USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the provincial period. 1692-1775 v. II > Part 14
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143
SCHEME OF GOVERNOR SHIRLEY.
a wrong turn on the side of the French, the expedition must CHAP. have miscarried." But it was destined to succeed, notwith- VI. standing the inexperience of both officers and men. Fortune 1745. smiles sometimes upon even the novice in war.1
The scheme of Governor Shirley does not evince on his part extraordinary knowledge of military affairs. "Our success," says he, in a letter to Wentworth, the lieutenant governor of New Hampshire, "will depend on the execution of the first night after the arrival of our forces. The fleet must make Chapeau-Rouge by nine o'clock in the evening, when they can- not be easily seen, and from thence push into the bay, that all the men may be landed before midnight. The troops, divided into four companies, are to scale the walls at different points, and to attack the grand battery. The formation of these com- panies will take up at least two hours' time, and the march another two hours; so that it will be four in the morning before the attack can be commenced. This will be a late hour ; so that the fleet must arrive punctually, or all may fail." 2
It requires no uncommon sagacity to perceive that, if success depended on such conditions, the prospect was dubious. For how could the arrival of the vessels be so accurately timed ? How could the troops be landed on a strange coast in the, darkness as readily as by daylight? And how could the march be made through thickets and bogs, and the attack con- ducted, by men ignorant of the situation of the fortress, who had never been in action, and who were incompletely furnished with the necessary weapons ? Fortunately for New England, success did not depend on the preconcerted plan of the gov- ernor. The intended " surprisal " was frustrated by the arrival of the vessels in the daytime, and their only alternative was a Apr. 30. regular siege.
1 Prince's Thanks. Ser. 15; Chaun-
cy's Sermon, 15, 16; Eliot's Sermon, 12; Douglas.
2 Belknap's N. H. ii. 209, 210. Comp. 1 M. H. Coll. i. 5-11.
144
DESCRIPTION OF LOUISBURG.
CHAP. VI.
1745.
The place before which the army was seated merits descrip- tion. The town itself, about two miles and a quarter in cir- cumference,1 was built upon a neck of land on the south side of a beautiful basin of water four hundred fathoms broad at its mouth, and was fortified in its accessible parts with a ram- part from thirty to thirty-six feet high, and a ditch eighty feet wide. A space of two hundred yards without the rampart, seaward, which was inaccessible to ships, was enclosed by a dike and a line of pickets; and the spot was secured from attack by the side fire from the bastions. These bastions, six in number, with the three batteries, contained embrasures for one hundred and forty-eight cannon, of which sixty-five were mounted, and sixteen mortars. On Goat Island, at the en- trance of the harbor, was a battery of thirty cannon, carrying twenty-eight pound shot; and at the bottom of the harbor, opposite the entrance, was the grand or royal battery, of twen- ty-eight forty-two pounders, and two eighteen pounders. On a high cliff, opposite the island battery, stood a lighthouse, vis- ible in a clear night five leagues off at sea ; and within this point, at the north-east part of the harbor, were a careening wharf, completely landlocked and secure from all winds, and a magazine of stores.2 The town was regularly laid out in squares. The streets were broad ; and the houses, partly of wood and partly of stone, corresponded with the general ap- pearance of the place. On the west side, near the rampart, and in the centre of one of the chief bastions, stood the citadel, which was spacious, with a parade near by, and a moat on one side towards the town; and within this building were the apartments of the governor, the arsenal, and bomb-proof bar- racks for the soldiers. Under the rampart were casemates, to receive the women and children during a siege. The entrance
1 Some authorities say two miles and a half.
2 There are curious plans of the forts at Canseau and Louisburg in the possession of Mr. George Follings, of
Boston, draughted by his grandfather, who was a gunner in the expedition against Louisburg during the French war.
145
THE ISLAND OF CAPE BRETON.
to the town on the land side was at the west gate, over a CHAP. drawbridge, near which was a circular battery mounting six- VI. teen twenty-four pounders. Three gates in the north-west 1745. walls overlooked the harbor, and had bridges extending to the water, from which goods might at any time be shipped or unshipped. The whole works had been upwards of twenty-five years in building, and, though unfinished, had cost the French government more than thirty millions of livres - upwards of five millions of dollars of the currency of the United States.1
The Island of Cape Breton, lying between the forty-fifth and forty-seventh degrees of north latitude, although consid- ered by the English and the French as of the greatest impor- tance, was chiefly so from its central position and the conven- ience of its ports. The soil, rocky and mountainous, or cold and boggy, was not remarkable for its fertility. The only val- uable productions, besides timber, were pit coal and plaster. The atmosphere was laden with fogs in the spring, and the harbors were blocked with ice in the winter. The shores, on the north and west sides, were steep and inaccessible. On the south side were beautiful bays and excellent harbors, capable of receiving and securing ships of any burden. Lying between Canada on the one side and the West Indies on the other, commanding the entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the highway to New England, a retreat for cruisers, a depot for privateers, and the rendezvous for all ships destined to France from the American seas, its commercial position was favorable to the French, and it was valuable as a fishing station, though less so, perhaps, than several parts of Nova Scotia and New- foundland.2 Such was the island whose possession was to be
1 Theatre of the Present War, 2- 5; Beginning, Progress, &c., of Last War, Lond. 1770, 4to, p. 12; Mems. Last War, 13-16; Am. Mag. ii. 216; Hutchinson, ii .; Belknap's N. H. ii. 193-196 ; Haliburton's N. S. i. 112,
113; 1 M. H. Coll. v. 202; Mar- shall's Washington, i. 346.
2 Mems. Last War, pp. 10, 19, ed. 1758; Importance of Cape Breton, chaps. 3, 4; Theatre of the Present War, 6-10; Belknap's N. H. ii. 191 -193 ; Minot, i. 76.
VOL. II. 10
146
LANDING OF THE TROOPS.
CHAP. contested with the French ; and such was the fortress which VI. had been built for its security.
1745. It was fortunate for the success of the expedition of Gov- ernor Shirley that the garrison at Louisburg was discontented and mutinous ; that no succors had arrived from France ; and that the provisions and stores of the fortress were greatly reduced.1 The plan of operation, " drawn by a lawyer, to be executed by a merchant, at the head of a body of husbandmen and mechanics, destitute of professional skill and experience," 2 Apr. 30. as we have seen, was frustrated, and the place was invested for May 1. a siege. The landing of the troops was effected without much opposition, and they flew "to shore like eagles to the quarry." The same day, Colonel Vaughan, of New Hampshire, headed a detachment of four hundred men, chiefly from that province, and, passing the town, which he saluted with three cheers, marched to the north-east part of the harbor, burned the ware- houses containing the naval stores, and destroyed a quantity of spirituous liquors. The smoke of this fire, driven by the wind into the grand battery, so terrified the French, that they precipitately abandoned the place, after spiking the guns and throwing their powder into a well.3
May 2.
The next morning Colonel Vaughan took possession of this battery, and sent for a reenforcement and a flag ; but before either arrived, an adventurous soldier climbed the staff, with a red coat in his teeth, and fastened it by a nail to the top. A detachment under Colonel Bradstreet was sent to the assist- ance of Colonel Vaughan ; but the French, in great alarm, hastily despatched a hundred men in boats to impede his march ; whereupon Colonel Waldo's regiment was ordered to
1 Pepperrell's Letters, in 1 M. H. Coll. i. 11-17; Belknap's N. H. ii. 207. Duvivier went to France for supplies in the fall of 1744, but at this time had not returned.
2 Belknap's N. H. ii. 214.
3 Pepperrell MSS. ; Shirley's Lett. p. 7; Pepperrell's Lett. i. 1 M. H. Coll. i. 27; Journal of the Siege of Louisburg, 20-22; Mems. Last War, 44, 45 ; Importance of Cape Breton, 130; Hutchinson, ii. 373.
147
SIEGE OF LOUISBURG.
assist him, and they were repulsed.1 In vain did the French CHAP. open a heavy fire on the battery to prevent its being occupied by VI.
the English. By night six companies were lodged there ; and 1745. that of which Seth Pomeroy, of Northampton, a gunsmith by trade, was major, was immediately employed to drill the cannon which the enemy had spiked. Before the twelfth of the month May 12. about twenty were cleared, a portion of which were turned upon the town with such success that nearly every shot told with effect, and several pierced the roof of the citadel. The behavior of the New Hampshire troops, and indeed of all the provincials, was admirable ; and for fourteen nights in succes- sion they were employed in drawing cannon from the landing to the camp on sleds - the men, with straps on their shoulders, and sinking to their knees in mud, working like oxen.2 The landing and transporting the artillery and stores was a difficult task, owing to the badness of the ground and the strength of the surf. But what will not perseverance accomplish ? Mortars and cohorns were dragged through bogs and morasses up the steep hills, and planted in commanding positions, and fascine May 11 batteries were erected near the west gate.3 to 17.
In the mean time councils of war were convened, at which May 7. Commodore Warren was present ; and a summons to surrender was sent to Duchambon. This was refused ; upon which it was determined to proceed in the most vigorous manner to attack the island battery, and Commodore Warren offered to send a humber of his sailors and marines to aid in the assault.4 While Awaiting a favorable opportunity for this movement, despatches May 11. vere sent to Governor Shirley by Pepperrell for a reenforce-
1 Am. Mag. ii. 223 ; Prince, Thanks. Ser. 28; Belknap's N. H. ii. 216, 217; Parsons's Life of Pepperrell, 65.
2 Shirley's Lett. 8; Gibson's Jour- al, 42-46; Chauncy's Sermon, 16; Belknap's N. H.
Cape Breton, 124, 125; Am. Mag. ii. 224.
" Of all exploits, since first I followed arms, Ne'er heard I of a warlike enterprise More venturous, or desperate, than this." Alençon, King Henry VI. Pt. I. Act. ii. Sc. 1.
Journal of the Siege, 24; 1 M.
3 Shirley's Letter, 9; Pepperrell's ett. 1 M. H. Coll. i. 27; Journal of he Siege; 20-22, 25; Importance of H. Coll. i. 27; Am. Mag. ii. 224.
148
SIEGE OF LOUISBURG.
May 19.
CHAP. ment of a thousand men, and for additional military stores. VI. Before these arrived, the Vigilant, a French ship of sixty-four 1745. guns, was captured by the squadron under Commodore Warren and the provincial sloops ; and, her crew being made prisoners, she was manned with English seamen. This success was encouraging, as it prevented additional supplies from reaching the fortress. 1
Yet the condition of the besiegers was far from flattering. Nearly fifteen hundred of the troops lay sick at one time ; the army was imperfectly provided with tents; their "lodgings were turf and brush houses ; " and their provisions and ammu- May 24. nition were rapidly failing.2 In this posture of affairs, another consultation was held on board the Superb ; and, for the more speedy reduction of the fortress, it was proposed by Commo- dore Warren that sixteen hundred men should be embarked, and that all his majesty's ships, and the provincial cruisers except two, with the captured ship Vigilant, and the schooners and transports, should enter the harbor, and attack the town and batteries with "the utmost vigor," while the marines, under Captain James M'Donald, were to be landed, and, sustained by the rest of the troops, were to make an attack on shore ; 3 but this plan was not approved by General Pepperrell. From the tenor of the correspondence between Warren and Pepperrell, it is evident that both gentlemen coveted the honor of leading the expedition ; and Commodore Warren was quite as anxious that its success, if effected, should be attributed to his squadron, as General Pepperrell was anxious that it should be achieved by his troops.4
1 Journal of the Siege, 27; 1 M. H. Col. i. 43 ; Proclamations of Gov- ernor Shirley issued June 1 and June 4; Gibson's Journal, 51, 52; Am. Mag. ii. 223; Parsons, Life of Pep- perrell, 67, 68, 72.
2 Shirley's Lett. 8; Journal of the Siege, 23; 1 M. H. Coll. i. 32-35 ; Importance of Cape Breton, 126; Belknap's N. H. i. 219. Sickness
seems to have prevailed most in the month of June; and it was at that date that the 1500 were invalid. Par- sons, Life of Pepperrell, 85. 3 1 M. H. Coll. i. 52, 53.
4 1 M. H. Coll. i. 32 ; Haliburton's N. S. i. 115, note. That part of the correspondence of Pepperrell, pre- served by Parsons, in which he uni- formly speaks in high praise of War-
149
MOVEMENTS OF PEPPERRELL.
In the mean time Pepperrell had not been "idle," as Warren CHAP. insinuates ; for, during the twenty-nine days the siege had con- VI.
tinued, five fascine batteries had been erected, from which and 1745. from the grand battery considerable breaches had been made May 28. in the walls; the west gate was entirely beaten down ; the adjoining wall was very much battered, and a breach was made May 29 in it about ten feet from the ground. The circular battery, of June 6. to sixteen twenty-four pounders, was likewise nearly ruined, and all the cannon but three dismounted. The north-east battery, consisting of two lines of forty-two and thirty-two pounders, in all seventeen cannon, was damaged, and the men beaten off from their guns. The west flank of the King's Bastion, belong- ing to the citadel, and the battery of six twenty-four pounders, which pointed to the land side, were almost demolished; and two cavaliers, of two twenty-four pounders each, raised during the siege, and two other cannon of the same weight of metal, run out at embrasures cut through the parapet near the west gate, were damaged and silenced. The citadel itself was also damaged ; several houses in the city were entirely demolished, and almost every one more or less injured. The Maurepas gate, at the east part of the city, was shattered ; and, as cross fires from the cannon and mortars, and even from the mus- ketry, ranged through the houses and streets in every part of the city, and through the enemy's parades, by which many were killed, the inhabitants were driven to the casemates, where they May 1 were obliged to take refuge for several weeks. Nor was this to 29. all ; for, during the same period, five unsuccessful attempts were
ren, is certainly in favor of his con- duct in the enterprise, and proves him to have been actuated by a patriotism as fervent as it was disinterested and pure. He knew what belonged to his office, and maintained his rights with dignity ; and he was jealous of the in- tentions of Warren more for his coun- try's sake than for his own - fearing that the services of the New England troops might be depreciated, and that
less notice might be taken of their valor than they rightfully deserved. Governor Shirley seems to have anti- cipated these difficulties, as appears from one of his letters written at the time. See 1 M. H. Coll. i. 17. It was through the mismanagement of Shirley that these difficulties arose. See his letter to Warren, 1 M. H. Coll. i. 36.
150
PROGRESS OF THE SIEGE.
CHAP. made upon the island battery, the "palladium of Louisburg," VI. in the last of which one hundred and eighty-nine out of four
May 26.
1745. hundred men were killed or taken prisoners. Scouts had also been kept out to destroy the settlements of the enemy, and to prevent a surprise of the camp.1 These were certainly bril- liant exploits for men who "laughed at zigzags and epaule- ments," and who conducted their movements "in a random manner ; " and if Commodore Warren was able to boast of his superior knowledge in the science of war, General Pepperrell had no reason to be ashamed of the conduct of his troops.2
June 1. At length Pepperrell consented that six hundred men should be sent on board the Vigilant, and five hundred on board the other ships, with the understanding that Colonel M'Donald, Jun. 11. with his marines, was to assist on shore ; and shortly after, under the direction of Gridley, of Boston, a battery was com- pleted near the lighthouse, containing three embrasures facing the island battery and six facing the sea.3 The want of am- munition had been seriously felt, that which was used on shore being borrowed from the squadron ; but before this battery June 3. was finished welcome supplies arrived from Massachusetts.4 Thus reënforced, the operations of the besiegers were prose- cuted with increased vigor.
One great obstacle to the success of the English arose from the want of exact information of the condition of the fortress ; and Commodore Warren, deeming it "of the utmost conse- quence to know the situation of the enemy, as to their numbers
1 Shirley's Letter to the Duke of
Newcastle, ed. 1746, pp. 9-11 ; Jour- nal of the Siege, 25-28; Mems. Last War, 45-47; Gibson's Journal, 56- 60; 1 M. H. Coll. i. 35; Parsons's Life of Pepperrell, 82. Part of the damage referred to in the text was not done until the 6th of June, especially the silencing of the cannon from the parapets. 'The number of men lost in the attack on the island battery of May 26 is set down in some accounts
at 60 killed, and 112 prisoners. I follow Pepperrell's statement in his letter to Warren.
2 1 M. H. Coll. i. 35, 36.
3 Shirley's Lett. 11; Journal of the Siege, 28, 29; Gibson's Journal, 62, 67; Hutchinson, ii. 376; 1 M. H. Coll. i. 38; Parsons, Life of Pepper- rell, 83, 84.
4 1 M. H. Coll. i. 38, 40 ; Parsons, Life of Pepperrell, 85.
151
PROGRESS OF THE SIEGE.
and quantity of ammunition and provisions," offered personally CHAP. a reward of from five hundred to a thousand guineas to who- VI. ever would furnish such information. As one step towards 1745. securing it, he suggested sending to the French governor tidings of the capture of the Vigilant ; and, as Pepperrell approved the plan, a letter written by the former captain of the Vigilant was forwarded by a flag. The charge of this letter was confided to Colonel M'Donald, and, by pretending June 7. ignorance of the French language, he was enabled to listen, without being suspected, to the discourse of the officers before whom he was carried, and to observe the effect of his commu- nication upon them.1
During the absence of this messenger, a fresh consultation was June 7. held by Commodore Warren on board the Superb, to consider the expediency of attempting to enter the harbor and attack the town before the reduction of the island battery ; but, after an examination of the pilots, an inspection of the draughts of the harbor, and a careful review of the position in which the squadron would be placed with the battery in its rear, it was decided to be impracticable. Nothing remained, therefore, but to determine whether a new attempt should be made upon the . island battery or not ; and it was resolved to make the attempt with the aid of the forces furnished by General Pepperrell.2 The decision of this council was forwarded to Pepperrell ; but,' as he was convinced that no good could result from sending a few whale boats to the attack, which even musket balls would sink, he declined seconding the proposal. A general attack by land and sea was then concerted; and Commodore Warren, being strengthened by the arrival of three or four more ships, June 10 was to enter the harbor with his vessels, while General Pep- Jun. 14. to 12. perrell was to open his batteries upon the town ; but before making this attack, as other French vessels had been captured,
1 1 M. H. Coll. i. 41-43 ;. Gibson's H. Coll. i. 41; Parsons, Life of Pep- perrell, 90, 91.
Journal, 65.
2 Prince, Thanks. Ser. 30; 1 M.
152
SURRENDER OF THE FORTRESS.
CHAP. which were expected to relieve the fortress, and as the battery VI. near the lighthouse commanded the island battery, upon which 1745. great reliance had been placed, Duchambon, satisfied that it Jun. 15. was useless to contend longer, sent hostages to both Warren and Pepperrell, with letters, proposing to surrender the fortress on condition that the troops, some sixteen hundred in number, should be permitted to retain their arms and colors. This Jun. 16. proposition was accepted ; the fortress was surrendered ; and
" Bright Hesperus, the harbinger of day, Smiled gently down on Shirley's prosperous sway. The prince of light rode in his burning car, To see the overtures of peace and war, Around the world; and bade his charioteer, Who marks the periods of each month and year, Rein in his steeds, and rest upon high noon, To view our victory at Cape Breton." 1
Jun. 17. On the following day the victors entered the city ; and great was their surprise at beholding the strength of the fortress, and its capacity for resistance had it been suitably garrisoned. As chief of the expedition, a large share of the credit of its success rightfully belonged to Pepperrell ; but he was more ready to yield the honors of the occasion to Commodore War- ren than was Warren to acknowledge the value of his services. Indeed, such seems to have been the jealousy of Warren, and such were his fears lest too much credit should be given to Pepperrell, that, in his personal despatches to England, and by his representations after his arrival, he challenged to himself the chief honor of the expedition, and succeeded for a time in
1 Journal of the Siege, 29-31; Mems. Last War, 49, 50; Gibson's Journal, 71-74 ; 1 M. H. Coll. i. 43- 46; Hutchinson, ii. 376, 377; Hali- burton's N. S. i. 119. The rude lines in the text are taken from a piece in- serted in Ames's Almanac for 1746, commemorating the reduction of Lou-
isburg. There are several volumes of MSS. in the Lib. of the Mass. Hist. Soc. comprising the papers of Sir Wil- liam Pepperrell, his journals of this ex- pedition, muster rolls, &c., from which an elaborate narrative might be framed. These papers are in a good state of preservation, and are quite interesting.
153
THE VICTORY CELEBRATED.
throwing into the shade one who, if his rival, had more mag- CHAP. nanimity than to descend to such misrepresentations, and who VI. generously acknowledged the merits of his associate.1 1745.
The capture of Louisburg " filled Europe with astonishment and America with joy." In London, the cannon of the Tower and Park were fired by order of the lords of the regency ; at night there were great rejoicings, with bonfires and illumina- tions in the city and its suburbs ; and a general gladness was diffused throughout the kingdom. Indeed, this was the capital achievement of the war. The prowess of the provincials could no longer be doubted, and veterans applauded the courage they had despised.2 Volumes of congratulatory letters poured in upon Pepperrell from towns, corporations, and distinguished citizens, applauding his success. And when the news reached Boston, two weeks after the surrender, and in New York and July 2. Philadelphia, unbounded enthusiasm prevailed. Bells rang out their noisiest peals ; cannon boomed ; bonfires blazed ; and at night every dwelling was brilliantly illuminated.3 Two weeks later, a thanksgiving was celebrated in most of the New Eng- July 18. land colonies, and patriotic sermons were preached by the ministers.4 No event had for a long time created such an excitement. Many fortunate circumstances preceded and fol- lowed the enterprise. A bountiful harvest in the fall had filled the granaries of the English to overflowing ; while a drought, which prevailed in Canada, cut off the supplies of the French.
1 Bollan's Lett. in 1 M. H. Coll. i. 53, 54 ; Lett. to the Earl of Sandwich, in 1 M. H. Coll. i. 108-111; Chal- mers, Revolt, ii. 241; Parsons, Life of Pepperrell, 101, 102. The jeal- ousy between Warren and Pepperrell does not seem to have been perma- nent, nor did it affect the friendliness of their intercourse. Indeed, the two officers continued to regard each other with esteem through life; and their correspondence indicates that the rivalry which was called forth dur- ing the excitement of the siege was
only such as often springs up on such occasions ; and both gentlemen had too much good sense to carry the mat- ter so far as to make it the ground of perpetual contention.
Gibson's Journal, 78-80; Am. Mag. ii .; 1 M. H. Coll. vii. 69; Par- sons, Life of Pepperrell, 144, 145.
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