USA > New Hampshire > The history of New-Hampshire. Comprehending the events of one complete century and seventy-five years from the discovery of the River Pascataqua to the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety, Vol 2 > Part 11
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while it was uncertain whether the Affembly of New-Hampshire would agree with the Governor in raifing money for the expedi- tion, Shirley propofed to Wentworth, the raifing of men in New-Hampfhire, to be in the pay of Maffachufetts, and in the letter which he wrote on that occafion paid him the following compliment. 'It would have been ' an infinite fatisfaction to me, and done great ' honor to the expedition, if your limbs would ' have permitted you to take the chief com- 'und.' Wentworth was charmed with the ide , and forgetting his gout, made an offer of his perfonal fervice ; but not till after the Affembly had agreed to his terms and the money bill was paffed. Shirley was then obliged to anfwer him thus. ' Upon com- ' municating your offer to two or three gen- ' tlemen, in whofe prudence and judgment I 'moft confide, I found them clearly of opin- 'ion, that any alteration of the prefent com- 'mand would be attended with great rifque, ' both with refpect to the Affembly and the ' foldiers being entirely difgufted.'
Before Pepperrell accepted the command, he afked the opinion of the famous George Whitefield, who was then itinerating and preaching in New-England. Whitefield told him, that he did not think the fcheme very ters, No promifing ; that the eyes of all would be 572 on him ; that if it fhould not fucceed, the widows and orphans of the flain would re- proach him; and if it fhould fucceed, many would regard him with envy, and endeavor to eclipfe his glory ; that he ought therefore to go with 'a fingle eye,' and then he would find his ftrength proportioned to his necefli-
1745.
Whice. field's let
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1745. ty. Henry Sherburne, the Commiffary of New-Hampfhire, another of Whitefield's friends, preffed him to favor the expedition and give a motto for the flag ; to which, af- ter fome hefitation, he confented. The mot- to was, ' Nil defperandum Chrifto duce.' This gave the expedition the air of a crufade, and many of his followers inlifted. One of them, a Chaplain, carried on his fhoulder a hatchet, with which he intended to deftroy the images in the French churches.
There are certain latent fparks in human nature, which, by a collifion of caufes, are fometimes brought to light ; and when once excited, their operations are not eafily con- troled. In undertaking any thing hazar- dous, there is a neceffity for extraordinary vigor of mind, and a degree of confidence and fortitude, which fhall raife us above the dread of danger, and difpofe us to run a rifque which the cold maxims of prudence would forbid. The people of New-England have at various times fhewn fuch an enthu- fiaftic ardor, which has been excited by the example of their anceftors and their own ex- pofed fituation. It was never more appar- ent, and perhaps never more necefiary, than on occasion of this expedition. Nor ought it to be forgotten, that feveral circumftances, which did not depend on human forefight, greatly favored this undertaking.
The winters in this country are often fe- vere, but the winter in which this expedition was planned, and particularly the month of February, was very mild. The harbours and rivers were open, and the weather was in general fo pleafant, that every kind of la-
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bor could be done abroad. The fruitfulnefs 1745. of the preceding feafon had made provifions plenty. The Indians had not yet molefted the frontiers ; and though fome of them had heard that an expedition againft Cape Breton was in hand, and carried the news of it to Canada, fuch an attempt was fo improbable, that the French gave no credit to the report, and thofe in Nova-Scotia did not receive the leait intelligence of the preparations. Doug- laf's obferves, that 'fome guardian angel pre- ' ferved the troops from taking the finall pox,' which appeared in Bofton about the time of their embarkation, and was actually import- cd in one of the fhips which was taken into the fervice. A concurrence of happy inci- dents brought together every British fhip of war from the ports of the American conti- nent and iflands, till they made a formidable naval force, confifting of four fhips of the line and fix frigates, under the command of an active, judicious and experienced officer. On the other hand, the garrifon of Louif- bourg was difcontented and mutinous ; they were in want of provifions and ftores ; they had no knowledge of the defign formed againft them ; their fhores were fo environ- ed with ice, that no fupplies could arrive early from France, and thofe which came af- terward, were intercepted and taken by our cruifers. In fhort, 'if any one circumftance ' had taken a wrong turn on our fide, and if 'any one circumftance had not taken a Doughfs I. 'wrong turn on the French fide, the expedi-
336. ' tion muft have mifcarried.'
In the undertaking and profecuting of an enterprife fo novel to the people of New-
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HISTORY OF
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1745. England, it is amufing to fee how many projects were invented ; what a variety of advice was given from all quarters, and what romantic expectations were formed by advi- fers and adventurers. During the inliftment, one of the officers was heard to fay with great fobriety, that he intended to carry with him three fhirts, one of which fhould be ruffled, becaufe he expected that the Gene- ral would give him the command of the city, when it fhould be taken. An ingenious and benevolent clergyman, prefented to the Gene- ral a plan for the incampment of the army, the opening of trenches and the placing of batteries before the city. To prevent dan- ger to the troops from fubterraneous mines, he propofed, that two confidential perfons, attended by a guard, fhould, during the night, approach the walls ; that one fhould with a beetle ftrike the ground, while the other fhould lay his ear to it, and obferve whether the found was hollow, and that a mark fhould be fet on all places fufpected. Another gentleman of equal ingenuity, fent the General a model of a flying bridge, to be ufed in fcaling the walls of Louifbourg. It
Private MS letters.
was fo light, that twenty men could carry it on their fhoulders to the wall, and raife it in one minute. The apparatus for raifing it confifted of four blocks, and two hundred fathoms of rope. It was to be floored with boards, wide enough for eight men to march abreaft ; and to prevent danger from the ene- my's fire, it might be covered with raw hides. This bridge, it was faid, might be erected againft any part of the wall, even where no breach had been made ; and it was fuppofed
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that a thoufand men might pafs over it in 1745. four minutes.
. But the moft extraordinary project of all, was Shirley's fcheme for taking the city by furprife, in the firft night after the arrival of the troops, and before any Britith naval force could poffibly come to their affiftance. It is thus delineated in a confidential letter which he wrote to Wentworth, when he ur- ged him to fend the New-Hampfhire troops to Bofton, to proceed thence with the fleet of tranfports. 'The fuccefs of our fcheme for March 2. ' furprifing Louifbourg will entirely depend
' on the execution of the firft night, after the ' arrival of our forces. For this purpofe it ' is neceffary, that the whole fleet fhould ' make Chappeau-rouge point juft at the ' fhutting in of the day, when they cannot ' eafily be difcovered, and from thence pufh ' into the bay, fo as to have all the men ' landed before midnight ; (the landing of ' whom, it is computed by Capt. Durell and ' Mr. Baftide, will take up three hours at ' leaft. ) After which, the forming of the ' four feveral corps, to be employed in at- ' tempting to fcale the walls of Louifbourg, " near the caft gate, fronting the fea, and ' the weft gate, fronting the harbour; to ' cover the retreat of the two beforemen- ' tioned parties in cafe of a repulfe ; and, ' to attack the grand battery ; (which attack ' muft be made at the fame time with the two ' other attacks) will take up two hours more ' at leaft. After thefe four bodies are form- ' ed, their march to their refpective pofts ' from whence they are to make their attacks : and ferve as a cover to the retreat, will take
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1745. ' up another two hours ; which, fuppofing the ' tranfports to arrive in Chappeau-rouge bay 'at nine o'clock in the evening, and not be- ' fore, as it will be neceffary for them to do, ' in order to land and march under cover of ' the night, will bring them to four in the ' morning, being day break, before they be- ' gin the attack, which will be full late for ' them to begin. Your Excellency will from ' hence perceive how critical an affair, the ' time of the fleet's arrival in Chappeau-rouge ' bay is, and how neceffary it is to the fuc- ' cef's of our principal fcheme, that the fleet ' fhould arrive there, in a body, at that precife ' hour.'
It is eafy to perceive that this plan was contrived by a perfon totally unfkilled in the arts of navigation and of war. The coaft of Cape-Breton was dangerous and inhofpit- able, the feafon of the year rough and tem- peftuous, and the air a continual fog ; yet, a fleet of an hundred veffels, after failing nearly two hundred leagues (for by this plan they were not to ftop) mult make a certain point of land 'at a precife hour,' and enter
an unknown bay, in an evening.
The
troops were to land in the dark, amidft a vi- olent furf, on a rocky fhore ; to march through a thicket and bog three miles, to the city, and fome of them a mile beyond it to the royal battery. Men who had never been in action, were to perform fervices, which the moft experienced veteran would think of with dread ; to pull down pickets with grap- ling irons, and fcale the walls of a regular fortification, with ladders, which were after- ward found to be too fhort by ten feet ; all
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in the fpace of twelve hours from their firft 1745. making the land, and nine hours from their debarkation. This part of the plan was prudently concealed from the troops.
The forces which New-Hampfhire furnifh- ed for this expedition, were three hundred and fifty men, including the crew of an armed floop which convoyed the tranfports and ferved as a cruifer. They were formed into a regiment, confifting of eight compa- nies, and were under the command of Col. Samuel Moore. The floop was commanded by Capt. John Fernald ; her crew confitted of thirty men. The regiment, floop and tranf- ports, were, by Governor Wentworth's writ- ten inftructions to the General, put under his command. Befides thefe, a body of one hundred and fifty men was inlifted in New- Hampihire and aggregated to the regiment in the pay of Maffachufetts. Thus New- Hampfhire employed five hundred men ; a- bout one eighth part of the whole land force .* Went- In thefe men, there was fuch an ardor for ac- tion, and fuch a dread of delay, that it was impracticable to put them fo far out of their courfe, as to join the fleet at Bofton. Shir- ley therefore altered the plan, and appointed a rendezvous at Canfeau ; where the forces of New-Hampfhire arrived, two days before March 31. the General and his other troops from Bofton.
* In the introductory part of Dr. Ramfay's elegant history of the American Revolution (page 34) it is said, that ' this enterprife was un. ' dertakeu by the soLE authority of the Leg nature of Massachusetts.' This is not fufficiently accurate, It originated in Maffachuf. tts ; but. the Colonies of New- Hampfhire, Rhode Mfland and Connecticut, by their legiflative authority, furn ford troops and ftores. N.w - York fent a fupply of artillery, and Peonfylvania of provifions ; but the troops from Rhodc-Ifland, and the provifions from Pennfylvania, did not arrive till after the furrender of the city.
worth's let- tera, MS.
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HISTORY OF
1745.
Original infructi- ons, in MS.
The inftructions which Pepperrell receiv- ed from Shirley, were conformed to the plan which he had communicated to Went- worth, but much more particular and cir- cumftantial. He was ordered to proceed to Canfeau, there to build a block-houfe and battery, and leave two companies in garri- fon, and to depofit the ftores which might not immediately be wanted by the army. Thence he was to fend a detachment to the village of St. Peters, on the ifland of Cape- Breton and deftroy it ; to prevent any intel- ligence which might be carried to Louif- bourg ; for which purpofe alfo, the armed veffels were to cruife before the harbour. The whole fleet was to fail from Canfeau, fo as to arrive in Chappeau-rouge bay about nine o'clock in the evening. The troops were to land in four divifions, and proceed to the affault before morning. If the plan
for the furprifal fhould fail, he had particu- lar directions where and how to land, march, encamp, attack and defend ; to hold councils and keep records ; and to fend intelligence to Bofton by certain veffels retained for the purpofe, which veffels were to ftop at Caflle William, and there receive the Governor's orders. Several other veffels were appointed to cruife between Ganfeau and the camp, to convey orders, tranfport ftores, and catch fijh for the army. To clofe thefe inftructions, after the moft minute detail of duty, the General was finally ' left to act upon unfore- ' feen emergencies according to his difcre- ' tion ;' which, in the opinion of military gentlemen, is accounted the moft rational part of the whole. Such was the plan, for
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the reduction of a regularly conftructed for- 1745. trefs, drawn by a lawyer, to be executed by a merchant, at the head of a body of huf- bandmen and mechanics ; animated indecd by ardent patriotifm, but deflitute of profef- fional fkill and experience. After they had embarked, the hearts of many began to fail. Some repented that they had voted for the expedition, or promoted it ; and the moft thoughtful were in the greateft perplexity.
The troops were detained at Canfeau, three weeks, waiting for the ice which invironed the ifland of Cape-Breton, to be diffolved. They were all this time within view of St. Shirley. Peters, but were not difcovered. Their pro- vifions became fhort ; but they were fupplied by prizes taken by the cruifers. Among others, the New-Hampfhire floop took a fhip from Martinico, and retook one of the tranf- ports, which fhe had taken the day before. At length, to their great joy, Commodore Warren, in the Superbe, of fixty guns, with April 23. three other fhips of forty guns each, arrived at Canfeau, and having held a confultation with the General, proceeded to cruife before Louifbourg. The General having fent the New-Hampfhire floop, to cover a detachment which deftroyed the village of St. Peters, and fcattered the inhabitants, failed with the whole fleet ; but inftead of making Chap- April 29. peau-rouge point in the evening, the wind falling fhort, they made it at the dawn of the next morning ; and their appearance in the bay, gave the firft notice to the French, of a defign forined againft them.
The intended furprifal being thus happily fruftrated, the next thing after landing the
Prince's thankfgiv. ing fer mon, page 25.
Pepperrelle letters to
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HISTORY OF
1745. troops was to inveft the city. Vaughan, the adventurer from New-Hampfhire, had the rank and pay of a Lieutenant Colonel, but refufed to have a regular command. He was appointed one of the Council of War, and was ready for any fervice which the General might think fuited to his genius.
He conducted the firft column through the woods, within fight of the city, and faluted
it with three cheers. . He headed a detach- ment, confifting chiefly of the New-Hamp- fhire troops, and marched to the north-caft part of the harbour, in the night; where they burned the ware-houfes, containing the
May I.
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naval flores, and ftaved a large quantity of wine and brandy. The fmoke of this fire being driven by the wind into the grand bat- tery, fo terrified the French, that they aban- doned it and retired to the city, after having fpiked the guns and cut the halliards of the flag-ftaff. The next morning as Vaughan was returning, with thirteen men only, he crept up the hill which overlooked the bat- tery, and obferved, that the chimnies of the barrack were without fmoke, and the ftaff without a flag. With a bottle of brandy, which he had in his pocket, (though he never drank fpirituous liquors) he hired one of his party, a Cape Cod Indian, to crawl in at an embrafure and open the gate. He then
Original MS.
wrote to the General, thefe words, 'May it 'pleafe your honor, to be informed, that by ' the grace of God, and the courage of thir- 'teen men, I entered the royal battery, about 'nine o'clock, and am waiting for a reinforce- ' ment, and a flag.' Before either could ar- rive, one of the men climbed up the ftaff, with
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a red coat in his teeth, which he faftened by a nail to the top. This piece of triumphant vanity alarmed the city, and immediately an hundred men were difpatched in boats to re- take the battery. But Vaughan, with his fmall party, on the naked beach, and in the face of a fmart fire from the city and the boats, kept them from landing, till the rein- forcement arrived. In every duty of fatigue or fanguine adventure, he was always ready ; and the New-Hampfhire troops, animated by the fame enthufiaftic ardorypartook of all the labors and dangers of the fiege. They were employed for fourteen nights fucceffively, in drawing cannon from the landing place to the camp, through a morafs; and their Lieutenant Colonel Mefferve, being a fhip carpenter, conftructed fledges, on which the cannon were drawn, when it was found that their wheels were buried in the mire. The men, with ftraps over their fhoulders, and finking to their knees in mud, performed la- bor beyond the power of oxen ; which labor could be done only in the night or in a fog- gy day ; the place being within plain view and random fhot of the enemy's walls. They were much difappointed and chagrined, when they found that thefe meritorious fer- vices were not more diftinctly acknowledged in the accounts which were fent to England, and afterwards publithed.
In the unfortunate attempt on the ifland May 26, battery by four hundred volunteers from different regiments, the New-Hampfhire troops were very active. When it was de- termined to erect a battery on the light-houfe cliff ; two companies of them (Mafon's and X
1745.
Went- worth's letters, MS.
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HISTORY OF
1745. Fernald's) were employed in that laborious fervice, under cover of their armed floop ; and when a propofal was made for a general affault by fea and land, Colonel Moore, who had been an experienced fea commander, of- fered to go on board the Vigilant, with his whole regiment, and lead the attack, if in cafe of fuccefs he might be confirmed in the command of the fhip; but when this was denied, moft of the men who were fit for duty, readily went on board the Princefs Mary, to act as marines on that occafion.
Donglais I, 352. It has been faid, that 'this fiege was car- ' ried on in a tumultuary, random manner, ' refembling a Cambridge commencement.' The remark is in a great meafure true. Though the bufinef's of the Council of War was conducted with all the formality of a legiflative affembly ; though orders were if- fued by the General, and returns made by the officers at the feveral pofts ; yet the want of difcipline was too vifible in the camp. Thofe who were on the fpot, have frequently in my hearing, laughed at the recital of their own irregularities, and expreffed their admi- ration when they reflected on the almoft mi- raculous prefervation of the army from def- truction. They indeed prefented a formida- ble front to the enemy ; but the rear was a fcene of confufion and frolic. While fome were on duty at the trenches, others were racing, wreftling, pitching quoits, firing at marks or at birds, or running after fhot from the enemy's guns, for which they received a bounty, and the thot were fent back to the city. The ground was fo uneven and the people fo fcattered, that the French could
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form no eftimate of their numbers ; nor 1745. could they learn it from the prifoners, taken at the ifland battery, who on their examina- tion, as if by previous agreement, reprefent- ed the number to be vattly greater than it was. The garrifon of Louifbourg had been fo mutinous before the fiege, that the officers could not truft the men to make a fortie, left they thould defert; had they been united and acted with vigor, the camp might have been furprifed and many of the people def- troyed.
Much has been afcribed, and much is juftly due to the activity and vigilance of Commodore Warren, and the fhips under his command ; much is alfo due to the vigor and perfeverance of the land forces, and the fuc- cefs was doubtlefs owing, under God, to the joint efforts of both. Something of policy, as well as bravery, is generally neceffary in fuch undertakings ; and there was one piece of management, which, though not men- tioned by any hiftorian, yet greatly contrib- uted to the furrender of the city.
The capture of the Vigilant, a French fix- ty-four gun fhip, commanded by the Mar- May 19. quis de la Maifon forte, and richly laden with military ftores for the relief of the garrifon, was one of the moft capital exploits perform- ed by the navy. This fhip had been anx- ioufly expected by the French ; and it was thought that the news of her capture, if prop- erly communicated to them, might produce a good effect ; but how to do it was the quef- tion. At length the Commodore hit on this Jute t. expedient, which he propofed to the General, of Warrer. MS letters who approved, and put it into execution. In perell and Pep.
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June 7:
1745. a fkirmifh on the ifland, with a party of French and Indians, fome Englifh prifoners had been taken by them, and ufed with cru- elty. This circumftance was made known to the Marquis, and he was requefted to go on board of all the fhips in the bay where French prifoners were confined, and obferve the condition in which they were kept. He did fo, and was well fatisfied with their fare and accommodations. He was then defired to write to the Governor of the city, and inform him how well the French prifoners were treated, and to requeft the like favor for the Englith prifoners. The humane Mar- quis readily confented, and the letter was fent the next day by a flag, intrufted to the care of Capt. Macdonald. He was carried be- fore the Governor and his chief officers ; and by pretending not to underftand their lan- guage, he had the advantage of liftening to their difcourfe ; by which he found, that they had not before heard of the capture of the Vigilant, and that the news of it, un- der the hand of her late commander, threw them into vifible perturbation. This event, with the erection of a battery on the high cliff at the light houfe, under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Gridley, by which the ifland battery was much annoyed, and the preparations which were evidently ma- king for a general affault, determined Du- chambon to furrender; and accordingly, in June 15 to a few days he capitulated.
17.
Upon entering the fortrefs and viewing its ftrength, and the plenty and variety of its means of defence, the ftouteft hearts were appalled, and the impracticability of carry- ing it by affault, was fully demonftrated.
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Pepperell's letters, MS.
NEW-HAMPSHIRE.
No fooner was the city taken, and the 1745. army under fhelter, than the weather, which during the fiege, excepting eight or nine 'days after the firft landing, had been re- markably dry for that climate, changed for the worfe ; and, an inceffant rain of ten days fucceeded. Had this happened before the furrender, the troops who had then be- gun to be fickly, and had none but very thin tents, muft have perifhed in great numbers. Reinforcements of men, flores and provi- fions arrived," and it was determined in a Council of War to maintain the place and repair the breaches. A total demolition might have been more advantageous to the nation ; but in that cafe, individuals would not have enjoyed the profit of drawing bills on the navy and ordnance oftablifhments. The French flag was kept flying on the ramparts; and feveral rich prizes were decoyed into the harbour. The army fuppofed that they had a right to a fhare of thefe prizes ; but means were found to fupprefs or evade their claim; nor did any of the Colony cruifers (except one) though they were retained in the fervice, under the direction of the Commodore, reap any benefit from the captures.
The news of this important victory filled America with joy, and Europe with aftonifh .. ment. The enterprifing fpirit of New-Eng- land gave a ferious alarm to thofe jealous fears, which had long predicted the indepen- dence of the Colonies. Great pains were
* Of the reinforcements, New-Hampshire fent 115 men. The lofs which the New-Hampfhire troops fufferel was but cleven, of whom five were killed and fix died of fickiefs. This was before the furren- der. More died afterwards in garrifon.
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