4"^ ••,»"» W^^-^'44 v"^^ >i-^-»> Book jri ^rJ_'^^^x%^.^ (oi \\<\( III 1)1 POSH *<*-^ W ;>: P«1,.^l>>^^l^ ^^J^^'--- X^^fi 4^# CHAPTER I PAGE St. Paul's ..--.-. 5 CHAPTER n Across the Channel - - - - - 12 CHAPTER HI The Busy French - - - - - -2i CHAPTER IV LOUISBURG ---.,,-28 CHAPTER V Peace 39 CHAPTER VI Absence --------47 CHAPTER VII War 55 CHAPTER VIII Winter 62 CHAPTER IX Quebec -----.--69 CHAPTER X New Year's Eve - 77 CHAPTER XI The Old Year Dies - - - - - 81 STORY OF General Richard Montgomery BORN 1736 DIED 1775 CHAPTER I ST. PAULAS O N the busiest part of the busiest street hi the busiest and greatest city of this great country of o u rs, there stands a plain brown c h u r,c h — a proud and lonely relic of the good old days that are gone by. It stands there under the shadow of the towering structures of our busy times with nothing but its age to give 6 STORY OF it dignity. There it may be seen, facing the thronging, surging thoroughfare, Hke a stranger in a strange land, for all its youthful friends and neighbors of the old town are gone these many years, and the quaint old houses that clustered close about it once upon a time, have long since fallen into ruin and decay. It is the old chapel of St. Paul in New York. Many a prayer went up to Heaven from that house of God in the dark days of the old war for freedom — prayers for the patriots who had gone forth with stout hearts to battle on many fields for the blessings that we now enjoy. Within that church the most august personage in all our history, worshipped humbly in his pew^. And there many a white face, with tear-dimmed eyes, bowed low while the trembling lips plead for strength to bear the loss of friends who slept in unknown graves, whose names the great world does not know, but whose memories were cherished in the hearts of those they loved and GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 7 left ; of those who waited wistfully as the fearful iight went on, but who only heard in dreams the footsteps of return. Let us imagine that we are seated on an old bench in the quiet grave-yard hard by, among the leaning, moss-grown stones, with their quaint, old fashioned carvings indistinct from age, and while the surging multitudes hurry back and forth outside — buying and selling, making money and losing it, and gliding to and fro across the street between the passing cars — I will tell you of one who was laid to rest here many, many years ago. It is the story of a man who died before his work was done. But his work went on, and finally bore fruit, as all good work must do some time or other; and he is gratefully remembered now. In order to tell the life of General Richard Montgomery, I must take you back into the days when the thirteen colonies were still loyal to their STORY OF wmm Many a prayer went up to heaven from that house of God. Page 6. GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 9 sovereign master, the British King, and when His Gracious Majesty was urging the good colo- nists to come forward hke obedient children and oust the wicked army of France from the western hemisphere. In those days England and France were always quarreling with each other. Some- times they induced other nations to help them and now and then they settled their disputes alone — but they were always wrangling and they made the world miserable with .their cruel wars. About the year 1745 there lived in Prussia a famous thief who is known in history as Frederick the Great. But you must know that he was a "royal" thief, and, as the time-honored-maxim as- sures us, "the King can do no wi-ong." This man, one fine day, committed an atrocious crime. He stole twelve thousand square miles of terri- tory from Austria without saying a word, and the Austrian queen was very angry, as she had a perfect right to be. But the enterprising Fred- erick did not care. He simply collected a great 10 STORY OF army, and the fair Maria Teresa did the same thing, and the two countries started in to fight it out in real earnest. You must not expect me to tell you how France and England got them- selves mixed up in this quarrel, which was none of their business, for it is a long story, and even after it was told you would probably agree with me that there was no excuse at all. Many a peaceful, virtuous Englishman left his home, his wife and children whom he loved, and went off to help settle the quarrel between Prussia and Austria, and lost his life. Before very many years the whole of Europe had been pressed into this war. Every nation that had a grudge joined the fight and threw stones. Little the wicked Frederick thought when he stole the province of Silicia, what would come of his daring theft. The whole thing was like a row of dominoes, for one thing touched another which toppled over and loiocked down something else, and so on until there was ruin everywhere. GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY || France and England carried on a sort of branch fight in America, in which the colonists helped their royal mother, and in which France lost most of her nmnerous and treasured posses- sions in the western world. This branch quarrel — this side show of the main attraction — is known as the French and Indian War, and during it the Americans learned a few things which afterward came in handy when they decided to start a gov- ernment of their own. CHAPTER II, ACROSS THE CHANNEL. A MONG tlie stalwart Irishmen who came to the American col- onies to fight against the French Mont- calm and others of his band, was young Richard Montgom- ery, a colonel in the British Army. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, on the second of December, 1736, and spent his early years there, receiving his education at the Dublin College.* * Several accounts give Montgomery's birthplace as Raphoe in the north of Ireland, but his wife, who kept a journal of the events of his life, says that he was born in Dublin and I am inclined to take her word for it. 12 GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 13 The inclination for military adventure must have run in the Montgomery family from a very early period, for our future hero traced his an- cestry back through a long line of daring progen- ^itors until he reached the Count de Montgom- ery — not a very Irish name, to be sure — who jabbed out the eye of King Henry the Second, of France, with a sword while fencing, for which piece of carelessness His Royal Highness had him put to death as a salutory reminder to him to be more careful in the future. We do not find our young friend brandish- ing any implement of war as an omen of his fu- ture b^ v*^ until he was past seventeen years old, though his life, as a little boy, was not without exci ^ent in the Irish metropolis. Not far from where no lived the towering structure of St. Patrick's Cathedral with its many slender spires rose above the other roofs hard by and cast its gloomy shadow down upon the spacious graveyard, wisely encircled with a tall railing 14 STORY OF to anticipate, no doubt, any effort of its ancient ghosts to make their way out unseen and wander freely about the old city. Often little Richard, as he played about the neighborhood of the mas- sive pile with his young friends could see an old man, with long white hair and with a queer, blank look in his glassy eyes, tottering about among the white tombs, and sometimes led along the street by a watchful attendant. He was not a very kind-looking old gentleman, and he frequently shook his aged fists at the boys who gathered about him as he passed along, or followed, in his wake. Frequently they saw him sitting within the railing, and on these occrsions he bore a queer resemblance to a caged hyena, especially when he laughed — so fierce i*nd ghastly was his mirthless grin. His lace did not blossom suddenly into a smile, as faces ought to do, but it seemed as if his soul must be located somewhere in the depths of him, and tliat he raised the laughter up at great effort, so GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 15 that by the time it reached the surface, it had lost what joy fulness it had in the beginning and amounted to an ugly sneer. On one occasion young Richard and his friends set up a merry shout at the sour-looking old man, who forthwith turned about and called them up to him, but none of them would venture within his reach except young Montgomery. When he had the boy within easy hearing, he asked him what he had been born for, and if it would not have been better if he had not been born at all? "Sup- pose," said he, *'I were to cut you up and have you boiled, as ought to be done with all you urchins — do you suppose you would be tender eating?" This startling inquiry rather sur- prised our young hero, and the other boys, see- ing him step backward, came up and gathered about the old man, whose attendant was urging him to proceed on his walk. "Every one of you young urchins will grow to be a man, and you'll set to work to make the 16 STORY OF world worse than it is now by lying and cheating and making believe to be patriotic- -bah!" "Ah, come on," said one of the boys, "it's only the crazy old Dean." "Crazy," said the old man ,"why, the whole lot of you are crazy — the whole world is crazy — I am what I am, and the world knows it and is ashamed to look me in the face," and he brandished his old arm quite wildly. The at- tendant now succeeded in pursuading him to con- tinue on his way, and the boys followed after at a respectable distance, and laughed at the de- mented old man as he proceeded on his stroll. Before long they became quite accustomed to the aged pedestrian, with his attendant, and not in- frequenty conversed with the old man, who seemed to be suspicious of everything and every- body, and to have a rather unfavorable view of mankind in general — particularly of children, whom he continually denounced for living and for other acts of wickedness common among GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 17 boys. Yet when this old man died, not long after — died _ lonely and forlorn — deserted by a score of famous friends who once had flattered him with their compliments and their applause; deserted even by his own reason — wretched, miserable, despairing, and hateful, in the midst of cheerful Dublin; the whole city gathered about the great Cathedral to mourn his loss; to honor him who hated them and all humanity; who had gone down to his grave shaking his fist at the world; gathered there in the still hour of midnight, proud of the citizen that they could not love, to pay a last sad trib- ute to the man who left a precious treasure for the millions of little people that he loathed with all his cruel, icy heart — the immortal Dean of St. Patrick's — the author of Gulliver's Travels. When young Richard's play days were over, and his mind had been well stocked with an array of learning from the University of DubHn, it occurred to him that it would soon be necessary 18 STORY OF for him to seek a means of livelihood, in which state of mind he turned a longing glance across the English channel. There, above all places, was a field where military ambitions would have encouragement and scope. In his dreams of fame and glory, he could see England across the water standing with her fist doubled up and with chips on both her shoulders. There was a chance of advancement for a young Irishman of war- like temperament. To be under the wing of England, in a military capacity, would be, to him, what working in a candy factory would be to a young lady susceptible to sweets. There would be a perpetual superabundance of exactly what he wanted. So young Richard JMont- gomery crossed over to the mother country, and made his way to London. But the mother country did not receive her son with the maternal aiFection which he had expected, and he drifted about in the vast metropolis and became exceed- ingly lonely and discouraged. GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 19 It was at that time, however, that the British Ministry was getting ready to make a raid against the French possessions in America, and giving mihtary places to a number of young noblemen who w^re out of employment and getting into a variety of scrapes in fulfillment of the worthy old adage that Satan still some mischief finds for idle hands to do. So young Mr. Richard made application for appointment in one of the British regiments. But the super- fluity of idle young men was so great in good old England that the supply of applicants for service far exceeded the demand — a fact largely induced, no doubt, by the alluring mind's eye pictures of a trip abroad with governmental wine and porter, which rose up before the aris- tocratic young nobles, and by enticing visions of Canadian maidens, speaking English with a wicked little broken accent, and carrying their milk pails about in fair Acadia. Against such competition as this our hero 20 STORY OF found it very difficult to make himself heard, for the British aristocracy had formed a sort of trust of the military service from which all un- influential and obscure young aspirants were very carefully debarred. In the face of these obstacles, and of many embarrassments and dis- couragements which we need not rehearse, he succeeded finally in obtaining an appointment in one of the Royal Regiments which were about to embark for Halifax, where they expected to muster a number of colonists into the service and then proceed against Nova Scotia, where the French were making ready to receive them in anything but a hospitable manner. This army from Great Britain was under command of Sir Jeffery Amhurst, who brought as his chief lieutenant one of the bravest soldiers who ever fought on the American continent — a skillful warrior and a good man, the gallant General Wolfe. These forces sailed in Admi- ral Boscowan's fleet to press the French and GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 21 Indian war with the help of the thirteen colonies. You may well suppose that the colonists did not cast their fortunes into the war with a very good heart. For they had little reason to love the mother country or to wish her victory. Of course they drank the King's health in their taverns and saluted the British flag when it was raised, but they did not make much noise in doing these things, and in Boston, the rebel city, they did not do them at all. But for all that they forgot their injuries, they overlooked the oppression they had been made to suffer, and buckled on their swords and shouldered their guns and gave three cheers for General Braddock who had come sometime before to take full charge, and who intended to lead them into easy victory and wreathe himself in fame. If you are not tired sitting in this old church- yard and listening to this tale of many years ago, I will tell you a little about this cruel French and Indian War in which our hero fought as a 22 STORY OF young colonel, and then we shall follow him into another war which shook the world with its mighty significance, and watch him climb tlie heights to die like the grand American soldier that he was, for the cause of independence and the rights of man. It is well for us to pause here and consider the important part which was played in the old war for independence by the great Irishmen of that day, for we must remember that our hero was Irish, and his noble and patriotic life reflects a never djong radiance on the land of the Sham- rock. But he was not the only contribution which the Isle of Erin made to the grand old cause, for while he raised his sword in defence of the oppressed and struggling colonists, Edmund Burke, another Irishman, raised his magic voice in Parliament against the actions of King George the III until the House of Commons rang with the thunder of liis denunciations. The good which these brave Irishmen did, each in his own GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 23 sphere, can never be estimated and their deeds and memories should be gratefully and tenderly regarded by the mighty nation which their genius helped to build up in this western world. While we are waiting for Admiral Boscowan's fleet, with our young hero, to arrive at Halifax, let us go back a Httle and follow the events which had been taking place in America in con- nection with this French and Indian War. CHAPTER III. THE BUSY FRENCH I T has been said that it is an ill ^ wind which blows no one a iiy good, and it ^■tr may be observed r^"* that it is a bad war indeed which does not turn out to be a blessing or a benefit to somebody. Hence this French and Indian war which car- ried sorrow and bloodshed in its wake, served its useful purpose in many little ways, for it gave employment to scores of young Englishmen who could not earn a living in any other way, and it put the American colonists through a course of 24 GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 25 military training in the art of war which they were very thankful for and which the generous mother country, after a few years, was very sorry that she had ever let them have. Besides these beneficient influences growing out of the bloody war of the Prussian Frederick the French and In- dian conflict had the important efl*ect of estab- lishing a friendship between America and France which was destined to humble the British Empire in the dust ere many years should pass. For the thirteen colonies and France, through being bullied and downtrodden by Great Britain, final- ly came to regard each other with a fellow feel- ing, and a bond of sympathy sprang up between them in fulfilment of the well known saying that misery loves company. So you see that this celebrated war which pre- ceded the Revolution in our country was a sort of blessing in disguise to all concerned, except the hapless and astonished Indians, who were, of course, of no consideration one way or the other. 26 STORY OF The unfathomable poHtical mysteries which found their outward expression in the barbarous war, were so profound and comphcated to the simple red men that they very sensibly declined any effort to unravel them and shrewdly cast their fortunes with the army which they thought would surely win. During the most exciting escapades of Fred- erick the Great and his invincible legions, Eng- land had been so busy with her European affairs that she had not been able to watch the encroach- ments of the wily French in Canada who had forthwith taken occasion to extend their Ameri- can possessions while Great Britain's back was turned. They had established a line of fortified trading posts which stretched from Canada to New Orleans. They had built forts along the shores of the great lakes, and, led by their adven- turous priests and missionaries, they had sailed boldly down the Mississippi River. They had penetrated the vast forests of the west and had GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY n planted the cross of the Jesuits on the shores of the Ohio and the Wabash. Encouraged by sue- cess and by the hundreds of converts they had made among the savages, they had grown bolder and more adventurous with each successive year until it began to look as if the whole western half of the North American continent was going to be developed and controlled by France. It was high time for the mother country to collect her colonial children about her and give them cannons and muskets and scientific instruction and with their aid to sally forth against the enterprising in- vaders from the north. But in the excitement of the moment and in her indignation at the presumptuous French, the good mother country had forgotten that if a bird does not want her brood of young to leave the par- ental nest, she should be exceedingly careful not to teach them to fly. CHAPTER IV LOUISBURG I N the year 1755, General Ed- ward Braddock ar- rived in Chesapeake Bay with a great flourish, and his bold military bear- ing, and his clank- ing sword and fine uniform, caused quite a thrill among the young ladies of the southern colonies who were so fortunate as to get a glimpse of the imposing warrior, from afar. The general was such a great man and knew so much about the art of war, that he only smiled when the colonial planters told him about the dark tactics of the savage allies which the army of 28 GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 29 Among these men was young Montgomery. — Page 34. 30 STORY OF France had shrewdly secured. The Indians who lurked about the fair province of Virginia did not worry him at all. He had come to deal a terrific blow to the wicked French who had dared to explore the Mississippi River and set up little colonies in the valley of the Ohio and all along the western frontier. Many a man who has come to our shores to astonish us with genius of one sort or another has gone home a failure, goodness knows — but General Braddock was such a failure that he never went home at all. It was in the army of this pompous leader that young George Washington fought as a volunteer and had his first experience of the terrors and dangers of war. But our stor)^ does not lie in the South where, as you know, General Braddock lost his life and most of his army by refusing to listen to a little good advice. His defeat and death and the utter humiliation of his fine troops were followed by many months of failure for the British in GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 31 America until finally Great Britain sent a splen- did army to conquer Canada and with that great host came our young hero, Richard Montgomery, now twenty-one years of age. This large force was soon increased by Colonial regiments which had been waiting in New England, and it was resolved to reduce Louisburg, a French fortress, which had cost five milhon dollars to construct and which was supposed to be so strong that it was called the Gibraltar of America. Louisburg was situated out on the edge of Nova Scotia and its eastern boundary was the desolate ocean. To-day this ancient stronghold is a solitude of jagged, shapeless rock and fallen walls. Where is its might and all its proud glory now? Gone. The lonely waters which embrace it and whose impetuous breakers beat against the sandy shoals, and bursting into white foam, roll noiselessly up the pebbled beach near- by, were once the witness of a fearful conflict which was waged upon those shores. Yet Nature 32 STORY OF in her more important duties seems to have for- gotten all about it for she allows, to-day, a herd of gentle sheep to graze about the place which was once the scene of bloodshed and of woe. In the early part of June 1758, the French commander, looking seaward from his military throne, beheld a veritable cloud of white, far oiF toward the horizon, bearing slowly in upon his stronghold. It was Admiral Boscowan's fleet from Halifax bringing, in its forty splendid vessels, fourteen thousand men, with the brave leaders. General Amhurst and General Wolfe and their accomplished and gallant young assist- a,nt, the hero of this tale. It was an ominous approach. Slowly and silently the mighty arm- ament advanced hke a great procession of shadowy ghosts, coming from some mysterious spirit realm (toward the doomed fortress. As the spectral objects, coming nearer, took the form of boats, the sound of music could be heard on the fitful summer breeze and a hundred glittering GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 33 flags seen streaming over the British men of war. As they made their way into the bay and lowered their sails the grim array gave ominous portent of the day of reckoning that was at hand. Over the sides of these vessels a thousand sol- diers of the red-coat army swarmed into the little boats which had been lowered to receive tliem and bear them to the shore. Among these were Gen- eral Wolfe and young Montgomery. The waves beat high against the sides of the vessels, and sent their spray about the decks. The little boats below rocked and lurched in the furious sea. But the men poured down and crowded into them and set their faces toward the land. High on its jagged pedestal stood the old de- fence — a menace and a .threat — defiant in its sitrength — firm and glorious in its history and its fame. Again and again as the little crafts were tossed about in the angry surf, the British sol- diers tried to land but every time the breakers beat them off as if the very ocean were an 34 STORY OF ally of the French and stationed there to guard the approaches to the garrison. A number of the little boats were broken or capsized. Finally a figure was seen leaping from one of the little transports into the waves. Swimming in until he had reached a point where he could stand upright in the water, Gen- eral Wolfe turned about and waving his sword above his head, called the soldiers to follow him. Inspired by the desperate resolution of their leader, they leaped into the rolling surf and reach- ing the shore pressed on with resistless force against the French batteries. Among these men was young Montgomery, filled with the patriotic enthusiasm which the bold and adventurous en- terprise inspired. Dripping wet, they made their way up the craggy approach to the stronghold and with rousing cheers, scaled the ramparts of felled trees, assulted and took the outer defences and pushed the enemy back into the startled town. The French commander was thunder- GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 35 struck. Looking from his post within the city, it seemed as if great red streams were pouring over the sides of the vessels into the black water. Out they came streaming like endless chains of fire. They swarmed on every landing, and planted their cannons at every point. There was some re- sistance from the gallant Frenchmen but all in vain. Their batteries were silenced by the mur- derous and terrific thunder of the English guns. Their vessels in the harbor were set on fire. The red-coated devils wove an enormous spider web about them which held them fast in its meshes. And then the siege of Louisburg began — a siege which laid the proud old city, with its thick walled forts, in hopeless ruin. It was such a vic- tory as the army of the British Empire should never win again on the soil of the western world ; a victory gained with the aid of their colonists whom they had oppressed, and outraged, and in- sulted with their mi just and dishonest laws. It lasted fifty days and every day the town was 36 STORY OF lurid with the fire of British cannon and the crackhng flames of burning vessels. The bom^ bardment was continuous and terrible. The sufferings of the resisting French were frightful, yet even in their distress they were faithful to their traditional chivalry. In the great tragedy there was a little comedy. After vigorously cannonading the legion quartered about their city, the French commander sent out word to General Amhurst that a skillful surgeon in the garrison would attend the wounded British if ithey cared to have him come outside! Truly indeed, it costs nothing to be polite. In the midst of deadly volleys, great baskets of wine and lus- cious fruit came out from the besieged city to General Amhurst and his aides, with the compli- ments of the French commander. I rather think that these two nations had been enemies so long — had fought so much — that ithe armies had come to love each other, in the pleasant and familiar relations of war. GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 37 But finally when August came the valiant gar- rison, exhausted and hopeless, ceased its brave re- sistance, and surrendered to the army of Great Britain. The colony of Massachusetts had con- tributed a million dollars to this perilous enter- prise and all the other colonies had dropped their mites into the British collection plate which the royal governors had passed around among the good people. In ithis siege, our young hero, in his uniform of red, fought skillfully and well in his royal master's cause. He was admired and loved by all who knew^ him. There was about him the charm of perfect modesty. He played his pant in every bold assault and when the city fell, his name went back to England in the official re- ports, and his skill and bravery were applauded throughout the land. They did not call him a rebel then — but a brave young English soldier. Yet the seeds of freedom had even then taken root within his heart. He had seen the sturdy 38 STORY OF colonists, farmers and small merchants, men who had little if anything to gain, fighting loyally in the ranks with their proud and disciplined broth- ers from the mother country, and he had come to admire, them. He had seen them held up to ridi- cule by the British troops, treated like poor rela- tions, sneered at and scorned. He had seen them furnish money which he knew the British govern- ment would not repa}^ Their queer and rusty firearms, their strange uniforms, had a sort of pathos for him. Slowly this young man was be- coming an American. He did not know it then, but the first unconscious step had been taken. He admired and respected the colonists and he sympathized with their wrongs. It came not as a sudden resolution but as the morning dawns — slowly, imperceptibly. And this admiration, this sympathy, this splendid human feeling, towering over the love of home and blind political al- legiance, raised him, in the fulness of time, to the sad dignity of a martyr. CHAPTER V PEACE DURING the struggle be- fore Louisburg young Montgom- ery was promoted from the rank of lieutenant to colonel m recognition of his courage. At that time there was great trouble down at Ticonderoga on the southern end of Lake Champlain. If ever a miHtary strong- hold had a stormy and adventurous career, Ti- conderoga was that fortress. There was always something going on about the old stone fort. In July, 1758, while the French and English were exchanging cannon balls and compliments 39 40 STORY OF at Louisburg, General Abercrombie, with young Lord William Howe and a large force of colo- nists and British regulars, sailed up the placid bosom of Lake George in little whale boats and canoes. To the stirring strains of martial music, and under streaming banners with their golden tassels glistening in the summer sun, the gorge- ous pageant made its way up the quiet wood- bound sheet of water which lies high among the rugged peaks of the Adirondacks. Young Lord Howe was the genius of this enterprise. He was a rare soldier — a soldier who laughed away the foolish military etiquette of British army life — who wore no costly epaullettes or jewelled sword — who lived on the plainest food and required all his officers to do the same. Without the arro- gance of Braddock or the pretensions of Clinton, who came later, he was a skillful soldier and a practical and honest man.* *Lord Howe was a younger brother of the two Lords of the same name who figured so prominently in the war for Inde- pendence. GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 41 m^MM^ -r-> 1 n.a«».K»i<.^ Montgomery with his regiment was hastened there to give what help he could. — Page 44. 42 STORY OF •Landing on the edge of the thick forest wliich stretched between the fortress and the shore, young Howe led an advance guard to surprise the stronghold where the brave Montcalm was quartered. It was here in these dim woods, thick with foliage, and rich with all ithe wealth and fragrance of summer, that this brave young lord was shot dead by a scouting party which had come forth from ithe menaced fort. As we look back upon that bloody drama and think of the three good men, Montcalm and Wolfe and Howe, all killed within a single year, we are minded to inquire, was the sacrifice of these brave souls worth while? Perhaps it was only chance that saved Montgomery. But I like to think that Providence spared him for the task which she had set for him to do. I like to think that if the cruel destinies of war had spared those two brave English soldiers, Wolfe and Howe, who laid down their lives in that northern cam- paign, they, like the hero we are following, would GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 43 have cast their fortunes with the struggling Con- tinental Army to suffer with the patriot troops at Valley Forge and to stand with the beloved com- mander when the sun of victory broke out at Yorktown and the flag of a new and free people fioaited in the clear sky. And I like to fancy the impetuous and rash Montcalm, coming over with young Lafayette when the news of the Declara- tion of Independence had fired his restless soul. It is pleasant, to be sure, sitting in this quiet old-fashioned graveyard and dreaming of the things which we should like to have had come true, and I confess that the sad stillness of the place inclines me to these thoughts and reveries. Perhaps among these grey old tombs there is the unmarked and forgotten grave of some great genius whom the world has never known. Per- haps some splendid mind which would have en- riched the world could it but have lived a little longer, lies here in unconscious dust. Who shall say? You see I am growing more familiar with 44 STORY OF you in these excursions along the path of hberty which we have been making with. the heroes of old days, with the men who wore the knicker- bocker and the buckled shoe. Probably it is be- cause we are coming to know each other better, though I believe the atmosphere of this old haunt where the ashes of our hero rest, has something to do with it, too. What I began to tell you was that General Abercrombie had such an unfortunate time of it at Ticonderoga that young Montgomery, with his regiment, was hastened there to give what help he could and to console the general in his de- feat and dilemma. The old fortress with its guns and its cannons and its stores was finally surrendered to the English with the help of our young lieutenant and the red-coats held it until Ethan Allen, the burly farmer, pursuaded them to give it up in the spring of 1775. And here Montgomery remained until the early part of 1760 when he was ordered northward where the GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 45 British army was preparing to appropriate Mon- treal. In due course the French governor, Vaudreuil, got together his belongings and marched out, and the English marched in and Canada became a British province, and the army of merry France departed with dejected spirits for home. I have not told you of the fierce and bloody struggle at Quebec in which Wolfe and Mont- calm fell, for young Montgomery did not take part in this, as it happened while he was quartered in the neighborhood of Lake Champlain. Be- sides, we shall visit these scenes a little later in the interests of another and grander cause. Before long Montgomery sailed with a detach- ment of the British forces to the West Indies where his Royal Majesty was anxious to carry on a little warfare with the Spaniards by way of practice, and put a few finishing touches on the unfortunate French who were scattered about the islands. Cuba was soon reduced, and for some 46 STORY OF time ithe British officers were busy receiving sur- renders. It was beginning to look as if Britan- nia were not only going to rule the waves as she claims to do in her song, but all the land in the western hemisphere as well. And then peace came and reigned once more in the great continent of America — blessed peace, so rare and difficult in those days — blessed, happy peace, when men could follow useful callings and look about them and enjoy the melody of simple life — when they could listen to birds and child- ren, and work by day, and sit about their fire- sides at night, and think and dream, and toil and read, and be thankful, CHAPTER VI ABSENCE THE young colonel novv^ set sail for England to see his friends and visit his native home. His fame had gone be- fore him and he was received in London with great enthusi- asm by scores of admiring friends who had fol- lowed his exploits in the recent war. He was al- most as well known as if he had been a general. William Pitt, ithe illustrious commoner, and friend of the Americans, was ardent in his praise. No doubt the young soldier listened to the great statesman and thinker, when he spoke in Parlia- 47 48 STORY OF ment to deaf ears, and urged upon that stubborn body a policy of fairness to the colonies across (the sea. He mingled in the best society of the time and met the famous personages of the day. He met Sheridan, the great orator and playright ; Burke, the gifted Irishman who raised his stirring voice against the Stamp Act; Garrick, the man of many parts; Goldsmith, the strolling vagabond who enriched the world with his genius; and Dr. Johnson, whose famous dictionary had not words enough to express his hatred and contempt for the Continental rebels. He must have listened to the heated debates in Parliament in which colo- nial matters were discussed, and heard the proc- lamations and the royal mandates and insane ad- dresses of the King. And all these things, no doubt, strengthened and encouraged the feelings which had taken root within his heart. The British Empire was now, as you know, the proud possessor of all the thickly settled por- tion of the North American continent. She did GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 49 And here ere many months had passed, he achieved his first great victory. — Page 5t. 50 STORY OF not own the ocean or the sky. But America was hers, with the exception of the strag-ghng settle- ments on the lower western frontier, the tract of country known as Louisiana, for France hung on to ithis like grim death. A little island off the coast of Europe, scarcely large enough, as Dr. Frank- lin said, to keep one's feet dry, controlled and owned a vast expanse of rich and fertile country, a continent indeed, many times her size in every- thing but arrogance. Truly it seemed absurd. The men whose fathers with their families had fled from persecution and oppression in every land, and who had sought peace of mind in the mysterious continent of the west, were still tram- pled under foot by a royal tyrant, bled of all their resources and deprived of the very blessings which they had endured such suffering and hard- ship to secure. The French and Indian War was over. England, the proud mistress of the land and sea, the universal and victorious gladiator in the great arena, the terror of the world, had ad- GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 51 ded hundreds upon hundreds of miles to her national domain. Nobody was any freer or any happier for the conflicts which had filled America and Europe with bloodshed and tears. A few more widows in the world, a few more orphans, and a few more graves, that was all. The loyal colonists had done their part, the fight was over, the swords and guns were laid away, the tumult and noise which had shocked the earth, died down, and all was quiet. As the British government did not intend to use the colonists again just tJien, a new code of oppressive acts and laws was instituted and rigor- ously apphed. I want to make it clear to you what the rela- tions between America and the mother country were just then, and what it meant for the thirteen colonies to take up arms. England was the rich- est and most formidable power in the world ; su- preme, commanding, resistless. Her army was enormous. Her wealth was boundless. Not a 52 STORY OF nation on the continent off whose coast she held her undisputed sway could contend against her le- gions or dispute her glory. George the Third, the weakest and most foolish king that ever sat upon a throne, held the reins of the strongest government that existed among men. The peo- ple of (the thirteen colonies were ruled by this despot who was a mere name to them — whom few of them had ever seen. He had no idea of fairness nor had he any decent sentiments about the common rights of his provincial subjects. He tried to enslave tthem and they rose up and defied him. If I were to tell you now of all the meas- ures that he introduced to persecute the sturdy, honest men who felled the bleak New England forests and drove the barbarous red men from the frontiers, of all the cruel acts he forced his parliament to pass, the Stamp Act, the Naviga- tion Act, and many more, our story would be, indeed, a twice told tale. Yet we must keep in mind the circumstances which led to the events GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 53 that we are following, for things and men become great in this world not so much from what they do as from the causes which impel them to their deeds. Young Montgomery remained in England for nine eventful years — years filled with pohtical debates and bitter controversies. He was there while the illustrious Franklin was in'London in the interests of colonial rights and privileges, pleading for a repeal of the outrage- ous Stamp Act, and pointing with keen wisdom and foresight to the terrific disasters which Eng- land was bringing down upon her own head. The young man saw where the stream of events was leading. He could see the clouds gathering for a storm which he believed would shake the world. He had heard the arguments of the great American sage who had come as an uninvited representative of the thirteen colonies. The wise man's prophecies, weighted with truth, impressed him. 54 STORY OF In .the year 1772, Richard Montgomery, at the age of thirty-five, gave up his commission as an officer in the British army and set sail for the United Colonies of America where he had re- solved to make his home. And here, ere many months had passed, he achieved his first great vic- tory, for he laid siege to the heart of the fair young daughter of Judge Robert Livingston, who after a decidedly brief resistance agreed to articles of surrender and took up her abode with (the victorious usurper from abroad, at "Grass- mere," a quiet shady country seat in Dutchess County, New York, where, like Washington and Wayne and Marion and Allen and Putnam and all the rest of them, he devoted the peaceful, happy days to the gentle art of agriculture. CHAPTER VII W WAR E have had a ghmpse of colonial a if airs i n England and fol- lowed a little the causes which led our hero to seek a per- manent home in America. It is now time for us to turn our eyes to the events which were unfolding themselves in our country while the gallant Rich- ard was enjoying his honeymoon. For my part, I am very glad that he married a colonial maiden and I shudder when I think of the narrow escapes he must have had from Lady This or Lady That or from Lord Somebody or other's daughters dm-- 58 56 STORY OF ing those nine perilous years in fashionable and frivolous London. But he came through all these dangers quite safely, as you see, and now we have him settled down very cosily with a young lady who has no (title, to be sure, but who can courtesy in a manner to put your duchesses and countesses to shame, and who has very dainty ankles as you can see while she is plying the pedal of her spin- ning wheel, and as Mr. Richard Montgomery probably saw to his delight many and many a day, when he was trying to induce her to stop and listen. Her name was not Mercy nor Betsey nor Dorothy, as you might suppose from the preval- ency of those names in colonial novels, but Janet, and her father was a justice of the provincial court and afterwards a member of the Conti- nental Congress. So you see there is no doubt at all about her having been a full-fledged, out-and- out rebel. It w^as now ithe year 1775 and Richard Mont- gomery, much to his surprise, was chosen to rep- GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 57 ' The will of an oppressed people compelled to choose between liberty and slavery must be obeyed." — Page 61. 58 STORY OF resent Dutchess County in the Provincial Con- gress, which was then about to meet in New York. In Boston, for two years past, the colonists had been carrying things with a high hand. You would not think to look at the Massachusetts cap- ital to-day that it was ever so unmanageable. The Boston Tea-Party, that famous event in New England history, had been carried off with great success. A whole cargo of tea which the Eng- lish government had tried to force upon the re- bellious colony of Massachusetts Bay with the intention of collecting an outrageous duty, had been cast into the ocean. This had led to other acts of oppression and tyranny and these to other acts of violence and resistance by the people of old New England. The other cities wondered how Boston dared to be so bold. King George the Third hated her and all her citizens, and they were very glad of it. John Hancock had raised his voice against His Royal Highness. Samuel Adams had denied colonial allegiance to the GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 59 Crown. Things were moving rapidly. The King had stormed and fumed and ordered them ar- rested. The people of the good old town met in the South Church and in Fanueil Hall and called the King a tyrant. They tore his leaden statue from the public square and made the metal into bullets. They made an effigy of his pudgy form and put a rope around his royal neck and hung him amid sounding cheers. The British govern- ment ordered the port of the rebel city closed and transferred the cusitom officers to Salem. Salem would have nothing to do with them. An army of red-coats was encamped on Boston com- mon. Their leader, General Gage, demanded food and clothing for his troops. He might as well have demanded the sun and stars, for all he got. The British soldiers tore down the "Lib- erty Tree," the emblem of colonial rights. The people raised it up again. A detachment from the red-coat army moved toward Lexington to sieze the military stores, the meagre savings, 60 ' STORY OF which the honest farmers had laid up against an hour of need. And then rang out the shot whose echo lasited seven bloody years, and the grandest and most righteous war that ever has been waged in all the history of this world, was on at last. As soon a^ the meaning of these events was realized, and it became apparent that war was actually being carried on, the Continental Con- gress appointed the commander-in-chief, and with him four major generals and eight briga- diers, and among these latter was chosen Richard Montgomery ; for his bravery and skill were well remembered and his sympathy with Colonial in- dependence widely known. Without hesitation he accepted the commission as an honor, bade farewell to his sweet young wife, and laying aside the duties of his calling and the pleasant life of his beautiful home, he came forth to battle for the people whom he had come among, and in whose rights and virtues he so fervently believed. As the patriot was about to leave all that was dear to GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 61 him to join the army which v. as gathering at Cambridge, he said: "The will of an oppressed people, compelled to choose between liberty and slavery, must be obeyed." And he did obey that will — obeyed it through blast and tempest, as we shall see, and with a smile upon his lips he paid the cost. CHAPTER VIII w WINTER HEN the thirteen colonies drew the sword against Great Britain, their provisions consisted of seventeen thous- and pounds of salt fish and their imple- ments of war were limited to a few old fashioned rifles and twelve cannons. With these they undertook to combat the British Empire. It would be pleasant indeed to linger over the stirring events which followed close upon the skir- mishes at Lexington and Concord, to review the siege of Boston when George Washington made 62 GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 63 a mouse-trap of .the rebel city, and to glance at the battle of Bunker Hill, but our stoiy does not lie in old New England, but in the far north where we must journey once again, not with our red-coat brothers but with that grand detach- ment from the Continental forces which was called "the Army of the North." You will remember that Canada had become a British province and the colonial authorities were uncertain as to the stand which she would take in the impending conflict. Dr. Franklin thought that the inhabitants, many of them French civiHans, might be induced to take up arms in the cause of Independence if they were properly approached. Many indeed, believed that Canada was disposed to be friendly. But what- ever the probabilities were, one thing was certain ; if she were not a friend she must be an enemy, and she would have to take up arms on one side or the other. Ethan Allen had taken the forts at Lake Qiamplain and sent down glowing ac- 64 STORY OF counts of the ease with which the province could be taken. He seemed to think that if he went across the Canadian border and demanded the surrender of the cities there, the authorities would instantly submit with as much alacrity as young Captain Delaplace had displayed in handing Ti- conderoga over to the burly farmer before break- fast one fine morning, a little while before. Besides the famous Green Mountain Boys, there were others who believed that Canada, if she would not listen to reason, might perhaps at least listen to rifle balls and cannons, so it was decided to fit out a part of the new army for a campaign in the Far North. This Army of the North con- sisted of four thousand men under the famous General Schuyler, with Brigadier General Rich- ard Montgomery as second in command. The scene now changes and we are once again at old Ticonderoga. General Schuyler is here to look about him and plan the campaign. A lit- tle above us is Crown Point, another old French GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 65 foritress, and there General Montgomery is waiting with the regiments under his command. Just above these two old strongholds the placid Lake Champlain stretches northward, and if you were to sail straight up through the centre of it, you would sail into the old St. John's or Sorel River which starts out of the upper end of the lake like the thin curling fang of a serpent and rushes northward into the great St. Lawrence which is on its crooked journey from Lake On- tario to the sea. When you sail into the St. Law- rence at the point I mention, you will find the river wide indeed. If you bend your course northeast you will soon be at Quebec but if you sail southwest a little way you will arrive at Montreal. Before long the two divisions under Generals Schuyler and Montgomery met at the head of Lake Champlain where General Schuyler was shortly taken ill, and the full command of the Army of the North and the responsibility for its 66 STORY OF perilous enterprise fell upon Montgomeiy, who became a major general. His object was to press on and enter Montreal. In October he gathered his forces at Chambley, on their way ito the great Canadian city, and attacked the British garrison which was stationed there. Within a week the commander of the post surrendered and General Montgomery (then distributed his forces about St. Johns not far away and proceeded to besiege that post. In November the British garrison here surrendered to the Americans with five hundred men, among whom was young Major Andre who was hung as a spy on the Hudson highlands six years later. To this besieged gar- rison. General Montgomery granted the most lib- eral terms of surrender. They were allowed to keep all articles which could be of any use to them except their heavy implements of war. It was now the middle of November and the campaign in the north had been successful as far as it had gone^ But the fearful northern winter GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 67 was coming on apace. Famine and sickness, those two ghastly spectres, were stalking silently behind them and grinning at their little victories. The army of General Montgomery became re- duced ito fifteen hundred men. Their powder and cartridges were almost exhausted, their cloth- ing was in rags, their provisions were well nigh gone. The Army of the North was facing starva- tion. Ominously the white snow began to fall upon the land which they had come to capture, until the vast domain had wrapped itself in white and not a road or beaten path in all the country roundabout them could be seen. The path ito lib- erty w^as blotted out by nature. They were in the midst of a wilderness, suffering from the cold. Then a visitor came among them, a ghastly, dreadful visitor, tlie smallpox. Across the great river, thick with ice, stood Montreal, her many spires wrapped in their winding robes of snow. The forlorn army pressed on through the silent dreaiy forests, un- 68 STORY OF til when the month was nearly gone, the troops had reached the banks of the great St. Lawrence, and could see the city standing on its white ped- estal across the stream. They crossed the river, weak and exhausted, and General Montgomery addressed a kindly proclamation to the citizens, the royal governor having fled at their approach. The population, at heart friendly to the Ameri- can cause, surrendered instantly to the Conti- nental forces, and General Montgomery led his starving legion through the gates of the old city. The old year was getting ready to depart. Echoes from the roaring cataracts of the north- em rivers sounded in the dark forests giving a muffled hollow distant roar. The faUing of huge blocks of ice could be heard. The country was enveloped in a dull, bitter cold. Weird, uncanny mutterings of torrents, as the merciless and ter- rific gale dashed them in gusts from their scarred and jagged cliff's, could be heard in the town. It was close upon the end of November, 1775. CHAPTER IX w QUEBEC HILE the forces un- der General Mont- gomery were pre- paring to journey- northward from the neighborhood of Lake Champlain, another army under Colonel Benedict Arnold started from the mouth of the Kennebec river to make its way up through the woods of Maine and reinforce the troops which we have just left in possession of Montreal. With these regiments came Captain Morgan, with his fam- ous riflemen in their suits of Lincoln green, and young Aaron Burr, a boy of nineteen who had 69 70 STORY OF joined the army as a volunteer. The sufferings of this detachment, as it made its way through tangled underbrush and dense forests has no par- allel in history. Sometimes they groped along in boats upon the Kennebec, and sometimes they waded through swamps and picked their way through briary, tangled growth, carrying their boats upon their shoulders. As these regiments of sturdy patriots advanced they left a trail of dead behind them. Many left the army to carry sick and dying soldiers back along the road which they had traversed. The troops were soon re- duced to half their number. Still undaunted, they pressed onward dripping from the bogs and swamps which they had sunken into and shiver- ing with the cold. Every hour of those thirty fearful days, men sank down dying by the way- side — or helpless from fatigue. Their sufferings were ghastly — awful. At last on the eighth of November this little army, reduced to five hun- dred worn and starving men, stood at Point Levi, GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 71 on the eastern bank of the St. Lawrence river and gazed across at the great walled city of Quebec, standing high upon its mighty jagged cliffs, crowning ithe towering summit of Cape Diamond with its slender steeples — supreme on its great throne, and looking down upon the country about its feet, proud in its security and arrogant in its pride. Below it, under the very shadow of the high cliffs on which it stood, on a narrow beach between it and the shore, nestled the lower town with its steep winding stairways leading to (the city far above. After notifying Montgomery at Montreal of his arrival, Arnold, with his forlorn band, crossed the stream and picked his way along the shore until he had reached the rear of the town, when he led his hapless followers up the Heights of Abraham, a vast plateau behind the town, and lining up these weaiy helpless patriots in battle array, demanded the immediate surrender of the city. The flag he sent within the gates was fired 11 STORY OF Still undaunted they pressed onward dripping from the ^ogs and swamps which they had sunken into and shivering with the cold. Page 70. GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 73 upon. He could not return the fire, even if he had been given the chance, for the best of all good reasons — his soldiers had no cartridges or powder. Again he sent within demanding the instant sur- render of the town. But the Lion only laughed at the Mouse. The bold young colonel challenged the garrison to come out and fight, though in truth the patriots had nothing to fight with but their fists. The garrison refused. The governor of the city would neither surrender nor give bat- tle. It would be impossible to scale the walls. Those outside could not get in and those within would not come out. And why should they sur- render? The British garrison had a goodly stock of military stores within their stronghold which they did not intend to waste. The patinots who waited on the windy plains without had nothing but their nerve, which they were willing to spend freely. Finally the little band, unable longer to endured the cold, retreated to a more sheltered spot not far away, to await the arrival of their 74 STORY OF general and his troops, who were on their way from Montreal. All this time the winter was becoming more merciless and terrible. Snow was everywhere. It covered the Plains of Abraham and capped the roofs of the clustering houses in the city. It hid the roads and spread itself like a vasit un wrinkled coverlet across the ice-bound river. It was the first of December and the old year was going out in a rage. It fumed and blustered and beat about and made a fearful uproar. Seventeen seventy-five was dying hard. The wind came roaring in through the wild, naked forests, cracking off the brittle limbs as it rushed by and scattering them about in its blind wrath. It tore ithe crystal icicles from where they hung and dashed them here and there, and then rushed off again to meet with other w inds that were shrieking about on the dark and lonely ocean. Through the blinding, beating hurricane, GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 75 through cold and storm, dull and freezing and relentless — three hundred men, the remnants of the army that had left Lake Champlain in Sep- tember, were making their way along the St. Lawrence River from Montreal to reinforce young Colonel Arnold and his ill-starred band. 70 A man rushed into the military quarter of the city,— Page 78. CHAPTER X NEW year's eve T HE season of good cheer was now rushing in apace and all the cold without could not destroy the mer- riment within the city. In merry England they were clinking their glasses and wishing each other health and pros- perity, and the loyal residents of old Quebec were following their example. Many a rousing song and jolly toast echoed through the halls of the old mansions in .the town, as the guest they were all waiting for, the sturdy '76, came jogging over the northern hills to keep his promise and 77 78 STORY OF be there at twelve o'clock. If they had known that he carried the Declaration of Independence under his arm they would not have made such preparations in his honor. In the midst of these plans for fellowship and good cheer, while the ale was brewing and when the town was quite in order to welcome the com- ing and speed the parting guest, a man rushed into the military quarter of the city, and sank down breathless. When he had recovered him- self, he told a tale that startled them. He was a Canadian who had joined and then deserted the little force of seven hundred patriots who were quartered near the city. He told the commander that it was the intention of the Continental troops to skirt the shore and assault the lower town, down at the foot of the cliff, and then to climb the steep ascent and surprise the city. He announced that the patriots were only waiting for a more than usually dark and blustering night when their approach might be more secret GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY 79 and more guarded. The British governor list- ened with attention, heard the story out, and then decided on his course. On a steep road leading from the lower to the upper town, a crooked stone ascent, with rocky stairways here and there, stood a wooden block house which contained a stock of military stores. It was an old and dingy house of boards, of little value and in bad repair. A few yards down the path, in the direction of the lower town, was a barricade of fallen trees. Down the steep road from the lofty garrison above came a little com- pany of British regulars. They brought with them two large field pieces, some provisions, and some mechanics' tools. They entered the Httle block-house and set to work boring out two open- ings on the side of the structure facing the ap- proach. When this was done they placed the cannons with their muzzles just inside the holes and loaded them with grape-shot. Then they settled down to play at cards. 80 STORY OF The last morning of the old year dawned dull and cold. As the day progressed the wind rose until it blew a violent gale. It beat against the snow and sent it up in blinding sprays. It caught the new snow that was falling and gath- ered it into great sheets and drove them before it in fearful gusts. One could not see about him for the driving tempest. The howHng and moan- ing of the hurricane were deafening. The old year had indeed lost its temper. CHAPTER XI THE OLD YEAR DIES I N the midst of this biting storm, all that re- mained of the Army of the North crept along the narrow ledge between the towering precipice and the shore and entered the ground floor of the city of Quebec. They were armed with scaling ladders. As they neared the en- trance of the lower town they paused and divided into two columns. One of these was to attack the lower town while the other made its way up toward the city which stood high above them wrapped in its encircling walls. This last divi- 81 82 STORY OF sion was led by General Montgomery. The men and officers had pleaded with him not to com- mand in person, but he had insisted. Falling into the narrow road which womid up