1755 Expulsion of the Acadians. 105 11. Active operations were at once resolved upon. A fort, at the junction of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers, was begun; and, Washington at the head of a small body of men, was sent to finish and protect it. Before, how- Washington's ever, he could reach the place the French ap- expedition. peared, took possession of the works, completed them, and named the fort Duquesne. Hearing of this event and that a force was marching to intercept him, Washington fell back to the "Great Meadows." Here he attacked and defeated the invaders (May, 1754); but another force of fifteen hundred French and Indians coming against him, he, in turn, was defeated and compelled to return to Virginia (July 4, 1754). In 1755 Expulsion of the Acadians. 12. Several expeditions against the French were planned for the next year. "At the peace of 1748, Acadia had been ceded to England; but the French still claimed a large portion of it, and built forts for its defense. these forts were taken and the whole of Acadia was conquered by three thousand men from Massachusetts, under the command of General Winslow. The inhabitants, a peaceful race taking no delight in warfare, were accused of supplying the French with provisions, and of doing other things that violated their neutrality. These accusations were probably true, for the Acadians were descended from the French, and had the same friendly feelings towards them that the people of Massachusetts had for the English; but their punishment was severe. 13. The English determined to tear these poor people, more than seven thousand persons in all, from their native homes, and scatter them abroad. A considerable part of them were made prisoners, and transported to the English colonies. All their dwellings and churches were burned, their cattle were killed, and the whole country was laid waste, so that none of them might find shelter or food in their old homes, after the departure of the English. One thousand of the Acadians were sent to Massachusetts. 14. A sad day it was for them when the armed soldiers drove them from their homes, at the point of the bayonet, down to the sea shore. Very sad were they, likewise, while tossing upon the ocean in the crowded transport ships. But it must have been sadder still when they were landed on the Long Wharf, in Boston, and left to themselves on a foreign strand. Then, probably, they huddled together and looked into one another's faces for the comfort which was not there. Hitherto they had been confined on board of separate vessels, so that they could not tell whether their relatives and friends were prisoners along with them. 15. Now a desolate wife might be heard calling for her husband. He, alas, had gone, she knew not whither; or, perhaps, had fled into the woods of Acadia, and had now returned to weep over the ashes of their dwelling. O, how many broken bonds of affection were here! Country lostfriends lost their rural wealth of cottage, field, and herds all lost together! Every tie between these poor exiles and the world seemed to be cut off at once. They must have regretted that they had not died before their exile; for even the English would not have been so pitiless as to deny them graves in their native soil. The dead were happy; for they were not exiles !" 16. During the same year an expedition went against Fort Duquesne. It was conducted by General Braddock, an officer of skill and experience, Braddock's defeat. who had been sent from England with several regiments of soldiers, to take command of all the forces in the colonies. Confident of success, he marched through the wilderness, heedless of danger from the savages; and treated with contempt the suggestion of Wash ington, who served as his aid, that he should scour the GENERAL BRADDOCK. 1755 The War to be carried on with vigor. 107 woods so as to protect his army from a surprise by the Indians. 17. Thus he rashly pushed on till about ten miles from the fort, when the soldiers' ears were suddenly assailed by the savage war-whoop, and a deadly fire was poured into their ranks from an unseen enemy. Panic and disorder ensued. The soldiers were shot down like deer, and the general was mortally wounded. Washington, throughout this disastrous day, distinguished himself by his courage and presence of mind. His escape from injury was wonderful, for he had two horses shot under him, and four bullets passed through his coat (July 9, 1755).1 The 18. So little had been accomplished up to this time against the French, that the English people demanded a change in the administration of their government, and the celebrated William Pitt was placed at the head of affairs. Preparations were immediately made for carrying on the war with vigor, and fifty thousand men were enlisted for the service. The French, at this time, held forts by which their trade and possessions were protected in every direction. war to be carried on with vigor. 19. Fort Duquesne guarded the territory on the west; Crown Point and Ticonderoga, on Lake Champlain, closed the route to Canada; Niagara protected the fur trade of the great lakes and the region beyond; Louisburg menaced New England and guarded the fisheries; and Quebec, with its strong fortifications, was the key to the possessions of Canada. A vigorous effort was now to be made to capture all these strong posts, and thus to destroy the French power in America. 1 General Johnson started against Crown Point, but did not get further than the head of Lake George. Dieskau (de-es-ko'), the French commander, marching against him, met and defeated a detachment under Williams, but was repulsed by Johnson; who, after erecting Fort William Henry, retired to Albany. In 1757, Montcalm took Fort William Henry after a siege of six days. His Indian allies, incited by the hope of plunder, massacred the garrison while they were on their retreat to Fort Edward. 20. The expedition against Crown Point and Ticonderoga was intrusted to General Abercromby. With an army of sixteen thousand men, "the largest body of European origin Successes and failures. that had ever been assembled in America," Abercromby left the head of Lake George in the early part of July (1758). The vast flotilla, consisting of nine hundred small boats and one hundred and thirty-five whale-boats, with artillery on rafts, proceeded slowly down the lake. Banners fluttered in the breeze, arms glittered in the sunshine, and martial music echoed along the wood-clad mountains. Landing at the northern end of the lake, the army commenced a march through the dense forests towards Ticonderoga, which was then commanded by Montcalm. The advance, under Lord Howe, was suddenly met by the French, and repulsed, the young and lamented leader being killed. 21. With Lord Howe expired the master-spirit of the enterprise." The troops fell back to the landing place; but resuming their march, advanced against the fort and made an assault. The attempt failed, with the loss of nearly two thousand men ; "Abercromby hurried the army back to the boats, and did not rest till he had placed the lake between himself and Montcalm." The expeditions against Louisburg and Duquesne were successful. Louisburg was taken after a desperate resistance. Duquesne made no defense. It was abandoned on the approach of the English, and its name changed to Fort Pitt. 66 22. The great object of the campaign of 1759 was the reduction of Canada. Niagara was taken, and the French were driven from the posts on Lake Champlain. With eight Capture thousand men, General Wolfe ascended the St. of Quebec. Lawrence river to proceed against Quebec. He landed his army upon an island below the city; and made a daring assault upon the French intrenchments; but it resulted in defeat and serious loss. "Wolfe was greatly dispirited by this repulse. The emotions of his mind, co-operating with great fatigue of body, brought on a fever, which nearly proved 1759 Capture of Quebec. 109 fatal; and it was almost a month before he was able to resume his command in person. 23. While stretched upon his bed in his tent, he arranged a plan for scaling the almost inaccessible Heights of Abraham, and gaining possession of that elevated plateau in the rear of Quebec. The camp was now broken up, and all the troops and artillery, except a garrison left on the island, were taken by a part of the fleet far up the river, while the remainder lingered and made feigned preparations for a second attack upon Montcalm's intrenchments. of September, and the brief Canadian summer was over. After midnight the army left the vessels; and in flat-boats, without oars or sails, they glided down noiselessly with the tide, followed by the ships soon afterward. It was the 12th GENERAL WOLFE. 24. At his evening mess on the ship, Wolfe composed and sang impromptu that little song of the camp, commencing And as he sat among his officers, and floated softly down the river at the past-midnight hour, a shadow seemed to come upon his heart, and he repeated, in low, musing tones, that touching stanza of Gray's Elegy in a Country Churchyard ' "The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, The paths of glory lead but to the grave!' At the close he whispered: Now, gentlemen, I would prefer |