by G. A. Henty
Chapter 13: An Abortive Attack.
Three weeks passed. James kept his men steadily at work, and even thescouts allowed that they made great progress. Sometimes they went outin two parties, with an officer and a scout to each, and their pouchesfilled with blank cartridge. Each would do its best to surprise theother; and, when they met, a mimic fight would take place, the mensheltering behind trees, and firing only when they obtained a glimpseof an adversary.
"I did not think that these pipe-clayed soldiers could have been sospry," Nat said to James. "They have picked up wonderfully, and Iwouldn't mind going into an Indian fight with them. They are improvingwith their muskets. Their shooting yesterday wasn't bad, by no means.In three months' time, they will be as good a lot to handle as any ofthe companies of scouts."
Besides the daily exercises, the company did scouting work at night,ten men being out, by turns, in the woods bordering the lake. At oneo'clock in the morning, on the 19th of March, Nat came into theofficers' tent.
"Captain," he said, "get up. There's something afoot."
"What is it, Nat?" James asked, as he threw off his rugs.
"It's the French, at least I don't see who else it can be. It was myturn tonight to go round and look after our sentries. When I came toJim Bryan, who was stationed just at the edge of the lake, I said tohim, 'Anything new, Jim?' and he says, 'Yes; seems to me as I can heara hammering in the woods.' I listens, and sure enough axes were going.It may be some three miles down. The night is still, and the icebrought the sound.
"'That's one for you, Jim,' says I. 'Them's axes sure enough.' I standsand looks, and then a long way down the lake on the left I sees a faintglare. They had had the sense to light the fires where we couldn't seethem; but there were the lights, sure enough. It's the French, captain,the redskins would never have made fires like that, and if it had beena party of our scouts, they would have come on here, and not halted anhour's tramp away.
"You had best get the troops under arms, captain. Who would havethought they would have been such fools as to light their fires withinsight of the fort!"
James at once went to Major Eyre's quarters, and aroused him, and in afew minutes the garrison were all under arms. Their strength, includingJames Walsham's corps, and some scouts of the company of John Stark,numbered three hundred and forty-six men, besides which there were ahundred and twenty-eight invalids in hospital.
Two hours passed, and then a confused sound, as of a great body of menmoving on the ice, was heard. The ice was bare of snow, and nothingcould be seen, but the cannon on the side facing the lake at onceopened fire, with grape and round shot, in the direction of the sound.
After firing for a few minutes, they were silent. The sound on the icecould no longer be heard.
"They have taken to the woods," Nat, who had taken up his station nextto James Walsham, said. "It ain't likely they would stop on the icewith the balls pounding it up."
"Do you think they will attack before morning?" James asked.
"It ain't likely," Nat replied. "They won't know the positions, and,such a dark night as this, they wouldn't be able to make out anythingabout them. If they could have come straight along the ice to the headof the lake here, they would have made a dash, no doubt; but now theyfind we ain't to be caught asleep, I expect they will wait tillmorning."
Again the sound of axes was heard in the wood, and the glare of lightappeared above the trees.
"There must be a tidy lot of 'em," Nat said.
"Do you think it will be any use to go out and try to surprise them?"
"Not a bit, captain. They are sure to have a lot of redskins with them,and they will be lurking in the woods, in hopes that we may try such amove. No; we have got a strong position here, and can lick them threeto one; but in the woods, except Stark's men, and perhaps yours, noneof the others wouldn't be no good at all."
Mayor Eyre, shortly afterwards, sent for James, who gave him theopinion of the scout, and the major then ordered the troops to getunder shelter again, leaving Stark's men to act as sentries, for thenight was bitterly cold.
It was not until ten o'clock next day that the French appeared, and,surrounding the fort on all sides, except on that of the lake, openedheavy musketry fire upon it. They were a formidable body. Vaudreuil,the governor of Canada, had spared no pains to make the blow asuccessful one. The force had been assembled at Crown Point, andnumbered sixteen hundred regulars, Canadians, and Indians. Everythingneedful for their comfort had been provided--overcoats, blankets, bearskins to sleep on, and tarpaulins to cover them. They had been providedwith twelve days' provisions, which were placed on hand sledges anddrawn by the troops.
They marched, over the ice of Lake Champlain, down to Ticonderoga,where they rested a week, and constructed three hundred scalingladders. Three days' further march, up Lake George, brought them to theEnglish fort.
The weak point of the expedition was its leader, for Vaudreuil, who washimself a Canadian, had the greatest jealousy of the French officers,and had intrusted the command of the expedition to his brother, Rigaud.
The fire did no damage, as the garrison lay sheltered behind theirentrenchments, replying occasionally whenever the enemy mustered inforce, as if with an intention of attacking.
"I don't think they mean business, this time, captain," Nat said in atone of disgust. "Why, there are enough of them to eat us, if theycould but make up their minds to come on. They don't suppose they aregoing to take William Henry by blazing a way at it half a mile off!"
"Perhaps they are going to make a night attack," James said. "They willhave learned all about the position of our works."
"Maybe so," Nat replied; "but I don't think so. When chaps don't attackat once, when there are four or five to one, I reckon that they ain'tlikely to attack at all. They meant to surprise us, and they haven't,and it seems to me as it has taken all the heart out of them."
As evening approached, the fire ceased. At nightfall, strong guardswere placed round the entrenchments, and the troops retired to theirquarters, ready to turn out at a minute's notice.
About midnight they were called out. There was again a sound on thelake. The cannon at once opened, and, as before, all was silent again.
"Look, Walsham, look!" Edwards exclaimed. "They have set fire to thesloops."
As he spoke, a tongue of flame started up from one of the two vesselslying in the ice, close to the shore, and, almost simultaneously,flames shot up from among the boats drawn up on the beach.
"That's redskin work," Nat exclaimed.
"Come, lads," James cried, leaping down from the low earthwork into theditch. "Let us save the boats, if we can."
The scouts followed him and ran down to the shore; but the Indians haddone their work well. The two sloops, and many of the boats, were wellalight, and it was evident at once that, long before a hole could bebroken through the ice, and buckets brought down from the fort, theywould be beyond all hopes of saving them.
The French, too, opened fire from the woods bordering the lake, and, asthe light of the flames exposed his men to the enemy's marksmen, Jamesat once called them back to the fort, and the sloops and boats burnedthemselves out.
At noon, next day, the French filed out from the woods on to the ice,at a distance of over a mile.
"What now?" Edwards exclaimed. "They surely don't mean to be foolsenough to march across the ice to attack us in broad daylight."
"It looks to me," James replied, "as if they wanted to make a full showof their force. See, there is a white flag, and a party are comingforward."
An officer and several men advanced towards the fort, and Major Eyresent out one of his officers, with an equal number of men, to meetthem. There was a short parley when the parties came together, and thenthe French officer advanced towards the fort with the English, hisfollowers remaining on the ice.
On nearing the fort, the French officer, Le Mercier, chief of theCanadian artillery, was blindfolded, and led to the room where MajorEyre, with all the British officers
, was awaiting him. The handkerchiefwas then removed from his eyes, and he announced to the commandant thathe was the bearer of a message from the officer commanding the Frenchforce, who, being desirous of avoiding an effusion of blood, begged theEnglish commander to abstain from resistance, which, against a force sosuperior to his own, could but be useless. He offered the mostfavourable terms, if he would surrender the place peaceably, but saidthat if he were driven to make an assault, his Indian allies wouldunquestionably massacre the whole garrison.
Major Eyre quietly replied that he intended to defend himself to theutmost.
The envoy was again blindfolded. When he rejoined the French force, thelatter at once advanced as if to attack the place, but soon halted,and, leaving the ice, opened a fusillade from the border of the woods,which they kept up for some hours, the garrison contemptuouslyabstaining from any reply.
At night, the French were heard advancing again, the sound coming fromall sides. The garrison stood to their arms, believing that this timethe real attack was about to be made.
Nearer and nearer came the sound, and the garrison, who could seenothing in the pitchy darkness, fired wherever they could hear a sound.Presently a bright light burst up. The redskins, provided with faggotsof resinous sticks, had crept up towards some buildings, consisting ofseveral store houses, a hospital, and saw mill, and the huts and tentsof the rangers, and, having placed their torches against them, set themon fire and instantly retreated. The garrison could do nothing to savethe buildings, as their efforts, in the absence of water, must beunavailing, and they would have been shot down by the foe lying beyondthe circle of light. They therefore remained lying behind theentrenchment, firing wherever they heard the slightest sound, andmomentarily expecting an attack; but morning came without the Frenchadvancing, and the garrison were then able to give their wholeattention to saving the buildings in the fort.
Some great wood stacks had now ignited, and the burning embers fellthickly on the huts, and for some hours it was only by the greatestexertions that the troops were able to save the buildings fromdestruction. Every moment they expected to be attacked, for, had theFrench advanced, the huts must have been left to themselves, in whichcase the garrison would have found themselves shelterless, and alltheir provisions and stores would have been consumed; but before noonthe danger was over, for not only had the fires begun to burn low, buta heavy snow storm set in. All day it continued.
"Now would be the time for them to attack," James Walsham said to hislieutenant. "We can scarce see twenty yards away."
"Now is their chance," Edwards agreed; "but I don't believe in theirattacking. I can't think who they have got in command. He ought to beshot, a man with such a force as he has, hanging about here for fourdays when he could have carried the place, with a rush, any moment."
"No, I don't think they will attack," James replied. "Men who will stopto light a fire to warm themselves, within sight of an enemy's fortthey want to surprise, are not likely to venture out of shelter oftheir blankets in such a snow as this."
All day and all night the snow came down, till the ground was coveredto a depth of over three feet. Early on Tuesday morning, twentyvolunteers of the French regulars made a bold attempt to burn a sloopbuilding on the stocks, with several storehouses and other structuresnear the water, and some hundreds of boats and canoes which were rangednear them. They succeeded in firing the sloop, and some buildings, butJames, with his scouts, sallied out and forced them to retreat, withthe loss of five of their number; and, by pulling down some of thehuts, prevented the fire spreading.
Next morning the sun rose brightly, and the white sheet of the lake wasdotted with the French, in full retreat for Canada. Their total losshad been eleven killed and wounded, while, on the English side, sevenmen had been wounded, all slightly. Never was a worse conducted or morefutile expedition.
After this affair, the time passed slowly at Fort William Henry. Untilthe sun gained strength enough to melt the thick white covering of theearth, James practised his men in the use of snowshoes, and, as soon asspring had fairly commenced, resumed the work of scouting. This wasdone only as an exercise, for there was no fear that, after such ahumiliating failure, the French would, for some time to come, attemptanother expedition against the fort.
In the autumn of 1756, General Montcalm had come out from France totake the command of the French troops. Few of the superior officers ofthe French army cared to take the command, in a country where the workwas hard and rough, and little glory was to be obtained. Therefore theminister of war was able, for once, to choose an officer fitted for thepost, instead of being obliged, as usual, to fill up the appointment bya court favourite.
The Marquis of Montcalm was born at the chateau of Candiac, near Nimes,on the 29th of February, 1712. At the age of fifteen, up to which timehe had studied hard, he entered the army. Two years later he became acaptain, and was first under fire at the siege of Philipsbourg. In 1736he married Mademoiselle Du Boulay, who brought him influentialconnections and some property. In 1741 Montcalm took part in thecampaign in Bohemia. Two years later he was made colonel, and passedunharmed through the severe campaign of 1744.
In the following year he fought in the campaign in Italy, and, in 1746,was wounded at the disastrous action at Piacenza, where he twicerallied his regiment, received five sabre cuts, and was made prisoner.He was soon liberated on parole, and was promoted, in the followingyear, to the rank of brigadier general, and, being exchanged for anofficer of similar rank, rejoined the army, and was again wounded by amusket shot. Shortly afterwards the peace of Aix la Chapelle wassigned, and Montcalm remained living quietly with his family, to whomhe was tenderly attached, until informed, by the minister of war, thathe had selected him to command the troops in North America, with therank of major general. The Chevalier de Levis was appointed second incommand.
No sooner did Montcalm arrive in America, than difficulties arosebetween him and the Marquis de Vaudreuil, the governor, who had hopedto have himself received the appointment of commander of the Frenchforces, and who, in virtue of his office, commanded the Canadianmilitia.
From first to last this man opposed and thwarted Montcalm, doing all inhis power to injure him, by reports to France in his disfavour. Themisfortunes which befell France during the war were, in no slightdegree, due to this divided authority, and to the obstacles thrown inthe way of Montcalm by the governor.
Montcalm's first blow against the English was struck in August, 1756,six months before the attack on Fort William Henry, which had beenarranged by Vaudreuil. Three battalions of regular troops, with 700Canadians and 250 Indians, with a strong force of artillery, werequietly concentrated at Fort Frontenac, and were intended for an attackupon the important English post of Oswego. Fighting had been going onin this neighbourhood for some time, and it was from Oswego thatShirley had intended to act against Niagara and Frontenac. Thatenterprise had fallen through, owing to Shirley having been deprived ofthe command; but a sharp fight had taken place between ColonelBradstreet and his armed boatmen, and 1100 French, who were beaten off.
Oswego was a place of extreme importance. It was the only English poston Ontario, situated as it was towards the southwest corner of thelake. So long as it remained in their possession, it was a standingmenace against the whole line of communications of the French with thesouth. Owing to gross neglect, the fort had never been placed in areally defensive condition. The garrison was small, and crippled withthe fever, which had carried off great numbers of them. The remainderwere ill fed and discontented.
On the 12th of August, the Earl of London sent Colonel Webb, with the44th Regiment and some of Bradstreet's boatmen, to reinforce Oswego.They should have started a month before, and, had they done so, wouldhave been in time; but confusion and misunderstanding had arisen from achange in command. Webb had scarcely made half his march, when tidingsof the disaster met him, and he at once fell back with the greatestprecipitation.
At midnight on the 10th, Montcalm had landed his force w
ithin half aleague of the first English fort. Four cannon were at once landed, anda battery thrown up, and so careless of danger were the garrison, thatit was not till the morning that the invaders were discovered. Twoarmed vessels at once sailed down to cannonade them; but their lightguns were no match for the heavy artillery of the French, and they wereforced to retire.
The attack was commenced without delay. The Indians and Canadians,swarming in the forest round the fort, kept up a hot fire upon it. Bynightfall the first parallel was marked out at 180 yards from therampart.
Fort Ontario, considered the strongest of the three forts at Oswego,stood on a high plateau on the right side of the river, where itentered the lake. It was in the shape of a star, and formed of apalisade of trunks of trees set upright in the ground, hewn flat onboth sides, and closely fitted together--an excellent defence againstmusketry, but worthless against artillery. The garrison of the fort,370 in number, had eight small cannon and a mortar, with which, allnext day, they kept up a brisk fire against the battery which theFrench were throwing up, and arming with twenty-six pieces of heavyartillery.
Colonel Mercer, the commandant of Oswego, saw at once that the Frenchartillery would, as soon as they opened fire, blow the stockade intopieces, and thinking it better to lose the fort, alone, than the fortand its garrison, he sent boats across the river after nightfall, andthe garrison, having spiked their guns, and thrown their ammunitioninto the well, crossed the river, unperceived by the French.
But Oswego was in no position for defence. Fort Pepperell stood on themouth of the river, facing Fort Ontario. Towards the west and south theplace was protected by an outer line of earthworks, mounted withcannon, but the side facing the river was wholly exposed, in the beliefthat Fort Ontario would prevent any attack in this direction.
Montcalm lost no time. The next evening, his whole force set to workthrowing up a battery, at the edge of the rising ground on which FortOntario stood, and, by daybreak, twenty heavy guns were in position,and at once opened fire. The grape and round shot swept the Englishposition, smashing down the mud-built walls, crashing through thestockades, and carrying destruction among the troops. The latter made ashelter of pork barrels, three high and three deep, and planted cannonbehind them, and returned the enemy's fire; but the Canadians andIndians had crossed the river, by a ford two miles up, and soon openedfire from all sides.
Colonel Mercer, who had bravely led his men, and inspired them by hisexample, was cut in two by a cannon shot, and the garrison were seizedwith despair. A council of officers was held, and the garrisonsurrendered as prisoners of war, to the number of sixteen hundred,which included sick, the sailors belonging to the shipping, labourers,and upwards of a hundred women.
Montcalm had the greatest difficulty in preventing the Indians, bymeans of threats, promises, and presents, from massacring theprisoners. Oswego was burned to the ground, the forts and vessels onthe stocks destroyed, and, the place having been made a desert, thearmy returned with their prisoners and spoil to Montreal.
The loss of Oswego had inflicted a very severe blow to the influenceand prestige of England, among the Indians of the lake districts, butthis was partly restored by the failure of the French expeditionagainst William Henry, early in the following spring.
The expedition against Louisbourg, to strengthen which the westernfrontier had been denuded of troops, proved a failure. A great delayhad taken place at home, in consequence of ministerial changes, and itwas not until the 5th of May that fifteen ships of the line and threefrigates, under Admiral Holbourne, with 5000 troops on board, sailedfrom England for Halifax, where Loudon was to meet him with the forcesfrom the colony. But, while the English fleet had been delaying, theFrench government had obtained information of its destination, and hadsent three French squadrons across the Atlantic to Louisbourg.
It was the 10th of July before the united English force assembled atHalifax, and there fresh delays arose. The troops, nearly twelvethousand in number, were landed, and weeks were spent in idle drill.
At the beginning of August the forces were again embarked, when a sloopcame in from Newfoundland, bringing letters which had been captured onboard a French ship. From these, it appeared that there were twenty-twoships of the line, besides several frigates, in the harbour ofLouisbourg, and that 7000 troops were in garrison, in what was by farthe strongest fortress on the continent.
Success was now impossible, and the enterprise was abandoned. Loudon,with his troops, sailed back to New York; and Admiral Holbourne, whohad been joined by four additional ships, sailed for Louisbourg, inhopes that the French fleet would come out and fight him. He cruisedfor some time off the port, but Lamotte, the French admiral, would notcome out.
In September, a tremendous gale burst upon the British fleet: one shipwas dashed on the rocks, a short distance from Louisbourg, and only asudden shift of the wind saved the rest from a total destruction. Ninewere dismasted, and others threw their cannon into the sea. Had Lamottesailed out on the following day, the English fleet was at his mercy.Fortunately he did not do so, and Holbourne returned to England.
The French in Canada were aware that Loudon had gathered all his troopsat New York, and was preparing for an expedition, which was to be aidedby a fleet from England; but, thinking it probable that it was directedagainst Quebec, the most vital point in Canada, since its occupation bythe English would entirely cut the colony off from France, Montcalm wasobliged to keep his forces in hand near that town, and was unable totake advantage of the unprotected state in which Loudon had left thefrontier of the colonies.
As soon, however, as, by despatch received from France, and by thestatements of prisoners captured by the Indians on the frontier,Montcalm learned that the expedition, which had just left New York, wasdestined for Louisbourg, he was at liberty to utilize his army for theinvasion of the defenceless colonies, and he determined to commence thecampaign by the capture of Fort William Henry.
James Walsham, with his company of Royal Scouts, had spent the springat Fort William Henry. Loudon had, at first, sent an order for thecorps to be broken up, and the men to rejoin their respectiveregiments, and to accompany them on the expedition; but the earnestrepresentations of Colonel Monro of the 35th Regiment, who was now incommand, of the total inadequacy of the garrison to defend itself,should a serious attack be made from Ticonderoga; and of the greatvalue to him of the corps under Captain Walsham, which was nowthoroughly trained in forest fighting, induced him to countermand theorder.
James was glad that he was not obliged to rejoin his regiment. Theindependent command was a pleasant one, and although life at FortWilliam Henry had, since the French repulse, been an uneventful one,there was plenty of fishing in the lake, and shooting in the woods, tovary the monotony of drill.
He and Edwards were now both expert canoemen, and often ventured fardown the lake, taking with them one or other of the scouts, and keepinga sharp lookout among the woods on either side for signs of the enemy.Once or twice they were chased by Indian canoes, but always succeededin distancing them.
"The news has just come in that the expedition has sailed," James saidas he one day, towards the end of July, entered the hut which he nowoccupied with Edwards; for the corps had long since been put underhuts, these being better suited for the hot season than tents.
"It is rather a nuisance," Edwards grumbled, "being kept here, insteadof going and taking share in a big siege."
"Don't be impatient, Edwards," James replied. "If I am not greatlymistaken, you will have quite as much fighting as you want here beforelong. Montcalm's sudden attack on Oswego last autumn showed that he isan enterprising general, and I have no doubt that, as soon as he learnsthat Loudon's expedition is not intended for Quebec, he will be beatingus up on the frontier with a vengeance."
Montcalm, indeed, had already prepared to strike a blow. A thousandIndians, lured by the prospect of gifts, scalps, and plunder, had comein from the west and north, and were encamped near Montreal; and,besides these, there were the Mis
sion Indians, and those of the FiveNations who adhered to France.
Early in July, the movement began. Day after day, fleets of boats andcanoes rowed up Lake Champlain, and, towards the end of the month, thewhole force was gathered at Ticonderoga. Here were now collected eightthousand men, of whom two thousand were Indians, representing forty-onetribes and sub-tribes: among them were Iroquois, Hurons, Nipissings,Abenakis, Algonkins, Micmacs, and Malecites. These were all nominalChristians, and counted eight hundred warriors. With them were thewestern Indians: Ojibwas, Mississagas, Pottawattamies, Menomonies,Sacs, Foxes, Winnebagoes, Miamis, and Iowas. These were stillunconverted.
The French held these savage allies in abhorrence. Their drunkenness,their turbulence, their contempt of all orders, their cruelty to theircaptives, and their cannibalism, disgusted and shocked Montcalm and hisofficers; but they were powerless to restrain them, for without them asscouts, guides, and eyes in the forests, the French could have donenothing, and, at the slightest remonstrance, the Indians were ready totake offence, and to march away to their distant homes.
The letters of Montcalm and his officers, to their friends, were fullof disgust at the doings of their savage allies, and of regret thatthey could not dispense with their services, or restrain theirferocity. Vaudreuil and the Canadians, on the other hand, accustomed tothe traditions of savage warfare, made no attempt whatever to check theferocity of the Indians, and were, indeed, the instigators of the raidswhich the savages made upon the unprotected villages and settlements onthe frontier; offered rewards for scalps, and wrote and talkedgleefully of the horrible atrocities committed upon the colonists.