PITT'S VIGOROUS LEADERSHIP 125 given full control of the war policy, while Newcastle, one of the Pelhams, maintained the control of home affairs. Frederick the Great said, when he heard of the appointment: "England has long been in labor, and at last she has brought forth a man.' Disasters of 1756 and 1757. Meanwhile, the years 1756 and 1757 were full of misfortunes in America, where Loudon, a weak product of the Pelham régime, commanded. In 1756 Oswego was taken, and in 1757 an expedition against Louisburg failed, while a French army under Montcalm took Fort William Henry at the southern end of Lake George, and perhaps only the withdrawal of his Indian allies saved from capture Fort Edward, on the upper Hudson. Out of the discouragement consequent on these events the colonies were raised by the news that Pitt was in full power, and that arms, ammunition, and provisions would be furnished by the king for any troops the colonies would raise. The response was excellent, and soon every colony north of the Potomac was filled with busy preparations for war. Louisburg Four principal campaigns came out of this activity in America. The first was against Louisburg, now greatly strengthened and defended by 3000 regulars with twelve warships anchored in the harbor. Before the place appeared in the summer of 1758 forty-one British men-of-war and 11,000 regulars with a small force of provincials. Jeffrey Amherst was in command, and one of his brigadiers was James Wolfe. In a severe bombardment the French fleet was burned, the walls of the fort were pierced, and the garrison was forced to surrender. In 1749 Halifax had been founded as a seat of English power on the northern coast, and in view of its development Louisburg ceased to be important. Lest it again fall into enemy hands it was demolished in 1760. Duquesne The second campaign was made to take Fort Duquesne and relieve Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia from Indian raids. The task was assigned to General Forbes with 1200 Highlanders and nearly 5000 militia from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Fort Virginia, and North Carolina. The advance was slow, Taken. partly because the commander was ill and partly because he believed that the French Indians would become impatient and desert the force at Duquesne. As winter approached he heard that just this had happened. Hurrying forward with an advance guard of 2500 he found the fort deserted and its works blown up, November 25, 1758. The French had fled. Three months earlier Colonel Bradstreet had destroyed Fort Frontenac, commanding Lake Ontario. The fugitives from Forbes' vengeance were thus cut off from Canada and dispersed into the wilderness. From these two blows collapsed all that network of posts France established in the Ohio valley, and those which were on or south of the western lakes were left mostly to their own resources. The fort at the forks of the Ohio was now named Fort Pitt, in honor of the minister who made its capture possible. Abercrom Montcalm's The year 1758 thus saw the Canadian frontier defenses carried at the two extremes, Louisburg and Duquesne. An attack made on its center, along the Hudson-Lake-Champlain line of by's Failure. approach, was a failure. For the command Abercromby, a political favorite, was selected against the wishes of Pitt; but it was hoped that his inefficiency would be overbalanced by his second in command, George Howe, as capable and popular a soldier as then served the king. Abercromby gathered his forces, 15,000 strong, at Lake George, and July 4, 1758, advanced against Ticonderoga. Next day an attempted ambuscade was beaten off, but with the loss of Howe's life. From this time things went badly. July 8, the British general fought a long and hard battle under the walls of the fort, and at the end withdrew with a loss of 1944. He had been repulsed by a force one fourth as large as his own, and yet he fled rapidly to his boats. The demoralization of his army was only relieved by Bradstreet's capture of Frontenac a few weeks later. At this point let us consider affairs in Canada, where three men were to mar or make the country's fortune. In 1756 the Marquis de Montcalm, an excellent soldier and a cultured gentleman, arrived in Quebec with a commission to command all the forces in Canada. His coming disappointed Vaudreuil, the governor, who did not relish a diminution of his own authority. Over his head scowled the dark face of Bigot, intendant and head of finances. Convinced that neither the irresolute governor nor the brave general could save Canada from the British, he hastened the course of his peculations in the conviction that the approaching cataclysm would destroy the evidences of guilt. He seems to have induced the governor to share the spoils, and the consequent corruption in civil affairs was a source of embarrassment to the honest and patriotic Montcalm. It cut off the supplies needed for the army, increased the expenses of the war, and made it difficult to get recruits. All the while the jealous governor did not cease to try to discredit the general with the authorities at home. Montcalm, disgusted with the situation, was on the point of resigning when Forts Duquesne and Frontenac were lost and he then felt that honor demanded that he stay in Canada. His army at the time it was largest consisted of 4000 French and 2500 Canadian regulars, with 5000 colonial militia. Besides these, all able-bodied men in New France might be called into service when needed. The Indian allies rarely mustered more than 1000. Operations Planned for 1759. In 1759 Pitt sent out two strong expeditions. Wolfe, with 9000 men and a powerful fleet was to attack Quebec by the St. Lawrence, and Amherst, with 11,000, was to move on the same place by way of Lake Champlain. Supporting Amherst, 5000 men under Colonel Prideaux were sent QUEBEC TAKEN 127. against Fort Niagara. This post was easily taken, and Oswego was rebuilt, reëstablishing complete English control of Lake Ontario. Amherst's expedition reached Lake George in June, whereupon the French abandoned Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Following their retreat northward he found them strongly placed at Isle aux Noix, commanding the entrance of the Richelieu, and was not able to take the position on account of the approach of winter. On Wolfe, therefore, fell the burden of the attack on Quebec. For that work his army was designed to be strong enough for complete success even if it acted independently. France, now engaged on every side in Europe, had no troops available for Canada. Montcalm, harassed by enemies at his own side, was forced to prepare for the impending conflict with no other outside assistance than 500 fresh troops and a small supply of provisions. Advised of the coming of Wolfe, he gathered at Quebec all the men available, 15,000 white men and 1000 Indians, and held himself ready for the onslaught. The Strength of Quebec. The British expedition was before Quebec by June 26. Before him Wolfe saw a rocky peninsula, at the end of which was the town. The crest of the bluff was well fortified, and across the neck of land above the town a strong line of intrenchments was drawn. To assault the place from the water front or in the rear seemed futile. In fact, it was a prevalent opinion that Quebec was impregnable, and to starve it into submission was difficult, because winter operations were impossible. Wolfe realized these disadvantages, but landed his many cannon on points of vantage and opened a bombardment. At the end of two months the buildings in the town had been badly damaged, but the French hold was not relaxed. The delay, however, discouraged the provincial troops, many of whom went home. The approach of winter warned the British that they must complete their work or withdraw, and Wolfe decided to attack the town from the high ground behind it. On the night of September 12, he managed to find a way to the Plains of Abraham, a mile and a half from Quebec, and by of Abraham. the morning of the 13th 4500 troops were drawn up ready The Plains to assault the defenses. Montcalm hurried forward with a force of about equal size. Thinking only a small portion of Wolfe's men confronted him, he drew up his troops in line of battle in order to drive the British into the river. Had he retired into his own lines he might have held out until the November frosts forced the British to withdraw. The battle that followed was hard volley against hard volley, and lasted only a few minutes. Some of the Frenchmen were recruits whose wavering threw the rest into confusion, and then the whole line broke for the cover of the fortifications, followed by the English, whose energy made the pursuit a complete victory. At the moment the flight began, both Wolfe and Montcalm fell, mortally wounded. Governor Vaudreuil, in consternation, withdrew hastily to Montreal, and four days later, September 17, the garrison he left behind surrendered to the British. Quebec Held. When winter began, Quebec was occupied by 7000 British troops under General Murray, illy prepared to face the bitter cold. Hardship and illness reduced this force by the end of April to 3000 effectives. Down on them now came Lévis, the successor of Montcalm, who had collected the fragments of French military power to the number of 12,000. April 28 Murray gave battle on the Plains of Abraham and was forced back into his lines with a loss of a third of his force engaged. His position seemed desperate when the arrival of British frigates with supplies restored hope and enabled him to drive off Lévis, who now gave his attention to the defense of Montreal, the last French stronghold in Canada.. His utmost efforts in this respect were soon demanded, for three expeditions were being prepared to overwhelm him. One under Montreal Taken, 1760. Amherst was to assemble at Oswego and proceed down Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence, another under Haviland was to advance by way of Lake Champlain, and a third was to be led by Murray up the St. Lawrence from Quebec. The three expeditions were to arrive at Montreal at the same time, and if the plans did not miscarry could be expected to put an end to French rule in New France. The story of American operations against Canada is full of the failure of coöperation where supporting movements had been proposed, but for once we come to the exception. August 24, 1760, Murray was eighteen miles below Montreal, and took such a strong position that he was safe against an attack in detail. September 6 both Haviland and Amherst arrived before the town, and with the aid of Murray's ships the investment was completed. The defenses, good enough against the Indians, were not proof against British cannon; the garrison was only 2500 men, for many of the Canadians had gone home on being promised immunity by the British; and the provisions would suffice for only fifteen days. Under these conditions the French hastened the inevitable by surrendering the place and giving parole not to fight again during the war. lowered the French flag in Canada September 8, 1760. It is gratifying to add that in Paris, whither they were allowed to go, Vaudreuil, Bigot, and their chief tools were arrested and tried for malfeasance in office. The governor was acquitted for lack of proof, but the false intendant was fined 1,500,000 francs, his ill-gotten pelf confiscated. and he himself exiled for life. Spain Involved in the War. Thus was The struggle thus far had not affected Louisiana, but it now remains to be seen how that too was drawn into the vortex of ruin which affected all French colonies. Spain saw with alarm the progress of British power in America and on the sea, and in 1761 pledged herself in the celebrated Family Compact to treat French enemies as her own enemies. As a consequence, THE TREATY OF PARIS 129 England declared war on her January 4, 1762, and sent a strong expedition against Cuba. August 13 Havana was taken with booty worth $15,000,000; a sum which, however, did not repay the frightful loss of lives from disease in the British army. September 1 of this year a British force took the Philippine Islands, but gave them up when promised a ransom. Impressed by these experiences, Spain was soon willing to make peace. France, utterly exhausted, was equally ready, and the result was the Treaty of Paris, February 10, 1763. Paris, Before it was signed there was much discussion of terms. England boldly demanded Florida, much to the dismay of Spain, who wished to keep the entrance of the Gulf. Then France, out of consideration for Spain, whom she had persuaded to enter the Treaty of war, offered England all of Louisiana west of the Missis1763. sippi if she would forego the demand for Florida. But England was obdurate; and France gave Louisiana to Spain to recoup her for the loss of the peninsular province. The arrangement was made secretly between the two powers concerned, and was not generally known until long after the Treaty of Paris was signed. France had been spending on Louisiana 300,000 livres a year without a sou in return, and her apparent generosity accorded well with her financial necessities. With Canada and India gone, and her fleet destroyed, Louisiana could not be of value to her. Terms of the Treaty. The terms of the general treaty were as follows: Canada, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and all the interior east of the Mississippi, except the so-called Isle d'Orleans near its mouth, were ceded to the British; the West Indian islands of Tobago, Dominica, Granada, and St. Vincent also were ceded to the English, but Martinique and Guadeloupe, which had been conquered, were left to France. England received Florida and gave up Cuba; France lost all her East Indian colonies but Pondicherry and Chandernagore; and France was to retain the right to dry fish on the north and west coasts of Newfoundland, with two small islands off the shore as a shelter for her fishermen. Thus France made her exit from North America, where she had lost her day as a colonizing power. One cannot but admire the bravery with which she attempted large tasks and the generosity The Failure with which she succored infant settlements. Her failure of France. was inherent in her own life. Without a large manufacturing interest she was not able to build up a colonial market for her merchandise; and without a surplus population there was little demand for colonies to improve the condition of her farming class. As Spain tried to support colonial development on the mining industry so France wished to make it depend on the fur trade, whose very existence demanded that agriculture should not advance into the continent. Between the farmsteads of the English and the hunting ranges of the interior the clash was inevitable and the issue certain. If Pitt had K |