USA > Connecticut > The history of Connecticut, from the first settlement of the colony to the adoption of the present constitution, vol. II > Part 6
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The terms of the surrender were very favorable. It was stipulated that the English should not serve against the French for eighteen months, unless they were exchanged for an equal number of French prisoners. The garrison was to march out with arms, baggage, and one piece of cannon, in
* Rider's Hist. xlii. 9, 12; Wright's Hist. i. 14.
+ Trumbull, ii. 381, 382.
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MASSACRE AT FORT WILLIAM HENRY.
[1757.]
honor of Colonel Monroe for the brave defense that he had made. They were also to be furnished with an escort to Fort Edward by French troops to protect them against the ferocity of the Indians .*
The terms of the treaty, however, were not kept by Mont- calm, who neglected to provide the suitable escort that he had promised ; and the Indians who fought under him, amazed at the leniency shown by the French commander to soldiers of the garrison, resolved not to be deprived of the spoils that they regarded as justly belonging to them by the rules of war. Falling upon the English, they stripped them of the few articles of clothing and other personal property that had survived the destructive effects of the siege, and then com- menced that memorable scene of assassination that has given a kind of fabulous interest to the capture of Fort Wil- liam Henry, like that with which fiction invests the more common-place details of history.
The Indians who had aided the garrison, and who had been included in the capitulation, were the first victims. They were dragged from the ranks where they were marching, and tomahawked and scalped. Nor were the English themselves spared. Men and women had their throats cut, their bodies ripped open, and hacked in pieces. Children, even little infants, were taken by the heels and dashed against stones and trees. For about seven miles did those infuriated devils hang like a horde of hungry wolves upon the skirts of the English army, who no longer could be said to march, but rather to flee before them, until by the joint exertions of the insulted soldiers and the tardy though perhaps honest efforts of Montcalm, they were beaten off and sent yelling into the wilderness. Those who escaped by flight or by the protection of the French arrived at Fort Edward in the most deplorable condition.t
* Trumbull, ii. 382.
+ Minot, ii. 11-22 ; Marshall, i. 411-416 ; Mante, b. 2 ; Trumbull's Hist. U. S., ch. xi : Smith's New York, ii. ch. vi .; Dr. Belknap (Hist. New Hampshire, ii. 299,) intimates that a principal cause of the conduct of the Indians may be found in the fact that they had joined the expedition of Montcalm on a promise
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
The next day after the massacre, Major Putnam, who had been sent with his rangers to keep an eye on the movements of the enemy, came to the shore of the lake whose peaceful waters had been desecrated as we may hope they will never be again, while yet the rear of the French army was scarcely beyond the range of his muskets. Language can indeed render to the mind's eye an outline of the horrors that he saw there ; but nothing save the imagination can fill up the details of such a picture. The fort was a total ruin. The barracks, the out-houses, the booths that had been occupied by the sutlers, lay in heaps of promiscuous desolation ; and the smoke that rose in volumes from the still consuming rub- bish, could but ill conceal with its black drapery, the count- less fragments of human bones and bodies half consumed, that bore such ghastly witness to the nature of the sacrifice. In other places, dead bodies deformed with frightful wounds and streaked with the blood-currents that had deposited their dark pools here and there upon the ground, were scattered at random, evincing every shade of mutilation that savage ingenuity could contrive, from the battered skull and the head reft of its scalp, to the gashed trunk and the severed limbs. More than one hundred women were lying there, many of them entirely naked, and some with their throats cut and their faces marked with grotesque wounds-some of them probing deep as the fountains of life, others slight and whimsical as if they had resulted from the innocent sportive- ness of a child. Putnam turned away his eyes from the sickening spectacle, little thinking that it was but a vision that foreshadowed the tortures that he himself was so soon to endure .*
of plunder, and were hence particularly enraged at the terms granted to the gar- rison. " The New Hampshire regiment, happening to be in the rear, felt the chief fury of the enemy. Out of two hundred, eighty were killed and taken." Carver, in his Travels (pp. 132, 136,) says that fifteen hundred persons were either killed or made prisoners by the Indians, after the surrender.
* Most of the adventures of Putnam that are alluded to in this chapter, are taken from Gen. Humphreys' life of that hero, and can be relied upon in every particular. I have also had access to other sources of information equally authentic.
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CONDUCT OF MONTCALM.
[1757.]
Such was the massacre at Fort William Henry. It has in it those elements of vitality that would themselves preserve the name of Montcalm from oblivion. How much blame that truly gallant chieftain deserves to bear for not carrying out the terms of the capitulation, that he had himself stipulated to perform, I am unable to say. He has been charged with instigating the Indians to this atrocious butchery. Others have asserted that he furnished no escort at all to protect the English garrison .* But Montcalm himself repelled these accusations with scorn, and to the last asserted his innocence in the most positive terms. Had not a similar act of bar- barity been just before perpetrated, for which he may be fairly held responsible, I should implicitly credit his own testimony upon a question so vitally affecting his honor as a soldier. Even now, shrouded in mystery as this horrible affair still remains, when I contrast it with the noble emulation and chivalry that crowned his military career, I would gladly believe him to have been too confident of his own moral power over the passions of his savage allies, too negligent, too trusting, but never treacherous ; and that his nature revolted, as does the common sentiment of the world, from the com- mission of such a crime.
When it was too late to avail anything by adopting the most active measures, General Webb suddenly roused him- self and made great exertions to protect the northern fron- tier. He made large demands on the colonies for troops, which were responded to with a promptness that would have been incredible had not fear lent wings to every movement. The sudden capture of the fort, the massacre that followed it, and the possibility that Montcalm would summon his savage hordes and descend like a whirlwind upon Albany, filled the minds of the colonists with a well-grounded alarm that showed its depth and power in the efforts that were made to avert such a calamity.
* This is the statement made by Carver and others. Certain it is, that if there was a guard, it was either insufficient, or it was furnished too late to be of any avail.
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
In answer to this call from General Webb, Connecticut in a few days raised and sent into the field, in addition to the forces she had already furnished, five thousand men. New York and the other colonies sent on large reinforcements to Albany, until the English army numbered about twenty thousand regular troops, besides a larger body of provincials than had ever been brought together on any one occasion during the war. The regulars were stationed at Albany and Fort Edward. With this noble army, large enough to have driven before it all the French troops on the continent, Webb accomplished nothing, but passed the rest of the campaign in a "masterly inactivity" that is believed to be without a parallel in history. Thus ended the campaign of 1757. The con- trast between the two campaigns described in this chapter, and that of 1755, which was under the direction of colonial officers, and the burden of which rested solely upon colonial troops, needs no commentary to make it more conspicuous, than a plain recital of the facts has already done.
CHAPTER III. CAMPAIGN OF 1758.
EARLY in 1758, the Earl of Loudoun called a convention of the governors of New England and New York to meet him at Hartford. The meeting proved to be a very unsatis- factory one. The governors did not respond with any cordiality to the propositions made by his lordship that they should send fresh troops into the field to further the ends of a new campaign. With much frigid politeness, their several excellencies informed him that before they could promise any forces or supplies, it would be necessary for them first to convoke their respective legislatures and procure the assent of the people. "Angry at this apparent subterfuge, the earl dismissed them in a fit of ill-temper, and repaired to Boston, where he repeated his demand for provincial troops. Here, too, he met with a decided rebuff. Neither Governor Pow- nall nor the Assembly would consent to furnish him with a single soldier until he would inform them of the minutest details of the proposed campaign. Chagrined at a refusal that bespoke so plainly how little confidence they had in him, he retired to his lodgings to deliberate in what way he could best answer and punish this provincial insolence. He was aroused from these meditations by the unwelcome tidings that he was no longer able to use the king's authority as his own, either in punishing his enemies or rewarding his friends. He had been superceded, and the command of the army had been given to General Abercrombie.
I do not suppose that there was ever a government in the world that was capable, in the hands of bad or weak minded men, of so misrepresenting the true spirit and character of the nation under its control, as that of Great Britain. Hence we find throughout British history, the most startling contrast of strength and weakness characterizing the public enter-
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
prises of the nation. In earlier times, England was great or insignificant according to the individual traits of the monarch who governed her. In later days the ministry will be found to have taken the place of the king, and the public acts of the empire will be marked by the most puerile imbecility, and by the want of moral as well as executive power; or on the other hand, by the most exalted patriotism and self-sacri- fice exhibiting themselves in results so grandly wrought out by means at once the most practical and daring, as to com- mand the admiration of the world.
The period of history now under consideration admirably illustrates this remark. In the course of two years, we have seen, by the dismantling of an English fort on the southern border of Lake George, the dominion of that lake and of Lake Champlain passing in an instant from the hands of the English ; we have seen Oswego fall a needless prey to a small force, and thus those vast inland seas that connect the waters of the St. Lawrence with those of the Mississippi, subjected to the dominion of the French ; going still further south, we have seen the whole continent lying west of the Alleghanies, claimed and held in defiance of right, and with a sacrifice of British and colonial lives truly revolting ;* and this series of calamities is known to be attributable, not to the soldiers who were in the field, but to the officers who misdirected their energies or imprisoned them at points where they could in no possible way exert their strength.
We are now to see the workings of a new ministry under the ordering of William Pitt, who united the eloquence of Pericles with the executive force of Julius Cæsar; a man borne into power upon the shoulders of the indignant people, and by new men and measures directed towards American affairs, changing at once the relations of the two powers that con- tended for the mastery upon the ocean.
The new minister was unable to receive regular communi- cations from the Earl of Loudoun. This of itself was a cause of removal in the mind of a man constituted as Pitt
* Holmes, ii. 79, 80.
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TROOPS TO BE RAISED.
[1758.]
was, with the most rigid and exact business habits. He was bold to say that he made the removal because "he could never ascertain what Lord Loudoun was doing."*
The same ship that brought the news of this happy change, also brought over letters from Mr. Pitt to the colonies, of a very flattering and persuasive tone, and eloquent with the great soul that spoke from the correspondence, as it beamed from the eye, of that unrivalled man.
On the 8th of March, 1758, a special assembly was con- vened at New Haven in honor of the letter addressed to the colony. This letter was listened to by the members of the two houses with intense interest. It spoke directly to the heart of the people. After alluding to the disappointments and losses of the campaign that had just closed, and assert- ing how much the king desired to wipe out the disgrace of such defeats as his arms had sustained in America, it declared in bold terms the resolve of the king's government, by the blessing of God, to take the most vigorous measures to avert the impending danger. It stated the intention of his majesty to send out a fleet and armament to defend the rights of his subjects in North America, and expressed the hope that his faithful and brave subjects in the colonies would cheerfully lend their aid to an enterprise, where they were to be the principal recipients of favor. Without making an arbitrary demand for troops, the minister adroitly hinted that twenty thousand men would be the fair proportion to be raised by the colonies of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey, and called upon Connecticut to raise as large a part of them as her population would permit her to spare, and have them ready for the field as soon as possible. That no motive might be wanting to stimulate the people to exertion, the minister added, that par- liament would be solicited to make appropriations to defray the expenses of the provinces according to the promptitude and zeal that they should respectively manifest in answer to the call of the government. t
* Graham, iv. 18.
+ Colonial Records, MS.
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
A keen vision, that laid bare before him, wherever he glanced, the governing motives of men, was a marked trait of Pitt's character. He had struck, as he seldom failed to do, the right nerve, and the representatives of the people were touched with a lively emotion and heartfelt, pervading enthu- siasm. This out-spoken minister, so unlike the mysterious Earl of Loudoun, who kept all his plans locked up in his own breast, as if they had been solemn state secrets, was the one man of all the world with whom they could co-operate and whom they could love. . Haughty to his king, despotic to the nobility, this great commoner seemed to the people of Connecticut to understand their wants, and to entertain for them the sympathies of a brother and the confiding regard of a friend. This was no Dudley, striving to get possession of the chartered liberties of the people ; no Fletcher, to demand the control of the militia ; no Cornbury, pluming himself upon an alliance with royalty; no Loudoun, to spend the precious months of a campaign in settling the question of official precedence; but a man, appealing to their common sensibilities to strike home for the honor of a common coun- try. They felt that they would have died for such a cham- pion.
So emulous were they, and so jealous lest the other provin- ces should share too largely in the laurels that were to be won, that, forgetting how much more than her proportion of troops Connecticut had sent into the field in the two former campaigns, they voted to raise five thousand good and effective men from the thin population of her few towns, already bowed down with service and oppressed with the weight of accumulating taxes.
Having thus resolved to furnish one quarter of the number of troops that were to be provided by the northern colonies, the Assembly proceeded to form them into four regiments, and to appoint the requisite officers. It was resolved that each regiment should be divided into twelve companies, and should be officered by a colonel, lieutenant-colonel, major, and other subordinate officers. Chaplains and surgeons were
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BILLS OF CREDIT.
[1758.]
also appointed to accompany each regiment. The Hon. Phineas Lyman, (who had held a general's commission in 1755,) Nathan Whiting, Eliphalet Dyer, and John Read, were appointed colonels .* To encourage speedy enlistments, a bounty of four pounds was offered to each volunteer who would equip himself for the field, in addition to his wages. The most thorough measures were taken to get the troops in readiness as soon as they should be needed. Provision was made at the same time for the support of this large army, by ordering that thirty thousand pounds lawful money should be issued in Bills of Credit, at five per cent interest ; and that for a fund for sinking of the same, a tax of eight-pence on the pound should be levied upon the grand list of the colony to be brought in for the year 1760.t
That the soldiers might be kept in good heart and spirits, a tax of nine-pence on the pound, on the list of October 1757, was ordered to be levied to pay the troops on their return home from the service at the close of the season. This tax was to be collected by the last of December 1758. A committee was further appointed to borrow the sum of twenty-five thousand pounds, to be paid before the 20th of May 1761; and for a fund to repay this large sum, a tax was ordered of five-pence on the pound on the list of 1759, to be paid into the treasury by the last of December 1760.į
At the October session, commissioners had been appointed to meet those from the other colonies to consult for the gen-
* The lieutenant-colonels-Nathan Payson, Benjamin Hinman, James Smedley, and Samuel Coit ; the majors-William Pitkin, Joseph Spencer, Israel Putnam, and John Slapp ; the chaplains-Rev. Messrs. George Beckwith, Joseph Fisk, Benjamin Pomeroy, and Jonathan Ingersoll ; the surgeons-Elisha Lord, Joseph Clark, John Bartlett, and Gideon Wells.
t Colony Records, MS.
# As considerable sums of money were expected from England to reimburse the colony for provisions furnished to Lord Loudoun, in 1756, it was ordered that said money, when received, should be applied to discharge the notes given for the bor- rowed money ; and that if sufficient should be received in season to discharge all the notes so given, then the tax last laid should not be collected.
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
eral safety .* These gentlemen were now authorized to meet the other commissioners at Hartford on the 19th of April, to take into consideration the impending crisis, and to devise measures for the union and harmony of the colonies in the contest before them. At the same time, the governor was desired to give to General Abercrombie the earliest advices of the measures to be adopted by the colonies, and of their preparations for an early and successful campaign.
The new ministry did something more than incite the provinces to action. In February, the armament designed for the reduction of Louisbourg sailed for America. The fleet was under the command of Admiral Boscawen, and the land army was committed to General Amherst, under whom was Brigadier General Wolfe. The fleet and armament arrived safely in America, and on the 28th of May left Hali- fax for Louisbourg. On the 2d of June, they dropped into the harbor in fine condition. It was a formidable army for that wild coast, and made an era in the history of the fortress as it spread its broad canvass on the line of the horizon in entering Chapeaurouge Bay. It consisted of one hundred and fifty-seven sail, with fourteen thousand British troops on board.t For six days and nights the surf rolled so high that no landing could be effected, nor indeed could any boat live a moment near the shore. During all this time, the British officers had the mortification to see the enemy fortifying themselves with great industry and skill, erecting, at every point along the shore where a landing was deemed practica- ble, batteries mounted with cannon, that, without any inter- ference from the waves, would be likely to prove formidable barriers to the British troops.Į
General Amherst, with a number of his officers, as he approached to reconnoitre the shore, saw the French lines bristling with infantry.
On the 8th of June, the surf began to subside, although
* The Connecticut commissioners were, Ebenezer Silliman, Jonathan Trumbull, and William Wolcott, esquires.
t Graham, vi. 27; Trumbull, ii. 387; Holmes, ii. 80. # Trumbull, ii. 387.
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GENERAL WOLFE.
[1758.]
there was still a heavy swell of the sea. General Amherst resolved to make trial, and before day-break the troops were embarked in boats in three divisions. The one on the right and the one in the centre were designed to divert the atten- tion of the enemy from the left division, that was commanded by General Wolfe, and was to make a. sudden and fierce attack at a moment when they were least prepared to receive it. Before the boats had reached the shore, five frigates and some other ships of war opened a fire not only on the cen- tral, but on the right and left divisions, raking them in front and flank with such effect that it soon became apparent that no feint could avail anything in such a crisis ; and that the only course to be pursued was to press toward the land. Still, the order of the attack was pursued as it had been first planned, and Wolfe, after having received the shot from the ships for about fifteen minutes, brought the left division, with little loss, near the shore. The French reserved their shot until the boats had almost touched the land, and then opened upon them a general discharge of musketry and cannon, that did fearful execution. Many of the boats were upset,-and others were dashed in pieces. While some of the troops were hurled overboard by the crushing stroke of the cannon- shot, or shattered to atoms, others in dismay leapt blindly into the sea and perished. General Wolfe, whose spirit always rose triumphant above the most stormy and dangerous crisis, imparting something of the fire of his own fearless soul to his men, pushed impetuously to the shore. As fast as they dis- embarked, they were formed in columns, and, marching in the face of the enemy's artillery and infantry, drove them from their entrenchments. The central division, moving to the left, dropped in behind that of Wolfe, and this was fol- lowed by the one upon the right; so that, had they been marching upon firm ground the English could not have moved in more admirable order .*
The garrison of Louisbourg consisted of two thousand five hundred regulars, and six hundred militia, and was under
* Trumbull, ii. 388.
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HISTORY OF CONNECTICUT.
the command of the Chevalier de Drucourt, a brave and veteran officer .* Aside from the strength of the fortress, its harbor was guarded by five ships of the line, a fifty gun ship, and five frigates-three of which were sunk across the mouth of the basin.t On account of these gruff neighbors, the English had been compelled to land at a distance from the town, and even as it was, they proved very annoying and did much mischief to the boats that were employed in getting ashore the tents, stores, and artillery. Even after the army, with the necessary equipments, was landed, it was no easy matter to bring their guns to bear upon the fort. The ground, in some places rough, in others was wet and miry ; and the French fought with great courage, resisting the advances of the besiegers at every step. But, calm as the fortress that frowned upon him, Amherst kept his steady purpose, and Wolfe, with fiery haste, overleaping such obstacles as he could not sweep away, never faltered in his aim or flagged in his efforts. By the 12th of June he had taken possession of the light-house battery and was master of all the posts in that quarter. On the 25th, he had silenced the island-bat- tery ; but still the enemy kept up a constant fire upon him from the ships until the 21st of July. At last, the explosion of a shell set fire to a large ship, that soon blew up and involved two others in the same fate. Admiral Boscawen, to avail himself to the full extent of this lucky accident, sent six hundred men in boats to get possession of two ships of the line that still secured the harbor to the enemy. In the face of a murderous fire both of artillery and musketry, this daring feat was accomplished. One of the French ships was burned up and the other was towed off in triumph. This gallant exploit was conducted by two young captains, Laforey and Balfour,§ and is worthy of a more minute description than seems to belong to this narrative. It was decisive of the victory. The English had now the undis- puted possession of the harbor, the town was in many places
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