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J»h»100f 1.1+. 3777 ,uv V.I. ^^i'^i: Historical Papers ot the Society of Colonial Wars in the District of Co- lumbiaNo. 8,1914 By Frederic Louis Huidekoper. Jin 28 .^ / ^ 101 n \ E230 Hsl""*" ''"'™™"^ '-"'™'^ ®°iIIi^iii'M°.r!S?,I., .9,°'.°P.'a|..ti!|itary operati olin 3 1924 032 748 612 SOME IMPORTANT COLONIAL MILITARY OPERATIONS, u. Published by The Society of Colonial Wars in the District of Columbia May 20th, 1914. WASHINGTON, D. C. PRESS OF GIBSON BROS. INC. 1914 THE SIEGES OF LOUISBOURG IN 1745 AND 1758 Address delivered before the SOCIETY OF COLONIAL WARS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ON Thursday, February 12th, 1914. f^^- MAPS. View of Louisbourg in 1731 Facing page 4 Fortifications of Louisbourg in 1745 . " " 8 Siege of Louisbourg, 1745 " " 18 Plan of Fort Duquesne in 1754 " " 24 Braddock's metliod of encampment " " 28 Braddock's defeat, July 9th, 1755 " " 32 Map showing routes followed by Washington in 1753 and 1754, Braddock in 1755, and Forbes in 1758 " "36 (2) THE SIEGE OF LOUISBOURG IN 1745. By the Peace of Utrecht, signed on April ii, 17 13, France ceded to England Newfoundland, Nova Scotia (Acadia) and the Hudson Bay- Territory, in other words all of Acadia with the exception of the Uttle island of Cape Breton on which was situated Louisbourg. The conflict known as "Queen Anne's War" (1702-1713) was thus brought to a close and Sieur Antoine Crozat was unable to take advantage of the grant made him in 1712 of the entire commerce for 15 years of all the "king's lands in North America lying between New France on the north, Carolina on the east and New Mexico on the west, down to the gulf of Florida; by the name of Louisiana," — ^which shows the enormous extent of the territory over which Louis XIV pretended to exercise suzerainty. The struggle for dominion in North America resulted in a renewal of hostilities in 1744 that lasted imtil 1748, known as "King George's War," which was in reality part of the War of the Austrian Succession (i 740-1 748). When Frederick the Great began the second Silesian War in 1744 by invading Bohemia and capturing Prague he started the blaze in the western hemisphere, to which both the French and the English colonists seemed only too ready to add their quota of fuel. It is unnecessary to enter here into the causes which spurred them on. Suffice to say the underlying reason was the realization that either England or France must eventually control North America and, in a lesser degree, the failiure of the Peace of Utrecht to settle the question of boundaries between the rival Powers, a question which grew more acute with each ensuing year. An added factor lay in the fact that France had realized that the posses- sion of Cape Breton Island was the key to the retention of Canada and had accordingly constructed a fortress of the first rank. The bay, known as Havre-aux- Anglais, was chosen as the site of a new city which grew rapidly in population by the concourse of French from Newfoundland and Acadians from Nova Scotia until it became a place of great impor- tance. As Parkman aptly says } "Louisbourg was a standing menace to all the Northern British colonies. It was the only French naval station on the continent, and was such a haunt of privateers that it was called the American Dimkirk. It commanded the ciiief entrance of Canada, and threatened to ruin the fisheries, which were nearly as vital to New England as was the fur-trade to New France. The French government had spent twenty-five years ■^in fortifying it, and the cost of its powerful defenses — constructed after the system of Vauban — was reckoned at thirty million livres." 'A Half a Century of Conflict, II, p. 83. (3) In 1744 the works were still uncompleted, although they were so formidable in character as to be practically impregnable, and it was beUeved that, despite their unfinished state, any adequate garrison could hold them for an indefinite period against any force that could be brought against them. The news of the outbreak of war reached I^ouisbourg some weeks before that fact was known in the British colonies and Duq'uesnel, the French Military Governor, thought that he was afforded a capital opportunity to strike a blow for the profit of France which would also inure to his own honor. The fishing station of Canseau, situated on the strait of Canseau which separates the Acadian peninsula from Cape Breton or Isle Royale, proved the tempting bait and early in May Captain Duvivier was despatched to seize it with 600 soldiers and sailors, escorted by two small armed vessels. The English promptly surrendered and were sent to Boston as agreed, and the wretched hamlet and its wooden citadel burned to the ground. Duquesnel then addressed himself to the capture of Annapolis — formerly known as Port Royal — then held by about 100 men under Major Mascarene, and a small rein- forcement of militia sent by Governor Shirley of Massachusetts. In August Duvivier appeared before Annapolis but, after three weeks of desultory attacks and the failure of two ships which he had expected to arrive from Louisbourg, two ships did appear from Boston with 50 Indian Rangers destined for Mascarene. This completed the discom- fiture of Duvivier and at the end of September he decamped. The effect of his unsuccessful attempt was much more far-reaching than he or Duquesnel had bargained for. New England, alarmed and exasperated at the attacks on Canseau and Annapolis, became a tinder-box and out of the fire thus engendered rose a project which, on sober reflection, seems little short of the phantasmagoria of madmen. It was nothing less than the capture of Louisbourg, " reputed the strongest fortress, French or British, in North America, with the possible exception of Quebec, which owed its chief strength to nature, and not to art."' This was the place that William Vaughan of Damariscotta strongly urged Governor Shirley to attack with a paltry force of i ,500 New England militia. On January 9, 1745, Shirley submitted this crazy proposal to the General Court of Massachusetts at a meeting sworn to secrecy, but it was rejected. The question then came up before the Assembly and, thanks to Vaughan's efforts, was accepted by a majority of one. It would be superfluous to enter here into the details which led to the organization of this madcap expedition. Sufiice to say that Shirley's efforts to enlist aid from the 'Parkman, II, p. 83. ^ .|sti|ii ^^^is^^^il - . ^ ^.3r» ^ --::-* - ^ A , 1^ ' .' y* ' ,/ ^ Jjfc, Reproduced by permission of Albert Almon 1. Princess Bastion. 2. Hospital. 3' Queen's Bastion. 4. Recollets' Parish Church. 5 The'King s Bastion and Barracks. 6. Royal Storehouse. i| 7. Governor's Houses. S. Bakehouses. VIEW OF LOUISBOURG IN 1731, 9. Billiard Room, 10. Dauphin Bastion and Battery. 11. Dauphin Gate. 12. Suburb near DauphinlGate. From a sketch by Verrier in the Paris archives. 13. Battery and Islet~at Entrance. 14. J Lighthouse. 15. Rochefort Point. 16. Pond. 17. Fish Stages. 1 8. Quay, ml 19. Black Point. The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924032748612 various colonies met with but small success and that eventually the force was composed as follows : Massachusetts contributed 3,300 men Connecticut 516 New Hampshire 454 4,270 men' Shiriey's choice for, command fell upon William Pepperrell, the son of a Welsh trader, who had become the chief merchant in New Engknd, had risen to the rank of colonel commanding the Maine militia, and was a member of the Governor's Council — ^for Maine was then still part of Massachusetts. About all that could be said in his behalf was that he enjoyed unusual popularity and "as little military incompetency as anybody else who could be had."'' He was commissioned lyieutenant- General and Capt. Edward Tyug selected to command the flotilla composed of the Massachusetts, Caesar, Shirley, Boston Packet, The Tartar and 6 sloops. On March 24, 1745, the fleet consisting of about 90 transports, escorted by the provincial cruisers, sailed from Nantasket Roads as Admiral Peter Warren, then at Antigua with a small squadron, had found himself obliged to decline to accompany the expedition. Luckily, 3 days after refusing Shirley's request, Warren received a letter from the Duke of Newcastle ordering him to sail for Boston and to concert with Shirley "for the annoyance of the enemy and His Majesty's service in North America."' Before reaching Boston Warren learned that Pepperrell had sailed and accordingly shaped his course for Canseau, the rendezvous. There he found a motley aggregation and, if he knew of it, must have heartily agreed with the caustic remark of Dr. Douglas of Boston that "the expedition has a lawyer for contriver, a merchant for general, farmers, fishermen and mechanics for soldiers." He might have added officers utterly devoid of experience and discipline remarkable for its total absence as was the case with the cannon, the heaviest being only 2 2 -pounders. It was refreshing to hear men propose to get guns by capturing the detached work called the Grand or Royal Battery which contained thirty heavy pieces which, as Hutchinson tartly remarked, was "like selling the skin of the bear before catching him," even although there was considerable knowledge of the fortress which had been supplied by the militia captured at Canseau. 'Rhode Island disbanded her force of 150 men but raised them again too late to participate in the siege. ^Parkman, II, p. 99. 'Memoirs of the Principal Transactions of the Last War, p. 46. 6 On Friday, April 5th, 69 craft had reached Canseau after having been much buffeted about by a heavy gale. It was not until the 23d that Commodore Warren appeared with the Superbe, 60 guns, the Launceston and Mermaid of 40 guns each, and in the meantime news had been received that the bay of Louisburg was blocked with ice, and a French frigate the Renommie, 36 guns, was chased by the provincial cruisers and prevented from delivering despatches to the Governor of Louisbourg. On Friday the 27th it was learned that Gabarus Bay was free of ice and two days later the flotilla sailed from Canseau, expecting to reach its destination at 9 p. m. in order to carry out Governor Shirley's receipe to take I/Ouisbourg "while the enemy were asleep."' An unexpected calm upset their plans and it was not until morning of April 30th that the buildings of the "Dunkirk of America" hove in sight. What they saw tended to encourage their demented illusions, for the buildings were insignificant and the ramparts, low-lying and massive, totally belied the strength of the position. "The extreme southeastern boundary of the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence is marked out by the island of Cape Breton. Huge promon- tories, beetling cliffs, massive indentations and broken reefs mark the bold shore and make the rocky coast line among the most dangerous in the world. On the south side of the island there is a deep and splendid haven upon the edge of which now nestles a dilapidated fishing village, On the peninsula which juts out toward the east and which, with a con- tinuing line of reefs ending in a rocky islet, encloses the spacious harbor, are the grass-covered mouldering remains of one of the greatest fortresses of the world." 2 "Across the base of the peninsula referred to as extending between sea and harbor, had been built a line of works about 1,200 yards in length. The glacis sloped gently up from a vast marsh which prevented approach from the landward side. Between it and the walls lay a ditch 80 feet wide and 36 feet deep. On the opposite side of this moat a huge rampart of earth from 40 to 60 feet thick, rose to a height varying between 30 and 40 feet. It was faced with masonry, defended by three formidable bastions, and surmounted at intervals by cavaliers, or super-imposed works further to enfilade the wall. The bastions were known as the King's (the citadel) in the centre and the Queen's and Dauphin's at either end. The wall was carried around the seaward and landward edges of the peninsula, enclosing a wide triangle, the apex of which was finished by another huge bastion called the bastion Maurepas, after the famous prime minister of Louis XV. Beyond this bastion stretched an unpro- tected piece of low ground used as a cemetary, which gradually narrowed 'Journal of Major General Walcott. 'Cyrus Townsend Brady, Colonial Fights and Fighters, p. 165. into a barrier of rocky and impassible reefs forming an excellent break- water, extending across the bay and terminating in a huge rock upon which was erected a powerful battery of thirty heavy guns. This formidable work which commanded the entrance to the harbor, which was about a half mile wide, was called the Island Battery. Commanding the entrance from the inner shore of the bay another fort had been erected, called the Grand or Royal Battery, which mounted 28 French 36-poimders (equivalent to an English 42), and 2 long eighteens. Thus an enemy's vessel attempting to enter the harbor would be subjected to direct fire from the Island and an enfilading fire from the Grand Battery. "The main works of the town were pierced with 148 embrasures, though but 90 guns, many of them of large calibre including several mortars were mounted therein. There were a few breaks in the wall toward the sea where there was no access by land, and an approach for ships so difficult as to be practically impossible. Even here, however, temporary works afforded sufficient protection. Opposite the Island Battery a tower of lofty proportions from whose summit a fire blazed nightly, indicated to approaching vessels the entrance to the harbor. Access to the town from the land was had at the northwest corner of the base wall, over a causeway and bridge which was protected by a circular battery of 18 cannon covered by the Dauphin bastion. "The various works were garrisoned by 8 companies of regular soldiers, three of which were Swiss mercenaries.^ The force was supportedy b some 1,400 Canadian militia. In quality the defenders were deficient. The commandant. Chevalier Duchambon" — the successor of Duquesnel who had died in the autiuim^ — "and his second were irresolute and vacil- lating, the troops unpaid and badly treated. They had been compelled to work on the fortifications without extra compensation, their regfular pay was long in arrears, and official peculation, the curse of New France, had deprived them of their legitimate perquisites and comforts. A short time before the investment they had broken out in open mutiny and had been persuaded to retiun to their duties with the greatest difficulty. The spirit of the peasants, traders and other inhabitants was not much better. The folly of France in allowing such conditions to obtain in the place upon which so much had been lavished, and which was deemed of such importance, is apparent. Aside from the fortifications and harbor, the place had little value; the inhabitants were poor and their dwellings '"The garrison consisted of 560 regular troops, of whom several companies were Swiss, besides some 1,300 or 1,400 militia — Lettre d'un Habitant de Louisbourg who declares that 300 or 400 more might have been had from Niganiche and its neighbor- hood had they been summoned in time. The English reports just after the siege places the number of militia at 1,310. — Parson, Life of Pepperrell, p. 103. ^Parkman, II, p. 1 14. 'Brady, pp. 166-168. 8 Duchambon expected an attack but, as the Habitant de Louisbourg declares,' "we lost precious moments in useless deliberations and resolu- tions no sooner made than broken. Nothing to the purpose was done, so that we were as much taken by surprise as if the enemy had pounced upon us unawares." Despite this criminal negligence on the part of the French, one cannot refrain from a smile at the taterdemalion force with a flag on which was inscribed the words Nil desperandum Christo duce attempting to reduce this stronghold. The audacity of their project was almost incredible and it was nothing but the crusading spirit of this motley crew which was stimulated to the utmost by a " goodly company of preachers " that lifted the undertaking above the level of the rankest opera boufe. Allusion has already been made to the arrival of the fleet near Louis- bourg on Saturday morning, April 30, 1745. Its course was shaped toward Flat Point which projects into Gabarus Bay,' three miles west of the town. Duchambon promptly sent Morpain, a captain of a privateer or " corsair, " to oppose the landing with 80 men who were to be reinforced by 40 more already on the watch near the supposed point of disembar- cation. Cannon were fired and alarm bells rung in Louisbourg to summon the militia in the neighborhood. Pepperrell made a feint toward Flat Rock but recalled his boats and Morpain was deceived into thinking that his apparition had frightened them off. Pepperrell augmented his force by several other boats and a race ensued between his party of 100 men and Morpain for Fresh-Water Cove, or Anse de la Cormorandilre, 2 miles farther up Gabarus Bay. The Colonials beat the French and, despite the rocks and heavy surf, got ashore ahead of Morpain's arrival, killed 6 men and captured 6, and put the rest to flight, with a loss of only two. The French tamely made no further opposition, and that night 2,000 men were put ashore, followed by about 2,000 more who landed at their leisure next day. Luckily the weather was unusually mild and fine, for the troops were without cover of any sort and bivouacked on the ground. On May 2nd Vaughan was detached with 400 men to reconnoitre the enemy's position and upon arriving near the town saluted it with three cheers. Continuing through the woods, he advanced to the Grand Battery on the northeast arm of the harbor and, through the incredible apathy of the French, his men were successful in setting fire to the extensive magazines of naval stores at that point. The enormous column •Lettre d'un Habitant de Louisbourg contenant une Relation exacte & circon- stanciee de la Prise de I'lsle-Royale par les Anglois. A Quebec, chez Guillaume le Sincere, k I'lmage de la Verite, 1745. An extremely rare work. 'Sometimes called " Chapeau Rouge" Bay. It is a spacious outer harbor immedi- ately adjoining Louisbourg. of smoke produced by the pitch, tar and other combustibles apprized Pepperrell of the success of his lieutenant. Next morning, May 3rd, Vaughan reconnoitered the Grand or Royal Battery with a detachment of only 13 men but, discovering no signs of occupants and unable to believe their eyes, halted on the outskirts and bribed an Indian, by the proffer of a flask of whiskey, to enter the fort. The Indian, just drunk enough to be reckless, crawled into the battery and found that the French had deserted it, after spiking their guns. The rest of the party followed, and William Tufts, a boy of 18, climbed up the flagstaff and fastened his red coat at the top as a substitute for a British ensign, which drew a volley of cannon-shot from the town. Vaughan then despatched a messenger to Pepperrell with the following report: "May it please your Honor to be informed that by the grace of God and the courage of 13 men, I entered the Royal Battery about 9 o'clock and am waiting for a reinforcement and a flag." Meanwhile, the French repented of their panic and sent 4 boat loads of men to re-occupy the fort. For some reason which is still unexplained, Vaughan did not take refuge within the battery but posted his detach- ment on the open beach, in the most exposed position that could have been taken, where they were subjected to the fire of the town and the island batteries. Notwithstanding this blunder, which might readily have proved suicidal, they managed to beat off the French boats and to hold their ground until Lieutenant-Colonel Bradstreet appeared with a reinforcement and compelled the French to abandon their attempt. I have dwelt at considerable length on this episode insomuch as it was the one detail of Shirley's astounding plan that was successfully carried out, and, furthermore, it proved the determining event of the siege. The Colonists got possession of a number of heavy guns of the latest and most approved pattern and, thanks to the carelessness of Captain Thierry, theFrench officer commanding the battery, Major Seth Pomeroy, a gunsmith by trade, was able to extricate the files from the "tuch holes" without great difficulty. Moreover, a lot of munitions of war were found intact, including " Sume Bums" which the " Bumaneers" utilized to excellent effect next morning in the captured 42 -pounders — of which there were 28 — and the two i8-pounders. ' As the Habitant de Louisbourg narrates, "the enemy saluted us with our own cannon, and made a terrific fire, smashing everything within range." No censtu-e can adequately condemn the French for abandoning the Grand or Royal Battery. As Parkman says:* "the water-front of the battery was impregnable. Thp rear defenses consisted of a loopholed iVol. II, pp. 120-121. 10 wall of masonry, with a ditch lo feet deep and 12 feet wide, and also a covered way and glacis" which "had been partly demolished with a view to reconstruction. The rear wall was flanked by two towers which, says Duchambon, were demolished; but General Wolcott declares that the swivels were still mounted on them and he adds that "two hundred men might hold the battery against 5,000 without cannon." The English landed their cannon near Flat Point; and before they could be turned against the Grand Battery, they must be dragged 4 miles over hills and rocks, through marshes and jungles of matted evergreens. This would have required a week or more. The alternative was an escalade, in which the undisciphned assailants would no doubt have met a bloody rebuff. Thus this Grand Battery, which, says Wolcott, "is in fact a fort,"^ might at least have held long enough to save the munitions and stores, and effectually disable the cannon which supplied the EngHsh with the only artillery they had, competent to the work before them. The hasty abandonment of this important post was not only Duchambon's only blunder, but it was the worst of them all." The situation of the besiegers was scarcely better than the besieged. There were no tents, the ground was soaked, thatched huts had to be improvised, shoes and clothing failed, many boats were lost in landing materiel, the troops were so ignorant in the use of guns that Commodore Warren had to send experienced gunners ashore to give instruction. As the approaches to the fortress were well-nigh impassible, lyieutenant- Colonel Meserve, who happened to be a carpenter, improvised great flat sledges upon which the cannon were secured and dragged by 200 men with breast-straps a distance of more than 2 miles to Green HilP where the first battery of 6 guns was located on a spur of the rugged heights which half encircle the town and harbor. This was accomplished in 4 days, and a week later a second battery of four 22-pounders and 10 coehorns was established 700 yards farther ahead and within easy reach of the citadel. Another battery, chiefly of coehorns, was planted on a hillock 440 yards from the West Gate and the following night an advance battery placed scarcely 250 yards from the gate. On May 20th, a fifth battery, called the Northwest or Titcomb's, was located on a hillock north of the Barachois, a salt pond formed by a projecting sand-spit, and proved more destructive. It must be borne in mind that all this work was done under fire from the fortress — and the French practice was excellent^ — as well as under difficulties almost unsurmountable. Meanwhile, on May 7th, eight days after landing, a summons to sur- render was sent to Duchambon who retorted that he would answer with 'Journal of Major General Wolcott. ''Facing the West Gate or Porte Dauphine. 'One soldier who in bravado mounted the rampart and stood there for a moment was shot dead with five bullets. The guns could only be loaded under a continuous fire of musketry. 11 his cannon. The following day he made a half-hearted sortie but was repulsed with small loss to either side. This was one of his few attempts, which was imquestionably due to his fear to use his mutinous troops outside the fortifications. On the 9th day of May a council of war "advised unanimously that the Town of Louisbourg be attacked by storm This Night" but fortunately another council convened that same day "Advised, That, inasmuch as there appears a great Dissatisfaction in many of the ofiicers and Soldiers at the designed attack of the Town by Storm This Night, the said Attack be deferred for the present."^ Since 9 out of 10 men had no bayonets, many no shoes and the scaling ladders brought from Boston were 10 feet too short,'' and since there was nothing approaching a breach in the walls and the French boasted that women alone could defend the fortification, it was well that this madcap project was not attempted with troops in such want and so devoid of experience or discipline. Dining all this time the besiegers and defenders kept up a continuous fire against each other, but the latter appear to have suffered more than the former. Almost every house was rendered untenable, being either destroyed or set on fire, and the wretched inhabitants were forced to take refuge in the casemates where they dragged out a pitiful existence. Provisions became scarce and powder scarcer, and it was evident that the end could not long be postponed. Nearer and nearer crept the hostile batteries, but never a trench or parallel was opened, for the English colonists were ignorant of the proper method of investing a fortress. Yet Duchambon sat stiU, like a man in a trance, waiting for Fate to overwhelm him. His adversaries were made of different stuff and the word ' ' impossible ' ' found no place in their dictionary. Having relinquished the plan of carrying the place by storm, it was subsequently decided to assault the Island battery which closed the harbor entrance to English ships while keeping it open to the French. How to find the two landing places to this formidable-work, which were narrow gaps between rocks lashed by almost constant surf, no one knew, but Vaughan assured Pepperrell that, if given command, he would send the French flag to headquarters in 48 hours. Whale-boats were mended and paddles made, but the bad weather forced several postponements until Warren grew impatient and offered to support the attack with 200 seamen. Finally, on May 23rd, volunteers were mustered at the Grand Battery but a bright moon and northern lights caused a further postponement which was doubtless lucky as the squads were "without officers, noisy, disorderly, and, in •Record of the Council of War, 9 May, 1745. ^Douglas, Summary, I, p. 347. 12 some cases, more or less drunk."' On the 26th the night was dark and 300 men started about 12 o'clock in boats under the command of one Brooks whom .they themselves had selected. They were joined by 150 from Gorham's regiment stationed at Lighthouse Point, but the wind rose and when they reached the island the surf was lashing the rocks with unwonted fury. Only three boats could approach at a time between the breakers but, none the less, a landing was effected without opposition. When only one-third of the attacking force had been drawn up on the beach, some drunken man proposed three cheers which awakened the French and the assailants were greeted with a withering fire from the 30 cannons, 7 swivels, 2 mortars and 180 infantry in the battery. An attempt was made to scale the ramparts and a desperate fire kept up until daylight when the boats were driven off and the shore party com- pelled to lay down its arms with a loss of 189, nearly half.^ The French were obviously much elated, and well they might be as this was their only success during the siege. Nothing daunted, Pepper- rell resolved to reduce the Island battery by a work erected half a mile away on the eastern half of the harbor at Lighthouse Point. This in- volved carrying cannon and mortars in boats to the nearest landing- place on a rocky and almost inaccessible shore, hauling them up a steep cliff and dragging them i| miles to the spot selected, but the task was accomplished and a deadly fire poured on the Island Battery which before long dismounted or destroyed its guns. Meanwhile, on the 19th of May, the Vigilant, a 64-gun ship carrying 560 men and stores for the garrison, under the Marquis de la Maisonfort, appeared and after a hot fight with the British squadron was forced to strike her colors. The French were now plunged into despondency while the English were doubly encouraged as their prize produced large stores of ammunition and provisions of which they were in such dire need. The Lighthouse Battery continued to do such destructive work that Duchambon sent Sieur de Beaubassin with 100 men and 80 Indians to take the battery but they were defeated with heavy loss and driven back, their commander being severely wounded. It was not all plam sailing for Pepperrell, as the Governor-General of Canada sent the noted partisan Marin with a body of 600 or 700 French and Indians to attack Annapolis where Mascarene kept them at bay tintil May 24th when they disappeared. The news soon leaked out that Duchambon had sent them orders to make all haste to the aid of Louis- bourg and the besiegers, magnifying their strength four-fold, expected an attack by numbers in excess of their own. "This wrought a whole- some reform. Order was established in the camp, which was now fenced 'Parkman, II, p. 137. 'Ibid, pp. 139-140. 13 with palisades and watched by sentinels and scouting-parties."' More- over, differences arose between Pepperrell and Warren but were eventu- ally smoothed over and the British Commodore, Whose squadron had then been increased to 1 1 ships, proposed, now that the Island Battery was almost hors de combat, to enter the harbor while the army attempted to storm the town. The French, on the other hand, had made desperate efforts under cover of the night to repair the damage done by the relent- less advance of the Colonists' batteries and the continual fire beneath which walls and bastions were fast crumbling. The West Gate was closed with a wall of stone and earth 20 feet thick; an epaulment made to protect what remained of the once formidable Circular Battery where 13 of the 16 guns had been dismoimted; a cavalier — or raised battery — ^built on the King's Bastion which the Enghsh fire soon demoUshed; and 3 cannon planted against the advanced battery — or Batterie de Francoeur, as they called it — to take it in flank, but, as Duchambon narrates, the enemy "repaired by night the mischief we did them by day."^ When the French saw a large quantity of fascines carried to the foot of the glacis ready to fill the fosse and their scouts came in with reports that more than 1,000 scaling-ladders were concealed behind the ridge of the nearest hill, their spirit broke. The townspeople gave Duchambon to understand in no imcertain terms that they refused to be put to the sword and that they were not strong enough to resist a general assault,' and on the 15 th of June presented a petition to him begging him to capitulate.^ The English preparations were interrupted by the French drums beating a parley and La Perelle was sent with a flag of truce to ask a suspension of hostilities and time to submit proposals for surrender. Warren happened to be ashore at the time, and he and Pepperrell replied that Duchambon's overtures had come in good season to prevent the attack and gave the Governor until the following morning at 8 o'clock to bring forward his tenders. They were received in due time but were of such a natiu-e that Pepperrell promptly rejected them and sent back Bonaventure with counter-proposals which were identical with those declined by Duchambon on May 7th, supplemented by other conditions, one of which was that no officer, soldier or inhabitant of Louisbourg should bear arms against the King of England or ids allies for one year. The French Governor then stipulated, as a condition for his acceptance, that his troops should march out of the fortress with their arms and colors. To this both Warren and Pepperrell consented, the articles were signed on both sides and on June 17th the English fleet sailed into the •Parkman, II, pp. 145. ''Ducliambon au Ministre, 2 Septembre, 1745. 'Bigot au Ministre, i Aoflt, 1745. ^Duchambon au Ministre, 2 Septembre, 1745. 14 harbor while part of the ragged army entered the south gate and Pepper- rell had the satisfaction of receiving the keys of the town in his own hands.^ His troops expected unHmited plunder and were thoroughly disgruntled at finding but little booty and dire poverty, whereupon there arose, as one diarist records,^ "A great Noys and hubbub amongst ye Solders a bout ye Plunder; Som Cursing, som a Swarein," which is not surprising in that motley horde where Rum, Puritanism and Religion went hand in hand.' Thus fell one of the mightiest fortifications ever erected, capitulating to a motley band of farmers and fishermen, led by a lumber merchant. The news of the capture of Louisbourg, which reached Boston on July 3rd, set the colonies ablaze, while in England the tidings were received with astonishment and a joy diminished only by reflections on the strength and mettle of colonists supposed already to be aspiring to independence. Pepperrell was created a baronet, commissioned a colonel in the British army and given a regiment to be raised and maintained by the King — similar honors being given to Governor Shirley — and Warren was made an Admiral.* The capture of l/ouisbourg is one of the most astounding feats in the annals of war, excelled perhaps only by Caesar's taking of Alesia. "This colonial expedition was the maddest enterprise and the most impossible from a military point of view that was ever undertaken. That it succeeded was due to the combination of patient endurance, religious zeal and innate capacity of the New England men, seconded by the shrewdness and ability of Pepperrell, the hearty cooperation of Warren, and the culpable supineness and inefficiency of the garrison. Its importance to the future history of this country was not little. Many of the colonists learned how to fight in this campaign and the drums which rolled in triumph at the head of the hardy colonists as they strode through the sally port of I^ouisbotirg were the same which beat the long roll on the slopes of Bunker Hill. When the New Englanders saw the mud walls Gage erected on Boston Neck and compared them to the mighty ramparts of Cape Breton, which they had so gallantly sur- mounted, they laughed them to scorn. "^ 'Parkman, II, pp. 149, 150 and 157. ^Diary of a Soldier, anonymous. 'A zealot preacher named Moody set forth armed with an axe to destroy the idols worshipped by the French and incidentally to convert some of the defenders. When the colonists entered the town, he at once proceeded to the churches and demolished everything that offended his Puritanical standards. While he was preaching one Sunday in the garrison-chapel his colleagues were indulging in "excessive stealing in every part of the town," according to the Journal of Major-General Wolcott. 'Parkman, II, p. 158-159. 'Brady, Colonial Fights and Fighters, pp. 185-186. 15 In the following year France, roused at last to the effort that should have been made in 1745, sent a huge fleet under Admiral d'Anville, but the storm which greeted it in the Bay of Biscay was only the advanced- guard, as it were, of the unbroken series of disasters that made this expedition one of the most ignominious and ill-fated ever attempted by France.' Notwithstanding this complete debacle, the work of Pepperrell and Warren was undone by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (October, 1748) when Cape Breton and Louisbourg were given back to the French, "amid the loud protestations of the few in England who were conversant with the politics of the North Atlantic — ^protestations fully justified by the immense stress laid upon its restoration by the French."^ Once in possession again, France occupied the fortress with greatly augmented forces and so encouraged the efforts of the French priests and their "bloodthirsty battalions of so-called Indian converts * * * to promote discontent with British rule" that a counterpoise had to be created by the foundation of Halifax (July, 1749) "the only instance * * * of a British colony of free men founded by the Imperial Gov- ernment for a definite and Imperial purpose."' In 1756 war broke out again between France and England which was destined to settle once for all the supremacy of the rival Powers of this continent. The " French and Indian War" as it was termed by the American colonists, was but part and parcel of the Seven Years War in Europe, and in it I^ouisbourg played a r61e only second to Quebec. This time France was not to be caught napping; a million sterling had been spent on its fortifications under the supervision of Franquet, the'eminent engineer. ' ' From behind its two-mile circle of stone bastions and massive curtains of well-mortared masonry nearly 400 cannon frowned defiance upon all comers. Drucour was now governor, while about 4,000 men, mostly French or Canadian regulars, in addition to the same number of inhabitants, with a year's provisions,"* supported by seven line-of -battle ships and five frigates, carrying 550 guns and 3,000 sailors, lay at anchor in the harbor to assist in the defense. Against it England assembled a fleet of 200 ships and 12,000 men* in Halifax and, on June ist, 1758, this formidable array hove in sight of '^Ibid, p. 185; Parkman, II, pp. 174-184. ^A. G. Bradley, The Fight with France for North America, p. 47. 'Ibid, p. 48. *Ibid,, p. 217. 'I/Ord "Amherst's army consisted of about 12,000 men, made up of the following corps: The 15th (Amherst's), 17th (Forbes'), 28th (Bragg's), 35th (Otway's), 40th (Hopson's), 47th (Lascelles'), 48th (Webb's), 58th (Anstruther's), the first and second battalions of the 60th or Royal Americans, and the 63rd (Fraser's High- landers); there were also five companies of rangers and artillery, with about 140 guns of varying calibre." — Ibid, pp. 218-219. 16 "the Dunkirk of the North" with its mighty ramparts rising behind a white fringe of raging surf. It was not until June 7th that a landing was effected near Kennington Cove or La Cormorandihre — where Pepperrell had disembarked 13 years before — led by three yotmg officers, after the celebrated Wolfe — one of the most gallant soldiers in all history — had been temporarily repulsed. To trace this new siege in detail would be superfluous insomuch as both army and fleet contained only one body of Colonial troops.* The principal dates and incidents of this campaign may be briefly summarized thus : THE SECOND SIEQE OF LOUISBOURQ. 1758. February 19. — ^Admiral Boscawen — nicknamed "Old Dreadnought" and " Wrynecked Dick"— sailed from the Solent with Wolfe and part of the army. May 10. — Admiral Boscawen and his fleet anchored in Halifax harbor. A fortnight later Lord Amherst arrived with nearly 200 ships and 12,000 men. June 2. — ^The French were surprised to see Gabarus Bay filled with 23 ships-of-the-line, 18 frigates and 116 transports. A heavy sea was running. June 5. — ^The wind dropped slightly but gave way to fog. June 6. — The wind and fog moderated and the troops were put into boats, but a rising wind compelled the abandonment of the attempt to land. Evening of June 7. — The wind fell and the men were put into boats. June 8. — ^The fleet continued its cannonade of the French fortifications Wolfe and his division pushed for Kennington Cove where 1,200 French soldiers and a strong battery were entrenched above the shore line and behind abatis of fallen trees. The heavy sea and hot fire of the French repulsed Wolfe, but three boats commanded by Lieutenants Hopkifls and Brown and Ensign Grant effected a landing at a spot protected by the angle of the cliff from the fire of the French batteries. The rest of the boats followed and the French were driven back to Louisbourg with a loss of 100 on either side. Lord Amherst's camp leaned its left on the mouth of the stream where Pepperrell's camp had been situated, ex- tending thence in a broad bow to a point one mile north of Green Hill. Block-houses were built at each extremity of the line. Beginning of operations bearing a marked resemblance to those of the colonists 13 years earlier. 'The Royal Americans, better known as the 60th Rifles, were raised in the American colonies. These two battalions contained many German colonists and so many Swiss that German and Swiss oE&cers had to be procured, including their colonel Bouquet, then in Pennsylvania with Forbes. 17 June 17. — The siege guns were brought ashore from the fleet. The French withdrew to the fortifications, destroying a battery of 30 guns on the opposite side of the harbor. Wolfe sent to place a battery at Lighthouse Point. June 26. — ^The battery at Lighthouse Point was completed. The French Admiral Desgouttes sank four of his ships in the channel in order to protect the rest. Jtme 27. — ^The English began to push forward their batteries composed of 200 big guns and mortars. July 6. — ^The French commander Drucour made a sortie against the British left but was easily repulsed. July 9. — ^A second sortie of 1,000 men was made which forced the British grenadiers out of their trenches in the darkness. The Acadians and Indians commanded by Boisherbert, a noted partisan leader, attacked the left flank but were repulsed. July 16. — Wolfe occupied Gallows Hill within 300 feet of the Dauphin's Bastion and erected a battery there. July 21. — ^Three French ships — Le CSlhbre, 76, L' Entreprenant, 64, and Le Capricieux, 64 — ^were burned in the harbor by Fnglish shells. July 22. — ^The residence of the Governor and other officials in the citadel was destroyed by fire. July 26. — ^About I a. m. in the midst of a thick fog 500 sailors in boats with muffled oars stole into the harbor and captqred Le Prudent, 74, and Le Bienfaisant, 64, the only two French ships left in the harbor, fired the former and brought out the latter. July 26. — Less than 6 French guns were feebly replying to 107 heavy British pieces firing at close range and several breeches had been made in the wall of the fortress. De Drucour rejected Amherst's terms for instant and unconditional surrender, but so great was the pressure brought to bear upon him by the inhabitants that at midnight he signed the capitulation. July 27. — In the morning General Whitmore marched in and took possession of the fortress. Thus fell Louisbourg for the second time, capitulating after a siege far more desperate than the first. That same day the garrison was drawn up on parade before Whitmore and, with gestures of rage and mortifi- cation, laid down their arms and filed gloomily off to the ships which were to transport them to England. 5,637 prisoners, soldiers and sailors, were included in the capitulation, 240 serviceable guns taken together with a large amount of ammunition and stores.' The French ^The second capture of I,ouisbourg was primarily due to the dashing audacity, sound judgment and brilliant military genius of James Wolfe. "He is mad," said one of the incapables of King George's entourage when he read of Wolfe's daring tactics and remarkable innovations. "Mad is he?" growled the old King, with a vivid memory of some of his cocked-hatted failures, "then I only hope he'll bite some of my generals!" 18 fleet was totally destroyed and the French power on the North Atlantic coast vanished like a wraith. The way lay clear to Quebec where the following year that " preux chevalier," Wolfe, laid down his life in the moment of victory on the Plains of Abraham (September 13, 1759) that England might hold undisputed sway over a mighty empire stretching from the Spanish territory on the Gulf of Mexico to the trackless wastes of everlasting ice that guard the Polar Sea. As Halifax possessed a superior harbor and was better adapted to control the neighboring and friendly territory, and was already a town of importance, in 1760 an army of workmen was sent to demolish the fortifications at Louisbourg. For six months they labored and today you may stand, as I have done, and marvel how little can remain of the mightiest constructions of man. "Green mounds and embankments of earth enclose the whole space, and beneath the highest of them yawn arches and caverns of ancient masonry. This grassy solitude was once the "Dunkirk of America;" the vaulted caverns where the sheep find shelter from the rain were case- ments where terrified women sought refuge from storms of shot and shell, and the shapeless green mounds were citadel, bastion, rampart and glacis. Here stood lyouisbourg ; and not all the efforts of its conquerors, nor all the havoc of succeeding times, have availed to efface it. Men in hundreds toiled for months with lever, spade and gunpowder in the work of destruction, and for more than a century it has served as a stone quarry; but the remains of its vast defenses still tell their tale of human valor and human woe.'" "Today a collection of fishermen's huts by the shore is nearly all that is left of this great stronghold of French power in the days when a mighty colonial future lay within her grasp. Short by comparison as is the story of the New World, he would be a dull soul who could stand unmoved by that deserted, unvisited, surf -beaten shore, where you may still trace upon the turf the dim lines of once busy streets, and mark the green mounds which hide the remains of the great bastions of Louis- bourg. It has not been given in modern times to many centres of note and power to enjoy within the short space of a century and a half at once such world-wide fame and such profound oblivion."^ In the burying-grounds near Rochefort and Black Points where hun- dreds of French, English and Colonial soldiers who fought in 1745 and 1758 sleep their last sleep, no tombstone, no cairn, no cross has been raised. The ground has never been blessed by a priest, forgotten are the dead and the war of creeds in which Catholics and Puritans struggled for supremacy over half a world. One monument alone commemorates the capture of Louisbourg, a simple shaft, erected in 1895 by the Society of Colonial Wars. 'Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, II, pp. 52-53. ^Bradley, p. 230. SIEGE OF LOUISBOURG, 1 745. ^\ljj\/m, Cove cr -^^ ScaZe ol Feet. ZOOO JfCOo 6000 A. Landing of Pepperrell's command. B. Camp of Burr's regiment. C. Camp of Pepperrell's regiment. D. Camp of WiUard's regiment. E. Camp of Moulton's regiment. F. Camp of Moore's regiment. 1. First, or Green Hill, Battery. 2. Second Battery. 3. Third Battery. 4. Fourth, or Advanced, Battery. 5. Fifth, or Titcomb's Battery. 6. Lighthouse Battery. THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH FOR THE VALLEY OF THE OHIO, 1749-1758 Address delivered before the SOCIETY OF COLONIAL WARS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ON Thursday, March 5th, 1914 (19) THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH FOR THE VALLEY OF THE OHIO, 1749-1758. I. THE FIRST FAILURE. WASHINGTON'S EXPEDITION. 1753. If France blundered often in her military operations in North America certainly no such charge can be laid at her door in respect to her choice of Governors-General or Viceroys of Canada. They were selected with utmost care and were nearly always either fighting men or statesmen, or both. Their position was that of a leader of a triumvirate, the other members being the Intendant — a person of legal reqtiirement who super- vised the finances and to some extent shared the government with his chief — and the Archbishop who guarded the interests of the powerful Church of Canada. To this triumvirate was joined in times of stress a military commander. In the middle of the XVIIIth Century Canada was ruled over by four men of remarkable ability, de la Galissioni&-e (1747-1749), de la Jonquiere (1749-1752), the Marquis Duquesne de Minival (1752-1755) and the Marquis de Vaudreuil (1755-1759)- The first, a man of extraordinary insight, determined to secure unques- tioned possession of the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi and, by joining Canada with Louisiana, cut the continent in two and hem the English in behind the barrier of the Alleghenies, as well as deter and intimidate aU European interlopers. As Lodge very pertinently ob- serves,' "In all the vast wilderness beyond the mountains there was not room for both French and English." In 1749 de la Galissioniere sent his first expedition under Celeron de Bienville to take possession of the Ohio in the name of Louis XV. This expedition covered no less than 3,000 miles, pushing as far as the Great Kennawha (West Virginia), nailing sheets of tin with the arms of France to- trees at various points, at the foot of which they buried plates of lead with suitable inscriptions "as a token of renewal of possession heretofore taken of the aforesaid River Ohio. * * *"^ De Celeron also wrote a civil letter to the Gov- ernor of Pennsylvania "expressing surprise that the English should be making so free with territory that all the world knew was the property of 'George Washington, I, p. 62, American Statesmen Series. *The inscription on the plate biuied at the confluence of the Ohio and Conewango on July 29, 1749, is given by Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, I, p. 43. (21) 22 his most Catholic Majesty."* The English colonists knew almost nothing of this expedition and even their most far-sighted leaders scarcely- noticed it, but, as a matter of fact, too much emphasis cannot be laid upon its importance geographically and politically, for on the part of the French it was the prologue of war. In 1749 de la Jonqui^re succeeded de la Galissioniere as the French Viceroy but was unable to accomplish much to advance their policy. At his death in 1752 the King sent the Marquis Duquesne de M6n6val who promptly set to work to drill the 2,000 regulars and 15,000 militia into an efficient force which he accomplished within two years. In 1752 he sent an expedition under Marin — who died and was succeeded by Legardeur de St. Pierre — to build forts on the site of the present city of Erie and at the head of the Ohio navigation, the latter called Fort le Boeuf. This impressed the Indians with ideas of the French determina- tion and English apathy, but it also roused the British to a realization of their danger and caused them to demand explanations which precipitated the crisis. Meanwhile, two land companies were formed in Pennsylvania and Virginia and had acquired grants in the disputed territory, but they soon fell to quarelling, the British officials did nothing to support them and no attention was paid to the warnings of the friendly Indians that the chain of forts being built by the French and the progress of their traders and soldiers from the North and the South would inevitably strangle the English settlements out of existence. The other Indian tribes obviously threw their lot with the French whose star seemed in the ascendant while the British fortunes appeared on the wane. Gov- ernor Dinwiddle of Virginia in alarm sent a commissioner to protest against these aggressions, but his envoy, Captain Trent, stopped 150 miles short of the French posts, frightened by the troublous conditions and by the defeat and slaughter which the French had visited upon the Indians who attempted to oppose their encroachments. As a more vigorous person was needed to warn France to desist from trespassing on the English wilderness, Dinwiddle selected the Adjutant General of the Northern Division, a major of 22 years, George Washington. lycav- ing Williamsburg on October 31, 1753, accompanied by van Braam, Christopher Gist — the boldest of the Virginia frontiersmen— with 7 white men and Indians they pushed from Will's Creek (Cumberland, Maryland) on November 15, 1753, through Logstown to Venango on the Ohio, the first French outpost, commanded by Joncaire. At supper, the French officers, flushed with wine, declared that they intended to take the valley of the Ohio and "by God to keep it," and made every effort to entice the Indians to leave Washington. He prevailed, however, 'A. G. Bradley, The Fight with France for North America, p. 46. 23 and pushed on to Fort le Boeuf where he deUvered Dinwiddie's demand,' sketched and learned as much as he could about the fort, and received Legardeur de St. Pierre's evasive reply^ which was similar to Marshal •"Sir, "The lands upon the River Ohio, in the Western Parts of the Colony of Virginia, are so notoriously known to be the property of the Crown of Great-Britain; that it is a matter of equal Concern and Stuprize to me, to hear that a Body of French Forces are erecting Fortresses, and making Settlements upon that River, within his Majesty's Dominions. "The many and repeated Complaints I have received of these Acts of Hostility, lay me imder the Necessity, of sending, in the Name of the King my Master, the Bearer hereof , George Washington, Esq; one of the Adjutants-General of the forces of this Dominion; to complain to you of the Encroachments thus made, and of the Injuries done to the Subjects of Great-Britain, in open Violation of the Law of Nations and the Treaties now subsisting between the two Crowns. "If these Facts are true, and you shall think fit to justify your Proceedings, I must desire you to acquaint me, by whose Authority and Instructions you have lately marched from Canada, with an armed Force ; and invaded the King of Great-Britain's Territories, in the Manner complained of? that according to the Purport and Resolu- tion of your Answer, I may act agreeably to the Commission I am honoured with, from the King my Master. "However, Sir, in Obedience to my Instructions, it becomes my Duty to require your peaceable Departure; and that you would forbear prosecuting a Purpose so interruptive of the Harmony and good Understanding, which his Majesty is desirous to continue and cultivate with the most Christian King. "I persuade myself you will receive and entertain Major Washington with the Candour and Politeness natural to your Nation; and it wUl give me the greatest Satisfaction, if you return him with an Answer suitable to my wishes for a very long and lasting Peace between us. I have the Honom: to subscribe myself, SIR, Yoiu" most obedient. Humble Servant, ROBERT DINWIDDIE." Hulbert, Historic Highways, Vol. Ill, pp. 108-112. ''"Sir, "As I have the Honoxir of commanding here in Chief, Mr. Washington delivered me the Letter which you wrote to the Commandant of the French Troops. "I should have been glad that you had given him Orders, or that he had been in- clined to proceed to Canada to see our General; to whom it better belongs than to me to set-forth the Evidence and Reality of the Rights of the King, my Master, upon the Lands situated along the River Ohio, and to contest the Pretensions of the King of Great-Britain thereto. " I shall transmit yoiu: Letter to the Marq.uis Duguisne. His Answer will be a Law to me; and if he shall order me to communicate it to you, Sir, you may be assured I shall not fail to dispatch it to you forthwith. "As to the Summons you send me to retire, I do not think myself obliged to obey it. What-ever may be your Instructions, I am here by Virtue of the Orders of my General; and I entreat you. Sir, not to doubt one Moment, but that I am determin'd to conform myself to them with all the Exactness and Resolution which can be ex- pected from the best Officer. "I don't know that in the Progress of this Campaign any Thing passed which can be reputed an Act of Hostility, or that is contrary to the Treaties, which subsist between the two Crowns; the Continuation whereof as much interests, and is as pleas- ing to us, as the EngUsh. Had you been pleased. Sir, to have descended to particu- larize the Facts which occasioned your Complaint, I should have had the Honour of answering you in the fullest, and, I am persuaded, most satisfactory Manner. "I made it my particular Care to receive Mr. Washington, with a Distinction suitable to your Dignity, as well as his own Quahty and great Merit. I flatter myself that he will do me this Justice before you. Sir; and that he will signify to you in the Manner I do myself, the profound Respect with which I am, SIR, Your most humble, and most obedient Servant, LEGARDEUR DE ST. PIERRE." Hulbert, Historic Highways, Vol. IIL PP- iiS-"?- 24 MacMahon's famous retort at Sevastapol, " J'y suis, j'y reste." Re- treating to Venango, another struggle for the savages ensued wherein rum, as usual, played the principal r61e. This time the chiefs determined to stay behind, but fortunately the important Half-King remained true to the English cause. Washington then placed the cavalcade under van Braam and pushed ahead with Gist, his progress beset with weather of unusual severity, tremendous snowstorms and hardships enough to tax the stoutest heart. The Indian who guided them, being in the pay of the French, led them astray and, seizing a favorable opportunity, fired point-blank at Washington. He was immediately pounced upon and would have been killed instanter by Gist had it not been for Washing- ton's intercession. They did disarm him, however, and drive him away, kindled two delusive fires, doubled on their trail and thus escaped pm-suit. After incredible hardships they reached the Ohio where they nearly lost their lives by the capsizing of an improvised raft. Frozen and starving they arrived at the hut of a trapper named Frazier, on the Monongahela River, where they stayed until January ist, 1754. Sixteen miles farther, at Gist's house theyseparated and on January 1 6th Washington placed the French defiance in the hands of Governor Dinwiddle at Williamsburg.* II. THE FATE OF JUMONVILLE AND THE CAPTURE OF WASH- INGTON AT FORT NECESSITY, 1754. Meanwhile the Governor of Virginia had "received permission from the English Government to oppose force by force, and to erect, on his part, forts upon the Ohio, at the expense of the colonial Governments. The oflBcials of both nations were now committed to an armed occupation of the same country — a proceeding which could have but one result. But the French were ready with men and money, and strong in a united purpose. Dinwiddle, on the other hand, could do nothing with the colonial legislatures"^ which did little else but squabble and make excuses why they could not participate. At last New York and South Carolina placed two inde- pendent companies at the disposal of Dinwiddie, and his own legislature voted £iG,ooo for the defense of their frontier. Virginia's sole regiment consisted of 300 raw recruits, commanded by Colonel Fry, an Oxford M.'A., with Washington as its Major. "With this formidable host the ) : 'The principal authorities for the above narrative are Major Washington's Journal of a tour over the Allegany mountains, published shortly after his return to Williams- burg and quoted by Sparks, Writings of Washington, I, pp. 432-447. Manuscript Journal of Christopher Gist; Sparks, Writings of Washington, I, pp. 25-35 and 428- 429; Depeches de Duquesne; letter of Fraser in the Colonial Records of Pennsylvania; V, p. 659; Parkman, Montclam and Wolfe, I, pp. 20-25, 36-53, 60, 81-89 and 128- 136; Justin Winsor, Narrative and Critical History of America, V, p. 492: Bradley, PP- 35-46; Brady, pp. 189-193. ^Bradley, p. 65. Explanation A A Tns dilcA w'llA d brc