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nadiers and the first regiment of foot-guards, who had the honour of remaining longest on hostile ground. This gallant body, consisting of fifteen hundred men, attempted to form and face the greatly superior enemy. But their resolution failed them; they fell into confusion: they fled; and rushed into the sea, or were slaughtered on the beach, Of those who took refuge in the waves, a considerable number were saved by the boats of the fleet, and about four hundred of the fugitives were made prisoners. Among the killed and drowned were general Drury and sir John Armitage, with many other gentlemen of rank and fortune, who had acted as volunteers: and with them perished near a thousand of the finest troops in Christendom 30.

Such was the unfortunate issue of our ill-concerted expeditions to the coast of France, which involved the nation in an enormous expense, without being attended with any adequate advantage31. They contributed, however, for a time, to rouse the spirit of the people, and to encourage the passion for enterprise; but as neither their success nor their objects corresponded with the hopes which such vast preparations raised, they had finally a contrary effect. The people, though subject to delusion, are not utterly blind. They saw the disproportion between means and ends, between great armaments and petty aims. And the disaster at St. Cas, which was the more keenly felt as it was altogether unexpected, and immediately followed the rejoicings for the taking of Cherburg, dissipated all our romantic ideas of acquiring conquests in France, or annihilating the French navy by destroying their principal sea-ports; while it exalted beyond measure the spirit of that volatile nation, which had been depressed and mortified by the insulting descents made upon their coasts with impunity. They now

30. London Gazette, September 18, 1758.

31. Could we have burnt the enemy's docks, stores, &c. at Brest and Rochfort, (says general Lloyd,) it would have been a service of great importance, and worth trying; but no other object was by any means equal to the risk or the expense." History of the War in Germany, vol. ii. p. 180.

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magnified into a mighty victory their accidental good fortune in cutting off the rear-guard of a misguided party of desultory invaders.

But whatever consolation France might derive from the check which had been given to the ravagers of her coasts, the solid advantages acquired by the English in other quarters of the globe, afforded them abundant cause of triumph, exclusive of such fugitive conquests. In NorthAmerica, whence we had hitherto received only accounts of delay, disaster, and disgrace, our affairs had taken a new and highly favourable turn.

As Lord Loudon had returned to England on account of some dissatisfactions in regard to the conduct of the war, the chief command in America devolved upon general Abercrombie; but the plan of operations being extensive, the forces were divided into three separate bodies, under as many different commanders. About twelve thousand men, under major-general Amherst, were destined for the siege of Louisbourg; near sixteen thousand, under Abercrombie in person, were reserved for the reduction of Ticonderoga and Crown-Point; and eight thousand, commanded by brigadier-general Forbes, were ordered to attack fort du Quesne.

The reduction of Cape-Breton, being an object of prime concern, it was undertaken with all possible dispatch. The army under general Amherst, augmented with two thousand fresh troops from England, embarked at Halifax on the 24th of May, and on the second of June, the fleet and transports, consisting of one hundred and fifty-seven sail, under the direction of admiral Boscawen, arrived before Louisbourg. The garrison of the place, commanded by the chevalier de Drucourt, consisted of two thousand five hundred regular troops, and about six hundred militia. The harbour was secured by five ships of the line, one fifty-gun ship, and five frigates, three of which were sunk across the mouth of the bason. It was therefore necessary to disembark the troops at some distance from the

town.

town. The place chosen for that purpose was the creek of Cormoran; and as soon as the landing, which was attended with some difficulty but little loss, was fully effected, and the artillery and stores brought on shore, the town was formally invested32.

The first thing attempted by the besiegers, was to secure a post called the light-house battery. That service was performed by general Wolfe, with all the vigour and celerity for which he was so much distinguished. On this elevated point were erected several batteries, which played upon the ships and the fortifications on the opposite side of the harbour. For six weeks, however, did the place hold out, and the French ships continued to fre upon the besiegers, and to obstruct their operations. At length, on the 21st of July, one of the great ships blew up, and the flames being communicated to two others, they also shared the same fate.

As the enemy, notwithstanding this misfortune, stil! refused to surrender, the English admiral (who during the whole siege had done every thing possible to second the efforts of the land-forces) sent into the harbour a detachment of six hundred seamen in boats, headed by the captians Laforey and Balfour. They boarded the two remaining ships of the line, which still kept possession of the bason; destroyed one which was aground, and towed off the other in triumph. The blow was decisive. The governor fearing a general assault, as several practicable breaches were made in the works, surrendered himself and his garrison prisoners of war: and the whole island submitted to his Britannic majesty 33. With Cape Breton fell also the island of St. John, and whatev inferior stations the French had established for carry on the cod-fishery in the gulf of St. Lawrence.

The reduction of Louisbourg was severely f France, especially as it had been attended with t of so considerable a naval force, and occasio

32. London Gazette, August 18, 1758. Knox's Campa America, vol. i. 33. Id. ibid.

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greatest rejoicings in England. But all our enterprises in America were not equally fortunate.

General Abercrombie, in consequence of his design of driving the French from Ticonderoga and Crown-Point, had embarked upon lake George, on the fifth of July, with near sixteen thousand men, and a numerous train of artillery; and, after a prosperous navigation, landed his troops without opposition, and advanced in four columns toward the first object of his armament. As the country

through which his march lay is rough and woody, and his guides were very unskilful, the troops were bewildered, and the columns broken. While in this disorder, they fell in with a French detachment, which had fled on their approach, being bewildered in like manner. A skirmish

ensued, in which the enemy were quickly routed, with the loss of near three hundred men. But that advantage was unfortunately purchased with the death of the gallant Lord Howe; a young nobleman of the most promising military talents, who had acquired the esteem and affection of the troops by his generosity, affability, and engaging manners, as well as by his distinguished valour.

This disaster excepted, the English army proceeded successfully till it reached Ticonderoga; which is situated on a point of land between lake George and a narrow gut that communicates with lake Champlain. On three sides surrounded with water, and on the fourth secured by a morass, that important post was strongly fortified, and defended by near five thousand men. These were stationed under the cannon of the place, behind an abattis, or breastwork formed of the trunks of trees piled one upon another. And they were farther defended by whole trees, with their branches outward, some of which were cut and sharpened, so as to answer the purpose of chevaux de frise.

Notwithstanding this strong position, which had not been properly reconnoitred, it was rashly resolved to attack the enemy, without waiting for the arrival of the

artillery.

artillery. A disposition was accordingly made for the purpose, and the whole English army put in motion. The troops advanced to the assault with the greatest alacrity; but all their most vigorous efforts proved ineffectual. In vain did they attempt to cut their way through every obstacle. They could make no impression upon the enemy's works. The general, therefore, found it necessary to order a retreat, as the only means of saving the remains of his army, after it had been exposed for four hours to the covered fire of the French musquetry. Near two thousand men, including a great number of officers, were killed or dangerously wounded 34.

In order to repair the disgrace of this bloody repulse, general Abercrombie (who had immediately retired to his former camp on the southern side of lake George) detached colonel Bradstreet with a body of three thousand men against fort Frontenac. The colonel, who with great prudence and valour surmounted every dif ficulty, brought his little army to Oswego, where he embarked on lake Ontario, and arrived at the object of his enterprise by the 25th of August.

Fort Frontenac stands at the communication of lake Ontario with the river St. Lawrence, the entrance into which it in some measure commands. For a post of such moment, however, it was poorly fortified and feebly garrisoned. It surrendered at discretion, on the appearance of the English commander, who found there an immense quantity of provisions and merchandise, sixty pieces of cannon, and nine armed sloops35.

The success of colonel Bradstreet, in all probability, facilitated the expedition, under general Forbes, against fort du Quesne. This officer began his march from Philadelphia, in the beginning of July, at the head of eight thousand men, through a vast tract of country very little known, and almost impenetrable, by reason of

34. Knox's Campaigns, vol. i. Lond. Gazette, Aug. 22, 1758.
35. Lond. Gazette, Oct. 31, 1758.

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