USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Manchester > History of Manchester, formerly Derryfield, in New-Hampshire : including that of ancient Amoskeag, or the middle Merrimack Valley, together with the address, poem, and other proceedings of the centennial celebration of the incorporation of Derryfield at Manchester, October 22, 1851 > Part 40
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Amherst had been thus far successful, beyond expectation, but he had to encounter new elements. The enemy had retir- ed to Isle aux Noix, in the Sorelle river, a little north of Lake Champlain. His way lay through the length of this lake, and upon it the French had a greater force. He immediately set about building rafts for heavy guns, and a sloop, in order to be able to meet the enemy. But these were not able to join the brig already built at Ticonderoga until the 10th of October. On the 11th the troops embarked for Isle aux Noix in batteaux preceded by armed vessels. Towards evening the next day, there came on boisterous weather, and the batteaux with the troops were forced to take refuge in a bay, and the men were landed. Captain Loring however kept down the lake in quest of the enemy, determined to bring them to action. Discover- ing a French schooner, he made chase, but ran two of his own vessels ashore. With difficulty they were got off, and then
*Wa.burton's Conquest of Canada, Vol. II. p. 157.
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EXPEDITION AGAINST NIAGARA.
standing out into deeper water, Capt. Loring discovered three French sloops, crowding all sail ; he soon gained upon them, and they ran one vessel on shore, sunk the two others, and then took to the woods. The storm continued till the 17th of Oc- tober, and then Gen. Amherst again embarked his troops, but he had only made the bay where the French vessel had been seen on shore, when another gale arose, and the General and his troops were obliged to take refuge upon the shore. Win- ter had now nearly set in, and the English General completely foiled by the elements, wisely set his face for Crown Point, where he arrived on the 2 1st of October, and took up his quar- ters for the winter. Thus ended the expedition against Mon- treal, with but little credit to the British commander, or the regular troops. The actual service of the campaign, all as it were, of the skirmishing, and hard fighting, had been done by the Rangers, principally from New Hampshire.
The expedition against Niagara, entrusted to Gen. Prideaux, an officer of skill and judgment, was more successful. With a competent force of Regulars and Provincials, and a large body of Indians under Sir William Johnson, the second in command. Gen. Prideaux left his rendezvous at Schenectady on the 20th of May 1759. On the 7th of July he landed his force within six miles of Niagara and at once commenced his operations for investing the fortress. A peremptory demand was made upon M. Pouchot, the commander of the Fort for its surrender, which was as peremptorily refused. Prideaux then commenced erecting his batteries and soon opened a terri- ble fire upon the fortress.
The besieged fought stoutly in hopes of speedy relief and on the 11th made a sortie upon the English trenches, but were repulsed. On the 19th, Gen. Prideaux, while issuing orders in the trenches, was mortally wounded by the premature burst- ing of a shell fired from his own works. But the work went steadily on under Sir William Johnson. On the 23d, the rein- forcement expected by the French garrison, approached under M. de Aubry. It consisted of 1200 men. Johnson had knowl- edge of its approach through his scouts, and made a most judi- cious disposition of his troops to meet the enemy. On the evening of the 23d, he pushed forward a reliable force into the woods on either side of the approach to the fort. Early on the morning of the 24th, he sent out a strong detachment of Grenadiers to strengthen his advance, while another detach- ment kept open his communication between his advance and
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THE HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
the party in the trenches. About 9 o'clock De Aubry's force was formed, and a large body of Indians immediately rushed upon the British lines with terrific yells, but a few rounds from the Grenadiers, aimed with terible effect, completely discomfit- ted them and they took shelter in the woods and did not again venture from their lurking places. De Aubry, then pushed forward his regulars, but only to meet sure destruction. He was soon overpowered by Johnson's fire and his troops broke and fled in utter rout. De Aubry, and many of his officers and a large number of his troops were taken prisoners, and many of them that escaped from the battle field, were pursued and tak- en or put to death by the Indians in the wilderness.
All hope being cut off, the gallant commander of Niagara capitulated and marched out of he Fort with the honors of war.
Thus ended with complete success the expedition against Niagara, which passed into British power the control of the Western lakes.
The expedition against Quebec under the command of Gen. Wolfe, terminated in the most triumphal success. The squad- ron left England for Louisburg, about the middle of February 1759. It numbered twenty-two ships of the line, five frigates and nineteen smaller war vessels, besides a large number of transports. This fleet entered the harbor of Halifax about the last of April. As soon after as the ice would permit, the fleet sailed to Louisburg, where the organization of the land forces was completed. Three companies of Rangers from New England, which had been left at Louisburg by Gen. Amherst, were added to Wolfe's command, as were also certain compan- ies of the regular garrison, under the name of the Louisburg Grenadiers. Of the Rangers, there was a company from this neighborhood, under the command of Capt. William Stark of Derryfield. In this company was quite a number of soldiers from Derryfield.
The land forces all told amounted to a little less than 8000 men. On the 1st of June, the British forces began to weigh an- chor, and on the 6th had entirely left the harbor of Louisburg. On the 26th of June the entire armament arrived off the Isle of Orleans, from whence a little south of west, the precipitous and embattled cliff of Quebec was to be seen some eighty miles in the distance. On the 27th the troops landed on the Island of Orleans without opposition, a company of Rangers the night
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EXPEDITION AGAINST QUEBEC.
previous, having driven the inhabitants from the Island in the utmost confusion.
Gen. Wolfe with an engineer, escorted by a detachment of Light Infantry pushed on to the point of the Island nearest Quebec, for the purpose of reconnoitring that position. The result was anything but favorable to that impetuous and gal- lant soldier. The enemy's entrenchments extended from the Montmorenci river, their extreme left flank, a distance of eight miles, to the citadel of Quebec, that stronghold forming their right flank. Every favorable position along this line was de- fended by works arranged under the eye of Montcalm, one of first soldiers of the time ; while Quebec, with its cliff's, at every assailable point, above or below, was covered with batteries bristling with guns. To hold this position, strong by nature, and strengthened by science and art, Montcalm had a force of 12,000 French and Canadian troops. About midnight of the 28th, a fleet of five ships was sent down by the ebbing tide to destroy the English fleet at anchor off the Island. The ships were fired prematurely, and their conflagration had no other effect than to alarm the British land forces, while the gallant sailors of Admiral Saunders coolly took to their boats, and grap- pling to the burning ships, gently towed them past their fleet down the current. On the night of the 27th of June, Gen. Monckton with his brigade was sent against the enemy's posi- tion on Point Levi, across the St. Lawrence from Quebec, and only about a mile distant. After some delay the enemy were driven from their position on the morning of the 30th, and Monckton forthwith proceeded to erect batteries, and plant mor- tars and cannon. From them hot shot and shells were thrown, and the lower town of Quebec was destroyed, and the upper town considerably injured. But no advantage had been gain- ed. On the ninth of July, Wolfe crossed the north channel and encamped on the east bank of the Montmorenci, which was higher than the position occupied by Montcalm. Still the riv- er Montmorenci was betwixt him and the enemy.
The British General became impatient, and on the 18th re- connoitered the shore, from the Montmorenci, above the cita- del, in quest of some point of attack, but found none favora- ble. Meantime on the night of the 28th of July, the enemy again attempted the destruction of his fleet, by means of fire rafts, but the attempt was a failure. Wolfe could no longer brook delay and he determined upon an engagement. His plan was to ford the Montmorenci at ebb tide, near its junction with the St. Lawrence, at the head of two Brigades, while
340
THE HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
Monckton should cross the St. Lawrence from Point Levi, in boats to attack the enemy's entrenchments. The signal was given, the parties took to the river, the boats vied with each other, shot and shell filled the air, a portion of the boats struck a reef and were destroyed, Wolfe found a landing place, the Grenadiers and Royal Americans leaped on shore ; filled with ex- citement and over confident, they pushed on without forming and waiting for orders, the enemy met them with a determined fire, and they were driven back with disorder. The attack was a failure. The rashness of the Grenadiers had lost all. Monck- ton's troops landed and formed with the coolness of a parade, but the Grenadiers could not be again formed, and Wolfe had the good sense to make a timely retreat.
This unfortunate attempt lost him four hundred lives. At length, worn by fatigue and harrassed by anxiety, Wolfe was prostrated by fever. But on a bed of sickness and pain, he planned attacks upon the enemy's works. These plans were rejected by his generals, and they advised the landing of a large force above the town, and thus bring Montcalm to an open ac- tion. Wolfe acceded to their advice, and as soon as he was able to leave his bed, proceeded to carry the plan into execution. He immediately commenced a personal reconnoisance, of the north shore above Quebec. This was conducted with the closest scrutiny, and the General was so fortunate as to dis- cover a narrow and circuitous path leading up the cliff from a small cove in the river below. His ready eye at once saw from the number of tents at the top, that the path could not be guarded by more than 100 men. At this place now known as Wolfe's cove, he determined to land his force, and reach the table land above, by this narrow path.
This table land reaching some eight or nine miles from the batteries, and betwixt the top of the path and the defences, comparatively level, was known then as now, as the PLAINS OF ABRAHAM. Here Wolfe determined to decide the fate of Can- nada. To deceive the enemy, the heavier ships of the fleet an- chored near the shore opposite Beauport, as if to cover an at- tack upon the enemy's lines at that place. Meanwhile all were actively engaged in the British camp. Every officer knew his appointed duty, and every soldier knew that there was serious work to be done, still the object of the expedition was a pro- found secret, confided to the principal officers alone. At length his last circuit made, and his last orders issued, Wolfe, about one o'clock in the morning of the 13th of September, accom- panied by Monckton and Murray with 1600 men, embarked on
341
WOLFE ON THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM.
board their boats, and fell down the river with the tide. Wolfe led the way, beguiling the time in reading "Gray's Elegy in a Country Churchyard," and at the selected spot, leaped on shore followed by the troops with him. A portion of the Highland- ers were carried by the force of the current, some rods below the pathway, they landed however, and rushing up the path- less precipice, supporting themselves by the bushes, fired upon the picket guarding the height and dispersed them. The rest of the party ascended by the pathway. As soon as the boats had discharged the first detachment, they returned for the re- mainder of the troops, and under the cover of the fleet, an- chored opposite the place of landing, the entire force was dis- embarked, and the earliest dawn found Wolfe and his adven- turous battalions on the PLAINS OF ABRAHAM.
Montcalm could hardly credit his senses, the surprise was so complete. However his determination was taken at once. Up- on receiving conclusive information, he replied, "We must give battle, and crush them before midday." If his troops had been equally determined and confident, history might have told anoth- er story than defeat. Before ten, the armies were fronting each other marshaled for the fight. Montcalm waited for a time for a reinforcement of 1500 men, that he had ordered up under De Vandreuil, but messenger after messenger failed to bring it. Treachery had followed ill blood. Meantime a brisk cannon- ade was kept up on both sides with the field pieces on the field, and the French commander attempted to flank the British line, and force them down the declivity, but the movement was promptly counteracted by Wolfe. At length Montcalm led his forces on to the attack, but with such impetuosity, that impe- ded somewhat by the uneveness of the ground, his columns broke and gave their fire in a desultory and defective manner. Wolfe ordered his men to stand their ground, and not fire a gun till the enemy were within forty yards ; he was obeyed to the letter. They stood the attack with the utmost coolness, and when the enemy's rank had come within that distance, at Wolfe's command of "Fire," they opened upon them a regular rapid and effective discharge of musketry. Discharge followed dis- charge in quick succession, literally mowing down officers and men. The Canadians wavered, and Wolfe heading a charge, drove them in confusion across the field.
While leading this charge, Wolfe received a wound in the wrist, but he hesitated not and urged on his men; a second shot struck him in the body, but no one knew of the mishap ; still pressing onward, a ball from the redoubt struck him in the
342
THE HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
breast, he faltered, and said to an officer near him, "support me, let not my brave followers see me fall," and he was car- ried to the rear mortally wounded. But the battle was won, and the French soldiers gave way in every direction. "They run, they run," said the officer who supported him. "Who run ? asked Wolfe with animation. "The French give way every where, ' replied the officer. "Go, one of you to Col. Burton," said Wolfe, "tell him to march Welch's regiment down to the St. Charles river, and cut off their retreat."
This was his last order, his voice grew faint in giving it, and he added as he turned to find an easier position, "Now God be praised, I die happy." His eyes closed, his body was slightly convulsed, and the Hero of the PLAINS OF ABRAHAM, passed to immortality.
The fate of New France was decided. . Montcalm was mor- tally wonnded. When told that he could not live, "more than ten or twelve hours, perhaps less," the gallant officer replied, "So much the better, I shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec." He refused further attendance to business, saying "I shall pass the night with God, and prepare myself for death." The following morning at five, he expired.
On the 14th of September, Gen. Townsend upon whom the command of the British army now devolved, pushed foward the works against the city. At a council of war, but one soli- tary captain of Artillery, among all the French officers, was found to favor further defence of the fated city, and on the 8th day of September, De Ramsey the commander of the garrison SURRENDERED THE CITY OF QUEBEC.
The Fench rallied the following spring and De Levi left Montre- al in April with a showy force to retake Quebec. Arriving with- in a few miles of the city, on the 27th day of April, 1760, with 10,000 men, De Levi forced Gen. Murray's advance to re- treat. The next morning De Levi advanced within three miles of Quebec and halted. There Gen. Murray unfortunate- ly determined to give him battle, although his disposable force amounted to no more than 3000, not a third of the number of his enemy. With Murray, to determine, was to act. He led his troops to the onset on the morning of the 28th and for his rash valor, was most ingloriously forced to retreat within the walls of the city, after an obstinate battle, in which he had 700 men wounded, and left 300 dead upon the field ! The French com- mander, then invested the city in form, but on the 17th, (f May, a British fleet having arrived in the river under Admiral Swain-
343
N. H. REGIMENT.
ton, and destroyed the French vessels, De Levi at once raised the siege, and made a precipitate and inglorious retreat, abandon- ing to the enemy, his guns, ammunition, intrenching tools, stores, and provisions.
Gen. Amherst made most formidable preparations for the approaching campaign in the winter of 1760. He determined to approach Montreal by three routes. Gen Murray was to move up the St. Lawrence, Col. Haviland was to approach by the way of the Sorelle, while Gen. Amherst himself was to pass across to Lake Ontario, and approach Montreal from that direc- tion, by the way of St. Lawrence. The Provinces were called upon for troops, and New Hampshire furnished a regiment of 800 men, under command of Col. John Goffe. This regiment had their rendezvous at Litchfield. These troops, brave and fearless as they were, yet had been subject to little military re- straint, and in dress must have made rather a grotesque appear- ance, judging from the fact, that Col. Goffe was under the ne- cessity of issuing an order from which is taken the following extract.
"Collo. Goffe Reccommends it to the officers, to examine the state of the men's shirts, shoes and stockings, and further acquaint them, that they are to be answerable that the men shirt twice every week at least, that such as have hare that will admit of it, must have it constantly Tyd, they must be obliged to comb their hair and wash their hands every morning, and as its observed a Num- ber of the men acustom themselves to ware wollen night Caps in the Day time, he allows them hats. They are ordered for the fu- ture not to be seen in the Day time with anything Besides their hats on their heads, as ye above mentioned Custom of wearing night Caps must be Detremental to their health and Cleanliness, the men's hats to be all cockt or cut uniformly as Collo. Goffe, pleases to direct."
The men, dressed in coats, long and short, homespun and of various colors, their hair long and flowing, or tied in a queue, and surmounted by woolen night caps of every hue, must have been fair subjects of criticism to military men, and we can readily forgive Dr. Shackburg, for exercising his musical talents at the expense of the Provincal soldiers of the "Seven Years War," particularly when they did the most of the fighting in that war, and the humor of the witty Doctor furnished us with our popular and national air .*
*Dr. Shackburg, a surgeon in the British regular army, wrote "Yankee Doodle," in 1755, after witnessing the grotesque dress of the New England
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THE HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
Col. Goffe marched his regiment up the Souhegan, through Amherst, Monson, (now Milford,) "No II," (now Wilton, ) over the Pack Monadnock to Peterborough ; then up the Contoo- cook, through "Monadnock No. I," (now Dublin, ) and down the Ashuelot, through Monadnock No. V, (now Marlborough) to Keene. From there they marched up the Connecticut to "No. IV," (now Charlestown). From Monson to Keene, was mostly a wilderness, and this distance the regiment cut a road for the transportation of their baggage and provisions. From the Con- necticut River, above Number Four, they also cut a road across the mountains, until it met the one cut by Capt. Stark the year previous. This was called Goffe's Road. The Regiment ar- rived at the Lake in season, and was attached to the army under Col. Haviland, which proceeded down Lake Champlain and the Sorelle to Montreal. Gen. Amherst had already marched with a strong force by the way of Lake Ontario, and the St Law- rence. On the 11th of August, the army under Col. Haviland
embarked and proceeded down the Lake. On the 20th he ar- rived opposite the French Fort at Isle aux Noix, and in the forenoon, Col. Darly landed with a body of Infantry Gren- adiers and Rangers to invest the Fort. The Rangers were in advance, and took possession of the ground over against the Fort. The next day batteries were erected and shot and shell were thrown into the Fort. On the 24th Col. Darly proposed to destroy the enemy's shipping, and four companies of Rangers under Major Rogers, two of Regulars aud some Indians, were detached for this purpose. They dragged two howitzers, and a sixpounder through the woods, and so silently, that a discharge of shot and shell was the first intimation the astonished sailors had of an expedition against them. At the first discharge a shot "cut the cable of the great Rideau," and becoming unman- ageable, she floated over to the eastern shore. The other ves- sels then weighed anchor, and made for St. Johns, but two of them grounded in rounding a point about two miles from the Fort. Major Rogers immediately passed down the east shore with a party of the Rangers and commenced a sharp fire upon the grounded vessels, while some of his men with hatchets in their teeth swam to the nearest of them, and leaping on board
troops as they arrived at Albany, the head quarters of the army. The Yankees wanted "a tune to march by," and he humorously complied with their wishes, and furnished, "Yankee Doodle," as a burlesque. It afforded infinite amuse- ment to the wits of the British army, and it is possible that some of them might have lived to have heard its stirring notes twenty years after, at Bunker's Hill or to have marched after it when Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown.
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EXPEDITION OF THE RANGERS.
drove the astonished crew down the hatchway or into the water. Meantime Col. Darly had taken possession of the Ri- deau and manned her, and now came up, and tock the other ; and soon after took a third. The night following, the enemy thinking their position no longer tenable, abandoned their Fort, leaving their sick and wounded, in their great haste to gain the main land. M. de Bougainville the commander of the garrison, retreated down the Lake to St. John's, and firing that place continued his flight towards Montreal. On the 28th Col. Havi- land ordered Major Rogers to follow the French as far as St. John's and there wait until his arrival. Rogers with his whole force of 600 Rangers and two companies of Indians, started in pursuit that night and arrived at St. John's at the break of day, the town then being on fire. Learning from some prisoners that the Bougainville left that place only the preceding eve- ning, and that he would encamp half way on the road to Mon- treal, Rogers could not forego the chance for a fight,-disobeyed his orders, left 200 of his Rangers to take care of his boats and baggage and with the remainder of his forces by 8 o'clock was in hot pursuit of Bougainville and his army, now amounting to 1500 French and 100 Indians. Rogers pursued them with so much diligence, that he overtook, attacked and broke their rear guard before they reached their encamping ground. He then pursued on after the main body of the army, which did not stop to encamp, or even make a stand against their pursuers, but crossing the river in hot haste, broke down the bridge, and did not consider themselves safe until they were within the breast- works previously built for their reception.
Rogers not being able to cross the river, contented himself with encamping upon the bank, and waiting the arrival of Col. Haviland. Meeting with no farther opposition, the force under Haviland, arrived on the Island of Montreal on the 8th day of September, when he joined Gen, Amherst, who had arrived with his army two days previous and had occupied the Is- land.
Gen. Amherst with an army near 11000 strong, arrived at La Galette, on the St. Lawrence from Ontario, the 13th of Au- gust. They then passed down the river to Isle Royal, where was a French fort called Fort Levi. This was invested on the 20th, and on the 23d it was determined to storm the fort. A brisk cannonade then commenced, which was returned with spirit from the fort, when the storming parties were delayed to another day. Meantime the French commander surrendered on the 24th at discretion, and the fort was destroyed. Amherst
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THE HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
met with no other opposition, and landed his army on the 6th of September, on the island of Montreal, nine miles from the city.
Meantime on the 2d of September, Col. Haviland detached Major Rogers with a competent force of Rangers, to open a communication with Gen. Murray, who was advancing up the river from Quebec. He fell in with Gen. Murray's camp a few miles below Montreal, and reported to him. Gen. Murray had left Quebec on the 14th of June, and his voyage up the St. Lawrence had been met with continuous opposition, not how- ever such as to materially retard his progress,-and he arrrved opposite Sorel on the 12th of August. Here he had wait- ed a reinforcement while the 27th ; then he had again sailed up the river, and on the 6th of September, had encamped on the shore of the St. Lawrence. On the next day hearing of the arrival of the other forces, through Major Rogers, Gen. Murray at once sailed up the river, disembarked his forces, and on the 8th encamped to the northeest of the city. Thus these three expeditions arrived at their point of destination within two days of each other, and presented a combined force of16,000 men before the walls of Montreal, on the 8th of Sept- tember. On the same day the Marquis of Vaudreuil signed the articles of a capitulaiion, and the French power was at an end in New France.
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