worn, a blue bonnet with a border of white, red, and green, arranged in small squares to resemble, as is said, the fess cheque in the arms of the different branches of the Stewart family, and a tuft of feathers, or sometimes, from economy or necessity, a small piece of black bearskin. The arms were a musket, a bayonet, and a large basket-hilted broadsword. These were furnished by Government; such of the men as chose to supply themselves with pistols and dirks were allowed to carry them, and targets after the fashion of the country. The sword-belt was of black leather, and the cartouch-box was carried in front, supported by a narrow belt round the middle.”[5]

“While the companies acted independently, each commander assumed the tartan of his own Clan. When embodied, no clan having a superior claim to offer an uniform plaid to the whole, and Lord Crawford, the colonel, being a Lowlander, a new pattern was assumed, and which has ever since been known as the 42d, or Black Watch tartan, being distinct from all others.[6] Lord John Murray gave the Athole tartan for the philibeg. The difference was only a stripe of scarlet, to distinguish it from that of the belted plaid. The pipers wore a red tartan of very bright colours, (of the pattern known by the name of the Stewart or Royal Tartan), so that they could be more clearly seen at a distance. When a band of music was added, plaids of the pipers’ pattern were given to them.”[7]

Having given briefly the origin of the Regiment, we will pass to the period which is the subject of our article.

May, 1756, war having been formally declared between France and England, a body of troops, the Highlanders forming a part, were embarked under the command of Lieut. General James Abercrombie and landed at New York, June, 1756. These were soon followed by more troops under the Earl of Loudon who was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Army of America.

The official name of the Regiment at this time was the 42d Regiment of Foot, but they are often spoken of in dispatches simply as the Highlanders, because they were the only Highland Regiment then in this section, or as Lord John Murray’s Highlanders from the custom of the times of calling a Regiment by the name of its Honorary Colonel. The commander of the Black Watch at this time was Lieut. Col. Francis Grant, son of the Laird of Grant, who had served in the Regiment from the time he had received his commission as Ensign, October 25, 1739. He was made Lieutenant Colonel December 17, 1755 and was in command of the Regiment all through the American campaign. The only other officer who had served continuously from the formation of the Regiment in 1739 was Gordon Graham of Drainie, who in 1756 was senior captain.

The record of the Regiment from the landing in June, 1756, until the battle of July, 1758, is exceedingly meagre. In fact nothing of importance was done by the whole army. As one author puts it “Loudon was so engrossed in schemes for improving the condition of his men that he seemed to have no time for employing them against the enemy.” The following extract from a letter from the Earl of Loudon to William Pitt dated New York, March 10th, 1757, will illustrate the method of quartering troops of that period.

“In the end of your letter you have acquainted me, that words shall be inserted, in the mutiny act to take away every doubt about the Right of Quartering extending to America.

When I writ on that subject, I was but just arrived, and the troops were mostly encamped. Since that I have had disputes to settle, all over this Continent, in settling the winter quarters for the Troops from whence I find, that the manner of quartering in England, as in time of peace, on Publick Houses only, will in no shape answer the intent in this country, for there are few Publick Houses and most of them sell nothing but spirits, where they possess only one room in which they sell the liquor, where men cannot be quartered.

Whilst the war lasts, necessity will justify exceeding that rule, as Troops must be under cover, in the places where it is necessary to post them, for the security of the country and carrying on the service, but as soon as a peace comes, it will, by the English rule, be impossible to quarter any number of Troops, in this country, without a new regulation, and the only remedy that occurs to me at present, is adopting the method of quartering in Scotland, where for the same reason of there not being Publick Houses sufficient for the reception of Troops they are by law quartered on private houses.

I must beg leave to give you one instance of the situation of quarters here. When I arrived at Albany, I do not believe it was possible to have quartered Fifty men on that town, on all the Publick Houses in it, and taking a full survey of it, I found that by quartering on the Private Houses, I can, without incommoding them, in the parts of their houses, in which they live, quarter Fourteen Hundred men, and for a short time, in case of necessity, I could quarter Two thousand. I have mentioned this to show you what the situation of all the Frontier Places, in this country that are liable to attacks, must be, if quartering is likely to be kept to, on Publick Houses only.

On the 10th instant arrived the Harriet Packet which brought me the duplicates of your letters of the 9th and 11th of January, and the next day came in here His Majesty’s ship the Hampshire commanded by Captain Norbury, having under his convoy the nine additional companies of the Highlanders,[8] who had a passage of twelve weeks from Cork, and met with very bad weather; of this convoy there were missing on his arrival in this Port, the Arundal and Salisbury Transports. The last we have, since, accounts of her getting into Rhode Island.

The Troops being sickly, I have cantooned them in villages adjacent to this Port, for the sake of fresh provisions and vegetables.”

In the published histories of the time it is stated that the

“42d remained inactive in or near Albany during 1756 and that throughout the winter and spring of the following year the men were drilled and disciplined for bush fighting and markmanship, a species of warfare for which they were well fitted, being for the most part good shots and experts in the management of arms.”

From the following letters found in the Public Record Office in London the quarters for the winter of 1756-7 were probably at Schenectady. Extract from letter from Loudon to Pitt, New York, 25th April, 1757,

“The Highlanders were set in motion from Schenectady * * * they marched without tents and lay in the woods upon the snow making great fires and I do not find the troops have suffered * * * We have on that River (Mohawk) at Schenectady and up to the German Flats, the Highland Regiment upwards of a thousand men,” etc.

The second letter reads as follows, and while it is chiefly of interest in this connection because it is dated from Schenectady, it also illustrates the custom of selling commissions:

Schenectady, April 24, 1757.

Francis Grant, Lt. Col. 42d Regiment.

Sir:—

I am convinced from several things that have happened me since I have been in the Regiment that my continuing to serve any longer in it would be disagreeable to the whole corps of officers and being likewise sensible of my own unfitness for a military life I have resolved to quit the Army as soon as I can obtain leave to resign my commission. But as I have nothing else in the world to depend upon and finding myself at present at a distance from my family and friends or anyone whom I can depend on for advice, interest or assistance and having frequently experienced your goodness and favor, I have made bold to apply to you that you would be pleased to intercede with his Excellency the Earl of Loudon, in my behalf that His Lordship in consideration of my distressed situation and circumstances might be moved to give me leave to resign in favor of some person that would be willing to allow me wherewithal to support me till I can settle and apply to some other way of life.

In doing me this favor you’ll forever oblige, Sir,

Your respectful and gratefully obed’t hum. serv’t,

George Maclagan, Ens.

P. S.—If it is agreeable to your Lordship I am willing to pay fifty pound Sterling for Mr. Peter Grant Voluntier.

Francis Grant, Lt. Col. 42d. Regt.”

With these two dispatches from the British War Office as a clew I have tried to learn more about the winter quarters of the Black Watch and have looked through the Colonial manuscript in the New York State Library,[9] the Records of the City of Albany and the published works of the period but so far without success. I have been unable to find any Schenectady records of this period. It seems that a valuable collection of Glen-Sanders papers from the old Mansion across the Mohawk from Schenectady was recently sold and I have been told that in these there were several references to officers of the Black Watch. As the Glens[10] were Scots it would be quite likely that if this collection were not now scattered to the four winds much information about the Highlanders could be obtained. It is said that Schenectady was only a frontier village in 1756 and not large enough to take care of a regiment and it seems to be a fact from the reference given above that only a part of the thousand men were stationed here as it states that the Regiment was stretched along the Mohawk from Schenectady to the German Flats, but that it was a station for troops is proven by the list in the Public Record Office of the winter quarters for the troops in America for 1758, which states that the Black Watch was quartered in New York and Lt. General Murray’s at Schenectady. There is in the Public Record Office no list of winter quarters of the troops in America previous to 1758.[11]

It appears, however, from the Town Records of Stamford, Conn., that a committee representing that town made a claim on the “General Court” of the Colony of Connecticut to reimburse them for £369-13-4½ which the town had expended “in taking care of the Highlanders from November 30, 1757, to March 30, 1758. The soldiers numbered 250 officers and men and they had also belonging to them 17 women and 9 children.” They were probably part of the Black Watch. The only other Highland regiments of that time were Montgomery’s and Fraser’s, both raised in 1757 and their arrival at New York from Halifax is noted in the “Post Boy” of April 11, 1757. This town record also further illustrates the custom of that time as previously stated and as an officer of the present Regiment aptly puts it, “they took not only their mess plate but their wives also, on service with them, and sometimes lost both.”

Copy of an old Engraving showing the method of wearing the Belted Plaid Drawn from the ... by Jnn Sebastian Müller. Published Apr ... 1746. Engraved by J. S. Müller.

An Highlander standing Centry, another walking,

both of them with their Cloaks gather’d ... the left Shoulder.

Two Highlanders with their Cloaks over their

Shoulders as in rainy weather.

This 250 at Stamford would only be a quarter of the Regiment, however, if Loudon had upwards of a thousand at or near Schenectady the winter before and it is probable that the rest were quartered at or near Schenectady as in 1756.

Another statement that I have tried to confirm is the account by James Grant in his “Legends of the Black Watch” of the 50 chosen men under orders of MacGillivray of Glen Arrow, who went to reinforce Col. Munro at Fort William Henry. It is also said in a foot note of Wilson’s Orderly Book that Capt. Gordon Graham was at Fort William Henry at the time of the surrender, and this is repeated in N. Y. Colonial Mss. by O’Callaghan, page 728, Vol. 10, but I have not been able to find any other reference that would substantiate these statements.

The only time the 42d emerges from the haze of mystery from June, 1756, to the spring of 1758, is that they were a part of Loudon’s expedition against Louisbourg in 1757, and this was more a summer vacation than an act of war.

If the English could have attacked Louisbourg in the spring or early summer, success would have been certain but Loudon couldn’t seem to get started. As a messenger from the Governor of Pennsylvania, who had waited in vain for a reply to a message, said about him he was like “St. George on a tavern sign, always on horse back and never riding on.” The expedition did not start from New York until June 20th and entered Halifax harbor the 30th. Even after this delay he was there before Admiral Holbourne, who did not arrive from England with his fleet of 15 ships-of-the-line and 3 frigates, with 5,000 troops until July 10th. Then there was more delay, the 12,000 troops were landed and weeks spent in drilling and planting vegetables for their refreshment. Lord Charles Hay was put under arrest for saying that the “nation’s money was spent in sham battles and raising cabbages.” The troops were embarked again, but Aug. 4th a sloop came from Newfoundland bringing news of the arrival of three French squadrons at Louisbourg and as an attack after this reinforcement would be hopeless, the costly enterprise was abandoned and Loudon and the troops sailed back to New York where he arrived Aug. 31st. Delay was the ruin of the Louisbourg expedition and drew off British forces from the frontier where they were most needed.

The troops were started immediately up the Hudson as soon as they were landed at New York but Fort William Henry had already been captured Aug. 9th and the French forces had fallen back to Ticonderoga.

The spring of 1758 opened up with bright prospects. Lord Loudon had been recalled and General Abercrombie, with the able assistance of Lord Howe, was in command. Admiral Boscowen was appointed to command the fleet and Major-General Amherst and Brigadier-Generals Wolfe, Townsend and Murray were added to the military staff. Three expeditions were proposed for this year, Louisbourg, Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and Fort DuQuesne. The army in America had been largely reinforced during the winter and spring. Of these reinforcements the 42d was strengthened by three additional companies and recruits bringing the Regiment up to about 1,300 men.

As we have considerable information about these three companies through the Atholl Records, it will be interesting to turn back and follow them from the start to the beginning of the Ticonderoga campaign. The first item and one of interest because it shows the method of raising companies in those days, is a letter from the Duke of Argyll to the Duke of Atholl, dated London, July 9, 1757.[12]

“My Lord:—This is to acquaint your Grace that there is to be 3 additional Companies raised for Lord John Murray’s Regiment. I believe the nomination of the officers will be left to me and consequently to Your Grace; there will be 3 captains, 6 lieutenants and 3 ensigns and 100 men each company. The raising the men will be the merit of those who shall desire to be officers and if any can be found who have served in Holland, so much the better. Your Grace will have your thought on this but don’t promise anybody till you let me hear from you. I shall speak to Lord John but I will bid him consult you and will plainly tell him that the commissions must all be given gratis. The other two Highland Regiments will likewise have the same addition made to them.

I am with the greatest truth and respect, My Lord, Yr Gr’s most faithful and obt. h’ble Servant, Argyll.”

By the Duke of Atholl’s recommendation the three companies were given to James Stewart of Urrard; James Murray, nephew of the Duke of Atholl and son of Lord George Murray; and Thomas Stirling of Ardoch. Three of the new subalterns were from the Atholl estate, namely Lieut. Alexander Menzies and Ensigns Duncan Stewart, son of Derculich, and George Rattray, son of Dalralzion. The three companies were mustered in October and marched from Perth to Glasgow, where they remained until November 15, when they marched to Greenock and embarked December 1st in transports for Cork en route to America.

April 22, 1758, Capt. James Murray wrote from New York to Mr. Murray of Strowan announcing his safe arrival after a voyage of eleven weeks from Cork. The joys of a voyage in those times when it could take ten days to sail from Scotland to Ireland, is illustrated by a letter from Capt. Murray, dated Youghall, 11 Dec., 1757.[13]

My dear Brother:—This is to let you know that I am just now in good health and safely arrived here with my company. My transport, together with the other five, set sail on the 1st cur’t in the evening along with the Convoy; we had a fair wind and good weather until Sunday, early in the morning (when we were past Waterfort in our way to Corck) about eight, there came on one of the most prodigeous storms that the sailors said they had never seen the like before. About two in the afternoon we lost sight of the Convoy and all the transports and have not yet any sure accounts whether they have got all safe into harbours or not. But since I came here I hear that there was five or six ships lost on the Coast that day. The storm abated somewhat Monday morning but it continued bad weather until Friday evening, during which time we were often in risk of our lives especially twice, once being within two yards of a great rock and the other time when we were on two fathom water going on a sandbank.

During all that time we were near several harbours, such as Doublin, Waterfort, Corck and others but all without success. Saturday and this day we had good weather by which means we got into harbour.

Your most aff’te brother,

James Murray.

From November until April seems a long voyage from Scotland to America even in those days of primitive navigation, but another of the three additional companies was blown into Antigua and did not arrive at New York until June.

With the activities of the preparations for the Ticonderoga campaign a number of dispatches were sent to the Home Government and it is possible to follow more closely the fortunes of the Black Watch.

The addition of these three companies raised the Regiment to 1,300 men, and we find among the official documents a petition from Capt. Gordon Graham, endorsed by Lt. Col. Grant and General Abercrombie, asking to be made Major in addition to Major Duncan Campbell, as follows:[14]

To His Excellency James Abercromby, Esq., General and Commander in Chief of all His Majesty’s forces in North America, etc., etc., etc.

The Memorial of Gordon Graham, eldest Captain in His Majesty’s 42nd Regiment of Foot in North America.

Humbly sheweth

That your memorialist hath had the honour to serve His Majesty upwards of twenty-five years, twelve of which as Captain in the above Regiment and is now eldest in that Rank.

That he hath served in Flanders and elsewhere during all the last war, some part of which he was employed as Major of Brigade, and had a commission as such from General St. Clair, on the expedition under his command in the year 1746.

May it therefore please your Excellency to lay his case before His Majesty that he in his great wisdom may be graciously pleased to promote him to the Rank of Major when an opportunity offers, all which is humbly submitted.

To His Excellency, James Abercromby, Esqr., General and Commander in Chief of all his Majesty’s forces in North America, etc., etc., etc.

The Memorial of Colonel Francis Grant, Commanding his Majesty’s 42nd Regiment of Foot.

Humbly sheweth

That his Majesty having thought proper to augment the said Regiment to 1,300 men by adding three additional companies to it, and such a body of men being too numerous to be exercised and disciplined by one Major only, your memorialist humbly conceives, that it would be for the good of his Majesty’s service to have another Major added, as has been already done to the other two Highland Battalions commanded by the Colonels Montgomery and Fraser.

May it therefore please your Excellency to lay this matter before His Majesty that he in his great wisdom may be graciously pleased to give such directions thereupon as shall be thought necessary, all which is humbly submitted.

Colo. Grant, commanding His Majesty’s 42nd Regiment, and Mr. Gordon Graham, a Captain in the same, having each of them presented me with a memorial, the contents of which I know to be true, I herewith transmit them to your Lordship, to be laid before the King, and to know His Royal Pleasure therein.

Extract from a letter signed James Abercromby to the Right Hon. Lord Viscount Barrington, dated New York, Apr. 28, 1758.

As will be seen later Capt. Graham became Major before hearing from the King.

The next dispatch which is of interest and which makes changes in the list of Commissioned Officers is as follows: Extract from letter signed by James Abercromby to the Right Honorable the Lord Viscount Barrington, dated Albany, May 27, 1758.[15]

“In the list of the Commissions which I had the honour to transmit to your Lordship, by my last letter, you will have observed two vacancies in the 42nd Regiment, occasioned by the removal of Sir James Cockburn into the 48th which could not be filled up at the time my letter went away, as the gentlemen, whom it was proposed should purchase those vacancies were then at Albany,[16] and their answer not arrived; since that the Lieutenancy has been made out in the name of Mr. Patrick Balnevas, and bears date the 1st of April; and Mr. Elbert Hering succeeds to the Ensigncy, dated the 3rd of the same month.”

Then we have the dispatch just before the battle from Abercrombie to Pitt, dated Camp at Lake George, June 29, 1758, saying:

“Arrived Fort Edward on the 9th, where Lord Howe was encamped with the 42nd, 44th, and 55th Regiments and 4 companies of Rangers. Remainder of Regulars were at posts below on Hudson River and were working up the stores, etc. On the 17th Lord Howe marched to the Brook, half way between Fort Edward and the Lake with the 42nd, 44th, and 55th. This Half-way Brook was judged a proper post for the first Deposit in a Portage of 15 miles.[17] After the carriages had made several trips Lord Howe advanced to the Lake with the 42nd, 44th, and 55th.”

Attached to this letter is a report of troops at Lake George, June 29, 1758, and the roll of the 42nd was as follows:

“10 companies, 1 Lt. Colonel, 1 Major, 8 Captains, 18 Lieutenants, 7 Ensigns, 1 Chaplain, 1 Adjutant, 1 QuarterMaster, 1 Surgeon, 2 Mates, 40 Sergeants, 18 Drummers; Rank and File—981 fit for duty, 11 sick present, 6 in general hospital, 2 on command, 1,000 total. 1 drummer and 40 rank and file wanting to complete.”

We find the solution of why there were only 1,000 of the Black Watch with the Ticonderoga expedition when its strength was known to be 1,300 at that time, in another extract of the Report of June 29th from Abercrombie to Pitt: “I have left two additional Companies of Lord John Murray’s to garrison Fort Edward. The other additional company of the 42nd which was blown into Antego (Antigua), I hear is arrived at New York, which I have ordered up to Albany.”

This is confirmed in more detail in a letter from Sir Robert Menzies to Mr. Murray of Strowan, dated Rannock, 6th Sept., 1758, in which is an extract from a letter received by Menzies from “Jamie Stewart.”[18]

“That, after the additional Companies arrived in Fort Edward, the best men were picked out to compleat the Regiment in place of the sick and old men that were put in their place. That, as Capt. Reid was left behind sick at Albany, Capt. Murray was appointed to his company and Reid to the additionals, as Capt. Abercrombie was to Capt. Murray’s Company. That the additional companies, with Captains Sterling, Reid, and Abercrombie, etc., were left at Fort Edward, where they had nothing to do but to garrison the Fort and divert themselves.”

Everything is now in readiness for the attack on Ticonderoga and an army of six thousand three hundred seventy-seven regulars and nine thousand thirty-four provincials (Abercrombie to Pitt July 12, 1758) embarked at Lake George early on the morning of July 5th. There were nine hundred batteaux, a hundred and thirty-five whale boats and a large number of heavy flatboats carrying the artillery and from front to rear the line was six miles long.

—Courtesy Glens Falls Insurance Co.

The Embarkation of Abercrombie’s Army at Lake George, July 5, 1758

Parkman in his “Montcalm and Wolfe” paints the scene as follows:

“The spectacle was superb; the brightness of the summer day; the romantic beauty of the scenery; the sheen and sparkle of those crystal waters; the countless islets, tufted with pine, birch, and fir; the bordering mountains, with their green summits and sunny crags; the flash of oars and glitter of weapons; the banners, the varied uniforms, and the notes of bugle, trumpet, bag-pipe, and drum, answered and prolonged by a hundred woodland echoes. ‘I never beheld so delightful a prospect,’ wrote a wounded officer at Albany a fortnight after.

“Rogers with the Rangers, and Gage with the light infantry, led the way in whaleboats, followed by Bradstreet with his corps of boatman, armed and drilled as soldiers. Then came the main body. The central column of regulars was commanded by Lord Howe, his own regiment, the fifty-fifth, in the van, followed by the Royal Americans, the twenty-seventh, forty-fourth, forty-sixth, and eightieth infantry, and the Highlanders of the forty-second, with their major, Duncan Campbell of Inverawe, silent and gloomy amid the general cheer, for his soul was dark with foreshadowings of death. With this central column came what are described as two floating castles, which were no doubt batteries to cover the landing of the troops. On the right hand and the left were the provincials, uniformed in blue, regiment after regiment, from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. Behind them all came the batteaux, loaded with stores and baggage, and the heavy flatboats that carried the artillery, while a rear-guard of provincials and regulars closed the long procession.”

It will be unnecessary to go into the details of this disastrous campaign as it is not only well known to most of you but three papers bearing on the subject will be read at this meeting.[19] Briefly the army landed at the foot of Lake George the morning of the 6th and the afternoon of the same day Lord Howe at the head of a Ticonderoga party was killed at the outlet of Trout Brook. This is the beginning of the end as Lord Howe was the real head of the army. Abercrombie took until the eighth to make up his mind what to do and this interim gave the French time to build the fatal breastworks across the ridge about one-half mile west of the Fort and enabled Lévis to arrive with reinforcements.

As the breastworks play a most important part in the Battle it will perhaps be well to again quote from Parkman who gives a most comprehensive description.

“The trees that covered the ground were hewn down by thousands, the tops lopped off, and the trunks piled one upon another to form a massive breastwork. The line followed the top of the ridge, along which it zigzagged in such a manner that the whole front could be swept by flank-fires of musketry and grape. It was so high that nothing could be seen over it but the crowns of the soldiers’ hats. The upper tier was formed of single logs, in which notches were cut to serve as loopholes; and in some places sods and bags of sand were piled along the top, with narrow spaces to fire through. From the central part of the line the ground sloped away like a natural glacis; while at the sides, and especially on the left, it was undulating and broken. Over this whole space, to the distance of a musket-shot from the works, the forest was cut down, and the trees left lying where they fell among the stumps, with tops turned outwards, forming one vast abattis, which, as a Massachusetts officer says, looked like a forest laid flat by a hurricane. But the most formidable obstruction was immediately along the front of the breastworks, where the ground was covered with heavy boughs, overlapping and interlaced, with sharpened points bristling into the face of the assailant like the quills of a porcupine. As these works were all of wood, no vestige of them remains. The earth-works now shown to tourists as the lines of Montcalm were begun four days after the battle to replace the log breastwork; and though on the same ground are not on the same plan.”

Behind these breastworks the battalions of LaSarre and Languedoc were posted on the left under Bourlamaque, the first battalion of Berry with that of Royal Roussillon in the center under Montcalm and those of LaReine, Béarn and Guienne on the right under Lévis. A detachment of volunteers occupied the low grounds between the breastworks and the outlet of Lake George and on the side toward Lake Champlain were stationed 450 regulars and Canadians, about 3,600 in all.

It is always easy to criticise an event after it has occurred, but the result certainly shows that Abercrombie could not have planned his campaign more to the advantage of the French. He first gave them time to build those formidable breastworks and then instead of choosing any one of half a dozen plans which would have brought victory, he decided to throw his army unsupported by artillery, which was still at Lake George, at the strongest part of the French position, he himself staying in safety at the saw mill (about which we heard this afternoon in the able paper read by Mr. Delano at the unveiling of the tablet) a mile and a half in the rear of his army.[20]

The sad result is too well known to dwell on and we pass at once to the part played by the Black Watch. They, with the 55th were to have formed the reserve but impatient at being left in the rear the Highlanders could not be restrained and were soon in the front endeavoring to cut their way through the fallen trees with their broadswords. Captain John Campbell, who was one of the two soldiers presented to George II in 1743, with a few men, were the only ones to force their way over the breastworks and they were instantly dispatched with the bayonet.

Lieut. William Grant of the Regiment writes as follows: