y. The Hiftory of the late War in North America, and the Iflands of the West Indies, including the Campaigns of 1763 and 1764, against his Majesty's Indian Enemies. By Thomas Mante, Afifiant Engineer during the Siege of the Havanna, and Major of Brigade in the Campaign of 1764. 4to. il. 11s. 6d. in boards. Cadell.

ΑΝ

N author who writes the hiftory of recent tranfactions, undertakes a work which, however well executed, will feldom prove very interefting to his cotemporaries, as the reader's curiofity is in fuch a cafe previously gratified. The more minute the detail, and the greater the fimilarity of incidents, this want of fuccefs will be more confpicuous. If Mr. Mante therefore, fhould unfortunately not experience from his labour fo much the encouragement of the public as perhaps he expected, he may have fome confolation in imputing his failure partly to the nature of the subject of which he treats, though we cannot entirely acquit him of having larded his narration with many fuperfluous and unimportant circumftances. Of what confequence to the public, for inftance, is the Journal of the Expedition against Louisbourgh, which is continued through almoft fixteen pages of the book? The prefervation of such a register at that time was, no doubt, proper and neceffary, to justify the conduct of the commanders; but furely no advantage can be derived to history from recording that, on the 5th of June, 1758, there was a fog in the morning, or on the 6th an appearance of a change of weather, Of as little importance can it be to tranfinit to posterity a lift of what regiments compofed the feveral divifions on this and other fervices of the war, a circumftance, however, to which the author fcrupulously adheres through every part of his narration. Such frivolous minuteness is below the attention of hiftory, whofe object fhould be, to perpetuate the memory of fuch events only as can tend to the inftruction of mankind.

After thefe general obfervations, we fhall lay before our readers thofe paffages of the work which contain an account of the most splendid tranfactions.

On the 13th, at one in the morning, the light infantry commanded by colonel Howe, the regiments of Bragg, Kennedy, Lafcelles, and Anftruther, with a detachment of Highlanders and American grenadiers, the whole under the command of brigadier Monckton, were put into the flat-bottomed boats, about three leagues above the intended landing-place; and, after fome feints made by the hips, under the immediate direction of Admiral Holmes, to draw off the attention of the enemy above, the boats

fell

whilft the Louifbourg grenadiers were advancing with their bayo nets fixed, brigadier Monckton was fhot through the body at the head of Lafcelles. In the front of the oppofite battalions fell allo M. de Montcalm; his fecond in command was likewife wounded, and afterwards died on board an English fhip. Part of the French made a fecond, but faint, attack. Part took to fome thick copfewood, and made fuch an effectual f ftand, as covered the retreat of the rest of the French army. At this moment, each particular corps of the English feemed in a manner to rival each other, with a view to its own peculiar character. The grenadiers, Bragg's and Lafcelles', preffed on with their bayonets. Brigadier Murray, advancing brifkly with the troops under his command, completed the rout on this fide. The Highlanders, then, fupported by Anftruther's, took to their broad fwords, and drove part of the French into the town, and part to the works at their bridge on the river St. Charles.

Though the conqueft of Quebec was of the utmoft importance to the English, yet the heavy lofs they fuftained in the death of their commander, greatly abated its value. They loft a general who merits every encomium that is due to quick conception, to steady courage, to unwearied perfeverance, to a nobleness of fentiment, and fuperior abilities. General Wolfe early habituated himfelf to ftudy, and being perfectly acquainted with the theory of his profeffion, the practice of it was familiar to him: his genius. was of that active kind, that no impediment could prevent the execution of any plan he once had formed: his judgment was confpicuous on every occafion; this begot an implicit confidence in all under his command, but more particularly thofe who were immediately to execute his orders; hence the alertness of the bri gadiers: and if they were affured that no ill-formed plan would fall to their lot to execute, on the other hand the general was certain of their full exertion of every endeavour to accomplish his orders. The house of commons therefore voted them their thanks, but addreffed his majefty that he would be pleafed to order a monument to be erected in Westminster Abbey to the memory of general Wolfe: and it will not be improper here to obferve, that the French army petitioned Mr. Pitt for leave to erect a monument, in the principal church of Quebec, to the memory of their late general, M. de Montcalm; to which Mr. Pitt gave his immediate confent, and fent proper inftructions to the governor for that purpose.'

Mr. Mante's attention to trifling circumftances is the most obfervable fault in his narration, and frequently degrades it from the dignity of hiftory, to the ftyle of a gazette: To record the names of thofe men, of whatever rank, who fignalize themselves by illuftrious actions, is certainly a duty of the hif torian, but when an officer of inferior station poffeffes no other claim to our notice, than that of having received a wound, we cannot confider him as entitled to have his name recorded in hiftory; and in beftowing this mark of diftinction on fuch candidates for fame, our author feems to have copied too minutely the authorities from whence he has drawn his infor

mation. The method of annexing the epithets of honourable, and right honourable, to feveral of the commanders, is a mode of expreffion which is likewife unfuitable to history.

The hardships encountered by our troops at the reduction of the Havanna, are placed by our author in a strong, and fo far as we know, in a just light.

From their firft landing to the 13th of Auguft, this important conqueft cost the English, in killed, wounded, and prifoners, in cluding those who died, two thousand feven hundred and fixtyfour men. Hiftory, perhaps, does not record a fiege with fuch a variety of difficulties to retard the approaches, as what attended the affailants of the Moro-castle. Not only there was fcarce fpit of earth near any of the intended batteries, as we have al ready taken notice; but the cutting down, binding up, and carrying the vast quantities of fafcines, which it was neceffary to fubftitute, proved a work of infinite labour; nay, the earth neceffary to give stability and refiftance to the fafcines, was not to be ob tained but by fcratching it from between the crevices of rocks, at a great distance from the spot where it was to be used.

Though a great part of the provifions brought from England had been spoiled by the heat of the climate, the most diftreffing cir cumftance of the campaign was the fcarcity of water. Of the vast catalogue of human ills, thirft is the most intolerable. On this occafion, it foon caufed the tongue to swell, extend itself without the lips, and become black as in a state of mortification; then thè whole frame became a prey to the molt excruciating agonies, till death at length intervened, and gave the unhappy fufferer relief. In this way, hundreds refigned themfelves to eternity. A greater number fell victims to a putrid fever. From the appearance of perfect health, three or four fhort hours robbed them of exiftence. Many there were, who endured a loathfome difeafe for days, nay. weeks together, living in a state of putrefaction, their bodies full of vermin, and almost eaten away before the fpark of life was extinguished. The carrion crows of the country kept conftantly ho vering over the graves, which rather hid than buried the dead, and frequently fcratched away the feanty earth, leaving in every mangled corpie a fpectacle of unspeakable loathfomeness and terror to thofe, who, by being engaged in the fame enterprife, were ext pofed to the fame fate. Hundreds of carcafes were seen floating on the ocean: yet all thefe accumulated horrors damped not the ardour of the furvivors. Ufed to conqueft, and to brave every kind of danger, every one exerted himfelf with fuch a particular aim to victory, as if the whole enterprife depended on his fingle

arm.'

Towards the conclufion of the work, our author affirms in general terms, that the armies brought into the field during the first campaigns in America, before the fupreme command was conferred on general Amherft, were difgraced by knavery, ignorance, or timidity; but he appears not to have fo clearly investigated the conduct of the feveral preceding commanders, in the courfe of his narration, as pofitively to authorife fuch an inference,

In relating the war between Britain and the Indians, which fucceeded the treaty of Versailles, Mr. Mante prefents us with fome political reflections on our conduct relative to those nations, which are worthy of attention.

The general peace, fays he, which thus put an end to a moft extenfive and bloody war, was juftly deemed, by the bulk of mankind, a happy event. But the British fubjects in North America thought they had particular reafons to rejoice at it, as it left the French fo little power in their neighbourhood, and determined by it the boundaries between the two nations, with the greatest ac curacy and precifion, In this, however, they foon found themselves greatly mistaken. They did not fufficiently confider the jealous temper of the Indians included within thefe bounds, nor the opportunity which the French, by retaining poffeffion of New Or leans, and the joint navigation of the Miffiffippi, ftill had of inflaming that jealoufy. What alarmed them moft was the chains of forts running through their country, in almost every direction efpecially thofe built on their lakes, and on the feveral ftraits be tween them. Thofe military establishments, they looked upon as the embryos of fo many new colonies, by which, fooner or later, they would be elbowed out of the land of their forefathers; and a very imprudent omiffion of the ufual prefents on our parts, contributed not a little to confirm these apprehenfions, which, if not originally excited, were, there is great reafon to believe, greatly increafed by the French. That nation, independent of any views it might have of recovering the country which it had lately ceded to the English, could not but regret the lofs of the gainful trade it had fo long before, that period, carried on with the natives; and the likelieft method to get once more poffeffion of this trade, was to fow and cultivate the feeds of diffenfion between the Indians and their new allies. They therefore taught the former to confider the latter in the light of masters, and even tyrants, rather than friends; and it must be owned, that the general behaviour of the French to the Indians, was fo very different from that of the Eng lih, as to give all the weight the French could wish to those lef fons; the effects of which, accordingly, became every day mora and more visible. We mention thefe particulars, not only to recommend the manner in which the French treat the Indians as highly deferving to be imitated by us; but to wear out of the minds of fuch of our deluded countrymen as are not entirely deftitute of good fenfe and humanity, the prejudices conceived against an innocent, much abufed, and once happy people, who, with all their fimplicity, are no ftrangers to the first principles of morality; and, accordingly, entertain as deep a fenfe of the juftice, benevolence, and condefcenfion of their former friends, the French, as they do of the injustice, cruelty, and infolence, with which they had been ufed by their prefent fellow-subjects, the English.

But it may be proper to give an inftance or two of this differ. ence. The French court encouraged marriages between its subjects and Indian women; and this not only proved a great means of civilizing the nations to which the latter belonged; but effectually ferved to procure the former admiffion into their councils, and thereby a thorough knowledge of all their moft fecret defigns,

7

from