J.S. McLennan, Louisbourg: From Its Foundation To Its Fall (Sydney: Fortress Press, 1969)

© Fortress Press

Chapter 11

The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was finally signed October 18, 1748. Its main provisions were arranged in the preliminaries of peace definitely agreed to by the contracting parties on the previous 3oth of April, and forthwith communicated to their colonial governors. The places taken during the war were mutually restored, which gave Cape Breton back to France. This disappointed bitterly its New England captors, and blasted the hopes of making it the seat of a prosperous English colony, of which Shirley and Warren had been the most prominent exponents. Pamphleteers of the metropolis expressed the public dissatisfaction.[1] Public opinion was dissatisfied with the terms of the Treaty, the language, French, in which it was expressed, and the indignity to England of giving hostages for the fulfilment of her agreements. [2]

The terms of the Treaty were not better thought of by the French, and with more reason. Louis XV. returned the Austrian Netherlands , Maestricht, and Bergen-op-Zoom, the two frontier fortresses of Holland, Madras, and with it command of the whole Coromandel Coast in India. The former concessions, giving up the command of the narrow seas, which it was England's secular policy to hold inviolate at any cost,[3] made the action of Louis XV. a kingly largess, rather than a business transaction. More humiliating to French self-respect were the renewal of the agreement to dismantle the fortifications of Dunkirk, and the public withdrawal of the long support given to the House of Stuart by the expulsion from France of Charles Edward.[4]

1. The London Evening Post, criticizes the terms of peace. On from October 25 to November 12, 1748, deals frequently with this matter, and severely November 10-12 it publishes verses, of which the following is a specimen:

"A New BALLAD, ON THE GLORIOUS TIMES 
     (To the tune of' Derry Down.') 
Cape Breton's expensive, as well hath been prov'd, 
And therefore, the Burthen is wisely remov'd ; 
Which Burthen French Shoulders we settle again on, 
And add - our own Stores, our Provisions and Cannon." 

A history of the negotiations and the text of the Treaty are in La Paix d'Aix-la- Chapelle, par le Duc de Broglie, Calman, Levy, Paris, 1892. 
2. E.g. " A Letter from a Gent in London ..." 1748, B.M. 101, K, 58 ; The Advantages of the Definite Treaty," 1749, 8135, aaa 20 ; "The Preliminaries Productive of a Premunire," 101, K, 57. The references are to the British Museum Library. 
3. Corbett, England in the Seven Years War, vol. i. p. 10. 
4. La C. G. p. 205. 

Louisbourg was duly returned. The advantages of a port in Acadia had been made evident to British administrators by the three years of possession. Louisbourg being no longer available, made necessary the development of Nova Scotia, which had lain fallow since 1710. Chebuctou Bay was decided on as the site for its capital, to which, in honour of Lord Halifax, President of the Lords of Trade and Plantations, his name was given. Colonel the Honourable Edward Cornwallis was named the first Governor. He and the first settlers arrived in June 1749. The project was carried on with such vigour that in three years, Halifax had over 4000 subsidized and more or less satisfied inhabitants, about as many as had been gathered in forty years at Louisbourg. 

That town, until the actual breaking out of hostilities, was in an eddy of the stream of pregnant events which took place elsewhere. These events demand a brief statement even in a history of Louisbourg of the narrowest scope, for they, more than any local cause, determined its fate as part of the great colonial empire which France was holding with so loose a grasp. 

Commissioners were appointed for the delimitation of the American boundaries of the possessions of the two Powers.[1] Their sittings were dragged out. Disputes as to procedure, and the language in which documents were to be presented, occupied undue time. Claims, widely different, were presented. Much irrelevant matter was produced. Little disposition was shown to arrive at a common ground of fact, or to abate pretensions which made impossible any fair chance of development for the rival, Failure was the inevitable result of such procedure. Their deliberations proved fruitless to form a basis for a lasting peace, as their records fail to give the later student any clear view of the merits of the controversy.[2] It was also agreed that, pending the findings of the Commissioners, the status quo ante should not be disturbed by such acts on either side as the erection of fortifications, or the placing of troops on the disputed territory. The two courts agreed expressly to this stipulation, " that no fortification, new settlement, or innovation, should be attempted in those countries the fate of which was to be finally determined by their sentence." [3]

The boundaries of Acadia and of the territories to the westward of the Alleghanies were the ' two principal subjects of difference in America. The action which England took assumed that her greatest claims to both these territories were sound. This action was not that of the active colonial administrator eager to distinguish himself by straining his instructions. It was carried out by him under specific warrant of the highest authority.

1. La Galissonière and Silhouette for France, Mildmay and Shirley for England. Their proceedings opened in September 1750, and the English Commissioners left Paris in the latter part of 1754. Shirley returned to America to tarnish a brilliant reputation by his military exploits ; La Galissonière to active service and the defeat of Byng off Minorca, and Silhouette to carry on private efforts to adjust the differences between his country and England. 
2. For the diplomatic correspondence see R.O. State Papers, Foreign, France, vols. 232 and 233. The suggestion seems first to have been made by France, June-July 1749. 
3. History of the late War, p. 7, Glasgow, 1765. 

The first question which arose was that of a grant to the Ohio Company. This was an association of Virginians of the highest standing, with English partners, of whom John Hanbury, a London merchant of great repute and influence, was the chief. [1] It petitioned in 1748 for a grant of 200,000 acres on the western side of the Great Mountains, upon some of the chief branches of the Mississippi. Gooch, Governor of Virginia, "was apprehensive such Grants might possibly give Umbrage to the French, especially when we were in hopes of entering into a Treaty for establishing a General Peace, which was the only Objection he had, and made him and the Council (of Virginia) think it advisable to wait His Majesty's pleasure and Directions." This, in part, is the memorandum of the Lords of Trade to the Committee of the Privy Council (September 2, 1748) on which is based the recommendation of the former that the grant be made.[2]

Instructions were given to Gooch to issue the grant,[3] and it was recommended, on the 23rd of February 1749, by the Lords of Trade to be extended to 500,000 acres on the Ohio, one of the conditions being that on the first 200,000 acres a fort must be erected and the Company place therein a sufficient garrison for the security and protection of the settlers . [4] This was agreed to in Council on the 16th of March. 

It was, it may be noted, the colonial Governor who, before the Treaty was signed, recognized the territory as disputed. It was the highest administrative body in the realm which, after peace was concluded, ignored the implications, if not the words, of the agreement so recently executed by one of their number.[5] With this spirit informing the Privy Council it is not surprising to find the pamphleteer discussing the development of the northern colonies from the standpoint of one who expects a new war ; nor that the proximate cause of that war was the operations of the Company so brought into being; [6] nor, that succeeding historians have described the conditions between I748 and 1756 as an imperfectly kept truce rather than a peace. 

The Evening Post praised the French management of colonies as superior to the English, and urged war, as Great Britain is as yet superior to France in naval power : 

"Let us therefore strike when we are able, without regarding the conveniency of the

1. " The Ohio Company established and composed of merchants belonging to Virginia and Maryland and several rich commoners and lords in the Mother Country" (Burk's Virginia, 1822, vol. 3, p. 170).
2. C.O. 5/1366, pp. 411-417.
3. Pp. 422-425, December 13, I748. 
4. Pp. 427- 433 and 434-439. 
5. Lord Sandwich, Minister Plenipotentiary at Aix-la-Chapelle, was admitted to the Privy Council, 1st February 1749, and was present at the meeting of 16th March. 
6. " Meanwhile, the English traders were crossing the mountains from Pennsylvania and Virginia, poaching on the domain which France claimed as hers, ruining the French fur trade, seducing the Indian allies of Canada, and stirring them up against her. Worse still, English land speculators were beginning to follow. Something must be done, and that promptly, to drive back the intruders, and vindicate French rights in the valley of the Ohio. To this end the Governor sent Celoron de Bienville thither in the summer Of 1749 " (Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, vol, i, p. 37)

Dutch, the Views of the Austrians or the safety of H - (Hanover), lest the time come when we are not able to help them nor ourselves." [1]

The claims of England in Acadia were as extensive as in the Ohio, but not as promptly made. There was no pressure from " rich commoners and lords " to expedite matters. But within a few weeks after Cornwallis arrived in Halifax he had instructions from the Lords of Trade in reference to the northern part of the province : [2]

"And as there is great reason to apprehend that the French may dispute the right of the Crown of Great Britain to these territories, we further earnestly recommend to you to have a watchful eye to the security thereof and upon the proceedings of the French." [3]

England stated her rights even more strongly in the instructions to the Commissioners, Shirley and Mildmay: 

"And therefore you are to insist that his most Christian Majesty has no right to any Lands whatsoever lying between the River Saint Lawrence and the Atlantick Ocean, except such Islands as ly in the mouth of the said River and in the Gulph of the same name." [4]

La Galissonière, then Governor of Canada, was equally clear that these lands, now the province of New Brunswick, and that part of Quebec lying between the northern boundary of New Brunswick and the St. Lawrence River, were part of Canada and not of Acadia. 

Leaving untouched the pretensions of the Powers, we can deal with the facts. The population consisted of a very small settlement on the St. John River, and some hamlets to the north of the isthmus peopled by the overflow of the Acadians on the peninsula of Nova Scotia, as well as somewhat important fishing stations on the Miramichi, the Bale des Chaleurs, and the south shore of the St. Lawrence. In I732 the people of St. John River had taken the oath of allegiance to England. [5] In the same year the people of Chippody, one of the settlements of Acadians, had applied to Armstrong for grants of land. [6]

La Galissonère admitted that this was the case : 

" Most of the poor people are of Acadian stock, they have been almost entirely abandoned by Canada and France since the Peace of Utrecht, and the English have made them believe that, having been subject formerly to the French Governor of Port Royal, they owed the same obedience to the English Governor." [7] 

As regards sovereignty, it would appear that there was not much difference between the Powers. France abandoned, as regards administration, the people 

1. Sept. 17, 1745. 
2. The Duke of Bedford wrote Cornwallis on September 26 and November 6, 1749. One of these letters dealt probably with this matter. These letters are not now in the Record Office. 
3. N.S. Arch. vol. 1, p. 362.
4. C.O. Nova Scotia, vol. 39. 
5. N.S. Arch. vol. 1, p. 98.
6 Ibid. p. 92. 
7. Can. Ar. Report, 1905, vol. ii. p. 304.

along the northern shore of the Bay of Fundy. The officials of England never penetrated to the more northern settlements of the territory which she vigorously claimed. It was, however, used by France down to what the French claimed was its extreme southern limit, the isthmus of Chignecto, as the route between Canada and Isle Royale ; while, owing to economic and ecclesiastical conditions, the intercourse of the people living thereon was closer with Louisbourg than with Annapolis. At an earlier time in the winter of 1718, St. Ovide considered placing part of the troops of Louisbourg at the isthmus. His choice of Quebec was not apparently influenced by any notion that the territory was not French. [1]

The territory, it is clear, was disputed. Mutual distrust, the curse of international relations, began to work its evil effects. Gorham, that active and seasoned leader of New England levies, visited in force the St. John River in the autumn of 1748, alarmed the inhabitants and carried off to Boston two Indians. Their return was demanded by La Galissonière, and became the subject of a pungent correspondence between himself, Mascarene, and Shirley, and led to the instructions to Cornwallis already cited. 

La Galissonière sent in the spring of 1749 Boishébert and a detachment from Quebec to hold the St. John River as French territory. His successor as Governor of Canada, La Jonquière, sent the Chevalier La Corne in the autumn to hold inviolate the territory on the north of the isthmus. In the spring of 1750 Cornwallis dispatched an expedition under Major Lawrence to dislodge La Corne, who was encamped on the isthmus with a military force, supported by Indians and Acadians. The numbers of the last were augmented by the burning of Beaubassin by the Indians as the forces of Lawrence appeared. Its inhabitants were driven to the French side, where, alone, they felt safe from the threats of the savage allies of their country. 

La Corne met Lawrence in a parley, April 22, and maintained that he was to hold and defend his position till the boundaries between the two Crowns should be settled "by Commissioners appointed for that purpose." [2] In short, "his replies were so perimptory and of such a nature as Convinced me he was determined in his purposes." La Corne's force was superior, " his situation in respect to ground was properly chosen, and an argument of his good judgement ... "til I (Lawrence) to much feared we had no pretension s to dispute that part of the country with him." 

Lawrence withdrew to his vessels in the pouring rain, and gave himself up to unpleasant reflections. He saw that to dislodge the enemy was impossible, and was of opinion that " to have Sat down on one side of the River and Leave 

1. I do not find any reason why Mascarene and Bennett, and the French envoys Denys and De Pensens, did not visit in 1714 Beaubassin and more northern settlements. It leaves open, to the bold, the view that both French and English, before any question of boundaries bad arisen, held that this territory was French. 
2 Canadian Archives Report, 1905, vol. ii. p. 321.

the Enemy possession of the other was a tacit acknowledgment of the justice of his claim." After considering "whether we could Annoy or Molest them further elsewhere at Chipodie or Memim Cook" (Memramcook), against which his officers were unanimous, the force returned to Minas Basin on the 25th. It would seem that in Lawrence's mind, if not in that of his superiors, the scope of the expedition under his charge embraced the harassing of non-belligerent inhabitants, as much as dispossessing an armed French force from territory claimed as British. Lawrence's superiors evidently did not agree with him, that occupation of the isthmus was a tacit acknowledgment of the justice of the French claim, for he was sent back in September, and he erected a fort on what the French admitted was English territory. 

La Corne was recalled to Canada, and was replaced by St. Ours des Chaillons (October 8), who, in the following spring, began the erection of a fort on the French position, which was given the name of Beauséjour. [1]

Skirmishes took place between the English garrison and the Indians and Acadians. Captain How was treacherously murdered, but eventually the garrisons settled down to a peaceful and friendly existence, broken at times by friction, cemented at others by friendly offices on either side, and with illicit trade as a constant bond. [2] 

When Vergor [3] took charge, he at once notified Du Quesne that the position was not capable of successful defence (November 1754).

 Boishébert, on the St. John, took the same position as La Corne when he was visited by Rous, and as successfully held it. Rous, in command of the Albany, captured French vessels on the high seas.[4] This led to friction and reprisals as well as to diplomatic correspondence.[5] 

The activities of French and English on the Ohio and the adjacent territories did not reach a condition of stagnation as in Nova Scotia, but passed on to conflict so serious, that in the end of 1754 Great Britain took the momentous step of sending out regular troops to support its Virginian levies, repulsed in their advances into the debatable land. Parkman gives a vivid and picturesque account of De Bienville's expedition to strengthen the effective occupation of this 

1. Lawrence's account and that of La Corne are printed in the Canadian Archives Reports, 1905, vol. ii. pp. 320 et seq. There is also in it a journal of the events, from September 1750 to July 1751, written by De la Vallière, who was detached from Louisbourg with fifty picked men in response to La Corne's appeal for reinforcements. De la Valliére was the descendant of an Acadian seigneur, and from the heights of Beauséjour looked down on Isle la Vallière, midway between Beausèjour and Fort Lawrence, once the home of his family. 
2. The building of Beauséjour proceeded very slowly. After La Corne (1749-50), its commandants were: St. Ours des Chaillons (1750-51), De Vassin (1751-53), De la Martinière (1753-54), and De Vergor du Chambon (1754--55) 
3. He was the son of the Governor of Louisbourg in 1745, and it was through his lack of vigilance that Wolfe's army gained its foothold on the plains of Abraham. 
4. They were returned. 
5. The first four vessels which arrived in Louisbourg in 1751 were seized and eventually sold (C.O. 217/39 ; Captains' Letters, vol. 2382).

territory by France, as well as some description of the forts and settlements which previously existed. [1]

It is not necessary to carry further the narrative of events elsewhere than in Isle Royale. Louisbourg had felt only the indirect effects of these occurrences, for it was so unquestionably a French possession, that any action against it was not considered within the scope of British operations.

The transfer of Isle Royale and its dependencies to France had been made without difficulty. Charles des Herbiers, Sieur de la Ralière, a naval captain of distinction, was chosen as French Commissioner and Governor, and furnished with voluminous instructions, which included drafts of the letters he was to write. He left France with the men-of-war Tigre and Intrèpide, which conveyed transports, carrying about five hundred troops from Isle de Rhé and civilian inhabitants of Isle Royale. The frigate Anèmone was dispatched after him to make more imposing his important mission.

On the 29th of June 1749 the Tigre was a league off Louisbourg. Des Herbiers transcribed his model letter to Hopson, its Governor, and sent it into the town by two officers. He chose as his envoys Des Gannes and Loppinot, both of whom had been officers in its former garrison.[2] At noon the next day the flotilla entered the harbour and exchanged salutes with the shore batteries. That afternoon Des Herbiers and his staff were received with all the honours, by Hopson and his officers. There were difficulties about the transport of the British troops and people and other minor matters. In the end they were satisfactorily settled. The opportune arrival of Cornwallis at Halifax set free British transports which came to Louisbourg. They were supplemented by French ships, and so effectively were the arrangements made and carried out, that on the 23rd of July Des Herbiers marched into the town, and received its keys from Hopson. The French flag replaced that of England over the citadel and batteries. Hopson received a certificate that the transfer was complete and satisfactory, and the English forces and people withdrew to Halifax.

The English ships did not begin to sail, however, till the 30th, and the Te Deum for the return of peace was deferred, out of consideration for them, until August 3. [3]

1. See Montcalm and Wolfe, chap. ii. On colonial wars and reprisals, see Corbett, vol. i. p. 24. 
2. Des Gannes was to be major and Loppinot adjutant of the troops in the new establishment (B, 90, p. 42). 
3. Des Herbiers' account of the transfer is printed in Quebec MSS. vol. 3, pp. 439 et seq. He acknowledges handsomely in it the courtesy of Hopson, and the zeal and efficiency of his own officers. The French version of the certificate is given in Canadian Archives, vol. ii., 1905, p. 282. See also R.O. France, vol. 233. The difference in the calendars used by the French and English, accounts for the apparent discrepancy of eleven days in all dates up to 1752.

An incident shows the disorders to which such upheavals of population tend. On the 27th of July was baptized, and no doubt cared for, an English child aged about three months, abandoned by parents of whom the new-comers could find no trace:

" ANGÉLIQUE'S BAPTISM " 

"This 27th day of the month of July, 1749, I, the undersigned, have baptized conditionally a young English girl about three months old found in Louisbourg when we arrived from France and took possession of the said town, without our having to be able to ascertain anything of her father or her mother, Godfather and Godmother were Gilles Lemoine and Angélique Lestrange, who gave her the name of Angélique, as witnesses thereof they signed in the Royal Chapel of Saint Louis, the Parish Church, for the time being, of Louisbourg, on the same day and year as above. 

                                                                                                      X the Godfather sign.

"Angélique Lestrange, P. Pichot. 
" Fr. Isodore Caubet, R.R., officiating for the Reverend Father Superior." 
(État Civil Louisbourg, 1746-1752, f. 179, pp. 6-7.)

The same care to make prosperous and safe the returned colony as to provide for its proper transfer was shown by the Minister. Bigot, who had gained with Rouillé, now Minister of the Navy, the same standing as he had held with Maurepas, was sent to Louisbourg to reorganize the civil service. On his recommendation, Prévost, who had been his chief clerk, succeeded him as Commissaire-Ordonnateur. Bigot went there on the Diane, and for some weeks gave Des Herbiers and Prévost the benefit of his great abilities. [1]

The former inhabitants returned from Canada and France. They found the houses in poor condition, as but few of them had been repaired by the English during their occupation. Bigot ordered two hundred cows for distribution among the people, and for two years they were supplied with rations from the King's stores. The fishing was good, but they were hampered by a lack of boats. They did their best to make up for the deficiency, by buying the boats of the departing English and by activities in the building yard. Ninety to one hundred boats were built by October, and many were still on the ways. The French who had remained during the English occupation [2]sold boats to the new-comers, and row-boats and canoes were used as substitutes for fishing-boats. 

The partly cured cod of the English merchants was bought by the French, but, even with the abundant fisheries, there was too small a catch to load the unusual number of ships which had come out from France. The merchants of Louisbourg, as well as the shipowners, pressed Prévost for permission to buy from the English. Notwithstanding the justice of the request, and the hardships involved, he refused, but, with a frankness in which he imitated Bigot, he adds that in the confusion of the new settlement it is probable some infractions of the laws against trade with the English took place.[3]

An augmented garrison, twenty-four companies of fifty men each and a company of artillery, were placed at Louisbourg and its dependencies. This force was made up from new companies formed for the purpose, and the old companies, which had been in Canada since their return from the English prisons, after the defeat of La jonquière by Anson. Instructions to Des Herbiers 

 1. Bigot was in Louisbourg from about the time of Des Herbiers' arrival until August 21. He then went to Quebec. Bigot succeeded Hocquart as Intendant of Canada in March 1748. 
2. In all, 94 people. 
3. C¹¹, vol. 28, f. 160. 

recounted the abuses which had created such disorder among the troops before the capture of the town, and asked for such reorganization as would remedy these evils. The most important step he took in this direction was the suppression of the canteens kept, as a perquisite, by the captains, recognizing as legal only that of the Major. In the meantime Des Herbiers received Franquet, an engineer of distinction, who was sent out to Louisbourg as director-general of the fortifications. The Marquis de Chabert, detached from sea duty, was instructed to correct the maps of Acadia, Isle Royale, and Newfoundland, and to fix by astronomical observations the principal points therein. He made Loulsbourg his headquarters in 1751-52, and the results of his labours, endorsed by the Royal Academy of Sciences  and by the Académie de Marine, were printed in a handsome volume in 1753. [1]

The ordinary courtesies were exchanged with Cornwallis at Halifax. Good feeling on the part of Cornwallis was further marked by his cooperation in sending to Louisbourg the body of the Duc d'Anville. Le Grand St. Esprit bore it from Chibuctou to French territory, and, with fitting ceremony, it was reinterred at the foot of the high altar in the chapel of the citadel. [2] 

The general instructions of the Minister were to cooperate with La Jonquière in maintaining the rights of France to the disputed territory, to repel force by force,[3] and to harass, by the Indians, the new settlement in Halifax, but to do so secretly. He was also directed to encourage the settlement of Acadians on Isle St. jean, many of whom had been driven from their homes by the disturbed state of the border-land, and the menaces of the Indians against those who remained on British territory. They readily passed over to the island in such numbers that its population rapidly increased. The instructions to the Governors of Isle Royale and of Canada as to their dealings with the English might be quoted many times. One memorandum dated August 29, 1749, shall suffice, as it sets forth the policy of France. It was read to the King, its apostille states, and presumably received his sanction, for the policy it lays down was not departed from. After stating briefly the advantages to England and the disadvantages to Isle Royale, in particular, of the settlement of Nova Scotia, it goes on : 

" Such are, in general, the unfortunate consequences which will necessarily spring from these projects if the English can succeed in accomplishing them. As it is impossible to openly oppose them, for they are within their rights in making in Acadia such settlements as they see fit, as long as they do not pass its boundaries, there remains for us only to bring against them as many indirect obstacles as can be done without comprising ourselves, and to take steps to protect ourselves against plans which the English can consider through the success of these settlements.

1. Franquet and Chabert were fellow-passengers on the Mutine, which sailed from Brest, June 29, 1750. 
2. Sept. 3, 1746, Quebec MSS., 3, p. 455. 
3. To Des Herbiers, Sept. 11, 1750, B, vol. 91, p. 49. 

" The only method we can employ to bring into existence these obstacles is to make the savages of Acadia and its borders feel how much it is to their advantage to prevent the English fortifying themselves, to bind them to oppose it openly, and to excite the Acadians to support the Indians in their opposition (to the English) in so far as they can do without discovery. The missionaries of both have instructions and are agreeable to act in accordance with these views." [1]

A fortnight before this memorandum was prepared for the King, Des Herbiers and Prévost wrote from Louisbourg (August 15, 1749) that the Abbé Le Loutre was carrying out this policy. Bigot had given him, as supplementary to the ordinary presents to the Indians, cloth, blankets, powder and ball, in case they might wish to disturb the English in their settlement in Halifax. " It was this missionary's task to induce them to do so." [2] 

The history of these wretched years on the border-land shows with what ardour, self- sacrifice, and cruelty he encouraged the Indians under his charge to carry out instructions which had the Royal sanction. [3] In this course the priest was not alone. Young Des Bourbes gave Surlaville, April 15, 1756, a budget of news from Louisbourg containing this passage : 

" Four savages, two Abenaquis and two Miquemacs, arrived here from Quebec, on the 31st of March. They informed us that a band of outaouvis and chaouenons had raided Virginia, they took about 600 scalps, burnt many villages, and took five hundred prisoners, all women and children ...  On the 2nd of April our Governor feasted these savages ; they danced before him and presented him with a dozen scalps, taken in the neighbourhood of Chibouctou ; they were handsomely paid for their journey and given several presents besides." [4] 

This continued during the season, for Du Fresne du Motel wrote on the 1st December : 

" Our savages have taken a number of English scalps, their terror of these natives is unequalled, they are so frightened that they dare not leave the towns or forts without detachments, with the protection of these they go out for what is absolutely needed." [5] 

Des Herbiers had accepted with reluctance the post of Commissioner and

1. French text in Can. Arch. vol. ii. p. 292. 
2. " Ce missionaire doit les y engager." 
3. Vol. 28, f. 160. It was later felt at Court that Le Loutre must be restrained. The Minister wrote him on Aug. 27, 1751, that he must not give the English any just cause of complaint, although he praises Le Loutre's wisdom in this respect. 
4. "Quatre sauvages, dont deux Abenaquis et deux Miquemacs, arrivèrent icy, de Québec, le 31 mars. Ils nous ont appris qu'une partie de sauvages outaouvis et chaouenons, avoient fait coup sur la Virginia, qu'ils avoient levé environ six cents chevelures, bruslé plusieurs villages et emmené cinq cents prisonniers, tous femmes et enfants. ... Le 2 avril, notre Gouverneur règala ces sauvages, ils dansèrent et luy présentèrent unc douzaine de chevelures qu'ils ont faites aux environs de Chibouctou ; on leur a payé leur voiage fort grassement et fait, en outre, plusieurs présents " (Derniers Jours, etc. p. 187). 
5. "Nos sauvages ont beaucoup levé de chevelures anglaises, qui (sic) ont une terreur sans égal de ces naturels du pais, dont ils sont si effréiés qu'ils n'osent sortir de leurs villes ou forts, sans avoir des détachments à la faveur desquels ils vont chercher leurs besoins les plus urgents" (Derniers Jours, etc. p. 205). (For the English use of Indian methods see Appendix.)

Governor, and as soon as his functions as the first were finished, he began to press for leave to return to sea duty.[1[ The Minister was not ready to make a change until 1751. The Minister then named as Des Herbiers' successor the Comte de Raymond, Seigneur d'Oye, Lieut.-Colonel of the Vexin Regiment ; so for the first time a military officer governed Isle Royale. To add weight to the position Raymond was promoted to the grade of Maréchal de Camp (Major-General), and, to give effectiveness to his administration on its military side, he was accompanied by Surlaville, Colonel of the Grenadiers of France, to whom was given the position of Major of the troops and the commission of disciplining them, as well as to report on the coasts of the island and Acadia. [2] 

Raymond set forth from Angoulême, of which town and its castle he had been the King's Lieutenant, towards the end of May, embarked on L'Heureux, and, after a voyage of fifty days, landed in Louisbourg on the 3rd of August 1751. He took over the reins of government, and at once Des Herbiers returned to France by the same ship. [3]

There was thus a girding of the loins in the bureaux of the French Admiralty, when Louisbourg was again under its care. Stores were abundantly supplied. The arts of peace were fostered by the expedition of the Marquis Chabert. The presence of an engineer of such eminence as Franquet, of a soldier of such experience as Surlaville, the raising of the garrison until it approached in number that of Canada,[4] showed that a high value was set on Louisbourg and its security. 

Raymond was an active man, who made many efforts to improve the colony. He visited its various ports and those of Isle St. Jean. He established settlements on the Miré River, he was interested in the crops, and looked with optimistic eye on the yields of cereals in the rude clearings of the settlers. He also proposed the building of redoubts and the opening of roads which were strongly opposed by Franquet, Surlaville, and the home authorities.[5] He was apparently vain, for he bought the property of St. Ovide, and desired it should be erected into a seigneury and countship. While his administration was apparently honest, his request for a gratuity of 20,000 livres so astonished the Minister that in Raymond's own interest he did not put it before the King.[6] 

He was fully alive to the ceremonial side of his functions, and found an 

[1] In this he brought to bear the influence of his distinguished kinsman, De I'Etanduère. 
[2] An outbreak took place in the small garrison of Pt. Toulouse in I750. See vol. 29, p. 369. 
[3] Raymond brought with him, as secretary, one Thomas Pichon, a native of Vire in Normandy, to whom we owe the Lettres et mémoires pour servir à I'histoire naturelle, civile et politique de Cap Breton, published La Haye, 1760, and London, an engaging and valuable book. He was able and brilliant, but his papers in the library at Vire, and those from his hand known as the Tyrell papers, preserved in Halifax, show him as a libertine, and a spy, completely selfish and sordid.
[4] Louisbourg, 1200 ; Canada, 1500.
[5] Derniers Jours, etc. p. 14. 
[6] According to Prévost, Raymond overdrew his account 26,417 £ (C¹¹, vol. 33). 

opportunity for ingratiating himself with the Court in the instructions he received to have a Te Deum sung for the birth of the Duc de Bourgogne : 

" On Sunday 28th of May this important news was announced at day- break by a salute from all the artillery of the place and the King's ships, the frigates, Fidele and the Chariot Royal, which had dressed ship. 

"M. le Comte de Raymond gave a dinner to the staff, the engineers, the officers of artillery, and to the other principal officers, to the Conseil Superieur, the Baillage, the Admiralty, and to the ladies of the place. 

" He had two tables with 50 covers, served in four courses, with as much lavishness as elegance. They drank in turn freely every kind of wine of the best brands, to the health of the King, Queen, the Dauphin, Mme. la Dauphine, M. le duc de Bourgogne, and to the Royal Princesses. 

"Many guns were fired, and the band increased the pleasure of the fête. 

" About 6 o'clock, after leaving the table, they repaired to the King's chapel to hear vespers. At the close of the service, the Te Deum was sung to the accompaniment of all the artillery of the town and of the ships. 

" They then went in a procession, as is the custom in the colonies, to the Esplanade of the Maurepas gate. 

"The governor there lit a bonfire which he had had prepared; the troops of the garrison, drawn up on the ramparts and the covered way, fired with the greatest exactness, three volleys of musketry, and the artillery did the same. After this ceremony, the Governor distributed several barrels of his own wine to the troops and to the public. 

" The ' Vive le Roi ' was so frequently repeated, that no one could doubt that the hearts of the townspeople, the troops, and the country folk, which this festival had attracted, were truly French. 

"He had given such good orders in establishing continual patrols in command of officers, that no disorder was committed. 

" About 9 in the evening, the governor and all his guests went to see set off the fire- works and a great number of rockets, which he bad prepared, and were very well done. 

" On his return home, the ball was opened, and lasted till dawn ; all kinds of refreshments, and in abundance, were handed round. His house was illuminated with lanterns placed all round the windows, looking on the rue Royale and the rue Toulouse. 

" Three porticoes, with four pyramids, adorned by triple lanterns and wreaths of flowers, rare for such a cold climate , were erected opposite the rue Royale. 

" At the opposite angle, where the two roads cross, two other pyramids were also illuminated ; and on the frontal of the three porticoes were painted the arms of the King, the Dauphin, and the Duc de Bourgogne. 

" At the end of the same street, opposite the three porticoes, were also represented, by means of lanterns, three large fleurs de lys and a ' Vive le Roi,' very visibly placed on a border above. 

" Between these two principal illuminations is situated the large gate of the Government House, which was also adorned at the columns and cornices, by triple lanterns ; above was the King's portrait. 

" All round the courtyard there were also fire pots and triple lanterns, as high as the retaining wall of the garden. These illuminations were charming in their effect and lasted till the end of the ball ; all the houses in the town were also lit up as well as the frigate la Fidele. 

" The government house being too small to accommodate all the distinguished members of the colony, M. le Comte Raymond gave a big dinner the next day to the clergy and the Sunday following to several ladies, officers, and others who had not attended the first fête. 

" It can be said that the Governor spared nothing for these festivities and that he gave on that happy occasion very evident proof of a rare generosity." [1]

This account is anonymous but it so closely resembles, both in style and self-praising, the other writings of Raymond, that there seems no doubt it is his. It accounts in part for the overdrawing of his salary, of which Prévost complained. 

In spite of his good will, his activities were ineffective. He found the difficulties of his position excessive, for he alienated all with whom he had to work. Prévost had many griefs against him. Page after page of  Raymond's memoirs and letters are annotated by the bitter and often unjust pen of Surlaville, whose pocket he had touched in the disposition of the canteens. 

He dismissed Pichon on account of an affair of gallantry, which the latter resented, as quite outside the Governor's province, for in his view a tender heart was perfectly compatible with official capacity. Pichon became his bitter enemy, and later wrote in substance that his former patron was " perhaps the most foolish of all animals on two feet." [2] Raymond gave him a certificate, however, on the 10th of October 1753, that he had discharged his duties with "all the intelligence, fidelity, exactitude, and disinterestedness possible." 

Surlaville's administration was apparently effective. He lost no time in beginning his duties, but the material he had to work on was not promising. He visited the fortifications the day following their landing and the official reception of Raymond which took place at Prévost's house. The works were in a worse state than he imagined. When he held a review, the troops performed their evolutions badly, some of them did not know how to handle or carry a gun, they were noisy in the ranks, their uniforms were worn and dirty, and were badly put on. Surlaville increased the number of drills and made the cadets take part in them. He enforced the rules about coming into barracks at night, and in a few days was able to note some improvements.[3] 

The improvements instituted continued, for, although Johnstone found the works "with more the look of Antient Ruins than of a modern fortification," 

1. This anonymous account is dated May 28, 1752, but we cannot vouch for it being an official date. See Moreau St. Mery, vol. 50, pp. 420-423. 
2. Tyrell Papers, N.S. Archives, vol. 341. 
3. Surlaville went as the official representative of Raymond to announce to Cornwallis his arrival in Isle Royale, and brought back a full statement of the military and civil conditions at Halifax. The impression he made there found an echo on the frontier, for the English officers at Fort Lawrence sought to obtain from the French at Beauséjour confirmation that the functions of Surlaville at Louisbourg portended war (Derniers Jours, etc. p. 31).

he also bears testimony that " the service was performed at Louisbourg with as much regularity as in any fortified place in Europe. ... This made the town to be looked upon as the Athens of the French colonies." [1]

Surlaville endeavoured to enforce the regulations made by Des Herbiers and Prévost (October 10, 1749) establishing the price which soldiers should be charged for articles supplied by their officers, and made a strong statement of the defects of the uniforms worn by the troops. The cloth and linen were poor in quality and badly made, the shoes were thin, and it cost a private six months' wages to buy a new pair. He rightly thought white was a bad colour for uniforms, as it soon got dirty, and the soldier himself followed it. The strictures on the clothing supplied for the barracks, in which the men slept two and two in unclean box beds, and on the exactions of their officers, make quite credible his statement that their recruits were drawn from the dregs of the people, for such service could not attract the self-respecting or the ambitious. [2]

Surlaville also busied himself in trying to improve the condition of the officers, by economies in the lighting and heating, and to benefit both officers and men by a better canteen system. He also dealt ably with the purchase of the King's stores. His memoranda on these subjects show that he was an active and intelligent officer, who remained in Isle Royale too short a time to carry into effect any serious part of the reforms he saw there necessary.[3] 

The improvement in the troops, which unquestionably existed, even if less marked than that described by Johnstone, had been helped, not only by the attention given to it by the home authorities, but by the new elements introduced into the garrison. The new companies were officered in the main by subalterns of the regiments disbanded at the Peace. These gentlemen had served in good regiments in the campaigns of Germany and the Netherlands, and brought to Isle Royale standards and a point of view different from those of the " family " officers who had alone held these positions before this time. There was also more interchange with Canada, arising from the alternating garrisons of Louisbourg and Canada at Beauséjour and Fort Gaspareaux, its dependent establishment on the Gulf side of the isthmus of Chignecto. 

These years were for the inhabitants of Louisbourg probably the best they had ever seen. It was obvious that the settlement was valued by the Government, 

1. Johnstone ascribes this to Des Herbiers. Quebec MSS. 3, p. 482. Des Herbiers says he set for Louisbourg the standard of a French fortress. 
2. The following sums up his criticisms (1) cloth too thin ; (2) badly cut and costly to make over ; (3) white bad colour ; (4) stockings bad ; (5) shoes thin (6) paying only once a year bad ; (7) only three sizes of gaiters sent out, making many misfits ; (8) hats bad ; (9) no distinguishing marks for corporals ; (10) bad linen for shirts ; (11) should have caps, and (12) black instead of white collars (Pap. Surlaville in Laval Univ., Quebec). 
3. Papiers Surlaville. His comments on letters of Raymond and others show him as a severe and meticulous critic, His collection of sixty-six " sottises" of Raymond, if alone preserved, would indicate that he was a malevolent trifler. 

and this gave confidence to the people. The expenditure was large ; the fisheries in some of these years gave an abundant yield. Commerce flourished ; many vessels were built and bought from New England.[1] And while smuggling vessels were condemned and sold, it is not probable that these seizures seriously interfered with the trade. The official statements show that it was large, and Surlaville says, in one of his notes, that these were untrustworthy in minimizing the imports from New England. The trade with Canada largely consisted in French and foreign goods, and that with New England, of products of the West Indies. 

The Governors promoted the settlement of Acadians in Isle St. Jean, and Baie des Espagnols (Sydney) and other points in Cape Breton, returned and received deserters from Nova Scotia, and on the whole kept on terms of courtesy with its Governor. Raymond retired from the Governorship in 1753, and was succeeded by the Chevalier Augustan Drucour, who came in 1754, and was but little more than installed in his office when occurrences in the west produced a condition in which war seemed inevitable. 

The British Cabinet followed the news of the defeat of Washington at Fort Necessity (July I754) by a decision to reinforce the American colonists, driven again, as a consequence of this French victory, to the eastward of the Alleghanies. General Braddock was ordered to America with two regiments of he line. Newcastle hoped that this might be done secretly, but it was made public by the War Office, and was soon known in France. The action of England in pressing her rights to the debatable land has been noted. [2] The French were now to be driven from all positions which they held on it, by expeditions against Beauséjour, Crown Point, Oswego, and the Ohio. Nevertheless Newcastle urged Lord Albemarle, the British Ambassador at Paris, to assure the French Ministry that the sending out of Braddock was purely a defensive measure. The French determined on their side to dispatch forces to Canada and Louisbourg. For the latter point two battalions, the second of the regiments of Artois and Bourgogne, were embarked at Brest on April 15, 1755. [3] These forces and the four battalions for Canada were in excess of the forces previously sent out under Braddock, but as it was a move of the same kind, and but little greater in number, it does not seem that the British Ministers were justified in finding it as offensive as they did. Parliament had acquiesced in the King's "securing his just rights and possessions in America," and voted him a million to that end. The Cabinet, fortified by the public feeling, which Mirepoix, the French Ambassador at London, recognized as bellicose, determined to send a squadron to cruise off Louisbourg, with instructions to " fall upon any 

1.  In 1749 there were twenty- four, of which three were for the West Indies. 
2. Ante, p. 183. 
3. Arch. Guerre, vol. 3404, 89.

French ships of war that shall be attempting to land troops in Nova Scotia or to go to Cape Breton or through the St. Lawrence to Quebec." [1] 

The strength of this squadron was first fixed at seven ships, but as the gravity of the step impressed itself upon the Cabinet, its number was afterwards increased to fifteen. Its command was given to the Hon. Edward Boscawen. He had seen service under Anson and Vernon, and had been the commander-in-chief of the fleet in Indian waters in 1749, when the results were in favour of Dupleix. 

Mirepoix was assured at his own dining-table by Lord Granville and by Robinson,[2] who had just come from Council, that  "the information I had of the offensive orders given to Admiral Boscawen was absolutely false." [3] When one remembers that Granville was the Minister who, " in one of his occasional bursts of strong rugged speech which came from him, and a good deal of wine taken into him," [4] objected to " vexing your neighbours for a little muck,"[5] who also was revered as a master by Pitt, it became obvious that the charges made by France against the Punic faith of England were not the mere effervescence of Gallic sensitiveness. The Ministry took apparently the view of Monk at the outbreak of the Dutch War in 1665. "What matters this or that reason ? What we want is more of the trade the Dutch now have." [6] 

The basis of the orders given to Boscawen has been quoted. Those given to the French commodore who was to escort the fleet for Canada, off the coasts of Europe, were in the ordinary terms : 

"You should, if possible, avoid meeting English squadrons. If you do fall in with them, be on guard against their manoeuvres, and if they give ground for supposing that they mean to attack, I shall be content that you avoid an engagement in so far as it is possible without compromising the honour of my flag." [7[ 

The troops for Louisbourg were on the Defenseur, Chariot Royal, and l'Espérance, which did not fall, like the Alcide and Lys, as captures to Boscawen off the banks, [8] but arrived safely at Louisbourg on June 14. Their debarkation was mostly effected by the 19th, although the barracks were not ready for them. [9]

Admiral Du Bois de La Motte went to Quebec and returned by the Straits of Belle Isle, a daring feat, while De Salvert conducted the Louisbourg ships."' Boscawen, letting the French fleet slip through his fingers (with the exception of the Alcide and Lys) in the bad weather off the banks, hurt the standing of 

1. In the Secret Committee, March 24 ; in Cabinet, April 10, 1755. 
2. One of the two Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs. 
3. Corbett, p. 46.
4. Carlyle. 
5. Corbett, vol i. p. 61. 
6. Jane, Heresies of Sea-Power, p. 15l.
7 Waddn. i. p. 106. 
8. Boscawen, post, p. 206. Guerre, 3404, 159. 
9. Guerre, 3404, 161. 
10. A.N. Marine, C¹, 170, sub nom. Pellegrin. 

England, and produced the minimum of damage to France.[1] After sending his captures to Halifax, he cruised with his fleet off Louisbourg.[2] Many captures were made, mostly of French ships with provisions, which seriously curtailed the food supply of the town. 

On June 18, the Somerset, for the second time, ran in close, and the log of Captain Geary reports that she was fired on.[3] The Somerset bore away, not knowing the effect of the shot. It was from a gun on the battery upon the island. " On its discharge the carriage and the platform flew into a thousand pieces, and if the English had known our position their fleet might have come into the Harbour without any risk from our batteries not having a single cannon fit to be fired."

"They might have burned all the vessels in it and battered the town from the harbour, which must have immediately surrendered. But luckily for us they had no knowledge of our infirmities. " [4] 

Thus Johnstone describes the incident, and says that it showed to all " the dismal situation of Louisbourg." 

The events elsewhere in 1755 were more important than at Louisbourg. To the west of the Alleghanies the sanguinary defeat of Braddock threw the command of the region and the alliances of its Indians to the French. The capture of Dieskau at Lake George was a barren victory for the English, and Shirley tarnished the laurels he had won as an administrator by his conduct of the absolutely unsuccessful expedition against Niagara. In the east Beauséjour and Gaspereaux had fallen. " Seven bombs which fell in Beauséjour have obliged Vergore to yield," [5] and the Acadian population, suffering like Issachar from the difficulties inherent in choosing either burden, was deported. 

The blockade of Louisbourg roused Franquet from his lethargy. Five years had passed since he had come to the country. A diarist thus speaks of 

1. He was dissatisfied himself with the operation ; see Appendix at end of this chapter.
2. It consisted of fifteen ships : Torbay, Gibraltar, Terrible, Grafton, Augusta, Monarque, Yarmouth, Edinburgh, Chichester, Dunkirk, Arundel, Somerset, Northumberland, Nottingham, and Anson. 
3. On July 3 Boscawen left for Halifax. 

BOSCAWEN, MOSTYN, AND HOLBURNE 

July 3, 1755. - Boscawen sailed from Louisbourg, leaving Mostyn with the Monarch, Yarmouth, Chichester, Edinburgh, Dunkirk, and Arundel. To be relieved by Holburne. 
The Torbay was accompanied by the Somerset, Northumberland, Nottingham, and Anson, to Halifax. 
July 9, 1755. - Mostyn sailed from Louisbourg, arriving at Halifax on the 11th. 
Holburne was left off Louisbourg with the Terrible, Grafton, Defiance, Augusta, and Litchfield. The Edinburgh, Dunkirk, and Arundel were to join him in a few days. They did so on August 10, and the Success in September. 
Sept. 15, 1755. - Holburne and his fleet entered Halifax harbour. 
Oct. 19, 1755. - Boscawen sailed from Halifax with Mostyn, Holburne, and fleet. 
(Taken from the logs of Torbay and Terrible, and Boscawen's letters to Cleveland of July 4 and 12 and Nov. 15, 1755). 

4. De Salvert's ships escaped Boscawen and Holburne, who succeeded him in the station (Quebec MSS. 3, p. 470). 
5. Derniers Jours, p. 146.

him, and what he says perhaps explains the little Franquet accomplished during that time He was a man of military experience, loving good, all his actions tended towards it, an honest man, a good citizen, but unhappily a malady so ravaged him, and had so enfeebled his bodily energies, that we find only now and again the man he was." [1] 

Every observer is agreed that the fortifications were in wretched condition. Des Herbiers, Surlaville, Pichon [2] are all unanimous.[3] Franquet had sent home alternative plans of new works on the scale of the great frontier fortresses of Europe, but little had been done to make effective the existing detences until Boscawen's blockade indicated the seriousness of affairs. 

In Europe the action of England was even more energetic and unscrupulous than in America. Three hundred French mechantmen were seized on the high seas and in English ports. France contented itself with protests, and with an accumulation of evidence of England's improper action, which her Ministers hoped would stir Spain to take part with her against the violator of international laws. In this she did not succeed, although Spain had griefs of her own against England. The sole benefit of the representations of France was that Holland did not take the side of England, as by treaty bound, for by the treaty between them neither party was to assist the other in a war in which either was the aggressor. [4] This the Dutch declared was the position of England. 

It is hard to credit that a nation which in America was arming savage allies secretly against the settlers of the rival power, could be so meek and magnanimous in Europe. Hawke ravaged French shipping. France sent back to England the frigate Blankford, captured off Brest, and instructed the Intendant of Toulon to provision an English fleet cruising in the Mediterranean should it call at that port. [5] This was only some two score years before Burke, lamenting in rolling cadences the sorrows of Marie Antoinette, exclaimed that the age of chivalry was dead. Under Louis XV. it survived in this fatuous and futile treatment of an enemy which had proved itself insensible to the influences d'un beau geste. 

The comparative insignificance of colonial events as compared with those in Europe, to which reference has already been made, is demonstrated by the fact that, while in I755 there was armed conflict at every point where the French

1. Le Chef du Génie est homme de Guerre, aimant le bien, toutes ses actions sont portées à Cela, honnête homme, bon citoyen, mais malheurcusement une maladie qui le minoit avoit tellement affoibli la machine qu'on ne Retrouvoit plus l'homme en lui il n'avoit que des momens" (journal du Siège de Louisbourg, 1758, Arch. de la F. 236 F.). 
2. See the latter's reports to Captain Scott when he was in the pay of England (Tyrell Papers). 
3. See the letters to Surlaville from his friends at Louisbourg. 
4. Corbett, vol. i. p. 20. 
5. La C.-G. p. 242.

and English came in contact in America, it was not thought necessary by the Powers to declare war until operations began in Europe. The action between Byng and Galissonière took place only two days later than the declaration of war by England, signed by the King on the 18th of May 1756, and followed by that of France on the 9th of June. 

Minorca fell on June 29, and the brilliant operation of the French terminated in the triumphal re-entry of La Galissonière and Richelieu into Toulon on the 16th of July, three months after setting out. The outcome of this disappointing opening of a war, for which the English people had clamoured, was the execution of Byng "for failure to do his utmost." He was shot on the quarter-deck of the Monarque, which had been one of the fleet with which Boscawen had begun hostilitics. 

France occupied herself with land operations and projects for the invasion of England. She contented herself with regard to America in reinforcing the garrison of Canada. Beaussier de L'Isle was given command of a squadron which took out the regiments of La Sarre and the Royal Rousillon ; with them went, to gain immortality, le Marquis de Montcalm, as successor to the captured Dieskau. 

The English ships, Fougeux, Litchfield, Centurion, Norwich, and the smaller Success and Vulture, had wintered in Halifax, and were joined in the spring of 1756 by the Grafton atid Nottingham. The squadron was placed under the command of Commodore [1] Holmes, who detached the Grafton and Nottingham with their tenders to blockade Louisbourg. 

The appearance of Beaussier's ships, returning from Quebec to Louisbourg, put to flight the tenders of the English, which were on the point of capturing a French merchantman, driven into Mainadieu. The ships of the line came in sight of each other on July 26, off Louisbourg. [2]

Beaussier's impulse was to engage, at the risk of repeating the mistake of Maisonfort. Wiser counsels prevailed. He went into Louisbourg, landed the treasure he had for the place, and cleared his ships of hamper. The next morning he engaged the English ships, having supplemented his crews by only 200 men, although the whole garrison volunteered. Beaussier's ship Le Héros, a seventy-four, had only forty-six guns mounted, and was not supported by Montalais in the Illustre. The action was indecisive.[3]

After this action Holmes returned to Halifax for a few days, but on the 7th of August was back again. However, he did not get in touch with 

1. Admiralty List, Book 30. 
2. French ships : Le Héros, 74/46 ; L'Illustre, 64 ; and the frigates La Licorne and La Sirène. English ships : Grafton, 70 ; Nottingham, 60 ; and tenders Hornet and Jamaica. 
3. It is, however, so interesting that accounts of it are printed verbatim in Appendix at end of chapter.

Beaussier when he sailed for France on the 13th. Holmes carried his operations further than along the coasts of Cape Breton. He dispatched on August 7 the Fougueux and Centurion to the St. Lawrence, the Success to Newfoundland, and the Litchfield to Ingonish, [1] to distress the enemy. The larger ships destroyed the village of Little Gaspé, flakes, stages, and shallops ; Spry adding in his report, superfluously it would seem, as the inhabitants were defenceless, without the least accident." [2]

Things were dull and unpleasant in Louisbourg. The English ships cruising off the port made various captures, the most important of which was the frigate L'Arc-en-Ciel, bringing out money and recruits for the garrison. Louisbourg itself was unmolested, but at least three descents were attempted on its outports. " They hoped to burn all the dwellings, but, unfortunately for them, troops and Indians, placed in ambush in these harbours, hacked a number of them to pieces and took the remainder prisoners ; not one escaped, and many scalps were taken." 

[The only landing mentioned in the log-books is that from the Norwich, September 1, at the Gut of Canso : 

"6A.M. sent our Barge & Yaul in Compy. with the Success's Barge and Cutter in ,shore after a shallop about 1/4 past when the Barges got along side of the shallop we observ'd they rec'd a very brisk Fire of small Arms from the Shore, which oblig'd them to put off, on which the Shallop was shoo'd afloat & pursued the Boats, the Fire continuing incessantly from the shore as well as the Launch, One of the Barges by this Time row'd only 2 Oars, which the Shallop came up with & took in a little Time, the other Boats came along side in about 3/4 of an Hour after viz. our Barge in which 2 Men Killed & 3 dangerously wounded, 2 of the Success's Bargemen who had jump'd into the Shallop & when the attack was made into the Sea & Swam to our Barge One of whom was dangerously wounded, our yaul was safe & the Success Cutter had one Man wounded, several Shot went through the Barge & not a Mast or Oar in her but had one or more Shot in or thro' them." 

The other landings must have been from English privateers.] 

In consequence of the stringent prohibition of commerce with the French, enforced as far as was possible by the English Governors, and the presence of these men-of-war off the port, the French believed that the policy of England was trying to reduce the place by famine.

"Some of our fishermen, taken prisoner and then liberated at the beginning of this campaign, relate that the English intend to intercept all aid and provisions which may come to us from Europe, they wish to subdue us by famine and oblige us to give up the keys without striking a blow. In spite of the fact that this squadron has seized our ship L'Ac-en-Ciel, a 54, with 150 recruits on board . . . they will not succeed in their enterprise.

1. Ad. Des. 1/481. 
2. The Grafton and her consorts remained cruising off Louisbourg until October.

We have at the present moment food enough to last the entire colony nearly two years." [1] 

The optimism of Des Bourbes was repeated by M. Portal, an engineer, who about the same time wrote, " Du monde, des vivres de l'argent, de la bonne volonté, voila notre position." [2]

Facts, however, seem not to have justified this cheerful statement ; the fortifications were wretched, the garrison was inadequate, and within a twelve-month the lack of provisions in the town was causing the greatest anxiety. 

The perspective of time enables us to accurately gauge the relative importance of the events of this year. 

It was not the loss of Minorca, which Newcastle felt equal to that of any possession in the world except Ireland, nor the alarm of the country over this loss, nor the fear of invasion, which has always been so potent in its effect over the mind of the English people, nor the fall of Calcutta, though it heightened the alarm, nor the capture of Oswego by Montcalm, thus closing one of the avenues to Canada ; the event of the year was the coming to power of Pitt. 

Newcastle had resigned after his long tenure of office as Prime Minister. His place was taken nominally by the Duke of Devonshire, but the real head of the administration was Pitt, for whom the people of England had persistently clamoured. 

At once a new spirit animated the Ministry, new confidence was felt in the nation. The importance of warfare in America was recognized, and preparations were made for carrying it on with vigour. Pitt's policy was sound in that he had no intention of "trying to win America in Europe." A French observer saw the justice of his views : " The victory over M. Braddock, which has been made so much of in Europe, has done nothing to decide our fate. The naval strength of the English was a hydra against which we had to try and oppose a like hydra. France should have built and equipped a number of ships equal to those of the English, with her gold and her men, instead of seeking for them a tomb in Germany, an abyss which has always been our ruin." [3]

1. " L'intention des Anglais, suivant le rapport de quelques-uns de nos pûcheurs, qui ont été pris et relâchés dans le commencement de cette croisière, est d'intercepter tous les secours et les vivres qui peuvent nous arriver d'Europe, de réduire notre place par la famine, et de nous forcer de leur en porter nos clefs sans coup férir. Quoyque cette escadre nous ait pris le vaisseau L'Arc-en-Ciel, de 54 pièces de canon, dans lequel il y avoit cent cinquante hommes de recrue ... ils ne réussiront pas dans leur entreprise. Nous avons actuellement pour près de deux ans de vivres pour toute la colonie" (M. des Bourbes à M. de Surlaville, 10 Aoust I756, Derniers jours de l'Acadie, p. 190). 
2. Derniers Jours, etc. p. 195. 
3 " La victoire contre M. Bradock qu'on fait tant valoir en Europe, n'a rien moins que décidé de notre sort. Les forces maritimes des Anglois sont une hydre à laquelle il fallait tâcher d'opposer une hydre semblable. C'étoit à la construction et à l'armement d'un nombre égal de vaisseaux qu'il fallait employer les hommes et l'or de la France, et non leur chercher un tombeau en Allemagne, gouffre qui a toujours été notre ruine " (Pichon, Histoire du Cap Breton, pp, 268-269). 

Pitt began that prodigious activity which marked his tenure of office. It was devoted not only to affairs of state, but to the military and naval operations which embraced the protection and extension of the Empire, at all points in both hemispheres, where it had a foothold. 

Lord Loudon was the Commander-in-Chief in America. His plan of operations, communicated to Pitt, coincided with that which Pitt had himself formed. The most important feature in Pitt's policy was a coup de main against the French strongholds in America, the reduction of Louisbourg in the early part of the season, to be followed by an attack on Quebec. Pitt urged on this work, and attempted to animate and unite the colonial Governors in raising forces to assist the regular troops, not only in this expedition, but in land attacks on the outlying French positions. 

Before his retirement Newcastle had determined to send one regiment to America. This was quite inadequate for Pitt's schemes. Early in February he wrote to Lawrence that the second battalion of the Royals and six regiments, each of 815 men, are ordered for embarkation, and he hoped would be able to sail by the end of the month.[1] The base of operations against Louisbourg was Halifax, and, with the expectation that the fleet would sail before the end of February, Lord Loudon's plan that he could capture Louisbourg and then proceed to Quebec in June was not unreasonable. However, the vigour of Pitt was not equal to expediting matters as he had hoped. There was great lack of organization in the military services. [2]

Conditions improved, but all the movements were behind the time set in Pitt's plans. Loudon had concentrated his forces in New York, and was ready at the end of April with a body of about 6300 men and abundant siege material. No news came of Holburne, who was to bring out the fleet ; and the naval forces in New York, a fifty-gunship and four small cruisers under Hardy, were inadequate to cope with the French squadron. 

In June they embarked the troops, but just as they were on the point of sailing, they got news that De Beauffremont had been in the West Indies and was probably coming north. Further delay took place, for it would have been grossly imprudent to move this force without adequate protection. The impatience of Loudon and Hardy increased. Finally Hardy sent out two cruisers, who reported that the sea was clear of the French between New York and Halifax, and in the last third of June they successfully made the voyage. 

There was no sign as yet of Holburne, but the troops were disembarked at 

1. Kimball, vol. i. p. 2. 
2. This last is indicated by the conditions in the previous year. The troops for Loudon lay at Portsmouth until June, without transports being hired for them. Cannon were shipped on one vessel, their carriages on another, ammunition on a third, and powder on a fourth. The loss of one vessel would make useless the safe arrival of the other three. The powder was bought without a test, and proved to be no better than sawdust (Entinck, vol. 1. p. 488). 

Halifax, and exercised in attacks on such positions as they would be likely to meet ; they were taught to grow vegetables, and later, when an indignant and disappointed nation reviewed the failure of Loudon's expedition, this was part of the source of ridicule. Holburne's late arrival in American waters (July 9) was the chief cause of failure which so completely characterized the movements of the British forces in this campaign, but French seamanship and French strategy accounted for the decided advantage her fleets had over the enemy. [1]

While Pitt, in February, was vainly pressing on the elaborate preparations for attack, France was preparing her forces for defence. A squadron of four ships under Du Revest sailed from Toulon to Louisbourg in April. Saunders' attempt to stop them with an equal force in the Straits of Gibraltar was unsuccessful, and Du Revest arrived at his destination on June 19. 

On January 27 De Beauffremont sailed unmolested from Brest to the West Indies, the English Admiralty not having perfected its arrangements to blockade that port by the time the French squadron was ready to sail. He had a force similar to Du Revest's, and arrived in St. Domingo on March 19 after very heavy weather, and left on May 4, reaching Louisbourg on the 31st of the same month. 

Du Bois de la Motte left Brest with nine of the nine and two frigates. Temple West, who was then blockading the port, had been driven off in a gale of wind ; so that the English efforts to destroy any part of the French reinforcements failed through the unpreparedness of the Admiralty or the fortunes of the sea. 

Du Bois de la Motte, Lieutenant-General, arrived in Louisbourg on the night of the 2oth of June. He was in command of the united squadrons, which gave him a force superior to that of Holburne's. [2]

The junction of the three French squadrons at Louisbourg was ascertained by scouts sent out from Halifax. The men from the English ships were 

1. Holburne received a sharp letter from the Admiralty for indulgences granted to his captains (Ad. Out Letters, vol. 518). 

" I believe you have never heard of this A. Holburne, and are anxious to know from whence he came, he is a Scot, you know I don't think well of that nation for upper leather, nor was he ever thought much of in our service, he is rich and has contrived to insinuate himself into the good graces of Lord Anson, made an Admiral and sent here in my assistance, you see by this I don't like him or ever did, having known him from my first entering into service ..." (Boscawen to his wife, June 26, 1755, MSS).

2. Le Formidable, 80.               L'Hector, 74.                 Le Vaillant, 64.        La Brune, 30. 
    Le Tonnant, 80.                     Le Glorieux, 74.            Le Superbe, 70.        La Fleur de Lys, 30.
    Le Deffenseur, 74.                Le Dauphin Royal, 70. L'Inflexible, 64.       L'Abenaskise, 38. 
    Le Duc de Bourgogne, 80.   Le Bizarre, 64.              Le Belliqueux, 64.    La Comette, 30.
    Le Héros, 74.                        L'Achille, 64.                  Le Sage, 64.              La Fortune, flute, 30.
    Le Diadème, 74.                   L'Eveillé, 64.                  Le Célèbre, 64.         L'Hermione, 26.

                                                                                                                                  (B⁴, Marine, 76.)

sickly, 500 had to be left on shore in hospitals at Halifax, and 200 had died. On the 4th of August, Loudon wrote Holburne a short note, the point of which was : " In view of intelligence recvd. from Louisbourg is there any chance of success in its attempted reduction? " To which Holburne replied on the same day, " that the season is too far advanced, and enemy too strong, for attempt to be successful." [1] Thereupon they determined to abandon the siege. A strong garrison was left in Halifax, as in the forts in the Bay of Fundy ; but most of the troops retired with Loudon to New York. The fleet of Holburne began to cruise off Louisbourg on August 19 ; it kept this position, making more than one attempt to draw La Motte out from the port. 

The latter refrained from action ; the point in his instructions which most impressed itself on him was that he must secure Louisbourg from attack. The men from his ships, together with the garrison, occupied themselves in throwing up earthworks and in fortifying every cove, both to the east and west of Louisbourg, where a landing might be effected, and in keeping in them a sufficient garrison to resist a first attack. 

The forces which Du Bois de la Motte had at his disposal were:

Artois   ...........................       437 
Bourgogne .......................     536 
Louisbourg Companies ...    805 
Militia ...............................    200                            Volunteers from the Fleet. 
Quebec Soldiers ................     30 
Acadians and Indians .......   260                             Officers .......................   31 
Artillery .............................     50                              Men ............................. 600 
Officers .............................   150
                                            _______
                                             2468

The cannon, 68, in number, and two mortars, mounted in entrenchments, were all served by these forces, with the exception of the Acadians and Indians, who were with Boishébert at Gabarus. 

The frigates of his fleet made occasional cruises about the coasts, and the diaries speak of several prizes brought in, mostly by privateers.[2] Holburne kept his position off Louisbourg till after the middle of September. On Sunday the 25th the most violent storm known for years proved disastrous to the greater part of the English fleet, and upset Holburne's plans for any attack on the vessels of Du Bois de la Motte, who after repairing the comparatively slight damage done to the Tonnant, returned safely to France.[3] 

Holburne got his ships refitted in Halifax, and left there for the winter, 

1. Ad. Des. 481. 
2. Marine B⁴, vol. 76. Also journal of Fleur de Lys, Ottawa, F, 173. 
3. See Appendix, p. 207, for the account of the storm.

according to instructions, eight men-of-war and brought the others successfully back to England, a highly creditable piece of seamanship, which helped to lessen the resentment of Pitt.[1] 

1. Ad. Orders and Instructions, vol. 79, p. 376, see also Ad. Out Letters, No. 52 1. 

The eight ships were : Northumberland, Terrible, Kingston, Orford, Arc en Ciel, Sutherland, Defiance, Somerset, also the frigates, Portmahon and Hawke. The Hawke, which arrived in Halifax on Nov. 5, brought to Holburne the erroneous report that the French fleet was still in Louisbourg. See Holburne to Pitt, Nov. 4, 1757, P.S. Nov. 5, Ad. Des. 1, 481, and Kimball, vol. i. p. 125. In Chapter XV. is a statement of the dismay felt when the news of the storm reached London. 

The Stirling Castle and three other ships were ordered on Nov. 11 to cruise for twenty-one days between Ushant and Cape Clear, for the protection of trade and the security of the disabled ships of Holburne's fleet expected from America.