Chapter XVIII
The Attack on Louisbourg
"You have turned up in the very nick of time, gentlemen," said GeneralWolfe, as he surveyed the party standing before him on the deck of theFrench vessel. "Our fleet and transports have arrived in these waters,and we are about to attempt a landing on Cape Breton Island. Afterthat we shall lay siege to the fort of Louisbourg. Can I be of serviceto you in any way?"
He swept his eye over each one of the group, smiling at the strangeappearance of Steve and his white friends, for they were now dressedin the rough sailor clothing which they had found aboard, and forthe most part looked curious objects. Their paint and feathers haddisappeared entirely, but all clung to their fringed hunting shirts,while rough trousers of sailcloth protected their legs, and Frenchsailor hats covered their heads where only a few days before there hadbeen scalp locks and the crests of eagles.
"Come, gentlemen, now that you are free, you have the world to choosefrom. You can return to England, you can make for your old hauntsnear Ticonderoga, where I am sure Hawk and his band of scouts willbe welcome, or you can remain here and help us a little. Personally,I should be glad if that were your decision, for I am training anumber of the men of my brigade to fight in open order, making useof cover as do backwoodsmen. I could not have better instructors thanyourselves."
The TRIANGULAR ROUTE Between CANADA and our AMERICANCOLONY 1755.]
"You can put me down, then, general," sang out Jim, promptly, raisinghis arm. "Only there's jest one condition of service I bargain forafter rations and pay are earned. I fight under my old cap'n. He'shere, and he's fit to lead a hul regiment."
"Pay and allowances will be the same as formerly. As to yourcondition, that can be arranged if Mr. Steve Mainwaring wishes to takeup a commission again."
Steve promptly agreed to do so, and within a very few minutes thegeneral had obtained seven valuable recruits for his new regiment.
"You will be able to enter upon your duties almost at once," said thegeneral. "As I said, we are about to attempt a landing. Up to this thesea has been too rough for such an expedition, but there is every signof its getting calmer, and should it do so, our boats will put out. Wewill now return to the frigate, where the master-tailor can supply youwith suitable clothing, for, after all, I fear that we could not allowyou to take your places in our ranks in such dress as you now wear."
He walked to the rope ladder, swung himself down with wonderfulagility, and was followed by Steve and his friends and by the navalofficer. An order was then given, and the two men at the oars pulledaway for the frigate, a couple of sailors being left aboard thecaptured vessel.
"We have lost a few of our ships since we sailed from Halifax," saidthe general, "and as I expect that you have no further use for theship you captured, we will put her into commission at once. There is apermanent Prize Board sitting, and they will inspect her and decide onher value to-day. That money will be yours, gentlemen, for you are theowners."
Some hours later as Steve walked the broad deck of the frigate, hecould hardly believe that he had so recently escaped from prison.The days had flown since his father and his old friends came to hisrescue, and they had been so filled with incident. He felt strange onthis big vessel, and found it difficult to realize that he was againunder orders, holding a captain's commission, and about to take partin the conflict between England and France.
"This is a very different affair from those up by Ticonderoga, Steve,"said his father, coming up to him. "Look at the force we have; theremust be ten thousand men at least. I mean soldiers of course, and amnot counting the crews of the ships."
"Of the ships there are nearly two hundred," answered Steve, for hehad been busily counting them. Indeed, Mr. Mainwaring might wellobserve that this was a big affair, for on this sunny June morningthose who patrolled the deck of the frigate could see numerous shipsof war, sloops, frigates, and transports, all cruising backwardsand forwards off Cape Breton Island. Boscawen, "Old Dreadnought,"was the admiral in command, and his fleet had only recently reachedHalifax, where he had picked up the vessels remaining there, and hadbrought them on with him. Amherst, whom the reader will recollect,was in command of the troops, had now some twelve thousand men aboardthe ships and transports, for on his arrival at Halifax he hadstrengthened his own force with the troops taken to this port by theEarl of Loudon in the previous year. Nor had he a single regiment toomany, for the task before him was a formidable one.
Louisbourg, like Quebec, may be said to have been the stronghold ofthe military, while, owing to its excellent harbour, it was also arendezvous for the French fleets. It consisted of private residences,churches, and innumerable barracks and forts. In fact, it was a vastfort, constructed at huge expense and pains, and designed by the verybest engineers of France. Seen from the edge of the harbour, its mostprominent features were the king's bastion and barracks, the hospital,and the Recollects church nestling under the walls of the former.There were fish stages and wharves, for Louisbourg was occupied by alarge number of men who looked to the sea for their living. In allthere were some four thousand inhabitants at this period, and theseconsisted of the fisher folk above mentioned, of numerous priests, andof many others whose business was connected in some way or other withthe military or with the navy.
This vast fortress undoubtedly existed for war alone, and the Frenchhad made enormous efforts to make it impregnable. Once before thegallant New Englanders had captured the place, but a shortsightedEnglish ministry had handed it back to France, whose ministers werepossessed of far keener perception. They realized that the strugglebetween the two nations would break out again, and since it had comeinto their hands after capture, they had spared no pains to completetheir preparations for offence and defence. There were four thousandFrench and Canadian regulars behind the two miles of granite walls ofthe fortress, making eight thousand defenders if the civil populationare counted. Four hundred cannon grinned from the embrasures, whilethe store-houses contained ample ammunition and food for a year. Addto these preparations against attack the natural defences of theplace, for the seas were rough, and the coast rocky for miles oneither side, save for an occasional cove capable of easy defence,and the reader will be able to gather some idea of the difficultiesbefore our forces. In addition, the seven-mile circumference of theharbour prevented all approach from the sea-side to the fortress, andsheltered seven battleships and five frigates, which together addedfive hundred and fifty guns and three thousand men to the strength ofthe garrison.
"There will be a landing to-morrow," said General Wolfe that evening,as he joined Steve and his father on the deck. "This sea is settlingdown, I am thankful to say, for I am the worst of sailors, and if onlythe wind will remain fair we shall embark during the night. You willtake part in the landing."
That night, in fact, it became known through the fleet that anendeavour would be made to land in the early hours of the followingmorning, and sunrise found the troops embarked in the ship's boats,and hanging on to their sides awaiting the signal. Three spots hadbeen selected for the expedition to attack, and in consequence theforce at General Amherst's disposal was divided into three divisions.The first and second of these were under the command of BrigadiersLawrence and Whitmore respectively, and they were to attack the twocoves nearest to the fortress on its west. Wolfe was in command ofthe third division, with orders to row along the rocky coast tillhe came to Le Coromandiere, which while being the most likely spotfor a landing, being easier than the former two, was at the sametime strongly defended by the enemy, who had trenches, rifle pits,and strong barricades, with mounted cannon. It was four miles fromLouisbourg, so that it was some little while before the boats of thisdivision arrived near the cove. Meanwhile our fleet opened a terrificfire on the fortress.
"Listen to that fer cannon," said Jim, who sat beside Steve, hismusket, now provided with a bayonet, set upright between his legs."I've never in all the course of my days heard the like of it. It'sthunder and worse."
"Our men
are just giving the French in the fortress a taste of whatthey have in store for them," laughed Steve. "But take a look at thecove, Jim. Those are guns there, and there must be a large force ofmen ready to receive us."
"Then the more the merrier, lad. I've fought behind trees many a scoreof times. I've been shut in a fort with a couple of hundred redskinvarmint howlin' and firin' outside, but I've never in all my daystried my hand at this sort of thing. Somehow we rangers think we'rebetter soldiers than air these here reg'lars. But I ain't so sartin.No doubt when it's a war with braves, or a fight in the forest, we'rethe best boys at the game. But out here, a job of this sort ain't doneby hanging behind trees and rocks. It wants a rush, and to make thata man has to have downright pluck. Yes, I'm beginnin' to see that areg'lar has got heaps o' grit when he fights in his own way, and ashe's been taught. Whew! Did yer feel that?"
Steve did. It was the shot from one of the French batteries which, nowthat the boats were within some hundred yards, opened on the flotillasuddenly. The shot, round and grape, hissed and hummed through theair, and striking the water for the most part, sent up cascades whichblew away in spray, drenching many of the occupants of the boats.Had that cove been sheltered it is probable that Wolfe's divisionwould have suffered terribly, for there were twelve hundred Frenchmenwaiting for their attack, and they had many guns. But this barren,rockbound coast gave little or no shelter, and it happened that a bigswell was running, which made correct aim impossible, and a hit morea matter of chance than of skill. And so it turned out that littledamage was done. The bellow of the cannon was answered by a derisivecheer, and at once the boats' crews bent to their oars and raced forthe narrow beach.
"Thunder! That air wuss nor bullets," sang out Jim, half rising to hisfeet, for this was a weird and new experience for the hunter. "Reckonanother of them bangs and there won't be much of this crowd left tofight. Cap'n, it air clean mad to keep out here in the open whenthere's a bit of a rock thar that'll shelter us from them guns andgive a landing at the same time."
This time the trapper got to his feet, in spite of the shouts of theensign in command of the regulars aboard the boat, and as if to showhow right he was, there came the crash of a second discharge, roundshot and ball, hurtled about the boats, striking some of the men, andsplashing foam and spray everywhere.
"Look thar," cried Jim, in no way abashed by the gold lace and smartuniform of the young officer. "Yer'll never set yer toe on the beach,but yer'll get to hand grips with them ere Frenchies ef yer'll makeaway where I'm pointin'."
The officer was on his feet in a moment, scanning the rock to whichthe trapper had drawn his attention. Then he gave a sharp word ofcommand, which caused the tiller to be put over and the bows of theboat to sheer off in that direction, while the crew, who had lain ontheir oars and looked doubtfully about them after the last dischargeof cannon, bent to their work again with a will. Another boat near athand followed their example, and a third was not slow to do the same.It became a race, and the water was churned into froth at the bows ofthe boats.
"Steady! That's near enough. Over we go. Hurrah!"
A wild cheer burst from the men as they leaped into the surf, and withtheir young officer and Steve ahead made for the shore.
"Make way for the other men and just get your breath, my lads," sangout the officer. "Sit down and keep close to the rock. They cannot seeus here, and we shall be able to form up for a charge. Ha! Look at thebrigadier. He is following. Did anyone see his signals?"
He looked round anxiously, passing his eyes from face to face till hecame to Steve. The latter nodded, while a smile played on his lips.
"I fancy I did," he laughed. "The brigadier was in a hot place, andsaw that his men would be shot to pieces. I rather think I saw himsignal to the whole flotilla to retire."
This, in fact, was the case. General Wolfe, seeing the narrowness ofthe beach, its difficult approach, and the batteries which commandedit, had signalled for the flotilla of boats to retire at once, for hewas fearful of losing his men. But he was not the officer to allow abreach of discipline of this sort to arouse his anger. His boat camesurging up to the rock upon which the first party had landed, and ina trice he was being carried ashore on the shoulders of a stalwartsailor.
"Well done! Well done, indeed, my lads. A very smart manoeuvre, whichmay save the situation for us. Lucky none of you saw my signal."
There was a dry smile on his thin lips, and he looked at the youngofficer directly, causing him to flush to the roots of his hair.
"Now we shall turn those gentlemen out, my lads. Will any one followme?"
There was a shout at that, a bellow of excitement, for the men hadbeen roused by the small losses already suffered, and were stungby the fear of failure. In a trice they were lined up behind thebrigadier, who faced round to inspect them, a simple cane his onlyweapon. And beside this gallant officer stood Steve and Jim, thelatter looking grim and determined.
"What reg'lars can do, so kin I," he growled. "But I 'low as thisfightin' in the open air enough to scare a chap as is used to theforest. Let's get ahead with the charge. I'm warm and ready."
So were the men. Their blood was thoroughly up. They gripped theirmuskets, and held the bayonets levelled with their chests. Then thebrigadier gave the word, and the troops, now all collected, save forthose who had been hit, or who had been drowned in the surf, gave ashout and set off towards the intrenchments held by the French.
"Steady, boys. Here are some of their grenadiers. Let the leftflanking company get down and open fire. Steady. Drive them back, orthey will take us in the rear."
The brigadier brought the column to a halt for a few moments, whilethe company selected sent out its riflemen, for a company of Frenchgrenadiers had suddenly put in an appearance. However, the Englishsoldiers were not to be gainsaid on this particular day. There werea number of defeats to be wiped out. The memory of Braddock's defeatwas still fresh, while Fort William Henry and its dastardly massacrewas always before them. Those skirmishers fired a hail of bullets intothe grenadiers sent down by the enemy to oppose the landing, and then,finding that their powder was damped by the sea-water, for very fewof the men had escaped a drenching, they clapped bayonets to theirmuzzles, gave a fierce shout, and heads down charged the enemy, thelong and terrible weapon, which they knew so well how to wield, heldwell in advance.
Meanwhile the column, thanks to Jim's sagacity and to the sharpnessof the ensign and of the other two commanders of boats who hadfollowed to the spit of rock, lay out of range of the French cannonand musketry fire. The enemy lying in their rifle pits and trenchesabove could not see them, and were forced to remain idle while thecompany of grenadiers they had sent down attempted the impossible taskof turning the invaders back. Nor did it improve their steadiness whenthey saw these same grenadiers flying back for their lives, a draggledand drenched crew of red coats charging after them, with bayonetsflashing in the June sun and shouts of triumph on their lips. Forthat sight gave them an idea of what they might expect in a very fewminutes, and caused many to have doubts. Brigadier-General Wolfe didnot give them long before showing them his intentions.
"We will charge now," he sang out, standing there before the columnas cool as an iceberg, while he swished the air with his ridiculouslittle cane. "There are batteries, with some hundreds of men to defendthem. We are about to take those batteries and to chase the Frenchback to the walls of their fort."
There was a shout from the officers, who had by now got theircompanies into order, a shout which was taken up deliriously by themen. The brigadier turned, waved a signal, and set off steadilyround the spit of rock. Then he broke into a trot, and as soon asthe companies swung round from the shelter, they wheeled so as toface the enemy's position, opened out a little, preserving wonderfulsteadiness in spite of the bullets and round shot hurtling about theirears, and then broke into a fast run which very soon changed into amost determined and furious charge. The men's blood was undoubtedlyup. All thought of personal safety was gone. They forgot th
e fact thatbullets were flying, forgot that they were drenched to the skin, andthat their powder was wet, for they had no need for it now. This was aday for cold steel, and the thought of that, the determination to getup to those batteries, to fling the French back and punish those whohad fired at the flotilla alone filled the minds of the men.
"It 'ud do a lot of trappers a power of good to see 'em," shoutedJim, as with Steve beside him he swung out from the shelter of therocks. "This air fightin'! This I 'low would take all the grit abackwoodsman's got, 'cos there's no cover. Air yer ready?"
He turned to find that Steve was not only ready, but was alreadyrushing away from him. For our hero had caught the infection spread bythese gallant fellows under Wolfe's command. He had no wish to kill.He felt only a huge desire to be amongst the very first to reach thosebatteries, come what might, and when he was there, not a Frenchmanwould dare to remain. He would see to that. He was armed with a sabreon this occasion, and dressed in the red coat and pantaloons of anofficer who had died on the voyage from England. He felt more thanever now that he was an officer, to whom the men would look. And thatthought, as well as his own natural dash and gallantry, stimulatedhim. He shouted with the loudest, swung his sabre above his head, andthen raced through the bullets and the cannon shot. A low wall of rockstood in his way, and Brigadier Wolfe was in the act of scaling it.With one leap Steve stood on the summit. Then he turned, caught thebrigadier by the arm and hoisted him up. The two were now ahead of thecharging column.
Brigadier Wolfe faced the tall young officer for a second, andcoolly shook him by the hand, gripping his left, for Steve had hishilt in the right. The sight of such an act of coolness brought afrantic shout from the men. Steve turned to look at them for onebrief moment, and noted the set expression of their faces, the grim,determined looks, the gaping nostrils and the heaving chests. Then,as the brigadier waved his cane, he faced the enemy again, and with ashout went on at the head of the men. A huge Frenchman, armed with aponderous musket, suddenly shot up from behind a barricade, broughthis piece to his shoulder, and aimed at our hero. There was a flash,the powder in the pan spluttered up into smoke, while the bullet sweptwithin an inch of Steve's head, thudding heavily on something justbehind him.
"Ef I don't get even with that ere chap, why, I ain't Huntin' Jim,"shouted a voice at his elbow. "Jest wait a minute. Ha! Yer'd shootme down. That's jest to make yer remember that I ain't so soft as tofall 'cos a bullet's happened to strike me."
"IN ANOTHER SECOND HE HAD BAYONETTED THE FRENCHMAN"]
It was Jim undoubtedly, all his old backwoods coolness gone, allhis cunning and his Indian ways forgotten in the excitement of thismoment. His eyes were wide open, his lips set close together, whilerage was written on every feature. The stolid hunter had been struckthrough the fleshy part of one arm, and the sting of the wound hadserved only to increase his excitement. With a bound he passed Steve,and in another second he had bayonetted the Frenchman, bringing thegrenadier to the ground with a terrific crash. By then the head ofthe column was up at the batteries, and for a few moments a desperatehand to hand contest was fought, while the gunners endeavoured tofire their charges of grape into the midst of the rear of the column.However, English bayonets had before then driven the French off thefield, and on this occasion our gallant fellows were not to be denied.They drove those of the enemy who dared to remain out of their riflepits with their murderous bayonets, broke down and shattered theirdefence, and sent them racing for the fortress. Nor did that entirelysatisfy them. They broke into more open order, and with Jim and Macand Steve to lead, chased those fugitives to the very gates of thefortress, till reinforcements poured out of Louisbourg, and untilthe cannon of the fortress began to ply them with shot. Only thendid they deign to retire, showing a defiant face to the enemy, nowoutnumbering them by many hundreds.
"Very gallantly done, lads," said the general, when the column wasagain drawn up, and the wounded had been seen to. "I congratulateofficers and men on the brilliant dash which they have shown, and onhaving won a most valuable landing-place for our army. To-night youwill have the place of honour in the general's published orders. Letme not forget to thank those gentlemen who have so recently come froma visit paid to the French in Quebec. Their gallantry and dash weremost stimulating, while I myself owe some help to their leader."
There was a shout at that, for long ago the men had been madeacquainted with Steve's history. But these men of the backwoods wereas yet strangers to the majority of the attacking party, who had butlately arrived from England. They had heard many a time of theirparticular methods of fighting in the forests, of their cunning and oftheir value as scouts. It did them good to find that these same mencould stand in the open and deliver a charge when bullets and roundshot were flying, and when there was no cover to be obtained.
"I expect we shall soon have some of our old scouting work now," saidSteve that night, as he and Jim and Mac sat under a tent which hadbeen brought ashore, and discussed the action of the morning. "One ofthe first duties of the general will be to see that the country roundabout the fortress is clear, for there are many Indians about, and acanoe can easily be paddled across from the mainland. While we arescouting, the troops will be busily engaged in getting the guns ashoreand making ready for a proper siege. That will be slow work, and I forone shall not care to take part in it."
Two mornings later our hero was sent for to the tent of BrigadierWolfe.
"You will at once be attached to my light companies," he said, asSteve saluted. "Your friends will, of course, be with you, and youwill do all you can to give instruction. The men had about two weeks'work at Halifax, but are, of course, very inexperienced. They are allyoung and active, and picked as marksmen."
On the following day, therefore, Steve and his friends walked over tothe officer in command of these light infantry companies, and promptlyset to work. On his advice the men were at once taken away from thecamp, and divided into smaller parties, each of which was under oneof the backwoodsmen, for Pete and Mr. Mainwaring had now come ashore.There was dense forest within easy reach, as well as some more openground, on which, however, it was possible to find cover. And herefor hours at a time the men were practised, till they were fairlyproficient. Then one half was set to fight the other, the men beingroused to such keenness by these methods that they hardly seemed tonotice any fatigue.
"They are the fellows who will help us to win this war," said thebrigadier a few days later, as he watched them at their work. "But nowfor my news. The rough seas are delaying the landing of stores, anduntil they are all ashore we cannot, of course, undertake to lay siegeto the fortress. Meanwhile the general has ordered me to march roundto the far side of the harbour and erect a battery there. I will takethese companies. We start at daybreak to-morrow."
It would be tedious to narrate how Steve and his friends accompaniedthis expedition, and how, in spite of a galling fire from thebatteries and the ships, General Wolfe managed to construct hisearth-works and batteries at Lighthouse Point. It was a class ofwarfare which, like the attack on the cove, was entirely new to them,and all agreed in admiring the persistency and the cool bravery, notto say recklessness, of the soldiers.
That battery, in spite of the heavy fire poured upon it, silencedthe French guns, and broke to pieces a battery on Goat Island inthe middle of the harbour. Its fire was soon followed by the bellowof the huge siege guns which had now been brought ashore, and verysoon the din about the fortress of Louisbourg was such that men weredeafened, and Steve had never heard the like of it before. Sortieswere delivered, and were promptly met and driven back. The siege waspressed vigorously, shot and shell pouring on the devoted place, whilethe politest messages passed between besiegers and besieged. Then theCanadians and their Indians outside our lines delivered their attack,an attack which Steve and the light regiments, now employed as scouts,were able to detect in good time and drive off easily.
And so a month passed, a month of endless cannonading, till thefortress was shattered, and th
e walls and buildings flying infragments everywhere. The French were in desperate plight, and wiselyagreed to surrender, having fought most gallantly. Thus the formidablefortress came into our hands, and Pitt's forward policy began tobring a long-looked for success. We had captured a place for long thegreatest menace to our power in America, and with it had taken somesix thousand soldiers and sailors, thus reducing the enemy's strength,while it set ten thousand of our own troops free to operate in otherquarters. As for the fortress itself, it was of no use to us, and sometwo years later was torn to pieces and utterly dismantled. Hardly astone of that fine costly place can be seen to-day.
Steve did not long remain at Cape Breton, for scouts were requiredat Ticonderoga, and an urgent message had been sent through toGeneral Amherst to ask for a supply. Steve and his friends were sent,therefore, and arrived in the neighbourhood of Fort William Henry,now reconstructed, only to hear the doleful tidings of a defeat,the effects of which required even more than the crowning victoryat Louisbourg to counteract. For General Abercromby had made a mosthopeless and inexcusable failure of his long projected attack onthe French fort at Ticonderoga. Nor was this failure due to want ofcareful preparation, to unsuitable troops, or to lack of courage.Of the troops there were plenty and to spare. Had the attack beendelivered by the same troops again, properly led over ground whichhad been carefully reconnoitred, there would have been a differentresult, in spite of the stubborn and wonderful gallantry of theFrench. But Abercromby made no use of the excellent scouting materialwhich he possessed. He made no use of the few guns dragged to thispart with infinite labour, but left them six miles in his rear. Hehad six thousand troops, all burning to avenge the massacre at FortWilliam Henry, and he launched his regiments one after another overopen ground in a frontal attack upon the _chevaux de frise_ whichthe French had erected. Time and again gallant souls dashed forward,only to be beaten down and slain by the bullets and cannon of unseenmarksmen and gunners. Why, the youngest subaltern, inexperiencedin war, would have ordered all further attacks to cease till hehad brought up his guns and smashed those formidable but flimsydefences to pieces. Not so General Abercromby. He had shown no lackof astuteness and organising ability up till now. But at this thecritical time in the actions of this expedition he ruined all byhis helpless and singularly unsuitable tactics, or, rather, by hisabsolute disregard of the simplest of tactics.
That bitter defeat cost us two thousand men, for the most part menof the regular regiments, though the colonial militia did their dutyadmirably. Indeed, as has been said, there was never any lack ofbravery. The soldiers one and all were filled with the utmost courageand zeal.
Steve and his little band soon found more work to do, for Bradstreet,a popular and very dashing New England officer serving withAbercromby, jumped at the news which Mr. Mainwaring was able to give.Frontenac, a French port at the entrance to Lake Ontario, and almostopposite the forts at Oswego which Montcalm had captured and burned,had for a long time been of the utmost importance to the French. Butto meet Abercromby at Ticonderoga, and Amherst at Louisbourg, theFrench had been compelled to denude it of its troops. Bradstreet atonce took advantage of this news. With Steve and Jim leading hisforces, he went by river and land, taking the Mohawk route, and aftera long struggle reached the lake. From there he paddled across toFrontenac, captured the place, for there were only a hundred soldiersto defend it, and promptly burned the forts and town, together withsome armed vessels lying off it, and enormous stores of food andarmaments, powder and ball, which had been collected there. In fact,he delivered a blow of the utmost consequence, and one which helpednot a little to counteract the defeat we had received at Ticonderoga.Let any reader who may happen to sail into Lake Ontario just glance atthe fine city of Kingston, and remember that it was there, on the sitewhich this city occupies, that Steve and his friends, with Bradstreetin command, inflicted a blow on the French which was of the utmostconsequence, and which helped to make this eventful year of 1758 standout prominently in our annals.
To their success was added that of Forbes, sent against Fort Duquesne.It will be remembered that it was here that Braddock had met withdefeat, and that the fort from its position was necessarily a thornin our sides. Forbes was faced with stupendous difficulties, notthe least of which was the terrible weather he met with. It seemed,indeed, as if he would never reach his destination, for he had milesof forest to traverse, and a host of undisciplined troops to dealwith. So certain did it appear that he would not persevere in hisattempt, that the French reduced their garrison. However, Forbes,in spite of ill-health, was a man of bull-dog determination, and heeventually reached the fort, took it, and changed its name to thatof Pitt. The thriving city of Pittsburg now occupies the site whereDuquesne stood.
One other item has to be mentioned in the description of this year'sdoings. A gallant Moravian missionary, one Post by name, offered toundertake a journey to the Ohio Indians, who, led by the French, hadfor so long been harrying our Alleghany frontiers. This brave manwent not once only, but twice to these people, at the risk of almostcertain torture and death, and finally persuaded the fierce bravesto give up their alliance with the French, to cease their slaughter,and to bury the hatchet with the six nations. For the tide of war waschanging. The tale of Frontenac, and of Louisbourg, had reached to thefarthest wigwams, and no Indian existed who did not desire above allthings to be on the winning side, the side to which most reward andplunder would come.
Thus our generals found themselves with a huge weight off theirminds. Ticonderoga still existed, and it alone barred our advance upthose lakes, St. George and Champlain, to Canada itself. The winterof 1758 found Pitt with another policy, pushing on his preparationsfor carrying it out when the spring should have come to break up theice in the mighty St. Lawrence. Quebec was to be the objective, andBrigadier-General Wolfe, the silent, active leader, was to command.Nor was Steve to be left out of the expedition, for hardly had themonth of May, 1759, come when a message reached him.
"To Captain Steve Mainwaring," it read, "From General Wolfe. Pleasemake it convenient to travel to New York at the earliest date, andfrom there join the fleet making for Quebec. I have urgent need ofyour services."
Steve packed his clothing, took Jim and Mac and his father with him,and set off at once, eager to see again the fair city in which he hadbeen so long a prisoner.
How Canada Was Won: A Tale of Wolfe and Quebec Page 18
