THE FRENCH WARS.

BEING in possession of the inland seas of Canada, as they are justly termed, and of the mouths of the grand receiver of most of the principal rivers of North America, the French conceived the bold idea of uniting their northern and southern possessions by a chain of forts along the banks of the Ohio and Mississippi; and by that means also to confine the English colonists to the eastern side of the Alleghanies. In their northern colonies their military strength was considerable; Quebec and Montreal were strongly fortified; and at other points, Louisburg, Cape Breton, and the forts of Lake Champlain, Niagara, Crown Point, Frontignac, Ticonderoga, and several others, defended the frontiers. They had also erected a considerable fort at the junction of the Alleghany with the Monongahela, then called Du Quesne, but now forming the site of Pittsburg, the Birmingham of America.

Early in the spring of 1755, the British government dispatched General Braddock to America, with a respectable force to expel the French, and keep possession of the territory; and preparations having been made by France to dispatch a reinforcement to her armies in Canada, Admiral Boscawen was ordered to endeavor to intercept the French fleet before it should enter the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In April, General Braddock met the Governors of the several provinces to confer upon the plan of the ensuing campaign. Three expeditions were resolved upon; one against Du Quesne, to be commanded by General Braddock; one against forts Niagera and Frontignac, to be commanded by Governor Shirley; and one against Crown Point, to be commanded by General Johnson This last originated with Massachusetts, and was to be executed by colonial troops raised in New England and New York.

While preparations were making for these expeditions, another, which had been previously concerted, was carried on against the French forts in Nova Scotia. This province was settled by the French, but was ceded to the English by the treaty of Utrecht. Its boundaries not having been defined, the French continued to occupy a portion of the territory claimed by the English, and had built forts for their defence. To gain possession of these was the object of the expedition. About two thousand militia, commanded by Colonel Winslow, embarked at Boston; and being joined on their passage by three hundred regulars, arrived in April at the place of their destination. The forts were invested, the resistance made was trifling and ineffectual, and in a short time the English gained entire possession of the province, according to their own definition of its boundaries. Three only of their men were killed.

Of the unfortunate issue of Braddock's expedition we have already given an account. The two northern expeditions, though not so disastrous, did not either of them succeed in attaining the object proposed. In that against Crown Point much delay was occasioned by the distracted coun cils of so many different governments; and it was not till the last of August, that General Johnson, with three thousand seven hundred men, arrived at the fort of Lake George, on his way to Ticonderoga. Meanwhile the French squadron had eluded Admiral Boscawen; and, as soon as it arrived at Quebec, Baron Dieskau, the commander, resolved to march against Oswego with his own twelve hundred regulars, and about six hundred Canadians and Indians. The news of General Johnson's movement determined Dieskau to change his plan, and to lead his forces directly against the American camp. General Johnson called for reinforcements: eight hundred troops, raised as a corps of reserve by Massachusetts, were immediately ordered to his assistance; and the same colony undertook to raise an additional number of two thousand men. Colonel Williams was sent forward with one thousand men to amuse and reconnoitre the enemy. He met them four miles from the camp, offered battle, and was defeated. Another detachment shared the same fate; and the French were now within one hundred and fifty yards of the camp, when a halt for a short time enabled the Americans to recover their alarm, and to make good use of their artillery through the fallen trees, behind which they were posted. Dieskau advanced to the charge; but he was so firmly received, that the Indians and militia gave way and fled: he was obliged to order a retreat of the regulars; and, in the ardent pursuit which ensued, he was himself mortally wounded and made prisoner. A scouting party had, in the meantime, taken the enemy's baggage; and when the retreating army came up, they attacked it so successfully from behind the trees, that the panic-struck soldiers dropped all their accoutrements, and fled in the utmost confusion for their posts on the lakes. This victory revived the spirits of the colonists, depressed by the recent defeat of General Braddock, but the success was not improved in any proportion to their expectation. General Shirley, now the commander in chief, urged an attempt on Ticonderoga; but a council of war judging it unadvisable, Johnson employed the remainder of the campaign in fortifying his camp. On a meeting of Commissioners from Massachusetts and Connecticut with the Governor and Council of New York, in October, it was unanimously agreed, that the army under General Johnson should be discharged, excepting six hundred men, who should be engaged to garrison Fort Edward and Fort William Henry. The French retained possession of Ticonderoga and fortified it.

General Shirley, who was to conduct the expedition against Niagara and Fort Frontignac, experienced such delays, that he did not reach Oswego until the 21st of August. On his arrival, he made all necessary preparations for the expedition to Niagara; but, through the desertion of batteaux men, the scarcity of wagons on the Mohawk river, and the desertion of sledgemen at the great carrying place, the conveyance of provisions and stores was so much retarded, that nearly four weeks elapsed before he could commence any further operations and from a

continued succession of adverse circumstances, in a council of war called on the 27th of September, it was unanimously resolved to defer the expedition to the succeeding year; to leave Čolonel Mercer at Oswego, vith a garrison of seven hundred men, and to build two additional forts for the security of the place; while the General should return with the rest of the army to Albany. Thus ended the campaign of 1755: it opened with the brightest prospects; immense preparations had been made, yet not one of the objects of the three principal expeditions had been attained; and by this failure the whole frontier was exposed to the ravages of the Indians, which were accompanied by their usual acts of barbarity.

The colonies, however, far from being discouraged by the misfortunes of the last campaign, determined to renew and increase their exertions. General Shirley, to whom the superintendence of all the military operations had been confided, assembled a council of war at New York to concert a plan for the ensuing year. The plan adopted by the council embraced expeditions against Du Quesne, Niagara, and Crown Point, and the dispatching a body of troops by way of the rivers Kennebeck and Chaudiere, to create alarm for the safety of Quebec. Major-General Winslow was appointed to lead the expedition against Crown Point. He was a popular officer, and the colonists felt a deep interest in the expedition; but, for want of an established financial system, (their only taxes were upon lands and polls,) the requisite funds were raised with difficulty, and the recruiting service made very slow progress. Only seven thousand men assembled at the posts on Lake George. General Winslow declared, that, without more forces, he could not undertake the expedition; and it would probably have been abandoned, had he not been reinforced by the timely arrival of some British troops. They came over with General Abercrombie, who had superseded General Shirley, and who soon after gave place to the Earl of Loudoun. These changes produced some unpleasant contests for priority of rank. General Winslow asserted frankly, that the provincials would never be commanded by British officers; and the Earl of Loudoun seriously propounded the question, whether the colonial troops, with his Majesty's arms in their hands, would refuse obedience to his Majesty's commanders? He was answered in the affirmative; and when he understood that the New England troops, in particular, had enlisted under the condition of being led by their own officers, he agreed to let those troops act separately.

While the English were adjusting these differences, and debating whether it would be expedient to attack Fort Niagara, or Fort Du Quesne Montcalm, the successor of Dieskau, marched against Oswego with abou five thousand French, Canadians, and Indians. His artillery played with such effect upon the fort, that it was soon declared untenable; and to avoid an assault, the garrison, who were sixteen hundred in number, and had stores for five months, surrendered themselves prisoners of war. The fort had been an object of considerable jealousy to the Five Nations; and Montcalm made a wise use of his conquest by demolishing it in their presence. The English and American army was now thrown upon the defensive Instead of attacking Ticonderoga, General Winslow was

ordered to fortify his own camp; Major-General Webb, with fourteen hundred regulars, took post near Wood Creek; and Sir William Johnson, with one thousand militia, was stationed at the German Flats. The colonists were now called upon for reinforcements; and, as Parliament nad distributed among them one hundred and fifteen thousand pounds for the last year's expenses, they were enabled to answer the call with perhaps more promptitude than was anticipated. The recruits were on their way to the camp, when intelligence of the small-pox at Albany frightened them home again. The other provincials were equally alarmed; and all, except a New York regiment, were dismissed. Thus terminated the second campaign. The expedition up the Kennebeck had been abandoned; that against Niagara was not commenced; and not even a preparation had been made for that against Du Quesne.

At the commencement of the following year, a council was held at Boston, composed of Lord Loudoun, and the Governors of the New England provinces and of Nova Scotia. At this council his Lordship proposed that New England should raise four thousand men for the ensuing campaign; and that a proportionate number should be raised by New York and New Jersey. These requisitions were complied with; and in the spring his Lordship found himself at the head of a very considerable army. Admiral Holbourn arriving in the beginning of July at Halifax with a powerful squadron, and a reinforcement of five thousand British troops, under George Viscount Howe, Lord Loudoun sailed from New York with six thousand regulars, to join those troops at the place of their arrival. Instead of the complex operations undertaken in previous campaigns, his Lordship limited his plan to a single object. Leav ing the posts on the lakes strongly garrisoned, he resolved to direct his whole disposable force against Louisburg; Halifax having been determined on as the place of rendezvous for the fleet and army destined for the expedition. Information was, however, soon received, that a French fleet had lately sailed from Brest; that Louisburg was garrisoned by six thousand regulars, exclusive of provincials; and that it was also defended by seventeen line of battle ships, which were moored in the harbor. There being no hope of success against so formidable a force, the enterprise was deferred to the next year; the General and Admi ral on the last of August proceeded to New York; and the provincials were dismissed.

The Marquis De Montcalm, availing himself of the absence of the principal part of the British force, advanced with an army of nine thou sand men, and laid siege to Fort William Henry. The garrison at this fort consisted of between two and three thousand regulars, and its fortifications were strong and in very good order; and for the additional security of this important post, General Webb was stationed at Fort Edward with an army of four thousand men. The French commander, however, urged his approaches with such vigor, that, within six days after the investment of the fort, Colonel Monro, the commandant, having in vain solicited succor from General Webb, found it necessary to surren der by capitulation. The garrison was to be allowed the honors of war, and to be protected against the Indians until within the reach of Fort