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It was the design of Dieskau to march against Fort Ed- ward ; but the guides took a false route, and he found after a four days' march that they were on the road to Lake George. His Indian allies refused to attack the fort, but were willing to go against the army at the lake, whom they supposed were without artillery or defences. Mean- while the troops in command of Colonel Williams had marched but a short distance, in the early morning, on their way to relieve Fort Edward, when they were discovered by the French scouts. Dieskau at once ordered his entire force to lie in ambush, and surround them. Even the wary Mo- hawks were caught in the snare, and did not suspect the pres- ence of the enemy until a flame of deadly fire burst from the muskets hidden in the forest thickets. Colonel Wil- liams, Hendrick the Mohawk chief, and other brave officers and men, were killed upon the spot.
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With great presence of mind, Nathan Whiting of New Haven, the next officer in command, rallied the panic- stricken troops. Among the most efficient of his aids was Israel Putnam, who had recently received a commission of lieutenant from the Legislature of Connecticut. The first fatal volley of musketry had been heard at the camp, and the preparations for defence were hastened. Two or three cannon were drawn up from the shore of the lake. The wagons and baggage were placed inside a rude breastwork of trees. As the retreating companies came into the camp, they took the strongest position they could, and waited the onset of the enemy. It had been the purpose of Dieskau to rush forward, and open fire as soon as possible. The cowardice of his Iroquois allies delayed the attack. It was about noon when the battle commenced. Johnson was slightly wounded early in the action, and the chief command fell upon Lyman. Under his directions " the New- England people kept up the most violent fire that had as yet been known in America."
No sooner did the enemy begin to retreat, than the English leaped over their breastworks, and pursued them on every side. Of the two thousand men in the attacking force, seven hundred lay dead upon the field. Nearly all of the French regulars perished. Dieskau was discovered danger- ously wounded, a short distance from the camp, and while attempting to get his watch, was again shot, by a soldier who thought he was reaching for his pistol. The unfortunate officer was carried to England as a prisoner-of-war, and was afterwards liberated, but never fully recovered from his wounds.
The victory gained upon the shores of Lake George en- couraged the northern colonies to respond to the call that had already been made for re-enforcements. Connecticut raised two regiments, and sent them forward at once. She now had between two and three thousand men in active
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service. Johnson proved unequal to the opportunity. Afraid of a sudden attack of the enemy, he allowed them to in- trench themselves at Ticonderoga. While re-enforcements poured in from New England eager to advance, he busied the troops in building Fort William Henry, near Lake George. The autumn passed without any forward movement; and when winter set in, the Connecticut militia returned home. In recognition of his services, General Johnson was made a baronet, and Parliament voted him five thousand pounds ; while the brave and gifted General Lyman,1 who had really saved the day at Lake George, received no reward.
Governor Shirley, at the head of the expedition against Niagara, did not get beyond Oswego. The news of the defeat of Braddock led so many of his boatmen to desert, that he was unable to transport his soldiers and material of war across the lake. Having erected two small forts commanding the entrance of the harbor, he left a force of seven hundred men to garrison them, and with the rest of his army returned to Albany. Thus far the chain of French fortresses had not been broken at a single point ; and, owing to a lack of vigorous action and co-operation on the part of the southern colonies, their borders had been the scene of many cruel massacres.
1 PHINEAS LYMAN was born in Dur- ham in 1716. After graduating at Yale College, he was admitted to the bar. As commander-in-chief of the Connecticut forces in the French war, he proved him- self a brave and capable military leader. In 1762 he was at the head of the colo- nial troops in the expedition against Havana. From 1763 to 1774 he was in
England, seeking to get a tract of land along the Mississippi from the govern- ment. A tract in the vicinity of Natchez was granted to the company of which he was agent, in 1774. He took over a company of emigrants, but died, soon after reaching this country, in West Florida.
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CHAPTER XXVI.
1756-1757.
PERIOD OF THE LAST FRENCH WARS.
ROTH France and England realized that the struggle upon which they had again entered would be sharp and de- cisive. Formal declaration of war was made in the spring of 1756. Previous to this the colonial governors had met at New York, and marked out a vigorous campaign. It was decided to raise a larger army than before, and renew the attack upon Crown Point and Niagara, while the southern colonies were to make another attempt to seize Fort Du- quesne. The colonists were encouraged by the evident de- termination of the home government to give them a larger measure of aid.
The Earl of Loudon was sent to take the command-in- chief of the army, while acting as governor of Virginia. Governor Shirley was removed, and General Abercrombie appointed in his place. With her usual enthusiasm, Con- necticut responded with double the number of men called for ; and two thousand well-equipped troops were soon ready and eager for action.
The campaign that opened with every promise of success proved a failure through the culpable inefficiency of the Eng- lish commanders. Abercrombie did not reach Albany until midsummer, and even then the army of ten thousand men gathered there remained inactive. Tidings came that Fort Oswego was besieged by Montcalm; but relief was not
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sent in time to save it from the French, who secured not only a large supply of military stores, but took sixteen hun- dred prisoners-of-war. General Winslow, with seven thou- sand men, had proceeded to Lake George, impatient and anxious to march against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. There is little doubt that the colonial general could have taken these fortresses had the British officers allowed him to advance. Orders were given, however, by the Earl of Lou- don, that the campaign should be pushed no farther for the season ; and most of the provincial army returned home to spend the winter. The discussions around the firesides of Connecticut homes in these days were far from complimen- tary to British valor and generalship. The feeling was strong that it would be better to stay at home, and abandon the campaign, if all their sacrifice and effort were to come to naught by the stupid interference of titled incompetency.
The humiliation of this worse than fruitless campaign was keenly felt in England, and every preparation was made to prosecute the war with vigor as soon as the spring opened. In May a fleet of fifty transports, with six thousand regular troops on board, sailed from Cork for America. This fleet, with eleven ships of the line, arrived at Halifax early in July. The colonies had already raised their quota of soldiers, and Connecticut was prepared to send double the number of men required of her. The disappointment was wide-spread when it became known that the chief object of the expedi- tion that demanded the aid of the colonial troops, was the capture of Louisburg. Even this plan was finally given up, for the delay of the English commanders enabled the French to re-enforce this stronghold with almost as many soldiers as the British could lead against it.
The withdrawal of troops from the vicinity of Lake George gave an opportunity for an aggressive movement against Fort William Henry, that Montcalm hastened to seize. The English general, Webb, whose halting, timorous spirit had
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been shown in the campaign of the previous year, was still in command of the colonial and regular forces, having head- quarters at Fort Edward.
A few days before Montcalm reached Lake George, with an army of about eight thousand men, General Webb ordered Major Israel Putnam of Connecticut, with two hundred men, to escort him to Fort William Henry. This young officer already gave promise of a distinguished career, and had received at the last session of the Assembly a gratuity of fifty Spanish milled dollars for extraordinary service and good conduct "in ranging and scouting " in the vicinity of Crown Point. The English general did not suspect the approach of the enemy, or he would hardly have allowed Putnam to go down the lake to learn what he could of the condition of things at Ticonderoga. With three whale- boats manned by eighteen volunteers, the fearless colonial major proceeded up the lake until he discovered a party of men on an island. Quietly leaving two of the boats to fish at a safe distance, he hastened back to the fort with the tidings. The general was in a tremor of excitement, and it was only after the most earnest pleading that he allowed Putnam to return for his companions. Passing the spot where the men were still fishing, as if no other business was on hand, he pushed still farther on, and by the aid of his field-glass saw a large army in motion upon the shore of North-west Bay. While intently watching their movements, several canoes filled with Indians had come near enough to discharge their arrows. Not until these shafts were flying thick about him did Putnam dash through the midst of them, and, with the now alert fishing-party, return to the camp. It was evident that the enemy were marching upon Fort William Henry. General Webb at once prepared to return to Fort Edward.
"I hope your excellency does not intend to neglect so fair an opportunity of giving battle should the enemy pre-
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sume to land," said Major Putnam, who believed that an easy victory could be won, if the troops were concentrated at the fort. " What do you think we should do here?" was the reply of the dismayed English general. The following day General Webb returned to headquarters, and sent Colonel Moore with his regiment to re-enforce the garrison. A few hours after their arrival, Montcalm landed his troops, and opened the siege. Monroe sent messenger after mes- senger to Fort Edward, asking for assistance. The force under General Webb was increased by the arrival of Sir William Johnson with his troops, but he did nothing for the relief of the beleaguered fort. Putnam and Johnson urged the frightened and irresolute general to allow them to go to the aid of Monroe.
Permission was finally granted; and the provincials, with Putnam's rangers, started with glad hearts to relieve the garrison. They had advanced about three miles when a messenger overtook them, with orders to return to Fort Edward. Already an Indian scout had carried word to Montcalm that a large body of troops were on the way to re-enforce the garrison. The French general at once pre- pared to raise the siege ; but when he learned that for some reason the re-enforcements had turned back, he renewed the attack with fresh vigor. Colonel Monroe, who had fought bravely in hope of receiving aid from day to day, saw that he could not hold out longer ; and having received a letter, advising him to surrender, from the inefficient, if not cow- ardly, officer, who might so easily have relieved him, he made the best terms possible with the enemy.
The treaty was in every respect favorable, but it was violated in the most horrible manner. The Indians who fought under Montcalm stripped the English of every article of personal property they could lay their hands upon. But they were not satisfied with pillage, and with savage atro- city began an indiscriminate massacre of men, women, and
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children, the incidents of which are horrible in the extreme. While the English fled towards Fort Edward, the blood- thirsty savages followed them, until they were finally driven off by the soldiers of Montcalm. As we read the terrible story of the massacre of Fort William Henry, our indigna- tion is kindled against the weak and incompetent general, who might so easily have saved from defeat the brave men within the garrison, and rescued the helpless women and children from the tomahawk of savages.
The surrender and massacre upon the shore of Lake George carried sorrow into every part of the northern col- onies. The feeling against the English officers was in- creased ; but they realized the threatening danger, and were determined to stay the further advance of Montcalm. Con- necticut, in a few days, raised, and sent into the field, five thousand men, in addition to those she had already fur- nished. The English army at Albany and Fort Edward soon numbered some twenty thousand men. With this army, and the large body of provincials that were ready for action, Webb accomplished nothing.
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CHAPTER XXVII.
1758.
PERIOD OF THE LAST FRENCH WARS.
NOT only in North America, but elsewhere, disaster and defeat had overtaken the armies of England in the struggle with France. It was a dark hour, but the genius of a single man was soon to bring about a turn in the tide of affairs that proved the ability of Great Britain to regain and hold a victorious position under wise guidance. The quali- ties that caused the royal and aristocratic class to dislike William Pitt, made him the idol of the people. Uncorrupti- ble and fearless, his far-reaching mind grasped the situation ; and his patriotic spirit and indomitable energy aroused a public feeling that enabled him to rescue England from the perilous condition into which the nation had fallen, through the weakness of those who had the direction of civil and military affairs.
" I want to call England," he said, as he entered upon office, " out of that enervate state in which twenty thousand men from France can shake her." With joy the people recognized the voice of a true leader, and met his call with eager response. One of the first of his official acts was to remove the incompetent Earl of Loudon. The same ship that brought word of this welcome change, carried letters from Mr. Pitt to the colonies.
The letter addressed to Connecticut was read at a special meeting of the Assembly called at New Haven on the 8th of
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March, 1758. Its words were admirably fitted to stir the hearts of the liberty-loving and strong-willed men who lis- tened to it. They were in full sympathy with the spirit that animated its sentiments, and the address aroused intense enthusiasm. The suggestion was made in the letter, that the New-England colonies, together with New York and New Jersey, should raise twenty thousand men. Connecticut had already been over-generous in giving of her life and treasure, but this call was answered by a vote to raise five thousand men, - one-quarter of the whole number asked for. Boun- ties were offered to every volunteer, and provision was made for the equipment and supply of this large body of troops.
In February a British fleet sailed for Halifax, consisting of one hundred and fifty-seven sail, and fourteen thousand soldiers. On the 28th of May they left Halifax for Louis- burg, and dropped anchor in that harbor on the 2d of June. Admiral Boscawen was in charge of the fleet, and General Amherst was in command of the land forces. After a siege that continued until the last of July, the garrison of five thousand men was surrendered, with all its munitions of war. While these events were in progress, the troops from Con- necticut and other colonies had joined the army under General Abercrombie, and were eager to march against Ticonderoga.
On the fifth day of July, nearly sixteen thousand men, the best-equipped army that had thus far been gathered in Amer- ica, embarked at the southern landing of Lake George, and in the evening rested at Sabbath-day Point. An hour before midnight they again started on the march for Ticonderoga. Their guides proved inefficient ; and the columns marched as well as they could, with confused and broken ranks, through the thick underbrush. They had proceeded about two miles, when the right centre, led by the gallant Lord Howe, acci- dentally met the advanced guard of the French, who, in at- tempting to get back into their own camp, had lost their way.
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They at once opened fire upon the English ranks, although they numbered but a handful of three hundred men. Lord Howe, against the advice of Major Putnam, who stood by his side, pushed eagerly forward. He was shot at the very beginning of the skirmish, and expired immediately. The British regulars, unaccustomed to fighting in the woods, and dismayed by the death of their leader, might have been routed but for the prompt and cool action of Putnam and other colonial officers, who rallied their men, and soon put the enemy to flight. The death of Lord Howe was universally lamented. He had won the esteem and affection of the colonial soldiers by his affable and courteous manners, and gained their confidence as a brave and able officer.
Having spent the following night in the forest, Abercrom- bie in the morning ordered the troops to return to the land- ing-place. The next day he sent his chief engineer to reconnoitre the French lines. He reported, contrary to the judgment of several of the New-England officers, that their works were of flimsy construction. Abercrombie decided to make another movement forward, and storm the fort that very day. Halting, himself, at a spot about two miles from Ticonderoga, his brave and impatient troops hurried towards the fort. The retreat to the lake-shore, after the skirmish in which Lord Howe was killed, had given Montcalm every opportunity to intrench his forces to the best advantage.
Abercrombie, with a strange ignorance of the situation, had left his artillery at the shore of the lake, and pushed forward his infantry, with the regulars at the front. With fixed bayonets the English attempted to rush through the lines of the enemy. The French opened with a murderous fire that swept away platoon after platoon of the English, while they were almost entirely protected by their intrench- ments, and the screen of fallen trees.
The colonial troops might have been effectively used, could they have been permitted to follow tactics to which they
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were accustomed : as it was, the Connecticut troops did val- orous duty as sharp-shooters ; and Major Putnam, who acted as aid, showed both skill and discretion. After heavy losses, that numbered many of the sons of Connecticut, the army withdrew to a safe distance. Putnam and other officers urged Abercrombie, who still remained at a safe distance, to bring forward his artillery, and make another attack ; but, instead of attempting any further effort, he beat a hasty retreat. The contempt and indignation of the provincial army was more deeply stirred than ever against the incom- petent general at their head. In the familiar talk of the camp, he was seldom mentioned by the name of General Abercrombie, but was spoken of as "Mrs. Nabbycrombie." The capture of Fort Frontenac by Colonel Bradstreet of Massachusetts, the surrender of Fort Duquesne to General Forbes, and the splendid achievements of Amherst and Wolfe at Louisburg, only strengthened the conviction of these brave men, that, but for the incompetence of their general, victory, and not defeat, would have crowned their efforts.
In the month of August, Major Rogers and Major Put- nam, with six hundred men, were sent on a scouting expedi- tion to the vicinity of Ticonderoga. Finding that the French were aware of their movements, they decided to return to Fort Edward. The first night they pitched their camp on the banks of the Clear River. The following morning, Major Rogers foolishly tested his capacity as a good marks- man by indulging in a shooting-match with an English officer. As Putnam predicted, the firing gave the enemy knowledge of their camping-place. Five hundred men in command of Marin, the famous French scout, lay in ambuscade a short distance away, and fell upon the right division of the Eng- lish soon after they had commenced their march. Putnam quickly rallied his men for the attack, and the Connecticut soldiers fought bravely. Rogers, whose indiscretion had brought them into danger, kept at a safe distance. In the
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1758.]
midst of the fight, an Indian rushed towards Putnam, whose musket missed fire. Springing upon him with uplifted tom- ahawk, the athletic warrior, with frenzied strength, made him prisoner, and bound him fast to a tree. For a time he was exposed to the fire of both parties ; at last, after escaping injury from the bullets, some of which passed through the sleeves and skirts of his coat, he was approached by a young Indian brave, who amused himself by hurling a tomahawk as near his head as possible without hitting it. A French officer came up, and pointed a musket at his heart; but it. missed fire. Putnam claimed protection as a captive, but the only answer of the brutal soldier was a blow upon the mouth with the heavy end of his gun.
The enemy finally retreated ; and Putnam, stripped of his clothing, and loaded with packs, was forced to march over the rough paths for many miles without halting. Every out- rage that Indian cruelty could devise, added to his suffering ; and he carried through life the scar of a tomahawk-blow given without provocation. After several days, the Indians made a halt ; and Putnam soon suspected their purpose. Stripping him of the few articles of Indian dress that had been given him in place of his own, they bound him fast to a tree, and piled dry branches about him in a circle. With horrible incantations they completed their preparations, and then set fire to the brush. A sudden shower extinguished it. Again it was kindled ; and as the fire touched the quivering flesh, the Indians gave wild yells of delight. With thoughts of loved ones whom he would never meet again, and the solemn realities of the life upon which he was about to enter, he be- came insensible to pain, and calmly waited the end. But his earthly work was not yet done. Guided by the cries of the savage band, Marin, the leader of the French and Indian scouts, rushed through the circle of flame, and unbound the half-dead captive.
He was taken to Ticonderoga, where he had an interview
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
[1758.
with Montcalm, who ordered him to be sent to Montreal. The capture of Fort Frontenac led to an exchange of pris- oners, and Putnam was set at liberty. Upon the pages of the colonial records of Connecticut, there is a " Memorial of Israel Putnam of Pomfret," setting forth, that being taken prisoner, and carried to Canada, he suffered much hardship, and was obliged to spend about sixty guineas for his neces- sary support, and asking that this sum be refunded him. In answer to this petition, the Assembly ordered that seventy pounds lawful money be paid the said Putnam. But this brave officer was not the only one whose story is full of romantic interest and hairbreadth escapes. It was in the stress of these severe experiences that men were being trained to fight the battles that should win the independence of a new nation.
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CHAPTER XXVIII. 1759-1763.
PERIOD OF THE LAST FRENCH WARS.
INTHE repulse of Abercrombie by Montcalm at Ticonderoga. was a great disappointment. The colonies that had re- sponded so generously in the supply of men and material for the campaign, again felt that all of their efforts had been frustrated by the incompetence of the English general. The energetic policy and wise guidance of Pitt did not fail elsewhere. The capture of Louisburg had given control of the whole province of Cape Breton ; and George Washing- ton, at the head of a gallant company of colonial soldiers, from Pennsylvania and Virginia, had taken Fort Duquesne.
Encouraged by these victories, Pitt decided upon an ag- gressive campaign, that, if successful, would expel the French from Canada, and the country about the great lakes. When the General Assembly of Connecticut met, on the 8th of March, 1759, a letter was read from the British prime minister, in which, with his accustomed frankness and elo- quence, he unfolded his plans, and asked their assistance. There was no lack of loyal and hearty response to this letter, but many thought it would be impossible to raise and equip the number of soldiers called for. The ranks of the strong men who had already gone forth from the colony had been sadly depleted by death, and others were no longer fit for service. The burden of debt was falling with crushing weight upon the people. It was necessary to send five thou-
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