The next day the fleet anchored in the harbor and Monckton sent Cobb with his sloop to Chignecto for some Acadian prisoners to serve as pilots up the river, also for some whale boats and Captain Benoni Danks company of Rangers.
We come now to a day worthy to be held in remembrance—the memorable 20th of September, 1759—when the control of the River St. John passed finally into the hands of Great Britain and a permanent English settlement was made upon the shores of our harbor, Monckton’s journal contains a brief record of the event:
“Sep’br. ye 20th.—Made the Signal for Landing about nine and soon after landed near the Old Fort, with as many Men as the Boats could take, being about 400. Met with no opposition. The 2d. Division being landed I sent off Maj’r Scott with about 300 Light Infantry and Rangers to make discovery and advanced the two companys of Grenadiers to support him in case of necessity. The Maj’r returned, having been above the Falls; he found some few Tracks but not the least signs of any Road or Path—the woods very thick and bad marching. The troops being all landed I ordered the Tents to be got on shore and encamped the two regiments just at the back of the Fort. The Light Infantry and Rangers under Maj’r Scott encamped on the Hill above.”
The next few days were spent in getting provisions and supplies on shore. The detachment of artillery and three field pieces were also landed. A number of exploring parties were sent out and all agreed that it was impracticable to proceed with the expedition by land. Monckton had already sent word by Capt. Rogers to Annapolis and by Capt. Cobb to Fort Cumberland to press into the King’s service any sloops or schooners available to transport provisions and stores up the river, as the majority of his vessels were too large to attempt the passage of the falls. Meanwhile he determined to repair the old fort and work was begun upon it on the 24th September. “My reasons,” writes Monckton, “for fixing on this spot, though somewhat commanded by the Hill on the back were, that it was so much work ready done to our hands, the command it would have of the Harbor, the conveniency of landing our stores, and the great difficultys that would have attended its being erected further from the shore having no conveniency of moving our stores but by men. Besides, as the season was so far advanced and we had still to go up the River, I thought it best to fix on what would be soonest done. And in regard to the Hill that has some command of it, it is only with cannon, which the enemy would find great difficulty in bringing, and this may hereafter be remedy’d by erecting some small Work on it.”
In the construction of the works at the fort 600 men were employed daily until the 24th October, when the number was reduced to 300 in consequence of the departure of the expedition up the river to destroy the Acadian settlements. Capt. Cobb returned from Fort Cumberland the last day of September with Danks’ company of Rangers, five whale boats and nine French prisoners. From the latter 128 Monckton learned that it would have been almost impossible to have gone up the river by land, and that it would have been dangerous to attempt to pass the falls with such vessels as they had with them. Their opinion, as to the difficulty of passing the falls, was confirmed by observations and soundings made by Capt. Willock and the masters of the transports.
While the fort was building, Monckton was engaged in collecting military stores, provisions and supplies of various kinds for which he sent vessels to Fort Cumberland, Annapolis, Halifax and Boston. The officers’ barracks at Fort Frederick were erected on the 2nd of October and the work of building the fort made rapid progress, but it was not until the 21st of October that the expedition was in a position to proceed up the river. Even then the start was not a very auspicious one as we learn from Monckton’s journal, in which he writes:—
“Having got together several sloops and schooners and victual’d them, I order Cobb & Rogers to pass the Falls to cover the other vessels as they might be able to get through. They accordingly get under way. Cobb being the headmost passes the Narrows, but is too late to get over the Falls and obliged to come too in a little cove below. The Ulysses, Capt. Rogers, in passing the Narrows strikes on a Rock, and is drove by the Tide into a creek above Cobb where the vessell sunk in a short time, and it was with great difficulty the Light Infantry who were in her and crew were saved. Upon hearing this and that Cobb did not lay very safe I ordered him down again and very luckily for at Low Water he would have struck on the Rocks.”
The captain of the man of war “Squirrel” endeavored to raise the “Ulysses” but was forced to abandon the attempt and she proved a total wreck.
Having at length got all the smaller vessels safely above the falls and the troops on board, with provisions for a fortnight, Monckton himself embarked in Capt. Cobb’s sloop “York,” leaving Captain Bellen of the 35th regiment in command of the troops left behind. The force that proceeded up the river numbered about 1,200 men.
To understand the subsequent proceedings of the expedition the reader will do well to refer occasionally to the accompanying plan[40] based on that transmitted by Monckton, along with his report, to Major General Amherst.