The French general D'Aubry, with twelve hundred men, marched to the relief of the fort. On the 15th, General Prideaux was killed by the bursting of a mortar. Sir William Johnson succeeded to the command, and disposed his forces so as to intercept the approaching French. On the morning of the 24th, D'Aubry's army came in sight.

GENERAL JAMES WOLFE.

Abercrombie had formerly landed. The French did not dare to stand against them. On the 26th, the garrison, having partly destroyed the fortifications, abandoned Ticonderoga and retreated to Crown Point. Five days afterward, they deserted this place also, and entrenched themselves on Isle-aux-Noix, in the river Sorel.

10. It remained for General Wolfe to achieve the final victory. Early in the spring, he began the ascent of the St. Lawrence. His force consisted of nearly eight thousand men, assisted by a

fleet of forty-four vessels. On the 27th of June, the armament arrived at the Isle of Orleans, four miles below Quebec. The English camp was pitched at the upper end of the Island. Wolfe's vessels gave him command of the river, and the southern bank was undefended. On the night of the 29th, General Monckton was sent to seize Point Levi. From this position the Lower Town was soon reduced to ruins, and the Upper Town much injured; but the fortress held out.

11. On the 9th of July, General Wolfe crossed the north channel and encamped on the east bank of the Montmorenci. This stream was fordable at low water. On the 31st of the month, a severe battle was fought at the fords of the river, and the English were repulsed with heavy losses. Wolfe, after losing nearly five hundred men, withdrew to his camp.

12. Exposure and fatigue threw the English general into a fever, and for many days he was confined to his tent. A council of officers was called, and the indomitable leader proposed a second assault. But the proposition was overruled. It was decided to ascend the St. Lawrence, and gain the Plains of Abraham, in the rear of the city. The lower camp was broken up, and on the 6th of September, the troops were conveyed to Point Levi. Wolfe then transferred his army to a point several miles up the river. He then busied himself with an examination of the northern bank, in the hope of finding some pathway up the steep cliffs to the plains in the rear of Quebec.

13. On the night of the 12th of September, the English entered their boats and dropped down the river to a place called Wolfe's Cove. With great difficulty the soldiers clambered up the precipice; the Canadian guard on the summit was dispersed; and in the dawn of morning Wolfe marshaled his army for battle. Montcalm was in amazement when he heard the news. With great haste the French were brought from the trenches on the Montmorenci, and thrown between Quebec and the English.

14. The battle began with an hour's cannonade; then Montcalm attempted to turn the English flank, but was beaten back. The Canadians and Indians were routed. The French regulars wavered and were thrown into confusion. Wolfe, leading the charge, was

wounded in the wrist. Again he was struck, but pressed on. At the moment of victory a third ball pierced his breast, and he sank to the earth. "They run, they run!" said the attendant who bent over him. 66 Who run?" was the response. "The French are flying everywhere," replied the officer. "Do they run already? Then I die happy," said the expiring hero.

66

15. Montcalm, attempting to rally his regiments, was struck with a ball and mortally wounded. "Shall I survive?" said he to his surgeon. 'But a few hours at most," answered the attendant. "So much the better," replied the heroic Frenchman, "I shall not live to witness the surrender of Quebec."

16. Five days after the battle, Quebec was surrendered, and an English garrison took possession of the citadel. In the following spring, France made an effort to recover her losses. A severe battle was fought a few miles west of Quebec, and the English were driven into the city. But reinforcements came and the French were beaten back. On the 8th of September, in the same year, Montreal, the last important post of France in the valley of the St. Lawrence, was surrendered to General Amherst. Canada had passed under the dominion of England.

17. In the spring of 1760, the Cherokees of Tennessee rose against the English. Fort Loudoun, in the north-eastern extremity of the State, was besieged by the Red men and forced to capitulate. Honorable terms were promised; but as soon as the surrender was made, the savages massacred the garrison. Colonels Montgomery and Grant were despatched by General Amherst to chastise the Indians. After a vigorous campaign the savages were driven into the mountains and compelled to sue for peace.

18. For three years the war between France and England continued on the ocean. The English fleets were everywhere victorious. On the 10th of February, 1763, a treaty of peace was made at Paris. All the French possessions in North America eastward of the Mississippi from its source to the river Iberville, and thence through Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain to the Gulf of Mexico, were surrendered to Great Britain. At the same time, Spain, with whom England had been at war, ceded East and West Florida to the English Crown. Thus closed the

French and Indian War. By this conflict it was decided that the decaying institutions of the Middle Ages should not prevail in America, and that the powerful language, just laws, and priceless liberties of the English race should be planted forever in the vast domains of the New World.

RECAPITULATION.

Pitt becomes prime minister.--Loudoun is deposed.—Abercrombie succeeds, -Able generals sent to America.-Three campaigns are planned.-Amherst and Wolfe capture Louisburg.-Abercrombie is repulsed at Ticonderoga.Bradstreet takes Frontenac.-Forbes marches against Du Quesne.-Grant is defeated. Washington leads the advance.-The French abandon Du Quesne.Amherst commander-in-chief.-Pitt plans the conquest of Canada. - Prideaux defeats the French at Niagara.-Captures the fortress.-Amherst takes Ticonderoga.-Wolfe proceeds against Quebec.-Besieges the city.-The Lower Town is destroyed.-The battle of Montmorenci.-Wolfe ascends the river.-Gains the Plains of Abraham.-Fights a decisive battle.-Defeats the French.-is slain.-Quebec capitulates.-And then Montreal.-The Cherokee revolt is quelled. The war continues on the ocean.-England is victorious.-A treaty of peace. The terms.

PART IV.

REVOLUTION AND CONFEDERATION.

A. D. 1775-1789.

THE

CHAPTER XXXV.

CAUSES.

HE American Revolution was an event of vast importance. The question decided by it was whether the English colonies in America should govern themselves or be ruled by Great Britain. The decision was rendered in favor of independence. The result has been the grandest republican government in the world.

2. The most general cause of the Revolution was THE RIGHT OF ARBITRARY GOVERNMENT, claimed by Great Britain and denied by the colonies. The question began to be discussed about the time of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748; and from that period until 1775, each year witnessed a renewal of the agitation. But there were also many minor causes tending to bring on a conflict with the mother-country.

3. First of these was the influence of France, inciting the colonies to rebel. The French had ceded Canada to Great Britain with the hope of securing American independence. England feared such a result. It was even proposed in Parliament to re-cede Canada to France in order to check the growth of the American States.

4. Another cause was the natural disposition of the colonists. They were republicans in politics. The people of England were monarchists. The colonists had never seen a king. Their dealings with the royal officers had created a dislike for foreign institutions. For a long time the colonists had managed their own affairs in their own way.

12

(179)