Embarkation at Acadia.
The Exile of Acadians.
24. The country about the isthmus was now laid waste, and the peasants driven into the larger towns. Wherever a sufficient number could be got together they were compelled to go on shipboard. At the village of Grand Pré, more than nineteen hundred people were driven into the boats at the point of the bayonet. Wives and children, old men and mothers, the sick and the infirm, all shared the common fate. More than three thousand of the Acadians were carried away and scattered, helpless and half starved, among the English colonies.
25. The third campaign planned by Braddock was to be conducted by Governor Shirley against Fort Niagara. Early in August the attempt was made, but in October had to be abandoned.
Expedition to Lake Champlain.
26. The fourth expedition was intrusted to General William Johnson. The object was to capture Crown Point, and drive the French from Lake Champlain. Early in August the army proceeded to the Hudson above Albany, and built Fort Edward. Thence Johnson marched to Lake George and laid out a camp.
Dieskau Defeated.
27. In the mean time, Dieskau, the French commandant at Crown Point, advanced with fourteen hundred French, Canadians, and Indians to capture Fort Edward. The Canadians and French regulars, unsupported by the Indians, then attacked the English position. For five hours the battle was incessant. Nearly all of Dieskau's men were killed. At last the English troops charged across the field, and completed the rout. Dieskau was mortally wounded. Two hundred and sixteen of the English were killed. General Johnson now constructed Fort William Henry on the site of his camp. Meanwhile, the French had fortified Ticonderoga. Such was the condition of affairs at the close of 1755.
