While these plans were being carried out, Colonel Monckton,[20] with Colonel Winslow, marched against the French settlements in the Bay of Fundy; their force of nearly 3000 men was aided by the presence on the coast of Captain Rous, with three frigates and a sloop. The Acadian peasants,[21] and some regular troops with a few cannon, endeavored to oppose his passage at the River Massaquash, but were speedily overpowered. Thence he moved upon Fort Beau-sejour, and forced the garrison to capitulate after a bombardment[22] of four days. He left some troops to defend this position, which he now called Fort Cumberland, and proceeded the next day to a small intrenchment on the River Gaspereau, where the French had established their principal dépôt for the Indian trade, and the stores of arms, ammunition, and provisions; he then disarmed the peasantry to the number of 15,000 men. At the same time Captain Rous destroyed all the works erected by the French on the River St. John. By this expedition the possession of the extensive province of Nova Scotia was secured to the British crown almost without the loss of a man.
The court of France in the mean time hastened the equipment of a considerable fleet at Brest, under the orders of Admiral Bois de la Mothe. On board were several veteran regiments, commanded by the Baron Dieskau, who had distinguished himself under the celebrated Marshal Saxe.
The Marquis du Quesne had demanded his recall from the government of Canada, with the view of re-entering the naval service of France. His departure caused little regret, for though his management of public affairs was skillful and judicious, a haughty and domineering temper had made him generally unpopular in the colony. The Marquis de Vaudreuil de Cavagnac was appointed his successor, at the request of the Canadian people, who fondly hoped to enjoy, under the rule of the son of their favorite, the same prosperity and peace which had characterized his father's administration. The new governor, who arrived in M. de la Mothe's fleet, was received with great demonstrations of joy by the inhabitants of Quebec.
Hearing of these hostile preparations, the English ministry, in the month of April, 1755, dispatched Admiral Boscawen, with eleven sail of the line, to watch the French squadron, although at the time no formal declaration of war had been made. The rival armaments reached the Banks of Newfoundland almost at the same time: the friendly fogs of those dreary latitudes saved De la Mothe's fleet; two of his vessels, indeed, fell into the hands of his enemies,[23] but the remainder entered the Canadian ports in safety. On the news of this attack reaching Paris, M. de Mirepoix, the embassador, was recalled from London, and loud complaints were made by the French against Boscawen's conduct. On the part of Great Britain it was answered, that the aggressions of the Canadians in Virginia justified the act of hostility.[24]
On the 8th of May General Braddock joined the head-quarters of the army at a village on the Potomac; on the 10th he marched to Will's Creek, and encamped on a hill near Fort Cumberland. Here he remained till the 28th, passing the time in horse-races, reviews, and conferences with the Indians. These red warriors were astonished at the number of the British, their uniform dress, and their arms, the regularity of their march, the tremendous effect of their artillery, and the strange noises of their drums and fifes; but, unfortunately, the haughty general was not wise enough to conciliate his important allies, or to avail himself of their experience in forest warfare; he, however, with disdainful generosity, gave them numerous presents, and provided the warriors with arms and clothing.
The force now assembled in camp at Fort Cumberland consisted of the 44th (Sir Peter Halket's) and the 48th (Colonel Dunbar's) regiments, each of 700 men, with three New York and Carolina companies of 100, and ten of Virginia and Maryland (fifty strong), a troop of Provincial light horse, thirty seamen, and twelve pieces of field artillery: in all, 2300 men.[25] The Delawares and other friendly Indians, whose services were unfortunately so lightly valued, added considerably to the numbers of this formidable body.
Braddock was aware that the French garrison of Fort du Quesne only numbered 200 men, and earnestly desired to advance in early spring with his overwhelming force, but by an unfortunate exercise of corrupt influence at home his troops had been ordered to land in Virginia, where the inhabitants, altogether engrossed with the culture of tobacco, were unable to supply the necessary provisions and means of transport. Had they been landed in the agricultural state of Pennsylvania, all demands could have been readily supplied, their march shortened, and a large outlay saved to the British government. When the general found that the Virginians could not meet his views, he made a requisition on the neighboring state for 150 wagons, 300 horses, and a large quantity of forage and provisions: these were readily promised, but not a tenth part arrived at the appointed time. His disappointment was, however, somewhat mitigated by a small supply which Mr. Franklin sent shortly after from Philadelphia. By the exertions of this energetic man, Braddock was at length furnished with all his requisitions,[26] and then prepared to advance.
The unfortunate selection of the chief of this expedition was, however, more fatal than difficulty[27] or delay; his character was unsuited for such a command in every point except that of personal courage: haughty, self-sufficient, and overbearing, he estranged the good-will, and rejected the counsel of his Indian and Provincial allies.[28] His troops were harassed by the endeavor to enforce a formal and rigid discipline, which the nature of the service rendered impracticable. Through the tangled and trackless passes of the Alleganies, he adhered with stubborn bigotry to a system of operations only suited to the open plains of civilized Europe. But his greatest and worst error was to despise his foe: in spite of the warnings of the Duke of Cumberland, his patron and friend, he scorned to take precautions against the dangerous ambush of the American savage.
On the 29th, Major Chapman, with 600 men and two guns, marched from the camp: Sir John St. Clair, quarter-master general, some engineers, and seamen, accompanied this detachment to clear the roads and reconnoiter the country. From that time till the 10th of June an incredible amount of useless and harassing toil was wasted in widening and leveling the forest paths, and erecting unnecessarily elaborate bridges. At length, on the 10th, Braddock followed with the rest of his army, and reached the Little Meadows that night, a distance of twenty-two miles. In spite of the facilities afforded by the labors of the pioneers, great difficulty was experienced in the conveyance of the heavy stores. During the route still to be pursued, where no preparations had been made, greater delays were to be expected. At the same time the general was stimulated to activity by information that the French soon expected a re-enforcement at Fort du Quesne of 500 regular troops; with more of energy than he had yet displayed,[29] he selected 1200 men, and taking also ten guns, the seamen, and some indispensable supplies of provisions and ammunition, he pushed boldly on into the pathless and almost unknown solitudes of the Alleganies. Colonel Dunbar, with the rest of the army and the heavy luggage, followed as they best might.
To trace the unfortunate Braddock through his tedious march of 130 miles would be wearisome and unnecessary. His progress was retarded by useless labors in making roads, or rather tracks, and yet no prudent caution was observed; he persisted in refusing or neglecting the offers of the Provincials and Indians to scour the woods and explore the passes in his front.[30] Sir Peter Halket and other British officers ventured to remonstrate in strong terms against the dangerous carelessness of the march, but their instances seemed only to confirm the obstinate determination of the general. Washington, who acted as his aid-de-camp, also urged an alteration of arrangement, and with such vehement pertinacity that the irritated chief ordered his Virginian companies to undertake the inglorious duties of the rear-guard.