E199 r>' ''^: ^ "o.o^ ,«,^ 9. ♦,, -' -^"^ "o^ aV "«> :. \..^' .•;^'-. -"-^o/ i^^-- \ . ^°^ ' .y o .0 ^^-^^^ h.^ ■'tr 'o^ * A^ "-l°<. r -^^^ •^^ ^" .^' A* i Ao, ^0-^ ;i lo> V JE'on THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN of 1759 BY GEORGE DOUGLAS EMERSON BUFFALO ASSOCIATION OF THE SOCIETY OF COLONIAL fTARS 1906 THE Niagara Campaign OF 1759 GEORGE DOUGLAS EMERSON w BUFFALO ASSOCIATION OF THE SOCIETY OF COLONIAL WARS 1906 yi. THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759 FIRST PAPER Read before the Buffalo Association, Society of Colonial Wars, April 27, 1905. It was my privilege, one year ago last June, to accept, on behalf of the Niagara Frontier Landmarks Association, a tablet marking the spot where Gen. Scott stationed a battery at the opening of the Battle of Queenston, October 13, 1812. In accepting the tablet I made this remark : "From our youth upwards we have been told that the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church, and pathetic as the thought may be, it would seem likewise true that all human progress and development have come largely through bloodshed and sorrow and suffering." A perusal of the history of the Western Continent for a period of 300 years after Columbus first landed on its shores would lead almost to the conclusion that to no epoch in the world's history, and to no clime or country, could such a remark be more aptly applied than to the northern part of this same Western Continent — our home and our native land — now happily in the enjoyment of profound peace and with a civilization and a development vmparalleled in all the annals of time. With the incoming of the colonists, both to Virginia and the more rugged New England shores, came the conflict of arms for the possession of the vast and unknown and appar- 2 THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. ently boundless regions which stretched far beyond the Hmit of vision and exploration, to the north and the south and the west. At first it was the colonist against the Indian, and the records of those early years, in recounting the resistance of the original occupants of the soil to the advent of the white man, teem with tales of bloodshed and fiendishness that even at this late day can scarcely be read without a shudder. The midnight raid, the butchered family, the burned homestead and barns, tortured prisoners, crops destroyed and live stock stolen ; all these in a thousand shapes and ways have left their imprint upon the pages of history, but they also remind us of a race of hardy pioneers to whom to do and to dare and to die were only chapters in their everyday life. But no power on earth has ever been able to withstand, and we trust that, under Divine Providence, no power ever will be able to withstand, that most gigantic agency for human progress, "Anglo-Saxon aggressiveness." And so, gradually, the red man was pushed back, striving as best he could, in his blind way, to resist the inevitable, the forests were leveled, the fields cultivated, and the area of the white man's occupancy more and more extended. But in the course of time there came to the North, up the St. Lawrence River — to occupy the snowy fields of Canada — the sons and daughters of France, the old, inveterate and time-honored foe of England. Between these two countries there then, as for generations previous, existed hearty and long-standing animosities. These national hatreds and animosities appar- ently were transplanted to the new world with the ever- increasing tide of emigration, and it was not a difficult task for the colonies and the colonists to become involved in the entanglements which made the history of Europe along this period almost a continuous story of battlefields and carnage. And so from the beginning of these diverse settlements in the new world, in addition to the redman's enmity, there was ever athwart the horizon the grim specter of what William H. Seward would have called "an irrepressible conflict" — two opposing forces — with pride, ambition and aggressive- THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759- 3 ness entering into the composition of each — drawing con- stantly nearer the danger Hne and which must, inevitably, sooner or later, engage in battle for the supremacy. In 1748 occurred that diplomatic fiction, the treaty of Aix la-Chapelle, to which England and France were parties, more remarkable for the issues that were left unsettled than for any real good that was accomplished ; and succeeding this there was a momentary pause in the strife at arms be- tween the two countries. The fire, however, was only covered over — not extinguished, — and ere many years had elapsed there were again strifes and contentions, not only in Europe, but likewise along the boundary lines of the colonial posses- sions of these two nations. These strifes and contentions finally culminated in what is known in America as the "French and Indian War," and in Europe as the "Seven Years' War," lasting from 1756 until 1763. That the colonists could hardly say that the lines had fallen to them in pleasant places is evidenced from this being the fourth struggle between the French and English colonies, the preceding ones having been "King William's War" in 1689; "Queen Anne's War," which dragged along from 1702 to 1713, and "King George's War," in 1744 and 1745. And it was only twelve years after the conclusion of the French and Indian War to the outbreak of the War for Inde- pendence. Sandwiched in between these formal hostilities were bickerings and boundary-line disputes, Indian depreda- tions and similar causes for alarm and uneasiness, to say nothing of the ceaseless everyday drudgery incident to open- ing up a new country. The long and bloody Seven Years' War was not a contest for redress of grievances, like the American Revolution of a later date ; nor to prevent territorial absorption, like the present Japanese and Russian embroglio — there were no great principles at stake, as in the Civil War in our own land ; there were encroachments by the French and, perhaps, tres- passes on the part of each — in fact, disputes as to boundary lines was the ostensible cause of the war ; but stripped of all veneering, it was simply a bloody battle to the finish \\n\h THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. only one issue, viz. : Should England or France dominate the Western continent ? And I think that none of us has any occasion to regret the outcome of the contest, and that to the Union Jack of Old England instead of the Lilies of France came the triumph. As was usual, each side sought the aid of the savage red man in carrying on the contest ; and, as was also usual, there was a diversity of service on the part of the Indian — some tribes espousing the English cause, others taking sides with the French ; but these allegiances varied as the struggle pro- ceeded and the fortunes of war favored the one side or the other. Our foxy red brother always exhibited a strong incli- nation in every contest to be with the winner at the finish, and manifested considerable dexterity in getting there. Candor compels the admission that, as a rule, our English brethren in those days were not as successful in handling the Indian problem as were either the French or the Dutch. Perhaps, we had better say, were not as shrewd or diplomatic in their intercourse with the red man, and, consequently, did not share his friendship as strongly as did the other two peo- ples. It was pretty much, however, a difiference of methods and not of results. When lands were wanted, with the Eng- lishman it was generally a case of brutal frankness — stand and deliver, as we may say. With the Frenchman and the Dutchman there were more impressive preliminaries. There would be a pow-wow, much palavering — they smoked the pipe with the Indian and then proceeded to unload upon the unsuspecting red man a choice assortment of gold bricks, after which, I dare say, they went to their homes, thanking God, like the publican of old, that they were not as other men and that they had secured their lands by treaties. There were, of course, honorable exceptions to all this — treaties that were honestly made, and I verily believe honestly adhered to ; but I have failed to discover in all my researches that in the long run the red man profited any more by the one process than he did by the other. I can only call to mind the somewhat grim, sarcastic expression so prevalent THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. 5 in these days — the operation was very successful, but the patient died. War was finally declared by England against France, May 17, 1756, and France returned the compliment on the 9th day of June, following. Hostilities, nevertheless, had been in progress for nearly two years, and up to this period the wager of battle had been quite in favor of France, and there seemed a strong probability that the magnificent Parisian dream of a great French colonial empire in the new world, dominating and overshadowing all other interests, was about to be realized. Quebec on the St. Lawrence, well fortified and garrisoned, was the central point from which radiated French influence and activities. Montreal, 180 miles farther up the St. Lawrence River, had also its fortifications and French garrison. In 1745, during King George's War, the last colonial struggle between the French and the English, prior to the French and Indian War, Louisburg, a strongly fortified point on the Isle of Cape Breton, was captured bv the English, but under the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, already referred to, it had been restored to France. The French still held this important point. They had expended upon its for- tifications upwards of five million dollars and it was fre- quently spoken of as the Gibraltar of North America. Back- in 1732, they had penetrated Northern New York and had seized and occupied Crown Point, a strong, strategic point on Lake Champlain, and erected fortifications, thus forming a barrier against any invasion of Canada from New York State. They had pushed their columns still further south and on Lake George, at what they called Tierondoga, had erected Fort Carillon, the fortification more familiarly known to us as Fort Ticonderoga. Frontenac, on the northern shore of Lake Ontario, now the flourishing city of Kingston, Canada, and Detroit, on its present site, were both well fortified and garrisoned posts occupied by the French. They held Fort Niagara, at the mouth of the Niagara River, with its garri- son of 600 or 700 men, thereby controlling the portage around the great Falls of Niagara from Lewiston to Schlosser, with its important carrying trade and commerce. 6 THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. Fort Du Quesne, Presque Isle, Le Boeuf, and Venango, in Western Pennsylvania, were also garrisoned by French troops. Thence across Ohio, Indiana and down the Valley of the Mississippi, with its immense fur trade, stretching away to New Orleans, as the extreme southern outpost, were their trading posts and mihtary stations, altogether about sixty in number, between Quebec in the north and New Orleans in the south. The English colonists occupied the Atlantic seaboard, east of the Alleghany Mountains, with a border line perhaps a thousand miles in length, reaching as far as the Penobscot in the northeast, with Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore as the principal cities in the more northerly prov- inces. Albany and Schenectady were beginning to be promi- nent in the annals of the day, and through the Mohawk Val- ley were sparse settlements, mostly of Holland Dutch, but among them a Palatine village. Oswego, occupying the same site as the present city of that name, was the most northwesterly fortified point held by the English in the pro- vince of New York. Fort Du Quesne, of which mention has been made, de- serves more than a passing notice. It was originally planned by the Ohio Company, a corporation chartered by the Eng- lish Government, with a grant of 600,000 acres of land and the right of traffic with the Indians — a land company, I should judge, much after the style of the Holland Land Com- pany of our local history. In April, 1754, the company sent some thirty men to construct a fort at the junction of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers. Before finishing the work the men were attacked by the French and driven off. The French claimed that this was an encroachment upon territory which was theirs by right of exploration and dis- covery. Colonel George Washington with a detachment of Virginia troops was about forty miles distant and endeavored to reach the spot. He was obliged to retire before the supe- rior forces of the French, but a fight took place May 28th in which the French commander and some of his men were killed. Thus, almost two vears before the actual declaration THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1739. 7 of war and with George Washington as the EngHsh com- mander, the first blood was shed in the long and eventful French and Indian War. Washington erected Fort Neces- sity at the Great Meadows near the national road from Cumberland to Washington in the southeastern part of Fayette County, Pennsylvania. He received reinforcements and again advanced towards Fort Du Quesne, but again was compelled to fall back before the greatly superior force of the enemy. He retired to Fort Necessity, was attacked bv the French and Indians and compelled to surrender, which took place July 4, 1754. Colonel Washington, although but twenty-three years of age at the time, as the leader of Colo- nial troops, participated in another movement against Fort Du Quesne during the following year, his men being a part of the force commanded by Gen. Edward Braddock, which on the Qth day of July, 1755, met with a most disastrous defeat, about ten miles from the fort, a story with which you are all familiar. The old saying, "three times and out," was well exemplified in Washington's case. In 1758, for the third time, he led the Colonial troops, or as they were gen- erally termed provincials, in a movement against Fort Du Quesne, Gen. Forbes being the English commander. Suc- cess attended their efforts this time and after a long and tedious campaign the fort, on the 24th day of November of that year, 1758, fell into the hands of the English. Its name was changed to Fort Pitt, in honor of the great Prime Min- ister of England, evoluting, in later and more peaceful times, to Pittsburg, the most thriving municipality in Western Pennsylvania. A peculiar circumstance was that Wash- ington surrendered Fort Necessity to the French on the 4th day of July, a day destined a few years thereafter to become a milestone on the highway of the ages. Of the other places named, Presque Isle is now Erie ; Le Boeuf , Waterford ; and Venango, Franklin, Penn. There have been persons who imagined that Washington had had but little military training or experience when he assumed command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Mass., in July, 1775, and that his appointment was primarily THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. a political one, but such an impression must arise from pure ignorance. No officer in the colonies was better fitted for the command, both by training and natural gifts, or had passed through a more varied experience than had the father of his country, and not to recognize his supreme qualifications for leadership is to underestimate the capacity and strength of character of the great chieftain. Over and above and per- meating all his acts was his exalted patriotism — always sub- ordinating personal desires for the welfare of his country, an ideal character for all the ages. It would also be interest- ing to notice some of the other prominent officers of the Con- tinental Army, who, like Washington, served an honorable apprenticeship in the French and Indian War and other colo- nial struggles, but time will not permit. Such a list would include Israel Putnam, John Stark, Philip Schuyler, Charles Lee, Horatio Gates, Daniel Morgan, John Armstrong, William Mercer, Artemus Ward, Richard Montgomery, and William Prescott, the commander at Bunker Hill, who par- ticipated in the capture of Louisburg in 1745. Colonel Gridley, an engineer officer, who laid out the American works the day before the battle of Bunker Hill, participated in both the 1745 and 1758 sieges and capture of Louisburg and in the capture of Quebec in 1759. When mention is made of General Gage we most naturally think of the English officer who was military governor of Massachusetts at the time of the stamp act riots, the Boston tea party, and other incidents which marked the outbreak of the American Revo- lution, but this same General Gage was the commander of the British forces with headquarters at Fort Niagara when it became an English military station after its surrender by the French in 1759. One strong character, however, looms up prominently in the annals of Central New York and the Niagara Frontier, thoroughly identified with the stirring events of the trouble- some period we are studying and who seems a part of our own history more than almost any other one man who assisted in shaping and molding events in that formative stage of colonial State building — Sir William lohnson, for i» Vorih Aiiieiua fpiiinii*^ THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN 01' i759- » many years Superintendent of Indian Affairs, the com- mander of the English forces in the decisive victory near Lake George, September 8, 1755, and, who after the death of Gen. Prideaux, carried forward the siege of Fort Niagara to a successful issue, July 25, 1759. Sir William Johnson was a native of Ireland, but came to the JMohawk Valley in 1740 as the agent of his uncle. Admiral Sir Peter Warren of the English navy, the owner of some fifteen thousand acres of land in Montgomery County. He took up his home near his new tract and at once began that intercourse with the Indians which was destined to prove so beneficial to the English during the French and Indian War and other crises. He made himself familiar with their language, watched their habits and peculiarities, and by mildness, prudence and sagacity gained their favor and confidence, which was never withdrawn to the last day of his life. He was the one remarkable exception to the tradi- tional lack of diplomacy and tact on the part of English officers of his time, in dealing with the always troublesome Indian problem. His home at Johnson Hall, in Johnstown, N. Y., for many years prior to his death was the scene cf noted gatherings of Indian chieftains and conferences upon many topics, and so truthful was he in his dealings with them and yet so courageous and manly that no summons to a con- ference was ignored. In the course of his long and success- ful career he acquired large holdings of real estate, probably exceeding that of any other man of his time. Early in 1755 he received from Gen. Braddock a commis- sion as Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and this commis- sion was renewed December 29th of the same year by Gen. Shirley, who succeeded to the post of commander-in-chief upon the death of Gen. Braddock. In April, 1755, upon the recommendation of the governors of five English colo- nies, he was appointed by Gen. Shirley a major general to command the troops raised in those colonies for an expedi- tion against the French stronghold at Crown Point, and a similar commission was issued to him by Gov. Delancey of the Province of New York. He held this rank when in com- 10 THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. mand of the troops which encountered the French at Lake George on the 8th day of September following, winning with them a decisive victory. In speaking of him the London Gentlemmi's Magazine for September, 1755, prints the following extract from a letter written in America : "Maj. Gen. Johnson (an Irish gentleman) is universally esteemed in our parts for the part he sustains. Besides his skill and experience as an officer he is particularly happy in making himself beloved by all sorts of people and can con- form to all companies and conversations. He is very much of a fine gentleman in genteel company. But as the inhabi- tants next to him are mostly Dutch, he sits down with them and smokes his tobacco, drinks flips and talks of improve- ments, bear and beaver skins. Being surrounded with Indians, he speaks several of their languages and has always some of them with him. His house is a safe and hos- pitable retreat for them from the enemy. He takes care of their wives and children when they go out in parties and even wears their dress. In short, by his honest dealings with them in trade, and his courage, which has often been success- fully tried with them, and his courteous behavior he has so endeared himself to them that they chose him one of their chief sachems or princes and esteem him as their common father." In March, 1756, he received from the British Crown a commission as colonel, agent and sole superintendent of the Six Nations and other Northern Indians, to which latter position was attached a salary of 600 pounds per annum. He received also from the British Parliament a grant of 5,000 pounds and from the King the title of baronet. His busy and active life, which cannot be fully outlined here, came to a sudden end June 24, 1774, at his home in Johnstown, after having for nearly thirty-five years exer- cised a one-man power, never before or since surpassed on this continent — perhaps not equalled. There were no general hostilities in 1754 excepting mur- derous depredations by Indians upon the New England fron- THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1739. 11 tier. Emissaries from the French also were busy among the tribes west of the Alleghanies in an effort to incite them to a war of extermination against the Enghsh. A very important feature of that year's history was the convention held at Albany for the purpose of securing united action among the colonies. It was participated in by New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. A plan of confederation proposed by Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania was adopted on the 4th day of July, the same day upon which Washington surrendered Fort Necessity, and twenty-two years prior to the greater 4th day of July, 1776. The plan was not ratified and was literally kicked from both sides — it being considered too aristocratic in America and too demo- cratic in England. In February, 1755, Edward Braddock, a distinguished British officer, arrived at Chesapeake Bay, holding a com- mission as commander-in-chief of all the regular British and provincial troops in America, and at his request the gover- nors of Massachusetts, Virginia, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina met with him at Alexan- dria in April following, to complete arrangements for a vig- orous campaign. Three separate expeditions were deter- mined upon — one against Fort Du Quesne, to be led by Braddock himself; a second against Frontenac and Fort Niagara, to be commanded by General Shirley, a really meri- torious officer, although shortly afterwards he was retired by his government under a cloud ; and a third against Crown Point, under the leadersTiip of General William Johnson. These extensive arrangements sanctioned by the home gov- ernment, although war had not been formally declared, aroused much enthusiasm among the colonists, and the legis- latures of the several colonies, excepting Pennsylvania and Georgia, voted men, money, and supplies for the war. Of the three expeditions the one against Fort Du Quesne under Braddock met with disaster and defeat July 9th. General Shirley proceeded to Oswego to engage in the movement against Frontenac and Fort Niagara, but time and efforts 12 THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. were frittered away and the expedition was finally aban doned. The third, under General William Johnson, defeated the French and their Indian allies near Lake George, Sep- tember 8th. During this campaign the English troops built near Lake George Fort Edward and Fort William Henry which they continued to occupy while the French retired to their strong positions at Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Not deeming his force sufficiently strong to continue the forward movement, General .Johnson abandoned further offensive operations and returned to Albany. With the opening of the year 1756 even the inefficient, halting and indecisive British ministry awoke to a realization that not only was English prestige in America threatened, but there was danger also of a loss of colonial possessions and that all thought of peace must be abandoned. War was declared May 17th. Gen. Shirley, who became commander- in-chief upon the death of Gen. Braddock, was recalled and Lord Loudon substituted with Gen. Abercrombie as his chief lieutenant. Again magnificent campaigns in theory and dire disaster and confusion of plans in results. Projected — Ten thousand men to attack Crown Point ; 6,000 men to proceed against Fort Niagara ; 3,000 against Fort Du Quesne, and 2,000 to attack French settlements on the Chaudiere River. Accomplished — Nothing. Disaster — Loss of Oswego, August 14, 1756. The Mar- quis de Montcalm, better known for his defense of Quebec against Gen. Wolfe in 1759, was now in command of all the French forces. He collected some 5,000 Frenchmen, Cana- dians and Indians at Frontenac, crossed Lake Ontario, and at once assailed the English in their forts at Oswego. A brave resistance was made, but without avail, and on August 14, 1756, the garrison was obliged to surrender, together with a large amount of military stores, 135 pieces of artillery and several vessels in the harbor. The French proceeded to demolish the forts and returned to Canada. It was a direful disaster and all other expeditions were abandoned. Forts Edward and William Henry at Lake THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN Oh' 1751;. 13 George were strengthened and 1,500 volunteers and drafted militia placed in stockades for the defense of the Virginia and Pennsylvania frontiers, under the command, as usual, of Col. George Washington. The Six Nations perceiving also, as they thought, the waning power of England, became restless and uneasy and only the strong arm and marvelous power of Sir William Johnson, for the time being, stood between the frontier set- tlements and a cruel, bloodthirsty carnival of butchery and arson. The year 1757, according to the program of Loudon, the British commander-in-chief, was to be distinguished by one grand campaign, an expedition against Louisburg and noth- ing in addition to this save only the defense of the frontiers. But again, the story can be told, with a slight change of nationalities, by the familiar couplet : "The King of France, with twice ten thousand men, Marched up hill and then marched down again." Loudon sailed from New York June 20th, with 6,000 pro- vincials, furnished by the ever-willing colonies. In fact, if the colonies, brave, courageous and accustomed to hardship, had been left to themselves to carry on the war with their own troops, under their own officers, in their own way, they would have made short work of the whole business. But handicapped by an inefficient, vacillating home ministry, thousands of miles away and with limited facilities for trans- portation, receiving scant support in troops and money, mis- led, betrayed and disgraced by incompetent commanders sent from the mother country — officers with no experience in the peculiar methods of warfare needed in the woodlands of America, and who time and again invited disaster by refus- ing to listen to the trained frontiersmen, little wonder is it that so many humiliating chapters in those early years have been recorded by the impartial historian. At Halifax, June 30th, Loudon was joined by Admiral Holborne with sixteen ships and 5,000 English regulars, a magnificent equipment ample for the undertaking. Wonder- 14 THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. ful stories of the strength of the French force inside of their forts at Louisburg, unquestionably the most formidable works on the Western continent, and of their ships in the harbor came to the ears of Loudon and the expedition was forthwith abandoned. The inefficient and dilatory com- mander reached New York late in August about the same time as did the news of another disaster. The close of July found Montcalm, the French com- mander who, the preceding year, had captured and despoiled Oswego, at the foot of Lake George with 9,000 men — 2,000 of whom were Indians. Montcalm, fighting under the lilies of France, was a true soldier and a capable officer. He pro- ceeded up the lake, encamping about two miles from Fort William Henry. To resist this formidable host, Lieut. -Col. Munro, commanding the fort, had just 449 men within the fort and only 1,700 in a fortified camp on a rocky eminence near the site of Fort George. August 4th a demand for surrender was refused and Montcalm, having placed his artillery in position, opened fire. It was returned from the fort with spirit and earnest- ness. The unequal contest continued five days. Gen. Webb, commander in the absence of Lord Loudon, with four thousand men, was at Fort Edward, within sound of the artillery duel, and messenger after messenger reached him from the fort begging for aid, but he was as one in a .stupor or paralyzed. Sir William Johnson, at Fort Johnson, as his home was then called, heard of the French advance, and summoning a force of militia and Indians, hastened to the relief, as he supposed, of Gen. Webb. On his arrival at Fort Edward he learned the true situation and it was only after repeated solicitations that he was allowed to start for beleaguered Fort William Henry. In this perilous duty he was joined by a battalion of stalwart rangers, under command of a pugna- cious Connecticut farmer, one Israel Putnam, and a detach- ment of provincials under Col. Rogers, but the column had scarcely got under way when the permission was cancelled by the cowardly, craven-hearted Webb. THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 17 59- 15 Deserted by his commander and with no prospect of succor*, Col. Munro surrendered to the French August 9th. He was granted honorable terms, among others the privilege to march with his surviving troops to Fort Edward. The next morning they assembled for this purpose, but were attacked by the savage Indians who had accompanied the French. Despite the efforts of Montcalm and some of his subordinate officers, who hastened to the rescue of the unfor- tunate provincials, many of them were slain before the furi- ous attack of the savages could- be stayed. By order of Montcalm, the walls of the fort were leveled to the ground and everything combustible destroyed. The French then retired to their fortifications at Ticonderoga. November 12th of* the same year witnessed the destruc- tion of the Palatine village on the German flats in the Mohawk valley, the massacre of many of its residents and capture of about 150 in addition to those slain. The village consisted of about sixty dwellings and five block houses. The murderous raid occurred at 3 o'clock in the morning and was conducted by some 300 Canadians and Indians. In the meantime, while these events were transpiring in America, a great political revolution had taken place in Eng- land. Popular discontent with the imbecile ministry had become so widespread and outspoken that the Newcastle administration was overthrown, and there came to the head of the cabinet one who was destined to wield a mighty influ- ence in enlarging the sphere of his country's influence and to whom empires were playthings and oceans were highways — William Pitt — Earl of Chatham — whose commanding genius was soon to permeate every sphere of official action and to be felt in every quarter of the globe. Pitt was always a friend of the colonies. He saw in them the germ of a great empire and his advent to power was received with rejoicing. His call for men and supplies to for- ward the war vigorously was like the blast of Roderick Dhu's horn in the highlands when every shrub and bush became an armed man. Troops were raised with alacrity, and even the faraway Carolinas sent men to take part in the 16 THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1739. final campaigns. Twelve thousand regulars were allotted to the service in America and Pitt promised tents and* other supplies and reimbursement for money expenditures, all of which promises were scrupulously kept. The incompetent Loudon and the cowardly Webb were recalled and Aber- crombie appointed commander with Lord Amherst as his chief lieutenant. So general was the response to the calls for troops that by May, 1758, Abercrombie found himself at the head of perhaps 50,000 men ready for field service. Three great movements were attempted, one against Ticonderoga, led by Abercrombie, which, owing principally to a lack of judgment and care on the part of the com- mander, met with the terrible defeat July 9th, of which we were told at our last meeting ; a second one against Fort Du Quesne, which after many delays and obstacles met with suc- cess November 24th in the capture of that point ; the other expedition was once more directed against Louisburg, long the objective point of attack by British officers. The last named movement was conducted by Lord Amherst, who sailed from Halifax May 28th with forty ships and twelve thousand troops. A siege of nearly two months ensued with a loss to the assailants of over 400, and of 1,500 to the besieged. On July 26th the town and forts were surrendered by the French with 5,000 prisoners and large quantities of military stores. This capture, so long looked forward to, and so often deferred, caused intense rejoicing. Another brilliant movement this year was the capture of Frontenac by Col. John Bradstreet, a brave and venturesome officer, who with 3,000 men crossed Lake Ontario from Oswego, which had been refortified by the English, and on the 27th of August captured fort, garrison and shipping. Owing to an epidemic which broke out in his camp he returned to New York with the balance of his troops and at Rome assisted in the construction of Fort Stanwix. We have now reached the great year of victory, 1759, which was the original subject selected for our study, before it was thought wise to relate some of the preceding events. Hope now animated every breast in the colonies. Much THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 17 59- 17 had been accomplished towards restoring the prestige and supremacy of the English flag. The effect upon the Indians was remarkable. Many tribes, the Delawares and Swe- gatchies especially, openly forsook their French alliances and hastened to make peace with the now victorious English. The Six Nations and other northern tribes, excepting per- haps the Senecas, fairly trod upon one another in their efforts to assure Sir William Johnson of their friendship. Nevertheless the French were in possession of the fortified points — Fort Niagara, Crown Point and Ticonderoga, all in the province of New York, and maintained their alliances with a number of the tribes. There could be no peace while these conditions continued, and the edict went forth from the lion-hearted Pitt that not only should these strongholds be subdued, but that Quebec likewise must be added to the list of conquered points and the overthrow of the French power in America completed for all time. Abercrombie was recalled and Amherst, the conqueror of Louisburg, made supreme commander. The notes of preparation for the final struggle were heard on every hand. Gen. Prideaux, a skillful and accomplished officer, was assigned to command the movement against Fort Niagara, with Sir William Johnson second in command, and with this contingent and its work we shall have principally to deal hereafter. It was well directed and systematically carried forward to a success- ful issue. In addition to the regular siege operations, one pitched battle was fought which determined the final outcome of the campaign. More troops were employed for this move- ment than had the Americans at either Lundy's Lane or Bunker Hill, and yet how much we have all heard of both of those contests and how little of the siege of Fort Niagara. Somehow, the average history is strangely deficient in a com- plete record of this campaign, while profusely discoursing on many details of far less importance. The capture of Fort Niagara meant much to the colonies and much to the new world. It was not an isolated campaign, but one of a gigantic movement, planned by a master in- tellect, for the conquest of a continent, and was of transcen- 18 THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. dent importance in determining the issue of that conquest. The commanding position and far-reaching influence of the fort was long recognized by both parties and its posses- sion "a consummation devoutly to be wished." The troops ordered for this service assembled at Oswego and proceeded up the lake in batteaux, landing at a small bay, about four miles east of the fort. Regular siege operations were at once begun and pushed forward with energy and military directness. During the siege Gen. Prideaux was most unfor- tunately killed by the explosion of a shell in his own camp, but the command falling upon Sir William Johnson, that officer carried forward the undertaking even more vigor- ously than before the death of his chief. The fort surren- dered July 25, 1759. The full story of the campaign, as told in the reports of the French commander and Sir William Johnson, the full importance attached to the fort by both French and English authorities and the effect of its cap- ture upon the final outcome of the entire struggle must be reserved for another time. The French and Indian War, of which the Niagara cam- paign of 1759 formed an important feature, was marked by many interesting episodes which cannot possibly be recalled within the limits of a paper like this. One remarkable coin- cidence' comes to my mind. In the last and successful expe- dition against Louisburg, under Lord Amherst, in 17.S8, two young men, one only twenty-two years old, and the other thirty-two, held subordinate positions and fought side by side under the same flag, sharing in the dangers of the siege and participating in the glory that came to the conquerors. It fell to the lot of each of these young men, subsequently, to lead an army up the rocky heights of Quebec to wrest it from an enemy, and go to death in the hour of expected victory — James Wolfe in 1759 and Richard Montgomery in 1775- With all its bloody details, and humiliating and disgrace- ful chapters, this can be said of the French and Indian war, and it is enough to give it an honorable place on the immor- tal pages of a never-fading history — it developed the martial THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. 19 spirit of the colonies, gave them confidence in themselves and was the West Point from which came Washington and many other gallant men, who, a few years later, in the great war for Independence, led the Continental armies to glorious victorv. SECOND PAPER Read at a Meeting of the Buffalo Association, Society of Colonial Wars, November 16, 1905 He who passes through the Niagara Gorge for the first time and beholds the turbulent waters of Niagara River in the vicinity of the Whirlpool, is little prepared for the beau- tiful landscape which opens to view a few miles farther north. The rush of the waters abates by degrees until, reach- ing Lake Ontario, they gently glide into the larger body in a leisurely manner, forming a scene which, when viewed from the mountains south, is almost entrancing. On the east side of the river, in the angle formed by the river and the lake, stands an old, historic and time-honored fortification, and. although it does not throw a lurid glare across the pages of history like Gibraltar, Sebastopol, or Port Arthur, to the resident of the Niagara Frontier it has a past that is at once interesting and fascinating — Old Fort Niagara. To trace its history from the beginning we must go back over 200 years, and prior to the close of the year 181 5 it was the scene of many conflicts and historic episodes. Originally built by the French, there have waved over its ramparts, first, the lilies of France; then from July, 1759, the Union Jack of England ; then, after the American Revo- lution and the hold-over period, the Stars and Stripes ; again for a short time, the Union Jack of Old England, and. 20 THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. lastly, once more, our own Star Spangled Banner, which has flown to the breeze in profound peace over this historic spot during nearly a century. Those of you who were present at the very pleasant meet- ing held by our Society in April last will undoubtedly recall the salient points of the paper read that evening. The gen- eral theme was the same as that of this evening — "The Niag- ara Campaign of 1759" — but the pages were principally devoted to a review of the prominent events of the French and Indian war prior to and leading up to the great year of victory — 1759. We recall how, in the first few years of the conflict, victory seemed assured to the French cause, but that later, under the administration of a more capable and vigor- ous home government in England, the French were gradually pushed back, lost ground was regained, and some of the humiliating and disgraceful chapters of the earlier period supplemented by important victories. Since that evening a very valuable and interesting histori- cal work has come under my observation, and among manv other items found was a full description of the great French stronghold, Louisburg, on the Isle of Cape Breton in the Bay of Fundy. Louisburg played such an important part in our Colonial history that I feel justified in giving it just a few minutes more attention this evening. In our first paper we spoke of its capture in 1758 by the force under command of Lord Amherst, and the author of the work in question. Prof. James Grahame. furnishes the following description of Louisburg at that time : "The town of Louisburg was built by the French on the island of Cape Breton, soon after the Peace of Utrecht. It was designed for the security of the French shipping and fisheries, and was fortified with a rampart of stone thirty-six feet in height, and a ditch eighty feet in width. There were six bastions and three batteries, containing embrasures for 148 pieces of cannon, of which sixty-five were mounted, and sixteen mortars. On an island at the entrance of the harbor was planted a battery of thirty cannons carrying shot of the weight of twenty-eight pounds ; and at the bottom of the THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. 31 harbor, directly opposite to the entrance, was the grand or royal battery, containing twenty-eight cannons that carried balls of forty-two pounds, and two of smaller dimensions. The entrance of the town, on the land side, was at the west gate, across a drawbridge, near to which was a circular bat- tery, mounting sixteen guns that carried shot of twenty-four pounds. Twenty-five years had been spent in building these works, which, though still uncompleted, had cost France at least thirty millions of livres. The place was deemed so strong as to be impregnable except by blockade, and was styled by some The Dunkirk, and by others The Gibraltar of America. In peace, it afforded a safe and convenient re- treat for the ships of France homeward bound from the East and West Indies ; and in war, it formed a source of distress and annoyance to the northern English colonies, by harbor- ing the numerous privateers which infested their coasts for the destruction of their fishery and the interruption of their general commerce. It manifestly tended, besides, to facili- tate the reacquisition of Nova Scotia by France, — an event which would cause an instant and formidable increase in the numerical strength of the enemies of the British crown and people. The reduction of Louisburg was, for these reasons, an object of ardent desire and of the highest importance to New England." Against these apparently impregnable fortifications, Lord Amherst conducted in 1758 an expedition of forty ships and 12,000 troops, and after a siege of two months effected its reduction, — this almost 150 years ago, sailing from a country that was comparatively a wilderness, at an era when steam navigation was unknown and the home gov- ernment separated by a vast ocean, 3,000 miles in width, across which troops and munitions of war could only be transported by the crude methods then in vogue. Consid- ering the opportunities and facilities then afforded, many of the operations of the French and Indian war challenge admi- ration for their boldness and magnitude. No flotilla of simi- lar extent traversed American waters again until the out- break of the Civil War, more than 100 vears later. 22 THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. From the earliest stages of the conflict Fort Niagara was a prominent object of consideration in the plans and calcula- tions of those who were organizing the British campaigns, and it may not be uninteresting to recall some of the testi- monies of those earlier days as a sort of expression of the importance with which Fort Niagara was regarded. ]\Ir. Wynne, an English writer, who is the author of a work published in London in 1770, entitled "A General His- tory of the British Empire in America: A Historical Re- view of all the Countries of North America ceded by the Peace of Paris," uses the following glowing language in regard to Fort Niagara : "Niagara is, without exception, the most important post in America, and secures a greater number of communica- tions, through a more extensive country, than, perhaps, any other pass in the world ; for it is situated at the very en- trance of a strait by which Lake Ontario is joined to Lake Erie, which is connected with the other three great lakes by the course of the vast River St. Lawrence, which runs through them all, and carries their superfluous waters to the ocean." — "From the time when the French were first ac- quainted with this place, they were fully sensible of its im- portance both with respect to trade and dominion. They made several attempts to establish themselves here ; but the Indians constantly opposed it, and obliged them to relinquish a fort which fhey had built, and guarded this spot for a long time with a very severe and prudent jealousy. "But whilst we neglected to cultivate the love of the Indians, the French omitted no endeavors to gain these savages to their interest ; and prevailed at last, under the name of a trading house, to erect a strong fort at the mouth of the strait. This advantage was obtained for his country by a French officer of an enterprising genius, who had been a prisoner among the Iroquois (one of the tribes of the Six Nations) for a long time, and, according to their custom, was naturalized, and became very popular among them. . . . The trading-house which he obtained leave to build, extended and strengthened by various addi- THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF i759- '^'^ tions, at last became a regular fortress, which had ever since awed the Six Nations and checked our colonies. "As to these immense lakes, which are all, in a man- ner, commanded by this fort, the reader need only cast his eyes on the map of North America, and be convinced of their importance. They afford by far the most exten- sive inland navigation in the whole universe. Whoever is master of them must, sooner or later, command the whole continent. They are all surrounded by a fine, fruitful coun- try, in a temperate, pleasant climate. The day may pos- sibly come, when this noble country, ivhich seems calcu- lated for tiniversal empire, ivill sufficiently display its ozvii importance." We of this generation have had the glorious privilege of witnessing the fulfillment of this prophecy. Mr. Pownall, who seems to have given considerable at- tention to Indian affairs, in an address read at the Congress held at Albany, July ii, 1754, spoke as follows concerning the scheme or design of building the fort at Niagara : "Such a Fort as this might easily interrupt the com- merce betwixt these people and the English and Dutch in New York. Their custom is to carry to New York the skins of Elks, Beavers and several sorts of Beasts which they hunt and seek after for two or three hundred leagues from their own home. Now, they being obliged to pass and repass near to this mouth of the River Niagara, we might easily stop them by fair means in time of peace, or by open force in time of war, and thus oblige them to turn their commerce upon Canada." Early in 1755, General Edward Braddock, a distin- guished British officer, arrived in America under a com- mission appointing him commander-in-chief of all the Eng- lish troops in America. From a lengthy document entitled, "Secret instructions for Our Trusty and Well-beloved Edward Braddock, Esq., Major General of Our Forces, and whom we have appointed General and Commander, of all and singular Troops and Forces, that are now in 24 THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 17 59- North America, and that shall be sent, or raised there, to vindicate our just rights and possessions in those parts. Given at Our Court at St. James's the 25th day of Novem- ber, 1754. in the 28th year of Our Reign," signed by the King, we extract the following: "3d. The next service, which is of the greatest import- ance, and therefore demands the utmost care and atten- tion, is the dislodging the French from the Forts they now have at the Falls and passes of the Niagara ; and the erect- ing such a fort there, as shall, for the future, make His Majesty's subjects masters of the Lake Ontario; by that means cutting off the communication between the French Forces on the Mississippi. It is Our pleasure, that if, for this purpose, you should think it necessary to have ships upon the said Lake Ontario, you shall concert with the Commander-in-Chief of Our Ships and the Governors of New England and New York, the manner and means of Building and manning such vessels as shall be most proper for that service." In a letter written by Lieutenant-Governor De Lancey, of the colony of New York, to Sir Thomas Robinson, Sec- retary of the Lords of Trade, dated New York, 15th December, 1754, he says: "Niagara is a remarkable and important pass between the Lakes Ontario and Erie, which the French forces use in their way from Montreal to the Ohio ; so that if we should become masters of it, there would be an end of their encroachments in that quarter, as they would then be obliged to take so long a circuit and attended with such difficulties as would render the marching a body of men to the Ohio in a manner impracticable. The advantages arising from these forts would be very considerable, as they would encourage those Indians who are well affected to us, fix the wavery, and be a restraint and check on those who are inclined to the French. Add to this, if the fort at Oswego standing at the mouth of the river where it empties itself into the Lake Ontario were enlarged and THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. 25 strongly garrisoned, the French might be deprived of all intercourse with the Onondaga and Oneyda Indians; for one branch of that river comes from Onondaga and the other from the Oneida country, and after their confluence pass under the fort at Oswego. If these things be done I am persuaded the Six Nations will readily join us in anv enterprize against the French, and we should soon be an overmatch for them and prevent them from drawing off so many of our Indians as they continually do, for which purpose they spare no arts nor money." Governor Shirley of Massachusetts colony, writing to Secretary Robinson from Boston, New England, March 24, 1755' says: "The dislodging of the French from these Forts, Sir, and building a defensible fort some where on the Streight between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario with one or two ves- sells of force upon each lake to command the navigation of them, and a few small fortify 'd places of Shelter upon the River Ohio, would in all appearance most efifectually put an end to the encroachments of the French there from Montreal; and as to those w^''^ may be expected from the Mississippi, after their support from Canada is cut off, it seems probable that they would scarce attempt any, or if they should, that a most easy conquest might be made of them. "Having observed to you, Sir, of what importance I con- ceive the reduction of the French Forts at the Falls of Niagara would be to his Majesty's Western Colonies in particular, I shall now proceed to state the advantages which I apprehend would arise to all His Colonies in gen- eral upon this Continent from the operations proposed to be carry'd on at the same time in the Eastern part of them." In another letter from Lieutenant-Governor De Lancey to Secretary Robinson, dated at New York, August 7, 1755, he further says : "The same Battoes which carry the train, provisions, ettc, for the Army to Oswego may carry them to Niagara, and being transported above the Falls, the same may carry 26 THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1739. them to Presqu Isle, the Fort on the south side of Lake Erie, so that it will be practicable to bring the expence of such an expedition into a moderate compass far less than the expence of Waggons, horses, ettc, which are necessary in an expedition by Land from Virginia to the Ohio ; besides that, proceeding from Virginia to Fort Du Quesne, if it be taken, it is only cutting ofif a toe, but taking Niagara and Presqu Isle you lopp off a limb from the French and greatly disable them." In a letter of instructions to Major-General Amherst from Secretary Pitt, written at Whitehall, December 29, 1758, the Prime Minister enjoins him as follows: "It were much to be wished that any operations on the side of Lake Ontario could be pushed on as far as Niagara, and that you may find it practicable to set on foot some enterprize against the Fort there, the success of which would so greatly contribute to establish the uninterrupted dominion of that Lake, and, at the same time, effectually cut off the communication between Canada and the French settlements to the South ; and the utility and importance of such an enterprize against Niagara is of itself so apparent that I am persuaded it is unnecessary to add anything to enforce your giving all proper attention to the same, as far as the great and main objects of the campaign shall permit." We have also the testimony of our distinguished friend, Sir William Johnson, who, in writing to the Lords of Trade from Fort Johnson, May 17, 1759, uses the following lan- guage: "The Reduction of Niagara, and if well conducted I think we cannot fail of success, will be in the light I view it a point of inestimable advantage to the security and wel- fare of these His Majesty's Dominions, and if the Con- quest is rightly improved, will throw such an extensive Indian Trade and Interest (for they are inseparable) into our hands, as will in my humble opinion oversett all those ambitious and lucrative schemes which the French have THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1739. 27 projected and in pursuit of which they were interrupted by the present war in this part of the world. "Whilst the French are in possession of Niagara in vain will our repossession of Oswego and re-establishing an Indian Trade there enable us to hold the Ballance from them either in Indian Interest or Trade. "The many Nations of Westward Indians in compari- son with whom the Six Nations are but a handful must pass by Niagara in order to come to Oswego, where the French stop them and their goods, secure them by negotia- tions and engross their Trade. This we felt for some years before the War began when very few of those Indians came to trade with us to Oswego and latterly the chief Trade there was rather carried on with the French than Indians, by which means our enemies procured assortments and supplies of Goods from us to support their Trade at and from Niagara." War was not formally declared by England against France until May, 1756, but nevertheless hostilities had been in progress for two years prior to that time, and early in 1755' as stated. General Braddock arrived in America with two British regiments and with instructions from the King, as we have already intimated, to prosecute military opera- tions with vigor and persistence. Fort Niagara was selected as one of the points to be attacked, and to Governor Shir- ley of Massachusetts Colony was assigned the duty of organizing the expedition for this purpose. General Brad- dock himself led a combined force of regulars and pro- vincials against Fort Du Quesne, going to disaster and death July 9, 1755, near the Fort. Among the spoils taken from Braddock's troops by the French and Indians w^as his artillery train, and it seems the very irony of fate that these same cannon were transported to Fort Niagara and became a part of the armament of the fort, falling again into English hands July 25, 1759, with the surrender of the fort. The troops for Governor Shirley's movement against Niagara were ordered to rendezvous at Oswego, but it was 38 THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. late in August before any considerable number reached this point. The news of Braddock's defeat caused great depres- sion, desertions became numerous, various delays and vexa- tious hindrances intervened and the project was finally aban- doned. In 1756 Fort Niagara was named in the magnificent, high- sounding, theoretical schemes of Lord Loudon, who suc- ceeded General Shirley as commander-in-chief, but noth- ing substantial materialized and it was not considered in any of the plans for 1757 and 1758. In the meantime the French had not been idle, and appre- ciating that sooner or later attempts would be made against the fort, proceeded to strengthen it in many ways. Captain Pouchot, of one of the French regiments, an engineer of considerable skill and who surrendered the fort to Sir William Johnson in July, 1759, reached Niagara with some of his regiment in October, 1755, and immediately com- menced the work of reconstructing the fort. Houses for his troops were built after the Canadian manner. These con- sisted of round logs of oak notched into each other at the corners, and were speedily erected. Each had a chimney in the middle, some windows and a plank roof. Rushes, marsh grass, or straw rolled in diluted clay were driven in between the logs and the whole plastered. In March, 1756, the cannon taken from Braddock ar- rived at the fort and the work of strengthening the fort had been carried on through the whole of the preceding winter, some 300 men being in the garrison. In July, 1756, the defenses were nearly completed and Captain Pouchot left the fort. He returned again as commandant, with his own regi- ment in October, 1756, remaining there for one year, during which time he still further strengthened the fort, and when he left he reported that "Fort Niagara and its buildings were completed and its covered ways stockaded." Captain Pouchot, on April 30, 1759, again arrived at Fort Niagara to take command and occupied the position until the surrender to the English, July 25th following. He found, as he complains, that nothing had been done to the THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1.759. 39 fort since he left it, — that its ramparts were giving way, the turfing had all crumbled ofif, and the escarpment and coun- ter escarpment of the fosses much filled up. He mounted two pieces to keep up appearances in case of a siege. By July Pouchot had finished repairing the ramparts and he gives us this description of the defense : "The batteries of the bastions which were in barbette had not yet been finished. They were built of casks and filled with earth. He had since his arrival constructed some pieces of olindage of oak, fourteen inches square and fifteen feet long, which extended behind the great house on the lake shore, the place most sheltered for a hospital. Along the faces of the powder magazine to cover the wall and serve as casements, he had built a large storehouse with the pieces secured at the top by a ridge. Here the guns and gunsmiths were placed. We may remark that this kind of work is excellent for field-forts in wooded countries, and they serve very well for barracks and magazines, a bomb could onlv fall upon an oblique surface and could do little harm because this structure is very solid." It is quite evident that the fort was in a fairly defensible condition when the siege operations were commenced. Pouchot says that the garrison of the fort at this time consisted of 149 regulars, 183 men of colonial companies, 133 militia and twenty-one cannoniers, a total of 486 soldiers, and, in addition, thirty-nine employes, of whom five were women or children. These served in the infirmary, as did also two ladies, and sewed cartridge bags and made bags for earth. To these were added later Chabert Joncaire and the force from Fort Little Niagara and probably some other small detachments. There were also some Indians in the fort, and the officers may not have been included in this number. The fort was capable of accommodating 1,000 men. A corvette, called the 'Troquoise," fully manned and carrying ten or twelve guns, arrived at Niagara July 6th, and, during the early part of the siege at least, its com- mander placed himself under Pouchot's orders. 30 THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. During these same years important events had taken place in other portions of the colonies. A tremendous blow had been given to British prestige and power in the capture of Oswego by the French forces under the Marquis de Mont- calm in 1756. This confirmed French control over the western lakes and the valley of the Mississippi. Their strong position in northern New York gave them command of Lake Champlain and Lake George. Their occupation of Fort Du Quesne enabled them to cultivate the friendship and retain the attachment of the Indian tribes west of the Alle- ghanies. Their line of communication from Quebec to Louisiana was unbroken, and they were masters of the vast territory which lay towards the setting sun in unknown and unmeasured leagues and bounds. At the opening of the year 1758 the whole American continent apparently seemed des- tined to pass under French dominion, but it was only the star at its zenith — the sun at high noon — the high-water mark. Henceforward there was to be decline, defeat, disaster and ultimately the extinguishment of all their claims, their powers and the overthrow of their dominion and control. William Pitt, with his marvelous genius for government, was now at the head of the British cabinet and grandly did the colonies respond to his appeals for troops and supplies with which to carry on the war with vigor and promise of success. The victories at Louisburg, Fort Du Quesne and Frontenac, with the reoccupation of Oswego which soon fol- lowed, turned the tide of battle against the hitherto victori- ous French, and henceforth there were to be only forward movements to a final and complete victory. Lord Amherst, who conducted the brilliant campaign . against Louisburg, succeeded the blundering Abercrombie as commander-in-chief of the British forces in America. Three movements were planned for the year 1759: One to be led by Amherst, having the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point for its objective; another, the capture of Quebec, to which duty General James Wolfe was assigned; and, simul- taneously with these, Fort Niagara was to be assailed, for which service General John Prideaux, with Sir William THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF i759- 31 Johnson as his Chief Lieutenant, was placed in command. General Prideaux was accidentall}' killed by the explosion of a shell in his own camp July 19th during the siege, and Sir William Johnson succeeded to the command. General Prideaux was the second son of a baronet. Sir John Pri- deaux, and the grandson of a viscount. He was born in Devonshire in 17 18, entered the British military service as a lieutenant July 17, 1739, and was adjutant of his regiment at the battle of Dettingen, July 27, 1743. He became lieu- tenant colonel Feb. 24, 1748, and Oct. 20, 1758, was pro- moted to the colonelcy of the 55th foot, to succeed Lord Howe who was killed in the disastrous campaign under General Abercrombie .against Ticonderoga. One of his sons inherited the baronetcy, which became extinct in 1875. Prideaux was an officer of merit although said to have been unpopular in the army. The army destined for the siege of Fort Niagara left Oswego, where it had rendezvoused, soon after July i, 1759, proceeding up the lake in batteaux and disembarking on the sixth day of the same month in a small bay at the mouth of the Four-Mile Creek, sometimes called Prideaux's Landing, on the south shore of Lake Ontario, about four miles east of the Fort. It was composed of the 44th and 46th regi- ments, the 4th Battalion of Royal Americans, two battalions of New York troops, and a detachment of the Royal Artil- lery, numbering altogether about 2,200 men, many of whom had participated in the disastrous campaign and defeat of General Abercrombie at Ticonderoga in July, 1758. In addition to these was the Indian contingent which numbered 600 when the departure was taken from Oswego, and subse- quently augmented by 300 more who joined during the siege, making a total force of 3,100, — not a very formidable army, as armies go in these days of gigantic movements and far- reaching concentrations, but it was a larger force than that which struck the blow for American liberty on Bunker's Hill, or that which fought under Scott and Brown at Lundy's Lane, or that which performed many deeds of valor during the war for Independence. 32 THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 17 59- Preparations were at once commenced by General Pri- deaux for regular siege operations. July 8th, under a flag of truce, he sent into the tort Captain Blaine with a demand for its surrender. The demand was very courteously but firmly refused by Captain Pouchot. July loth the first parallel was opened at a distance of, perhaps, 700 yards from the fort, beginning at about the middle of the front of the fortifications and extending to the left toward Lake Ontario. This was perfected and extended to the lake by the morning of July 14th. On the 17th a bat- tery had been thrown up on the opposite side of the river, called "Montreal Point," which proved a serious annoyance to the occupants of the fort. Other operations incident to a state of siege were also vigorously pressed. July 20th a third parallel was opened, about 160 yards from the fort, and on the 2ist the fourth parallel, about 100 yards from the fort. Cannonading was constant between the contending forces, resulting in loss of life on both sides. Considerable rain fell during the siege, and at times the fog or mist was so dense that the movements of the British forces were hidden from the occupants of the fort. Captain Pouchot appears to have been very watchful, and at all times kept a close scrutiny upon the movements in front of him. going about frequently on tours of operations with a few of his men. July 19th General John Prideaux, the British commander, was killed while passing near a cohorn which was very care- lessly fired at the same moment. His body was taken into the fort after the surrender and, on July 28th, with proper ceremonies, buried within its limits. Sir WilHam Johnson assumed command immediately and continued in active com- mand of the forces until after the surrender. Lord Amherst, the British commander-in-chief, designated General Gage of Boston to succeed General Prideaux, but he did not reach the field of operations until after the fort had capitulated. Early in the month, being fully aware of his precarious position, Captain Pouchot sent runners to the commanders at Presque Isle and other points where French troops were garrisoned, asking for assistance. To checkmate any move- THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. 33 ment of this kind, the British extended their left flank so as to cover the only road leading from out the fortifications by which a relieving force could reach the fort. On the 23d rumors reached the commander through some of his Indian scouts that a force of French and Indians were coming to the assistance of the besieged French in Fort Niagara. Mr. Crisfield Johnson in his "Centennial History of Erie County," gives the following picturesque account of the approach of the French and Indians : "A motley yet gallant band it was which then hastened along our shores on the desperate service of sustaining the failing fortunes of France. Gay young officers from the Court of the Grand Monarque, sat side by side with sun- burned trappers, whose feet had trodden every mountain and prairie from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi. Vet- erans who had won laurels under the Marshals of France were comrades of those who knew no other foe than the Iroquois and the Delawares. One boat was filled with sol- diers, trained to obey with unquestioning fidelity every word of their leaders ; another contained only wild savages, who scarce acknowledged any other law than their own fierce will. Here flashed swords and bayonets and brave attire, there appeared the dark rifles and buckskin garments of the hardy hunters, while still further on the tomahawks and scalping-knives and naked bodies of Ottawa and Huron braves glistened in the July sun. There were some, too, among the younger men, who might fairly have taken their places in either batteau or canoe ; whose features bore unmis- takable evidence of the commingling of diverse races ; who might perchance have justly claimed kindred with marquises and barons then resplendent in the salons of Paris, but who had drawn their infant nourishment from the breasts of dusky mothers, as they rested from hoeing corn on the banks of the Ohio. "History has preserved but a slight record of this last struggle of the French for the dominion of these regions, but it has rescued from oblivion the names of D'Aubrey, the commander, and De Signery, his second; of Monsieur 34 THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 17 59- Marini, the leader of the Indians, and of the Captains De VilHe, Repentini, Martini and Basone. They were by no means despondent. The command contained many of the same men, both white and red, who had slaughtered the unlucky battalions of Braddock only two years before, and they might well hope that some similar turn of fortune would give them another victory over the foes of France. "The Seneca warriors, whose principal seats were then on the Genesee and beyond, were roving restlessly through Erie and Niagara Counties and along the shores of the river, uncertain how to act, more friendly to the French than the English, eager for blood, and yet unwilling to engage in conflict with their brethren of the Five Nations, under Sir William Johnson. "Hardly pausing to communicate with these doubtful friends, D'Aubrey led his flotilla past the pleasant groves whose place is now occupied by a great commercial empor- ium, hurried by the tall blufif now crowned by the battle- ments of Fort Porter, dashed down the rapids at the head of the Niagara, swept on in his eager course untroubled by the piers of any international bridge, startled the deer from their lairs on the banks of Grand Island, and only halted on reaching Navy Island, just beyond the borders of Erie County. After staying there a day or two to communicate with the Fort, he passed over to the mainland and marched forward to battle." Preparations were made at once to receive them. That part of the British army encamped near the road was reversed, facing to the south instead of towards the fort, and a breast- work thrown up, stretching from the bank of the river across the road. On the morning of the 24th the advancing force came in sight along the road leading from the Falls to the Fort. Some Indians attached to the British went to their people who were coming with the French and endeavored to persuade them to abandon the enterprise. The efifort was fruitless, and, returning to their own camp, they set up a great shouting, and firing commenced at once. The French at about 9 o'clock advanced to the attack, which was calmly THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. 85 awaited by the British behind their breastwork. M. D' Aubrey was in command of the French and Indians, and, as near as can be ascertained, the force consisted of 1,000 Indians and 600 French. The British troops actually engaged consisted of 600 men from the 44th and 46th regiments, one hundred New York provincials and 600 Indians from the different tribes. The balance of the troops were held in the trenches to prevent a sortie from the fort, and this service was most effectually performed. The battle-ground was about one and one-half miles below Five Mile Meadows, at a place called Bloody Run, or, better perhaps, as it was called during French occupation. La Belle-Famille. The British reserved their fire at first and then delivered three volleys, causing much loss to the enemy. Then, seeing the demoralization which followed, with loud shouts they jumped over the breastworks and assailed the foe with tre- mendous energy and zeal. The French and Indians com- menced to retreat and pursuit was continued for five miles ; ultimately the entire force scattered in every direction. About 120 prisoners were taken, including the commanding officer and sixteen of his subordinates. The loss of the French and Indians was probably not less than 500, of whom 150 at least were killed, while the British loss was compara- tively slight. As soon as practicable after the conclusion of the engage- ment and the return of his troops, General Johnson dis- patched Major Harvey to inform Captain Pouchot of the result of the attempt to reinforce his beleaguered troops, coupled with another demand for the surrender of the fort. Captain Pouchot asked for evidence of the facts related to him, whereupon Sir William allowed an inspection of the French officers he had captured to be had by an officer from Pouchot's command, and the whole of the disaster was re- vealed. No further delay was asked for and before midnight the terms of capitulation were agreed upon. The next morn- ing, July 25, 1759, Sir William Johnson with his troops marched into the fort, the French flag was hauled down for the last time and French power and dominion faded for- 36 THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. ever from so much of the earth, at least, as was comprised in that region. About 640 prisoners were taken with the fort besides cannon, mortars, ammunition, and ordnance stores in great abundance. One hundred and nine men had been killed or wounded in the fort during the siege, and at the surrender thirty-seven were in hospital. The British loss, including that in the battle of July 24th, was sixty-three killed and 185 wounded. When Pouchot sent for assistance to M. D'Aubrey and other post commanders, he instructed them to march down the west, or, as it is now known, the Canadian side of the river, but these instructions were disregarded and they approached the fort from the east or American side. Had his orders been carried out possibly the relieving force would not have encountered Sir William Johnson's army, and while the ultimate result would undoubtedly have been the same, the intervening history might have been vastly different in detail. At this point I could well say "thus endeth the chapter" and ring down the curtain upon the great scene, but the study of this epoch in the history of the western continent has become to me so fascinating that I am loth to part with it. It has unfolded to my mind a far clearer idea of a continu- ity in our colonial and national history than I hadi before appreciated, and a more vivid conception of the steps that led up from feebleness and poverty to the most splendid national development in all the annals of time. As the real history of England, that which is greatest and best in the wonderful life of the great empire, dates from the battlefield of Hastings, so it seems to me we can count the upbuilding of this nation from the overthrow of the French power in 1759. As I suggested in my former paper, the French and Indian War was the preparatory school, the West Point, from which came many of the great leaders in the war for Independence. We are prone to associate promi- nent characters with prominent events and ignore the some- what lesser known experiences which prepared the way for the so-called greater ones. THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF I759- ^7 Horatio Gates — proud, haughty and ambitious as he was — goes into history as the captor of Burgoyne's army at Saratoga Springs. Stalwart, rugged John Stark winning the battle of Bennington up in the Green Mountain country — all honor to him. We readily recall General Gage as the British military governor of Massachusetts Colony when occurred the Stamp Act riots, the Boston tea party, and other exciting events at the outbreak of the war for Independence — we need not forget these things — but as students of Colo- nial history can we not also recall that Gates and Stark and Gage fought side by side with Washington on the bloodv field where Braddock met defeat and disaster, and that Gen- eral Gage was the commander at the British forces whose headquarters were at Fort Niagara after its surrender to the British July 25, 1759? Another robust character comes to my mind — Israel Putnam, originally a Connecticut farmer. The average American remembers him as a famous fighter in the eastern sections of the country during the Revolution. But this same Israel Putnam was an officer in Colonel Bradstreet's command, which passed along the Niagara Frontier in 1764, at which time the original Fort Erie was built, under Brad- street's direction, by Captain John Montressor, a brother officer of Putnam. Other famous characters rise before me : William Pres- cott, the American commander at Bunker Hill; James Wolfe, who led the British forces up the heights of Quebec to its capture in 1759, and Richard Montgomery, who essayed the same tremendous task at the head of Continental troops in 1775 ; John Bradstreet, the captor of Frontenac in 1758 — all these had their lessons of reckless daring and courage in the great expeditions against Louisburg either in 1745 or in 1758 and in which each served most creditably. And so on through many chapters. The capture of Fort Niagara was, we may say, a flank movement in the great events of 1759, and success at this point, with the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point and Quebec by other divisions of the army, practically de- 38 THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 17 59- cided that henceforth the vast domain of North America was to be under Anglo-Saxon dominion and Anglo-Saxon civ- ilization. The far-reaching project of a union of the Colo- nies for protection and self-defense was a product of this war, and was first proposed by the great philosopher and statesman, Benjamin Franklin. Many years were needed for its development, but the seed was sown at the conference held in Albany in July, 1754. From and after the French and Indian war the American colonist was a more self-asser- tive and independent citizen of the world and was better pre- pared for the onward and upward steps of defending his birthrights from monarchial encroachments, and ultimately complete independence. And so, with the incoming years, came successive stages until was reared that mighty fabric, the Great Republic of the West. Within the past ten years, in our own lives, has come another onward step when our great country emerged from its exclusiveness and became a world power, and today, in all that makes up a great and influential factor for good, leads in the mighty procession of the nations. In the future, if I read the signs of the times aright, there will, as in the past, be national growth and national decay, turnings and overturnings. God has His own purposes to fulfill as in days gone, but out of all these upheavals and downfalls, three great nations will arise to dominate the world's policy — Japan in the Far East, the United States in the West, and Great Britain in the midway, and our Republic second to none. Considering this wonderful past, and looking forward into the brilliant promises of marvelous things yet to come, let us never forget the sacrifices and heroic endeavors of our fathers who laid the foundations for it all. Every foot of our Niagara Frontier, from Buffalo Creek to Lake Ontario, is replete with historic interest. It has been trod by as brave men, as stalwart men, as self-sacrificing, self- denying men and women as any foot of ground in the land, and especially at the period which we have considered, for human life was reckoned very cheaply and existence one THE NIAGARA CAMPAIGN OF 1759. 39 ceaseless round of exposures, hardships and everyday drudgery. And, of all the shifting, changing scenes in the great panorama of events, few were more dramatic in their enactment or far-reaching in results than the campaign of 1759- WAY 29 1907 ^ *■ 9 n - ♦ •**% ^ J"^^ V ^ ' ,i„i'i I' fM i^i,iii';sJjy'T^f!*M» i;:!iiilSill!iit!lliiil(i'' 'ir ;:n:)i:;i>;:iii;i;i!ijiMii!ifiHi! w?;)il;!(ISi!t i'"»'l