FOOTNOTES:

[63] "Thus was introduced into America the feudal system, so long the ruin of Europe."—Raynal, vol. viii., p. 143.

"Nothing has reduced the families of the ancient French seigneurs to misery more than the division and subdivision of their lands by their own law; a law which, though it appears at first to breathe more the spirit of democracy than of monarchy, yet in fact is calculated for a military government only, because nobles so reduced can and will only live by the sword."—Gray's Canada, p. 346.

[64] "War was at length declared in form by Great Britain against France in May, 1756, and in the following month by France against Great Britain; and in the manifesto published by the latter, much pains were taken to contrast the moderation and equity of the court of Versailles with the intemperate violence of the court of London, and particularly stigmatizing the seizure of the French ships of war and commerce, before a declaration of war, as piracy and perfidy."—Belsham, vol. ii., p. 396.

[65] "The next object of the immediate attention of Parliament in this session (1755—May, 1756) was the raising of a new regiment of foot in North America, for which purpose the sum of £81,178 16s. was voted. This regiment, which was to consist of four battalions of 1000 men each, was intended to be raised chiefly out of the German and Swiss, who, for many years past, had annually transported themselves in great numbers to the British plantations in America, where waste lands had been assigned them upon the frontiers of the provinces; but, very injudiciously, no care had been taken to intermix them with the English inhabitants of the place, so that very few of them, even of those who have been born there, have yet learned to speak or understand the English tongue. However, as they were all zealous Protestants, and, in general, strong, hardy men, accustomed to the climate, it was judged that a regiment of good and faithful soldiers might be raised out of them, particularly proper to oppose the French; but to this end it was necessary to appoint some officers, especially subalterns, who understood military discipline and could speak the German language; and as a sufficient number of such could not be found among the English officers, it was necessary to bring over and grant commissions to several German and Swiss officers and engineers. But as this step, by the Act of Settlement, could not be taken without the authority of Parliament, an act was now passed for enabling his majesty to grant commissions to a certain number of foreign Protestants who had served abroad as officers or engineers, to act and rank as officers or engineers in America only. The Royal American Regiment is now the 60th Rifles."—Smollett's History of England, vol. iii., p. 483.

[66] The northern colonies were enabled to comply, in some degree, with the requisitions made on them, by having received from the British government, in the course of the summer, a considerable sum of money as a reimbursement for the extraordinary expenses of the preceding year. One hundred and fifteen thousand pounds had been apportioned among them, according to their respective exertions,[84] and this sum gave new vigor and energy to their councils.

[67] The command of the expedition against Crown Point was given to Major-general Winslow, whose conduct in Nova Scotia had very much increased both his reputation and his influence.—Marshall's Life of Washington, vol. i., p. 325.

Mr. Beckford thus speaks of General Winslow in a letter to Mr. Pitt, dated Fonthill, Dec. 18, 1758: "There is a brave, gallant officer, by name Winslow, who has acted as general in North America, and done signal service. This man is in England, and is only a captain on half pay. I wish you would think of him; he might furnish you with useful hints."—Correspondence of the Earl of Chatham, vol. i., p. 378.

[68] "Bradstreet had but three Indians of the Six Nations (Iroquois) with him at this attack. Of these, one took to his heels; a second fought bravely; but the third went over to the enemy, and assisted in pointing out our officers."—A Review of the Military Operations in North America from 1753 to 1756.

[69] "Mr. Shirley and the Provincial chiefs wanted that Webb's (the 44th) and my regiment (the 48th) should march to Forts Edward and William Henry, taking it for granted that Oswego was in no danger."—Letter from General Abercromby, dated Albany, 10th of August, 1756.

"The detaching any troops to Oswego was strongly opposed by a party at Albany, who thought that while Crown Point remained in the hands of the French, there could be no security for the province of New York. General Winslow, who was to command an expedition against Crown Point, was already more than sufficiently strong for that purpose, yet this party insisted on his being re-enforced with two or three regiments of regular troops, and that an army should likewise remain at Albany to defend it, in case the troops sent against Crown Point should happen to be defeated. Nay, they strongly opposed the departure of the regiment which General Abercromby had already ordered for Oswego. Some of the New England colonies joined those of New York in this opposition, so that it was not without the greatest difficulty Lord Loudon, who did not think proper to do any thing material without their approbation, could so much as prevail on them to let Colonel Webb depart for Oswego; therefore it was the 12th of August before that officer could leave Albany; too late to save Oswego. Thus the public safety of the whole British empire in North America was made to yield to the private views of some leading people in the provinces of New England and New York."—Mante, p. 64.

[70] "The Provincials do not exceed 4000, mostly vagabonds picked up by the New Englanders at random, by the high premium given them in order to save themselves from service."—Letter from General Abercromby, Albany, 30th of August, 1756.

[71] The 44th (then Halket's, now Webb's) and the 48th (then Dunbar's, now Abercromby's). They were regiments that ran away at Preston Pans.

[72] "The garrison of Oswego was insensibly increased to 1400 men; only 700 had been left there by Mr. Shirley the autumn before."—Mante's Hist. of the War, p. 63.

[73] "The greatest part of Shirley's and Pepperel's regiments is there.... By all account, Shirley's and Pepperel's are by much the worst corps on this continent. With such troops, what can we do?"—Letter from General Abercromby, Albany, 30th of Aug., 1756.

[74] "General Shirley's troops, after the attack on Niagara was relinquished in the autumn of the preceding year, had been employed in the erection of two new forts, one of them 450 yards from the old Fort Oswego, and bearing the same name, the other on the opposite side of the Onondaga River, to be called Fort Ontario. They were erected on the south side of Lake Ontario, at the mouth of the Onondaga, and constituted a port of great importance. The garrison, as we have already observed, consisted of 1400 men, chiefly militia and new-raised recruits, under the command of Colonel Mercer, an officer of experience and courage; but the situation of the forts was very ill chosen, the materials mostly timber or logs of wood, the defenses wretchedly continued and unfinished, and, in a word, the place altogether untenable against any regular approach."—Smollett's History of England, vol. iii., p. 535.

[75] "Such an important magazine, deposited in a place altogether indefensible, and without the reach of immediate succor, was a flagrant proof of egregious folly, temerity, and misconduct."—Smollett's Hist. of England, vol. iii., p. 536.

[76] Ibid., p. 535.

[77] "Montcalm, in direct violation of the articles, as well as in contempt of common humanity, delivered up above twenty men of the garrison to the Indians, in lieu of the same number they had lost during the siege."—Ibid.

[78] "The negligence and dilatoriness of our governors at home,[85] and the little-minded quarrels of the regulars and irregular forces,[86] have reduced our affairs in that part of the world (America) to a most deplorable state. Oswego, of ten times more importance even than Minorca, is so annihilated that we can not learn the particulars."—Walpole's Letters to Sir H. Mann, Nov. 4, 1756.

[79] "The massacre at Oswego happily proves a romance. Part of the two regiments [87] that were made prisoners there are actually arrived at Plymouth, the provisions at Quebec being too scanty to admit additional numbers."—Walpole's Letters to Sir H. Mann, Nov. 13, 1756.

[80] Wood Creek was one of the streams that formed a nearly uninterrupted water communication between Albany, in New York, and the mouth of the River Onondaga, where Oswego was situated.

[81] Crown Point, or Fort Frederic, and Ticonderoga, which had been lately fortified.

[82] Abercromby writes from Fort Edward, 30th of September, 1756; "Upon intelligence of the enemy's whole force being collected at Crown Point, in order to make an attempt on this fort or that of Fort William Henry, I arrived here the 26th with the Highlanders: to-morrow I shall have three regiments.... Our works here are far from being finished. However, though the fort is not finished we are throwing up lines, and shall be able to repel the enemy's force.—8th of Oct. Lord Loudon is now here: he has left Webb to take care of Otway's at Albany. General Winslow (he was at Fort William Henry) holds daily correspondence."

[83] Every where. "I see it with concern, considering who was Newcastle's associate" (he alludes to his friend Fox); "but this was the year of the worst administration that I have seen in England, for now Newcastle's incapacity [88] was left to its full play."—Walpole's Memoirs, vol. ii., p. 54.

"In the course of this unfortunate year, 1756, we were stripped of Minorca and Oswego (the East India Company, by the loss of Calcutta, received a blow which would have shaken an establishment of less strength to its foundation), we apprehended an invasion of Great Britain itself, our councils were torn to pieces by factions, and our military fame was every where in contempt."—Annual Register.

Burke was the writer of the "History of Europe" in the early volumes of the Annual Register.

[84] To Massachusetts, £54,000; to Connecticut, £26,000; to New York, £15,000; to New Hampshire, £8000; to Rhode Island, £7000; to New Jersey, £5000,—Marshall's Life of Washington, vol. i., p. 328.

[85] The ministry of the Duke of Newcastle and Fox, which was forced out of office by the public indignation at the loss of Minorca, and on the 13th of Nov., 1756, Pitt kissed hands as secretary of state.

[86] "The regulations of the crown respecting rank had given great disgust in America, and rendered it extremely difficult to carry on any military operations which required a junction of British and Provincial troops. When consulted on this delicate subject, General Winslow assured General Abercromby of his apprehensions that, if the result of the junction should be placing the Provincials under British officers, it would produce very general discontent, and perhaps desertion. His officers concurred with him in this opinion. On the arrival of Lord Loudon, the subject was revived, and the colonial office gave the same opinion. The request that Lord Loudon would permit them to act separately was acceded to."—Marshall's Life of Washington, vol. i., p. 327.

[87] Shirley's and Pepperel's.

[88] "A minister the most incapable though the most ambitious, the weakest though the most insolent, the most pusillanimous though the most presumptuous"—Mr. Potter's Speech in the House of Commons. "It would, however, be injustice not to allow the Duke of Newcastle the merit of disinterestedness as to the emoluments of office, and of zeal for the general interests of his country."—Belsham, vol. ii., p. 381.