The year 1759 was remarkable for the conquest of Canada. The French deserted Crown Point and Ticonderoga, which were possessed by General Amherst. Sir William Johnson defeated them, and became master of the Fort of Niagara. And the Admirals Saunders, Holmes, and Durel, sailed for Quebec, attended by a land army, under General Wolfe. In the battle which ensued, both Wolfe and Montcalm, the chief commanders on each side, were slain, and Quebec surrendered.
In 1760 the French forces endeavoured to recover Quebec, but the place was relieved by an English fleet under Lord Colvill. Montreal submitted to General Amherst, and that extensive country fell totally under the power of Great Britain; a larger territory than ever was subject to the Roman empire. The prodigious march of Amherst, on this occasion, can be compared only to that of Jenghiz Can, or Tamerlane, who over-ran all Asia with their Tartars.
In Europe the operations of war were astonishing, and the great efforts of the King of Prussia secured his safety beyond all human expectation. Almost the whole power of the Continent was united against him. The King of Great Britain, his only ally, seemed inclined to forsake him. In this terrible situation he relied on his natural subjects, and still adhered to his fortitude. Yet he expostulated warmly, and his expostulations at last succeeded.
The French forces, and those of the Imperialists, had made a successful campaign in the summer; yet seemed determined that the rigour of the winter should not interrupt their proceedings. In the depth of it, they laid siege to Leipsic, and were confident of carrying that important city. This greatly alarmed his Prussian Majesty. He contrived his measures so artfully, as to appear before the place when he was least expected. Vanquished as he was, the terror of his arms raised the siege. The French army, though greatly superior in number, rose and retreated with precipitation.
His Prussian Majesty, not satisfied with having raised the siege of Leipsic, followed the French army, whose fears, he imagined, would befriend him. He came up with them near a little village, called Rosbach. An action came on, and he obtained one of the most signal victories recorded in history. Had not the night saved them, their whole army had been devoted to destruction.
In another part of the empire the Austrians were again victorious, and took the Prince of Bevern, the King of Prussia's Generalissimo, prisoner. The King himself, in the depth of winter, made a march of two hundred miles, and engaged the enemy in the neighbourhood of Breslau, the capital of Silesia. He was much inferior in strength, but his forces were disposed with such admirable judgment
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, that he gained a compleat
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victory, in which he took fifteen thousand prisoners. Breslau itself, after the battle, surrendered to the Conqueror, tho' it had a garrison of ten thousand men. These successes disheartened his enemies, and raised the spirit of his friends.