USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the provincial period. 1692-1775 v. II > Part 19
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1 Pouchot's Mems. i. 48-54; Hist. of the War, 27-31; Doc. Hist. N. Y. ii. 689-703; Hutchinson, iii. 35, 36; 1 M. H. Coll. vii. 104-109 ; Minot, i. 250-254.
2 1 M. H. Coll. vii. 110.
3 Letter of T. Robinson, of June 21, 1754, to Governor Shirley, approv- ing the plans detailed in his communi- cations of April 19 and May 1, for driv- ing the French from the Kennebec, pursuant to an act passed by the as- sembly of Massachusetts, in Williams's
MSS. i. 71; also, extracts from a let- ter of the lords of trade of July 5, in ibid. 72.
For his commission, dated Feb- ruary 10, 1755, see his MS. Journal, fol. 3.
5 Winslow's MS. Journal, 1-3; Jour. H. of R. of Mass. 1755-56, 317; Smith's N. Y. ii. 219, 220; Letter on Ohio Defeat, 13; Stirling's Vindication of Shirley, 17, 18 ; Hutch- inson, iii. 27, 28.
199
MOVEMENTS OF WINSLOW.
next place ; and in the rear General Winslow marched, with CHAP. the rest of the first battalion. The route lay over a marsh, VII. where the dikes had been cut down ; so that the progress of 1755. the troops was slow and guarded. The bridge over the Mes- sagouche, the intervening river, had been destroyed ; and on its opposite bank the French had a block house, and had thrown up a breastwork, where four hundred men were stationed. An engagement ensued ; and in about a quarter of an hour the French set the block house and village on fire. Pushing on, notwithstanding the annoyance from the musketry of the ene- my, the provincial troops gained the top of the hill in about an hour, and halted for refreshment. From thence, continu- ing their march, they moved to within two miles of the fort, and, turning to the right from the main road, halted in the woods. A few days after, General Winslow, with three hun- June 8. dred men, advanced within six hundred yards of the fort. In a short time intrenchments were opened upon the rock border- Jun. 12. ing on St. Omer's ; and in four days the enemy surrendered - Jun. 16. the garrison being allowed to march out with the honors of war, and to be transported to Louisburg, with their effects, at the expense of Great Britain, on condition of remaining neu- tral for the space of six months. This capitulation and the preceding skirmishes were attended with the loss of but three men from New England, none besides being mortally wounded. The fort at Gaspereaux, on Bay Verte, surrendered on the same terms ; and Captain Rous, with three frigates and a Jun. 18. sloop, sailed to the St. John's, for the reduction of the new fort erected by the French. These successes, at so early a stage of the war, diffused a general joy through the colonies, and were welcomed as omens of future good fortune.1
The French forts being subdued, but one question remained
1 Winslow's Journal, fols. 72-106; Bollan's letter of May 4, 1758, in MS. Letters and Papers, 1721-1760, fol. 187, in Mass. Hist. Soc. Colls .; Let- ters and Mems. relative to Cape Bre-
ton, 318-323 ; Hist. of the War, 26, 27; Extract from Letter of Governor Lawrence to Sir Thomas Robinson, June 28, 1755, in Mortimer's Eng. iii. 513.
200
CHARACTER OF THE ACADIANS.
CHAP. to be decided : What shall be done with the Acadians, some VII. thousands in number ? The situation of this people was pe- 1755. culiarly distressing. They were the earliest European occu- pants of the country, and had dwelt in it now for over two hundred years. Frugal in their habits, and of a mild disposi- tion, their attention had been turned from hunting and fishing, the delight of their ancestors, to the cultivation of the soil ; and by diligent effort they had reclaimed from the forest and the ocean the farms on which they dwelt. By the treaty of 1713. Utrecht they had been brought under the dominion of Eng- land. But they still loved the language and the usages of their fathers, and the religion of their childhood was graven 1713-53. upon their souls. For forty years they were neglected by the English ; and in that time they prospered, and their substance increased. The crops from their fields were exceedingly rich. Flocks and herds grazed in the meadows, or roamed over the hills ; domestic fowls abounded ; and the thickly clustered vil- lage of neat, thatched-roof cottages sheltered a frugal, happy people. The spinning-wheel and the loom were busily plied ; and, from morn to night, matrons and maidens, young men and their sires, toiled for the bread which they ate in peace.
This gentle people, distinguished for their benevolence, were known as "the neutral French," because of the obligation to which they had subscribed. Happy in their seclusion, they conducted their affairs in the simplest manner. Each family provided for its own wants. No locks were needed for their doors, " no tax gatherer counted their folds, no magistrates dwelt in their hamlets." They were too inoffensive to require the interference of the arm of the law, and their disputes were amicably settled by their elders. The priest of the parish was their scribe and their judge. He framed their laws, and drew their wills ; and to him they looked for advice and direction. Poverty was rare ; early marriages were encouraged ; and fathers delighted in settling their children in a cottage of
201
REMOVAL OF THE ACADIANS.
their own. Living in love, their lives glided on " like rivers CHAP. that water the woodlands, reflecting an image of heaven." 1 VII.
Since the settlement of the English they had been grievously 1755. oppressed. Was their property demanded for the public ser- vice ? It must be yielded immediately, or " the next courier would bring an order for military execution upon the delin- quents." Did they delay in bringing firewood at the bidding of their masters ? "If they do not do it in proper time," was the harsh mandate of the governor, " the soldiers shall absolutely take their houses for fuel."2 From such a spirit, which wit- nessed without compunction their humiliation, what could be expected but continued oppression ?
Such being the circumstances of the unfortunate Acadians, it will excite little surprise to be told that Lawrence, the lieuten- ant governor of the province, and his council, aided by Admi- rals Boscawen and Mostyn, and Belcher, the chief justice, a son of the former governor of Massachusetts, determined, in Aug.11. accordance with advices from England, procured at the instance of Governor Shirley, that the people should be driven from the homes they loved, and scattered as exiles over the whole breadth of the continent. The liberty of transmigration was refused. They were to be treated as captives ; and as captives were they to be sent out to live among the English.3
The execution of this sentence, so harsh and vindictive, was allotted to the New England forces. Gladly would their com- mander, himself distinguished for his courtesy and humanity, have escaped the unpleasant and painful duty ; but the rules of war are imperative, and, whatever his own feelings, Mr. Winslow was compelled to suppress them and obey. To per- suade the Acadians to a voluntary exile was seen to be impracticable ; artifice must therefore be resorted to, to kidnap
1 Longfellow's Evangeline.
2 Winslow's MS. Journal, fols. 151
-154; Haliburton's N. S. i. 163.
3 Winslow's MS. Journal, fols. 159 -163; Minot, i. 122; Haliburton, i. 168.
202
REMOVAL OF THE ACADIANS.
CHAP. and entrap them.1 A general proclamation ordered all the VII. males of the settlements, " both old and young men, as well as 1755. Aug. 30 and all the lads of ten years of age," to assemble at the church at Grand Pré on Friday, at three o'clock in the afternoon, then Sept. 2. and there to hear his majesty's orders communicated ; declaring that no excuse would be admitted on any pretence whatever, "on pain of forfeiting goods and chattels in default of rcal estate." 2
Some, on the reception of this summons, fled to the forest, and lurked on its outskirts, with ominous forebodings of the Sept. 5. fate before them. Yet, on the day appointed, four hundred and eighteen unarmed men gathered in the temple, which had for some time been occupied by General Winslow as his head quar- ters, while without, their wives, with care-worn looks, awaited the issue of the strange conference. The doors were closed ; and from the lips of Winslow their sentence was slowly but firmly pronounced. "It is his majesty's orders," - such were his words, -" and they are peremptory, that the whole French inhabitants of these districts be removed. Your lands and tenements, cattle of all kinds, and live stock of all sorts, are forfeited to the crown, with all your other effects, saving your money and household goods; and you yourselves are to be removed from this province. I shall do every thing in my power that your goods be secured to you, and that you are not molested in carrying them off ; also, that whole families shall go in the same vessel, and that this removal be made as easy as his majesty's service will admit. And I hope that, in whatever part of the world you may fall, you may be faithful subjects, a peaceable and happy people. Meanwhile you are the king's prisoners, and will remain in security under the
1 They were to be collected by stratagem or force, as circumstances might require; and no attention was to be paid to remonstrances or memo- rials from any desirous to stay, but every person was to be embarked, if
possible, according to instructions. Winslow's MS. Journal, fol. 171. " The sooner we strike the stroke the better," said Murray. Ibid. 172.
2 Winslow's MS. Journal, 174; Haliburton's N. S. i. 175, 176.
203
REMOVAL OF THE ACADIANS.
inspection and direction of the troops I have the honor to CHAP. command." 1 VII.
Like a whirlwind in the autumn, which spreads desolation in 1755. its path, came this announcement to the imprisoned captives. At first there was unbroken silence, as in speechless amazement they gazed upon each other's countenances ; then a loud wail of anguish echoed through the aisles and arches of the building. It was, indeed, a cruel sentence ; justifiable, perhaps, by the policy of war, but strangely at variance with the benevolent spirit of the gospel of Christ. Every heart ached in Grand Pré that night, and throughout the district of Minas as the intelligence reached them from the lips of the twenty who were permitted to go forth.2 No "angelus " sounded softly at sunset. The " summer of all saints" lost its beauty. Old men looked sadly upon the scenes which had so often delighted them ; young men gloomily brooded over the future. Mothers clasped their little ones closer in their arms ; maidens shrank timidly from the embraces of their lovers. Well might they utter the complaint of Melibœus : -
" En, unquam patrios longo post tempore fines, Pauperis et tuguri congestum cespite culmen, Post aliquot, mea regna, videns mirabor aristas ? Impius hæc tam culta novalia miles habebit ? Barbarus has segetes ?
Ite meæ, felix quondam pecus, ite capella.
Non ego vos posthac, viridi projectus in antro, Dumosa pendere procul de rupe videbo ; Carmina nulla canam ; non, me pascente, capellæ,
Florentem cytisum, et salices carpetis amaras." 3
At the appointed day, the inhabitants of Grand Pré met for Sept.10. the last time - in all one thousand nine hundred and twenty- three souls.4 The prisoners in the church were drawn up six
1 Winslow's MS. Journal, 178, 3 Virgil, Eclogue I.
179; Minot, i. 224-226 ; Haliburton's N. S. i. 175, 176.
2 Winslow's MS. Journal, 179, 180.
4 Winslow's MS. Journal, 197- 211, where is a list of the inhabit- ants.
204
REMOVAL OF THE ACADIANS.
CHAP. deep ; and the young men, one hundred and forty-one in num- VII.
ber, were ordered to march first on board the vessels. With
1755. frenzied despair they refused to be separated from their parents and companions ; and at the point of the bayonet obedience was enforced. Women and children knelt by the way through which they passed, some singing the hymn of farewell, others weeping and praying for blessings on their heads. Next the fathers, one hundred and nine in number, were commanded to embark ; and eighty-nine obeyed. Then - most dreadful of all - mothers and little ones were told they must wait until fresh transports arrived. December came before they left ; but where should they find those from whom they had been separated ? 1
A large number of the miserable Acadians in the different districts escaped. The rest, seven thousand in number, were scattered from New Hampshire to Georgia. In the land of strangers, with broken hearts, they were to drag out a weary and cheerless existence, saddened in spirit and bereft of hope. Never again were they to return to their homes. Never again were they to gaze upon the scenes which had delighted their infancy. Never again were they to see those who had been torn from them, until they met them in that land where tyranny can no more annoy, and where a more tolerant spirit reigns than on earth.2
1 Winslow's MS. Journal, 191-193. 2 About a thousand of these Aca- dians arrived at Boston at the opening of winter, among whom were several aged persons, who would have per- ished had not generous hearts wel- comed them to their homes. The pro- vincial legislature did what it could to alleviate their sufferings. They were provided for like other poor, only the elderly were exempted from labor. When they found there was no hope of being restored to their homes, many went to Hispaniola, and died. Dis- persed throughout the world, the poor Acadians became extinct. A few of their descendants, indeed, still live at
the south ; but they live to us now chiefly in history. Mrs. Williams, of Connecticut, has written a touching tale of their sufferings ; and Longfel- low's Evangeline is a beautiful tribute to the memory of this people, as hon- orable to his character as it is credita- ble to the poetical genius of New Eng- land. Comp. Winslow's Journal, pas- sim ; Hutchinson, iii. 38-42; Journal H. of R. for 1755, 265, 285, 318, 456; ibid. for 1756, pp. 65, 69, 119. In the Mass. Archives are two folio volumes of MSS. relating exclusively to the French neutrals, besides a large num- ber of other MSS. scattered through other volumes.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE FRENCH WAR. 1756-1763.
THE capture of the French posts at the east, and the removal CHAP. of the Acadians, with the defeat of Dieskau by General John- VIII. son, were the decisive accomplishments of the campaign of 1755. Dec. 1755. The defeat of Braddock, and the inefficient movements of Shirley, were the disastrous results. But the French were still masters of a large share of their old posts, and, by cease- less activity, were strengthening their garrisons and preparing for future hostilities. War, at this time, had not been formally declared by England or France ; but that event was daily expected, nor was it long delayed.1 The surviving force em- 1756. May. ployed by the colonies in the expedition under General John- son returned before winter, except six hundred men posted at Lake George, where a wooden fort, called Fort William Henry, was built, and at Fort Edward, near the Hudson. These, with the garrison of seven hundred at Oswego, where large maga-' zines of stores and provisions had been lodged, were the whole strength of the English upon the western frontiers.2 The French had a strong fort at Crown Point, with works at Ticon- deroga ; another fort at Cataraqui, near Lake Ontario, called Fort Frontenac ; and another at the Falls of Niagara, called
1 War was declared by England in May, and by France in June. Trum- bull MSS. i. 102; Hist. of the War, 44-52 ; Mortimer's England, iii. 531; Belsham, ii. 396; Trumbull's Connec- ticut, ii. 373.
2 At a council of war held at Alba- ny, November 20, 1755, it was agreed
that the army under General Johnson directed against Crown Point, except 600, or such further number as should be agreed upon, should be discharged ; and that the rest of the troops should garrison Fort Edward and Fort Wil- liam Henry. Mass. Archives, Let- ters, 1.
(205)
206
POSITION OF THE FORCES.
CHAP. Fort Niagara.1 Still farther west their posts extended in an VIII. unbroken line to the banks of the Mississippi; and from thence 1756. to the Gulf of Mexico they held undisputed sway. The pros- pect of subduing an enemy whose advantages were so great, and who knew how to improve them, was certainly not flatter- ing ; nor did any officer of experience entertain the idea that they could be easily conquered, though magnificent plans of operation were draughted, and a degree of assurance was at- tempted to be kept up by those who knew that hitherto but little had been effected, and who could have but little encour- agement of success in the future. Johnson himself, though he professed the utmost confidence that " the ambitious and deep- laid schemes of the French " would not only be " frustrated, but receive a mortal wound," at the same time confessed that, " to obtain this desirable end, a great expense for perhaps some years will necessarily arise ;" but "the alternatives," he adds, " in my humble opinion, most glaringly deserve it, and the beneficial consequences will abundantly repay it." 2 Well
1755. might the earthquakes, which this year shook the whole coun- Nov. 1. try, the first shock of which, on the Festival of All Saints, Nov. 18. destroyed one of the most flourishing cities of Europe, be re- garded by the superstitious as an " ominous" event. The age of signs and wonders had not ceased ; and many remembered Mat.24: that the Saviour had predicted that " famines, and pestilences, 7, 8. and earthquakes in divers places," should be " the beginning of sorrows." 3
Oct. 24. Governor Shirley left Oswego in October to return to Mas- Nov. 4. sachusetts. Soon after his arrival at Albany he received his commission as commander-in-chief ; 4 and, by his orders, a grand
1 Stirling's Vindication, 13; Ro- zette for Nov. 24; Minot's Mass. i. gers's Journal, 10; Willard's Lett. in 261, 262; Mortimer's England, iii. 520; Lord Mahon's England, i. 305- 307. 1 M. H. Coll. vi. 40; Hutchinson, iii. 42; Minot, i. 258.
3 MS. Sermons, in the possession of the author; Prince's, Mayhew's, and Winthrop's Lectures ; Boston Ga-
2 Doc. Hist. N. Y. ii. 673. 4 Official notice of the appointment of Governor Shirley as commander- in-chief was made August 28, 1755. Letter of T. Robinson, in Trumbull
1
207
CONFERENCE AT NEW YORK.
congress of governors and field officers was convened at New CHAP. York, which continued in session two days. At this congress VIII. were present " his Excellency General Shirley, commander-in- 1755. Dec. 12. chief of all his majesty's forces in North America ; his Excel- lency Sir Charles Hardy, knight, governor and commander-in- chief of the Province of New York ; the Hon. Horatio Sharpe, lieutenant governor and commander-in-chief of the Province of Maryland ; the Hon. Robert Hunter Morris, lieutenant gov- ernor and commander-in-chief of the Province of Pennsylvania ; the Hon. Thomas Fitch, governor and commander-in-chief of the Colony of Connecticut ; and of the field officers, Colonels Thomas Dunbar and Peter Schuyler, Majors Charles Craven and John Rutherford, and Sir John St. Clair, deputy quarter- master general." 1
The conference was opened by Governor Shirley, who laid before the council the king's instructions to General Braddock. Shirley's plan of operations was characteristic of the man, and was framed on the gigantic scale which distinguished all his schemes. After remarking, as a preliminary, upon the position and character of the prominent posts, he added, "that the French settlements at the mouth of the Mississippi furnished these northern garrisons neither with provisions nor stores, being not only at two thousand miles' distance from any of them, but embarrassed with insuperable difficulties, by a labo- rious navigation against a rapid stream ; " and hence that, " could the French be dislodged from Frontenac, and the little fort at Toronto, and their entrance into Lake Ontario obstruct- ed, all their other forts and settlements on the Ohio and the western lakes were deprived of their support from Canada, and must ere long be evacuated." 2 .
MSS. i. 107. At the instance of Hutchinson, an address was sent to the governor from the legislature of Massachusetts, November 6, congrat- ulating him upon his promotion. Jour- nal H. of R. for 1755, 221, 222.
of Governor Shirley, of Oct. 15, 1755, in Mass. Archives; Stirling's Vindi- cation, 54; 1 M. H. Coll. vii. 127, 131; Journal H. of R. of Mass. for 1755, 213, 214 ; Smith's N. Y. ii. 224. 2 Stirling's Vindication, 55; 1 M. 1 Trumbull MSS. i. 112; MS. Lett. H. Coll. vii. 132.
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1
208
PLANS OF GOVERNOR SHIRLEY.
CHAP. VIII.
1755.
Impressed with the correctness of these views, and fired with the hope of retrieving past failures, he proposed that five thousand men should be assembled early at Oswego, and that four thousand of them should be sent to attack Fort Frontenac, and La Gallette, upon the Iroquois. Upon the reduction of these places, an attempt was to be made upon the forts at Ni- agara, Presqu'Isle, Rivière aux Bœufs, Detroit, and Michili- mackinac ; and in the mean time three thousand provincials were to march from Will's Creek for the reduction of Fort Du Quesne. A body of six thousand troops was likewise to pro- ceed to Crown Point, build a fort, and launch vessels in Lake Champlain ; and, that the forces of Canada might be still fur- ther divided, two thousand men were to ravage the Kennebec, fall upon the settlements adjoining the Chaudière, and proceed to its mouth, within three miles of Quebec. Thence, dividing into small parties along the banks of the St. Lawrence, they were to destroy the scattered settlements in their path, and spread desolation wherever they went.
If the attempts upon Crown Point and the forts upon the lakes and the Ohio River were not simultaneously prosecuted, he observed, perilous, if not fatal, consequences might ensue ; and if, in particular, no attempt was made against Crown Point, which was the stronghold of the enemy, the whole force of Canada would march to oppose the English, which would defeat their design, and require so large a body of troops for the war as to render the transportation of supplies to Oswego impracticable. So numerous an army might also march against Albany as effectually to cut off the retreat of the provincials, or, at least, totally obstruct their supplies. On the other hand, should the whole strength of the army be destined for Crown Point, and the western operations be neglected, Oswego, the grand object of the French, would be in the utmost danger of falling into their hands. This irreparable loss would be at tended with the loss of the whole country to Albany, with that of the Six Nations, and the French would acquire an
209
PLANS OF GOVERNOR SHIRLEY.
absolute dominion on the lakes and the whole southern CHAP. country.1 VIII.
These plans, urged with his usual subtlety and eloquence, 1755. were, in the main, approved by the congress. The council advised that orders should be given for building immediately three or four vessels at Oswego ; they were of opinion that ten thousand men were necessary for the Crown Point expedition, and six thousand for that on Lake Ontario ; the attempt against Fort Du Quesne by the western governments, it was thought, would answer a good purpose, especially in securing the fidelity of the Indians ; and the feint against Quebec was approved, if it did not interfere with the other expeditions. The operations upon Lake Ontario, it was conceived, should begin with the attack on Frontenac; and to accomplish all these purposes, an additional number of regular troops was adjudged to be necessary, " for effectually recovering and secur- ing his majesty's rights and dominions on the continent." 2
It was the intention of Governor Shirley, and part of his plan formally stated at the time, to prosecute a winter's expe- dition against Ticonderoga ; but frost and snow, necessary for the transportation of the stores, failing to appear, the enterprise . was abandoned ; and, leaving New York, he returned to Bos- 1756. ton, where he was received with public demonstrations of Jan. 30. Jan. 21. respect from the military and both branches of the legislature ; and a splendid banquet was provided for his entertainment, at the instance of his friends, which was made the more ostenta- tious from a desire to eclipse New York in its honors conferred upon General Johnson, between whom and Shirley a coolness had already sprung up.3
1 Journal of H. of R. for 1755-6, 345, 462, 497, 498 ; Stirling's Vindi- cation, 55, 56 ; 1 M. H. Coll. vii. 131- 133; Parsons, Life of Pepperrell, 288. 2 Trumbull MSS. i. 113; Stirling's Vindication, 56; 1 M. H. Coll. vii. 133, 134.
VOL. II. 14
3 Journal of H. of R. of Mass. for 1756, 295, 298; Smith's N. Y. ii. 224 -226 ; Stirling's Vindication, 53; Ro- gers's Journal, 13; 1 M. H. Coll. vi. 40, and vii. 134; Parsons, Life of Pepperrell, 288, 289.
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PROCEEDINGS IN MASSACHUSETTS.
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