The Conquest of Canada, Vol. 2

by George Warburton

The third army was destined to march upon Fort du Quesne, of disastrous memory, and to establish the British power in the Valley of the Ohio, for the possession of which the sanguinary war had commenced, and the spot where blood had first been shed. By the success of this object, all communication between the French of Canada and Louisiana would be effectually cut off, and the countries watered by the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi left at the mercy of England's naval power.

The same express that bore the tidings of Lord Loudon's recall, conveyed a circular letter from Mr. Pitt to the colonial governors, declaring the determination of the British cabinet to repair, at any cost, the losses and disasters of the last campaign.[122] To encourage the vigorous co-operation of the colonists, they were informed that his majesty would recommend Parliament to grant the several provinces such compensation for the expenses which they might incur as their efforts should appear to justly merit, and that arms, ammunition, tents, provisions, and boats would be furnished by the crown. At the same time, the colonial governors were required to raise as numerous levies of Provincial militia as their districts would supply, to pay and clothe them, and appoint their officers. Inspired by the energy of the great minister, and excited to a generous emulation with the awakened spirit of the parent state, the American colonies came nobly forward in the common cause, and used their utmost efforts to strengthen, by their co-operation, the promised armament from England. Massachusetts raised 7000 men, Connecticut 5000, and the thinly-peopled State of New Hampshire 900; the numbers of the Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey levies have not been specified. These troops were ordered to take the field early in May, but the muster proceeded slowly and irregularly, insomuch that no movements were made toward the scenes of action until the middle of June, 1757.

The largest European army ever yet seen on the American continent was assembled at Albany and in the neighborhood, under the command of Abercromby, the general-in-chief since Lord Loudon's recall. A detachment of the Royal Artillery, and seven strong battalions of the line, amounting altogether to 6350 regulars, with 9000 of the Provincial militia, composed this formidable force. Their object was the destruction of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Toward the end of June they broke up from Albany, and encamped upon the ground where the melancholy ruins of Fort William Henry still remained. On the 5th of July, the cannon, ammunition, and stores arrived, and on that day the army embarked on the waters of Lake George: 1035 boats conveyed this powerful expedition, and a number of rafts, armed with artillery, accompanied them, to overcome any opposition that might be offered to the landing.

The armament continued its progress steadily through the day. When evening fell, Abercromby gave the signal to lie to at a place called Sabbath Point, on the shores of the lake: there the troops landed for a time, and lighted large fires to distract the attention of the enemy. In the dead of night they were suddenly re-embarked, and hurried on to the Narrows, where the waters contract into the stream that communicates with Wood Creek:[123] there they arrived at five o'clock the following morning. An advanced guard of 2000 men was thrown ashore at first dawn under the gallant Bradstreet, and these having encountered no enemy, the remainder of the army was rapidly landed. As the troops disembarked they were formed into four columns, some Light Infantry were sent on to scour the line of march, and the advance was sounded. They soon reached a small encampment which had been occupied by a detachment of the regiment of Guienne, but found it abandoned, the ammunition and provisions destroyed, the camp itself in flames.

Ticonderoga,[124] the first object of the British attack, was a fort of some strength, situated on the most salient point of the peninsula between Lakes George and Champlain. To the eastward the rugged shore afforded sufficient protection; to the west and north regular lines of defense had been erected by the French engineers, and an extensive swamp, spreading over nearly all the landward face, embarrassed the approaches of an enemy. The neighboring country was a dense and tangled forest.

Early in the summer of this year, the Marquis de Vaudreuil, governor of Canada, had received intelligence of Abercromby's extensive preparations to gain the positions of Ticonderoga and Crown Point,[125] and with them the command of the important chain of waters leading to the River St. Lawrence and the heart of the French possessions. The governor saw the necessity of defeating this enterprise at any cost. He called to his aid Montcalm, already famous by deserved success, and placed at his disposal all the troops that could be spared from every part of the colony: on the 20th of June they reached the position, they were directed to defend.

On the first of July Montcalm sent an advance of three regiments, under M. de Bourlemaque, along the northwestern shores of Lake George; he himself followed with three regiments, and the second battalion of Berry to a place called the Falls, at the head of the lake, where he encamped. The following day, two active and intelligent officers, Captains de Bernard and Duprât, with some light troops, were pushed on over the mountains toward the lower end of the lake where Abercromby's army lay. When the boats of the English force covered the waters on the morning of the 5th of July, these French detachments signalized to their general that the time for action was come. M. de Bourlemaque immediately dispatched 300 men, under the command of Captain de Trépézé, to watch the hostile armament from the shore, and, if possible, to oppose its landing. The next day, however, when the British disembarked, they were in such force as to render opposition hopeless; this corps of observation therefore fell back upon M. de Bourlemaque, and he too retired toward the main body, under the command of Montcalm.

So difficult and tangled were the woods on their retreat, that, in spite of their knowledge of the country, one French column of 500 men lost their way, fell into confusion, and in their bewilderment almost retraced their steps. The English pressed rapidly on in pursuit, and, from the ignorance of the guides, their divisions also became confounded, and mixed up together in alarming disorder. The officers vigorously exerted themselves to restore the broken ranks, but, in the midst of their efforts, the right center column, led by the good and gallant Lord Howe, was suddenly fronted by the body of the enemy who had gone astray in the forest. They joined in bitter strife: almost hand to hand, in the swamps, or from tree to tree on the hill side, the stout Frenchmen held their own against the British troops, and, nothing daunted by the unexpected danger, disdained to yield.[126] At the first shock many of Howe's Light Infantry went down; he himself, hurrying to the front, was struck by a musket ball in the breast, and instantly expired.[127] His men, infuriated by the loss of their beloved leader,[128] swarmed on through the thick woods, and finally overpowered or destroyed the enemy; not, however, till four fifths of the French were wounded, slain, or taken, and some of the conquerors killed and disabled, did they yield their ground.

That night the victors occupied the field of battle; to this their advantage was confined, for the disorganization of the troops had frightfully increased during the unpropitious march, in the hard-fought skirmish, and by the loss of their best and most trusted chief. The vigor and spirit of Abercromby's army seemed to pass away with Lord Howe. This gallant man, from the time he had landed in America, had wisely instructed his regiment for the peculiar service of that difficult country: no useless incumbrance of baggage was allowed; he himself set the example, and encountered privation and fatigue in the same chivalrous spirit with which he faced the foe. Graceful and kind in his manners, and considerate to the humblest under his charge, his officers and soldiers heartily obeyed the chief because they loved the man. At the fatal moment when he was lost to England, her glory and welfare most needed his aid. He lived long enough for his own honor, but not for that of his country.

The price of this slight advantage was ruinous to the English army. From the unhappy moment when Lord Howe was slain, the general lost all resolution, and, as a natural consequence, the troops lost all confidence. Order and discipline were no longer observed, and the after-operations can only be attributed to infatuation. At dawn on the day subsequent to the combat, Abercromby actually marched his forces back to the place where they had disembarked the day before, through the dreary and almost impassable wilderness, traversed with the utmost difficulty but a few hours before. However, on the return of the army to the landing place, a detachment was sent to gain an important post held by the French at some saw-mills, two miles from Ticonderoga. Colonel Bradstreet was selected for this duty; with him were sent the 44th regiment, six companies of the 60th, some Rangers, and a number of boatmen; among them were those who had forced the passage of the Onondaga River: altogether nearly 7000 men.