The Conquest of Canada (Vol. 2 of 2)

k Provincials, and a large body of Indians under Sir William Johnson: Brigadier Prideaux commanded in chief. On the 20th of May the troops commenced their advance from Schenectady, wher

l Haldimand was left for

deep stream on the other; it was thus a matter of little difficulty to invest the position effectually on the land side, while the numerous bateaux cut off from the besieged all communication by water. Prideaux planned and advanced his approaches with skill and vigor. Batteries wer

was strong, his garrison faithful, and that, the longer he held out, the more he should win the esteem of his enemy." Early intelligence of the approaching danger had reached Pouchot; he had not lost a moment in dispatching couriers eastward

and pursued till they found shelter under the fire of their guns. By the 14th the besiegers' parallels were finished to the banks of the lake, and the fire became so heavy that the defenders could only find safety in the covered wa

ccident deprived the army of his useful services, and gave to another the enjoyment of the honors which he had worthily won. On the evening of the 19th, while issuing some orders in the trenches, unperceived by the gunners

econd it with all the efforts of the garrison. The cause of the French was, however, already all but desperate; the feeble defenses of the fort shook and crumbled under the heavy and increasing fire of their enemies. An overpowering artillery forbade the approach of their vessel from the lake. The beleaguering trenches intruded within 100 yards of their parapets, and gave shelter to swarms of British and Indian marksmen. The little garrison was worn by toil and wasted by death; the barracks and dwellings were ruined by shot

small parties of Indians on the flanks of the Europeans. Having posted their sentries, and no enemy being yet visible, Johnson's advance lay down to rest upon their arms. Never, perhaps, has a stranger scene been witnessed than the banks of the Niagara River presented on that September night: the dark ramparts of the fort, every now and then illumined by the flash of the defenders' guns, or suddenly revealed by the red light of a salvo from the hostile trenches; in the open plain beyond, the white tents and the huts of the besieging army; and further on, the

ront, while the 44th regiment, under Lieutenant-colonel Farquhar, kept up the communication with Major Beckwith, who commanded the troops in the trenches, and r

ations fell back on the flanks of the British. By nine o'clock D'Aubry's force was formed, and the order immediately given for the attack. With furious gestures and terrible impetuosity, the Indians burst through the woods and fell upon the English lines as they rushed to the charge, shouting the appalling war-cry which had once struck terror into their foes; but it fell upon accustomed ears: they were received with a calm front and steady fire. The Gre

ke the steady courage of the British troops; meanwhile Johnson's Indians made their way through the woods, and fell upon the flanks of the French. Attacked on all sides, deserted by allies, outnumbered by foes, the assailants hesitated,

gned in the beleaguered fort; while the shades of night still lingered under the tall forest trees, flashes of scattered musketry had occasionally burst forth. As the morning advanced, the dropping shots quickened into the sharp rattle of a skirmish, the sounds still approaching the besieged, and stimulating hopes of aid. A little before nine o'clock the skirmish h

terrible hint that in a little time he might not be able to restrain the fierce vengeance of his Indian allies. Pouchot yet doubted, or affected to doubt, the truth of the woeful disaster which had befallen his countrymen, and, still endeavoring to gain time, requested that one of hi

and to be carried to New York by the shortest and easiest route. The French ladies, and all females and children, were offered safe conveyance, subsistence, and escort to the nearest port of France: and the sick and wounded men were to be carefully tended till able to travel, when they were to rejoin their comrades. The victors undertook

never again was the "spotless flag" to flaunt its ample folds upon the breezes of the Western lakes; never again were the martial strains of France to sound through the majestic roar of nature's grandest wonder. A sufficient British guard attended under arms to keep the fierce and vindictive Indians at a distance. But the humane and extraordinary influence which Sir William Johnson exercised over the minds of his savage followers

ing triumph dimmed the honor of British victory, but a demeanor of respectful sympathy with the vanqu

icer of courage and capacity. Sir William Johnson enhanced the merit of his success by his modest and honorable dispatch to General Amherst. "I have only to regret," he

Our military system always has trusted, and still trusts, to this "uninstructed genius" in our chiefs, and by its own provisions furnished no teaching to a Marlborough and a Wellington beyond the knowledge of drill in a field day, and of the forms of discipline in a barrack yard. While we rest with pride and pleasure on the undoubted predominance of success over all foes which has attended our arms, we may not deny that to the never failing chivalry of the officers and to the stub

h the unvarying rule of promotion by seniority, no officer of artillery or engineers arrives at a sufficient rank to command, until a time of life when the experience of the veteran can hardly be aided by the energy of the man. Rare indeed must be the instances of those who have passed nearly half a century of service, in

re can hardly, however be found any one, beyond those grown gray under the existing system, who fears that professional education could perniciously influence the qualifications of our officers for their station in life, or damp their undoubted chivalry and spirit. To cast aside political or personal considerations, and select for command the man most conspicuous b

isons, they were rendered incapable of any effectual resistance. Colonel Bouquet, therefore, who, with a small force, had been detached by Brigadier-general Stanwix against the principal of

0 boats was lying in a neighboring cove. About mid-day some Indians and Canadians appeared in the borders of the forest near the fort, and made a show of attacking two detached redoubts, but were speedily driven back among the trees; from thence, however, they kept up a dropping fire, which was only silenced by the approach of night. A deserter who had passed over under cover of the darkness, gave information that th

nation to make an attempt at burning the English boats in the harbor, which they again and again repeated, but always without success. M. de la Corne did not bring his French troops into action. Finding Colonel Haldimand well prepared for his reception, he abandoned the enterprise, having buried his dead, and carried off his wounded to the boats. The French chie

n of the campaign as yet had failed. Opposition had been overpowered, forts taken, guns, trophies, and stores captured, but still, at the vital point, at the great Canadian stronghold, from the lofty headland of Quebec, the wise and gallant Montcalm, with an outnumbering host, looked down in unshaken confidence upon the invader's force. There the real battle was to be fought; there alone the die was to be cast which should decide the fate of France's noblest colony. Time rolled on, spring had warmed into summer; summer now deepened into autumn; the broad sycamore leaf dro

TNO

aptain in the re

euve et des Grands Lacs. Les Fran?ais connoissoient toute la valeur de cette position admirable; mais abandonnés comme ils étoient par la mère-patrie, ayant consumé pendant cinq ans leurs soldats, leurs armes, leurs munitions, à se défendre par leurs seules ressources, ils n'avoient pu mettre que six cents hommes dans Niagara, et ils n'en purent pas rassembler plus de dix-sept cents parmi les milices Canadiennes et leurs sauvages alliés, pour marcher à la délivra

t French war in Canada: "Car les Fran?ais se sont refusés à donner aucun détail sur des combats dont les résultats é

t all candidates for commissions shall pass

, chap. vi., p. 29; Smollett, vol. vi