posta, extending from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to the headwaters of the Ohio, still remained in their hands, and protected their acquisitions. They had driven the English from Lake George, and compelled the Iroquois to observe neutrality. A terrible Indian war was also devastating the north-western frontier of the British colonies. Under the vigorous administration of Pitt, however, the war was prosecuted with energy; and the British-American colonies, stimulated by his promises and requisitions, made extraordinary preparations for the conquest of the French provinces. Including a large force of regulars which had been shipped from England, the entire levies available for this object amounted to fifty thousand troops; whereas the whole population of Canada, capable of bearing arms, did not exceed twenty thousand. The first operation of this overwhelming force was the capture of the strong fortress and town of Louisburg (see Cape Breton, Acadia, &c.), and the result was that the entire control of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the adjacent islands, passed finally into the hands of the English. Meanwhile, General Abercrombie, with sixteen thousand men, passing down Lake George, made a fierce assault on Ticonderoga, garrisoned by some two thousand French soldiers. But the defences proved much stronger than had been supposed; and after a desperate struggle, lasting for four hours, and the loss of two thousand men, in killed and wounded, the British commander drew off his forces and retreated, with disorder and precipitation, to Fort William Henry. Fort Frontenac, feebly garrisoned, was not long after taken by a force of English provincials, who, however, lost five hundred of their number from sickness. Another force dispatched against Fort Du Quesne, after meeting with some reverses, succeeded in compelling the French to evacuate that important post. CHAPTER IX. PREPARATIONS FOR THE CONQUEST OF CANADA.-ARMAMENT UNDER WOLFE DISPATCHED TO QUEBEC.-DEFEAT OF THE FRENCH ON THE HEIGHTS OF ABRAHAM.-DEATH OF WOLFE AND MONTCALM.- -SURRENDER OF QUEBEC: BE SIEGED BY DE LEVI.-CONCENTRATION OF THE OF CANADA: CESSION TO ENGLAND. ENCOURAGED by the fall of Louisburg, and exasperated by defeat and loss in other quarters, the English now made extraordinary exertions for the final conquest of Canada. General Amherst, with twelve thousand troops, advanced by way of Lake Champlain, and the important stations of Ticonderoga and Crown Point were abandoned by the French, obliged to concentrate their comparatively feeble forces for the protection of Quebec. To attack this ancient capital and stronghold of the Canadian French, General Wolfe, a young officer, who had distinguished himself at the siege of Louisburg, was entrusted with the command of eight thousand men, aided by a powerful fleet, with which, in June, 1759, he made his appearance in the St. Lawrence. The brave Montcalm had made every exertion for the defence of the city, and had concentrated there an army nearly as large as that of the enemy, but composed mainly of Canadians and Indians. The supply of provisions was also very limited. Wolfe landed on the isle of Orleans, and first attempted the French camp at Montmorency, near the city, the fire of the ships-of-war covering his disembarka tion. (July 31st.) But the French, strongly posted, and fighting gallantly, repulsed the assailants, who were compelled to retire with the loss of an hundred and eighty-two killed, and more than six hundred wounded. At a council of the officers of the invading army, it was now resolved to make an attempt on the opposite side of the city, where the lofty heights of Abraham present their almost inaccessible front upon the river. To mislead the enemy, the ships moved a number of miles above Quebec, and De Bougainville, who, with a force of fif teen hundred men, had been dispatched by Montcalm to oppose them, deceived by this manœuvre, also moved up the river. On the night of the 12th of September, the vessels, dropping silently down the stream, disembarked the whole force of British troops at Wolfe's Cove, just below the face of the precipitous bluff. Grasping the bushes to aid their perilous ascent, the soldiers succeeded in climbing to the summit, and on the plains above were soon arrayed in order of battle. Montcalm, on learning the disastrous intelligence, at once perceived that nothing but an immediate victory could save the city, and marched with all speed to the scene of action. Some fifteen hundred skirmishers and Indians, who arrived first, kept up a desultory discharge of musketry from the bushes; but tne British army mostly reserved its fire until the main body of the enemy, advancing briskly, had approached within forty yards of their lines. Almost at the first volley, both generals fell, mortally wounded, and the French were immediately thrown into confusion. Their defeat was completed by frequent charges of the bayonet, aided by the Highland broadsword. Wolfe, carried to the rear, and hearing the cry, "they run," inquired "who run?" and being told that it was the enemy, gave directions for ensuring the victory, and exclaimed, "Now, God be praised! I die happy." Hardly was the battle over, when De Bougainville, who hurried to the scene of action, and whose presence, a little earlier, might have changed the fate of the day, appeared; but seeing the defeat of his commander, at once retreated. On the 18th, the city capitulated on honourable terms, the French troops not being made prisoners of war, but conveyed to their own country. Amherst, who had taken Crown Point and Ticonderoga, and Johnson, who had taken Fort Niagara, were unable, from the lateness of the season, to join, according to the plan of the campaign, the victorious forces of Quebec. General De Levi, now the chief French commander, had, meantime, assembled ten thousand troops at Montreal, and in the following spring (April 27th, 1760) landing his forces, took up a position on the heights of Abraham, and laid siege to the city. The garrison, under General Murray, consisted of six thousand men; but in consequence of the ravages of scurvy, only half of them were fit for duty. The general, considering the event of the siege doubtful, resolved to anticipate matters, and, accordingly, with all his available force, on the 27th, attacked the enemy at Sillery. Overwhelmed by superior numbers, he was repulsed with great loss, and, retreating to Quebec, directed all his energies toward putting that stronghold in a state of defence. The arrival of a fleet, under Admiral Scranton, in the middle of May, compelled the French to raise the siege. They retreated to Montreal, where the Marquis de Vaudreuil, having concentrated his troops, made an effort to hold out against the combined forces of General Amherst and those of Quebec and Niagara, which had now united in offensive operations. He was compelled, however, on the 8th of September, of the same year, to sign a capitulation, surrendering the city and the whole of Canada to the British. Very liberal terms were accorded by the victors, the free exercise of the Catholic faith being guaranteed to the inhabitants, and the property of the religious communities preserved inviolate By the treaty of Paris, concluded in 1763, the possession of Canala. as well as of the other conquered provinces, was formally ceded by the French court to the British government. ACADIA, ET C. CHAPTER I. EXPEDITION OF DE MONTS AND CHAMPLAIN -FIRST SETTLEMENT OF ACADIA.-PORT ROYAL.-MORTALITY AMONG THE COLONISTS.-LESCARBAT.-THE JESUITS.-SETTLEMENT AT MOUNT DESERT: BROKEN UP BY THE ENGLISH.- NOVA SCOTIA (at that time called Acadia) was included in the extensive province of New France, over which, in 1603, De Monts was appointed governor. In March, 1604, accompanied by Champlain, the famous founder of the Canadian colony, and other adventurers, he sailed with four ships from Havre, and on the 15th of May arrived at a harbour of Acadia, which he called Port Rossignol. At Port Mouton, he landed and made an encampment, and afterwards cruising along the shore, passed by the Bay of Fundy into a beautiful and extensive basin, now known as the harbour of Annapolis. With the beauty and convenience of this location, Potrincourt, one of his companions, was so charmed, that he resolved on making a settlement there, naming it Port Royal. De Monts next discovered the river of St. John, on the west side of the bay, and immediately afterwards the St. Croix, on a small island at the mouth of which he resolved to winter. The situation proved unfavourable, and out of seventy-six colonists, who had remained with him, thirty-seven perished of the scurvy. Pontgravé, the associate of Champlain, arriving from Europe, joined the sur. vivors; St. Croix was abandoned, and all betook themselves to Port Royal. During the next winter, De Monts was absent in France, VOL. III.-27 |