USA > Vermont > The Lake Champlain and Lake George valleys, Vol. I > Part 15
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In Europe the contest continued with no signs of peace. The year 1760 marked Frederick's usual brilliant fighting against over- whelming odds. Although the allies captured Berlin, which they held for three days, the campaigns ended with a great Prussian victory at Torgau, and the tide seemed at last to be turning in his favor. In the same year, however, George II died and was followed on the English throne by George III. The new ruler was anxious to replace Pitt with a favorite of his own choosing and make peace with France. He succeeded in forcing the Prime Minister to resign in October, 1761, and England deserted her old ally, Frederick. The news of this defection was depressing to the Prussians, but the gathering cloud was replaced by a rainbow. Queen Elizabeth of Russia, who was one of Frederick's most bitter enemies, died and was succeeded by a friendly czar, Peter III. Instead of fighting Prussia, the new ruler made peace.
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Although he only lived six months this new policy was continued by Queen Catherine, who followed him. Sweden also made peace and the financial situation of France was very desperate. Under these cir- cumstances, Austria could not hope to battle successfully against Prus- sia alone, and accordingly came to terms with Frederick. Thus the bloody war came to an end. France and England signed the Treaty of Paris in February, 1763. To Great Britain was given practically all of her rival's possessions in North America.
The duel for empire in North America was over at last. All the great waterways connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the interior of the continent were now in the hands of the English. The proud ban- ner of France, which had waved over Montreal and Quebec for so long a time, was now replaced. Four great wars had come and gone. All the suffering and the hardships of border fighting, and all of the martial splendor and heroic feats of war had passed for the time being.
Gone but not forgotten is French authority in the valleys of Lake George and Lake Champlain. Stamped indelibly on this north coun- try, the marks of French influence endure. It is particularly fitting that French names should designate not only Lake Champlain, but also many of the adjacent towns and rivers. During the period of the four wars, when the colony of New York was the Belgium in the conflict between France and England, the control of the Champlain Valley had been almost completely in the hands of France, and the historical heritage and traditions of the region were fundamentally French. To this day, an important section of the population of north- ern New York and Vermont is of French-Canadian origin and main- tains to a considerable degree its French civilization, in spite of the fact that Canada has been in the political hands of England since 1763, a period of one hundred and seventy-five years. Considering this amazing endurance of French customs and institutions, it is obvi- ous that French cultural influence in the Champlain Valley has been enormous.
Many reasons have been assigned for the expulsion of the French from North America. Woodrow Wilson pointed out that "the French had been as long on the continent as the English, and yet they did not have one-tenth the strength of the English, either in population or in wealth when this war came. There were fifty-five thousand white
C & G-10
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colonists in Canada all told; and only twenty-five thousand more in all the thin line of posts and hamlets which stretched from the St. Lawrence through the long valley of the Mississippi to the gulf, -- eighty thousand in all. In the English settlements, there were more than a million colonists (1,160,000), not scattered in separated posts set far apart in the forested wilderness, but clustered thick in towns and villages, or in neighborly plantations, where the forest had been cleared away, roads made, and trade and peace established. The English had been seeking, not conquest, but comfort and wealth in busy centers and populous countrysides where their life now ran as strong and as calm, almost, as if they were still in the old lands of England itself."*
Bassett says, concerning France : "Her failure was inherent in her own life. Without a large manufacturing interest she was not able to build up a colonial market for her merchandise; and without a sur- plus population, there was little demand for colonies to improve the condition of her farming class. As Spain tried to support colonial development on the mining industry so France wished to make it depend on the fur trade, whose very existence demanded that agricul- ture should not advance into the continent. Between the farmsteads of the English and the hunting ranges of the interior the clash was inevitable and the issue certain."#
Still another angle is presented by Professor Beard. He says : "France had a population many times that of England, her people were ardent explorers, skillful traders in distant markets, and shrewd managers in commerce; but French monarchs wasted their substance in interminable wars on the continent, which promised the addition of new principalities or the aggrandizement of their families. The peo- ple, the money, the labor that might have made New France a living reality instead of a mere dream, were destroyed in futile fighting which yielded neither glory nor profit. Moreover, when in 1685, the French king outlawed all his Protestant subjects he even denied them a haven in his American dominions."t
France fought courageously in spite of the tremendous odds of wealth and population that favored England. In one sense, she may be said to have defeated herself, so rotten and corrupt was her gov-
*Wilson, Woodrow: "A History of the American People," Vol. II.
¿Bassett, John S .: "A Short History of the United States."
+Beard, Charles and Mary: "The Rise of American Civilization."
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ernment both at home and in her colonies, and so negligent was the mother country in nourishing her progeny. There was internal bitter- ness and jealousy on both sides in the war that decided the conflict, but it would be difficult to find a feud as momentous and disastrous in its consequences as the rivalry between Vaudreuil and Montcalm at a time when unity was most needed. In addition the powerful Iroquois Confederacy was arrayed against France. The importance of the Indians has often been underestimated. In the last years of the French and Indian wars most of the English successes were won almost wholly without much Indian assistance. However, if the Iroquois had been allied with the French rather than the English, the French could have easily driven out the English before the final war broke out.
The miracle is not that England finally won the duel for North America, but that she took so long a time to do so. Whereas the small French population was spread over an immense territory, the Eng- lish were much more concentrated; the British government took more interest in its colonies than did its rival; England did not discourage settlement by denying self-government to her provincials nor did she impose rigorous religious restrictions; her partisans were fighting for their homes rather than for profits from the buying and selling of furs; her governing was less corrupt and more efficient than the French ; her internal discord and jealousies were less pronounced; and last but not least, England was allied with the great Iroquois Con- federacy. The most important reason for the success of the French in warding off the inevitable for so long was the incredible stupidity and inefficiency of the English military leaders before the accession of Pitt. From the British viewpoint, the wars could be well divided into two sections : the first covering the long period of years before that brilliant Prime Minister came to power; and the second consist- ing of the extremely short time during which he directed the British lion. Until near the conclusion of the duel for empire, armies were habitually gathered too late in the season; there was generally a lack of supplies and equipment when they were gathered; there were failures to follow up temporary victories; there was the stubborn British pride that insisted in chasing French and Indians through the forests with bands playing, in full dress, and fighting an unseen enemy from a regulation military formation, pride that might well have been fatal
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had it not been for Rogers and his rangers; there was the English practice of naming amateurs such as William Johnson and incom- petents, such as Loudoun, Braddock and Webb as commanding offi- cers; and finally there was the failure to understand and use the Indian to the best advantage. As soon as Pitt came to power there was a decided change, although he was forced by circumstances to retain Abercrombie in command until after the startling defeat at Ticonderoga. As a rule, his generals dared not be late or ineffi- cient. He shook the entire English military and colonial leadership out of its lethargy. He refrained from treating the provincials with the usual British contempt. From that time on, the superior resources of England were used to full advantage and the course of French empire in America had not long to run. Geography was also an important cause of the protraction of the struggle. The transporta- tion of armies and particularly artillery, was exceedingly difficult. Waterways could be used where any existed provided boats were built. Otherwise tortuous Indian trails presented the only means of travel that was available unless roads were built. If good roads had connected the English settlements with the scattered French outposts in Canada, the duel would have been shortened and, to a certain extent, scientific military strategy would have replaced bush-fighting and Indian tactics.
The French and Indian War had a decidedly important bearing on the destinies of three nations: France, England, and the United States. The downfall of the French monarchy was inevitable regard- less of this struggle, but the warfare hastened its ruin. France was one step nearer bankruptcy and her people were more and more bur- dened with corruption. Farther and farther she wandered out over the slippery skids, down which the ship of state was to slide in 1789. In India, she had been reduced to a position of hopeless inferiority. In North America, all that was now left to her was a place to dry codfish on the coast of Newfoundland. As her dreams of colonial empire faded away, scarcely forty ships remained of her great navy. In about thirty years the head of Louis XVI was to be sacrificed to howling mobs in his native land.
As the cause of French empire was passing into eclipse, England's sun was rising in a blaze of glory, bathing both the Atlantic and the Pacific with its golden light. She was now the proud mistress of the
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seven seas. Her colonies exceeded those of any other power. Along with her vast possessions, however, there came additional duties and difficult problems. In North America, what was to be done with French Canada ? What treatment was to be accorded to its inhabit- ants who were alien in language, customs, culture and religion? What policy should be pursued in dealing with the English colonists along the Atlantic coast who were becoming more and more opposed to the domination of the mother country and who had already developed strong, stubborn minds of their own? England was to find that an increase of wealth and possessions was not an unmixed blessing.
Of more interest to us than the influence of the French and Indian War on the destinies of France and England is its importance in the development of our own country. "With the triumph of Wolfe on the heights of Abraham began the history of the United States," is the verdict of the English historian, J. R. Green. In twelve short years after the treaty that decided the duel between France and England Paul Revere was in the saddle, a great storm was gathering, and the independence of our country was in the making. Soon the broad bosom of Lake Champlain was to be once more the road of conquest, while the hills and mountains rising on both sides were to hear again the roar of cannon.
The effect of the French and Indian War on the outbreak of the American Revolution was not so obvious in 1763, however. Although some statesmen were able to read the future correctly, others guessed completely wrong. Certain English leaders favored the idea of allow- ing the French to retain Canada in order to keep the colonists in sub- mission. Choiseul, the French minister, foresaw the growth of Amer- ican independence as soon as Canada was ceded. Benjamin Franklin, on the other hand, proved a bad prophet. He felt that the great amount of enthusiasm which had been generated by the successful cul- mination of the joint efforts of the colonists and the mother country would serve to bind the two groups closer and closer together. His prediction appeared correct at first as everybody was rejoicing over the fall of France; but as soon as England started to tax the colo- nists friendship ceased and friction began to develop. One event after another led the contending forces along the road to war.
No longer was the colonist in fear of French and Indian outrages. In general he could till his land in peace. The Iroquois were friendly,
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and there was little danger of attacks by Canadian Indians now that their French allies had been exterminated. No longer did the settlers, even on remote farms, feel the need of the protection of the King of England. No longer was it necessary for them to swallow their pride and submit to humiliating treatment in order to preserve their fam- ilies from torture or captivity. Before 1763, fear of the French and Indians had been the chief cement that had bound England and her colonies together. After 1763 this tie was missing and the conse- quences were to be momentous.
The French and Indian wars had also indicated that colonial troops were equal to the veterans of European battlefields when engaged in wilderness warfare. Many victories had been won entirely by provincial soldiers. On the other hand, the chronic imbecility of many English generals and the stupid blunders of Braddock and Aber- crombie had not enhanced the prestige of redcoats in the eyes of the colonists. In fact additional English misfortunes had been prevented solely through the efforts of the rangers. Thus, while the provincials had acquired considerable experience in military affairs and con- fidence in their ability to fight, they had also grown decidedly disdain- ful regarding the military power of the mother country. It was natu- ral then that the idea should occur to Americans that they could win their independence if they so desired. Adolescent America came to feel that she was now old enough to shift for herself.
In addition to the removal of the French and Indian menace by the Treaty of Paris and the development of self-reliance in the col- onies, the war had prepared the road to independence in other ways. A great debt had been incurred. Who should pay it? When Eng- land attempted to tax the colonies for part of this money, the provin- cials objected vigorously. During the war, the regular soldiers and officers had not taken pains to conceal their contempt for their Amer- ican brethren and their methods of warfare. Colonials had been treated as inferiors as a rule. At the end of hostilities, British arro- gance and haughtiness were greater than ever. This attitude naturally incensed the natives and tended to increase friction and undermine the bonds existing between England and her colonies. During the French and Indian wars, there had been constant quarrels between governors and colonial assemblies over money necessary to victory. In general the people had won out and had slowly gained more and more power.
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By 1763 these disputes with royal governors had provided the col- onists with a certain amount of liberty and it tasted good.
The French and Indian wars had a special effect on the history of New York. Although this colony was one of the chief bones of con- tention between France and England, and in spite of the fact that a large number of engagements and battles took place within its boun- daries, it did not suffer so much loss of life and property as other colonies did. The Dutch traders, at least after the end of the first war, preferred peace and neutrality. In general, New Yorkers felt little racial and religious animosity, their opposition to France being political in nature. Their cosmopolitan point of view was quite dif- ferent from the attitude of the New Englanders, for example, who regarded the wars as struggles between alien civilizations. New York was one of the smaller colonies, yet at the same time was the center of the military campaigns that decided the duel. It was, therefore, quite necessary for this colony to depend largely on England for pro- tection. As a result of these factors, when the American Revolution broke out, there was more Loyalist or Tory sentiment in New York than in any other northern colony.
CHAPTER IX Early Settlements and the Dispute Over the New Hampshire Grants
Between the close of the French wars and the beginning of the American Revolution, the history of northern New York and Ver- mont is a story of early settlements. The fighting had hardly ceased before adventurous pioneers began making their way into this bloody wilderness in quest of homes for themselves and their descendants. Disbanded soldiers explored once again the old familiar battle grounds seeking homes on lands given to them under military grants. Hunters and trappers roamed over the countryside looking for game and find- ing it. North of Albany stretched the old military road, while from Charlestown, New Hampshire, to Crown Point ran the highway recently built in the last war. The rest of the territory was practically an unbroken wilderness. Nevertheless, the settler's ax beat inces- santly against the stately trees, and as time went on the number of clearings continued to increase.
During the period of French occupancy of the Champlain Valley, a few actual settlements had been made, but none had proved perma- nent. They had tended to grow up only in the shadows of forts and blockhouses. The first white settlement within the boundaries of Vermont was made at Fort St. Anne on Isle LaMotte. When the French built, in 1730, a small fort at Chimney Point which was called by them Pointe à la Chevalure, directly across the lake from where St. Frederic was built during the following year, a small settlement was begun there. Seigniories were granted on both sides, Chimney Point being included in that of Sieur Hoc- quart. Here the sons of France planted corn and sowed wheat. Here the soft laughter of women replaced the war cries of painted
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savages, and the merry sound of children at play succeeded the terror of the scalping knife. European flowers bloomed beside the log cabins, and the lilies of France in the French flag waving over the fort seemed as beautiful to the colonists as the blossoms at their doors. In 1759, however, when the English army threatened them from the south, the settlers burned their buildings and retreated. When the enemy finally approached, all that was left of the settle- ment consisted of blackened chimneys which remained upright. It was on this occasion that the English named it Chimney Point. About 1731 the French made another settlement at Windmill Point, called by them Pointe à la Algonquin, in the present town of Alburg. Its descriptive English name was derived from a large stone windmill built there by Sieur Foucault at a cost of about eight hundred dollars. This attempt at colonization proved abortive, as did another one in 1741. The largest of the early French settlements was naturally at Crown Point in the vicinity of strong Fort St. Frederic, and it was this community which has already been described to us by the thor- ough pen of Peter Kalm. When French authority vanished from the shores of Lake Champlain, however, the colonists fled toward Can- ada. Although French settlements failed, numerous grants of land were made by the king, including the Foucault and Hocquart holdings already mentioned. Many of these were very extensive, the seigniory of Hocquart alone containing about 115,000 acres.
These land grants were made to government officials and army officers in particular. In general these tracts of land were conflicting and vaguely described. Early maps were far from accurate and the boundaries located on different ones did not correspond. These grants had been made by the French King on condition that the terri- tory should be filled with colonists, but few settlers were available. All attempts on the part of the holders of these lands to lure French- men to the fertile farms of the Champlain Valley failed miserably. In spite of all attractions and gifts offered to prospective settlers, few Frenchmen were willing to risk their scalps on the sides of the famous military highway along which so many expeditions constantly made their way. If the French government had paid less attention to European problems and bestowed more thought on the colonization of America, French settlements in the Champlain Valley might have sprung up like mushrooms, and the history of this country might have had a much stronger French flavor; but this was not to be.
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English settlements before 1760 in northeastern New York and the present State of Vermont were decidedly few. At the close of hostilities between France and England the only settlements in New York north of Albany were two small hamlets at Stillwater and Fort Edward. The oldest permanent settlement previous to the French and Indian War in this vicinity was Schuylerville (old Saratoga), but few if any inhabitants remained there during hostilities, although they may have returned soon afterwards. The first permanent settlement in Vermont was made in the confines of Brattleboro. In February, 1724, Fort Dummer had been started there by Massachusetts and named in honor of her Lieutenant-Governor. It had been erected primarily to protect the colonists at Northfield. The garrison was never very large but defied all efforts of the enemy and the wilderness to snuff out its existence. Previous to 1760, northern New York and Vermont were practically barren of settlers, but with the removal of the French and Indian menace, colonists began to seep in through the wilderness trails in increasing numbers.
Whitehall was probably the first permanent settlement made by Englishmen on Lake Champlain. Major Philip Skene, a Scotchman, who had served in the armies of Abercrombie and Amherst, secured a grant of land near the mouth of Wood Creek in 1761. Here a set- tlement was made which was originally called Skenesborough, from its founder. It later became known as Whitehall, but its first name remains indelibly printed in the annals of history. Other New York settlements, made about the same time, included Salem, Hud- son Falls (Kingsbury) and Cambridge. In 1765 and 1766, Abra- ham Wing and his associates formed a community destined to develop into the modern city of Glens Falls. Between the French and Indian War and the Revolution there was only one English set- tlement on the western shore of Lake Champlain. In 1765 Wil- liam Gilliland, a soldier of the British army, purchased some land and planned a settlement called Milltown at the mouth of the Boquet River in the present town of Westport. Here he brought his family in 1766. A fairly large settlement grew up, peopled primarily by soldiers of the French wars. There were two gristmills and two saw- mills constructed here before the outbreak of the Revolution. For supplies and trade these residents depended upon Montreal. The settlement was only temporary, however. When war broke out the
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colonists fled, and finally Gilliland himself was forced to bury his mill machinery in the woods and hurry to Crown Point with his family and some household furniture. In addition to these white settlements in northern New York, there were several small groups of Indians that inhabited the countryside. In the vicinity of Glens Falls, for example, it has been claimed that they were located "at Harrisena, Dunham's Bay (at the southern extremity of Lake George), at the outlet of the Long Pond, at the Big Bend (the sweeping curve of the Hudson about three miles above Glens Falls), and at the foot of the Palmerton Mountain on the south side of the river. They still claimed these localities as their hunting grounds, enjoyed them without disturbance and maintained the most peaceful relations with the families of the pioneers."*
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