Louisburg.
The fortress of
Louisburg, on the
Island of Cape Breton, was built by the
French soon after the treaty of
Utrecht, in 1713.
Its cost was great, its strength enormous, and so long as the
French held it it was a source of annoyance to
New England and of support to
Canada.
When, in 1746,
France declared war against
Great Britain Governor Shirley, of
Massachusetts, perceived the great importance of driving the
French from it. He proposed to the Massachusetts legislature the bold project of attempting its capture, and after some hesitation a colonial expedition for the purpose was authorized, Jan. 25, 1745, by a vote of a majority of one.
A circular letter, soliciting aid, was sent to all the colonies as far south as
Pennsylvania.
The latter voted £ 4,000 currency, to purchase provisions.
New Jersey furnished £ 2,000 towards the expedition, but declined to furnish any men. The New York Assembly contributed £ 3,000 currency, but
Governor Clinton sent, besides, a quantity of provisions purchased by private subscription and ten 18-pounders from the public magazine.
Connecticut voted 500 men, led by
Roger Wolcott, who was appointed second in command of the expedition.
Rhode Island and
New Hampshire each raised a regiment of 300 men. As was to be expected, the chief burden of the expedition was borne by
Massachusetts.
Much interest was manifested everywhere.
In seven weeks an army of 3,250 men was enlisted, transports were procured, and an ample quantity of bills of credit issued to pay the expense.
Massachusetts provided ten armed vessels.
The chief command of the expedition was given to
William Pepperell, of
Maine.
Whitefield, who was then making his third preaching tour throughout the colonies, successfully advocated the expedition, and suggested the motto of the
New Hampshire regimental flag— “
Nil desperandum Christo duce” ( “Nothing is to be despaired of with
Christ for a leader” ). It assumed the character of an anti-papist crusade.
One of the chaplains, a disciple of
Whitefield, carried a hatchet, provided to hew down all images in the
French churches.
“
Louisburg must be subdued,” was the thought of the New-Englanders.
Commodore Warren, in the
West Indies, refused to co-operate with his fleet until he received express orders to do so. The expedition sailed from
Boston, April 4, 1745, and at Canseau they were unexpectedly joined by
Warren on May 9.
The combined forces (4,000 troops) landed, April 30, at
Gabarus Bay, not far from
Louisburg, and their sudden appearance there was the first intimation the
French had of the near approach of danger.
Consternation prevailed in the fortress and town.
The cannon on shore, commanded by
Richard Gridley, were dragged, with provisions, on sledges, over a morass; trenches were dug, batteries were erected, and a regular siege was commenced on May 1 (
N. S.).
Commodore Warren captured a French man-of-war of sixty-four guns, with over 500 men and a large quantity of stores for the garrison.
Other English vessels of war arrived, and the fleet and army prepared to make a final and combined assault.
The
French, despairing of receiving any aid from
France, surrendered the fortress and town of
Louisburg and the island of Cape Breton to the
English on June 17, after a siege of forty-eight days. The island of
St. John was also surrendered.
The capitulation included 650 soldiers of the garrison and 1.300 inhabitants of the town of
Louisburg, all of whom were to be shipped to
France.
The British government reimbursed the expenses of the expedition incurred by
Massachusetts, and in 1748 restored the post to the
French.
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The capture of
Louisburg was Lord Loudoun's first care in the campaign of 1757.
He found himself at the head of 6,000 provincials on June 1.
He sailed from New York on the 20th, and arrived at
Halifax on the 30th, where he was joined by
Admiral Holborne, with a powerful naval armament and 5,000 troops from
England.
The combined forces were about to sail for
Louisburg when information reached
Loudoun that 6,000 troops were in the fortress there, and that a French fleet, larger than that of the
English, was lying in that harbor.
The latter had gained this position while the indolent
Loudoun was moving with his accustomed slowness.
The enterprise was abandoned, and Loudoun returned to New York (Aug. 31) with intelligence that had met him on the way of defeat and disgrace to the
English arms in the north.
The zeal of the New Englanders, in 1758, in raising a force for a second attack on
Louisburg was intense.
Massachusetts voted 7,000 men, besides 600 maintained for frontier defence.
The advances made by the province during that year were not less than $1,000,000.
Connecticut voted 5,000 men, and
New Hampshire and
Rhode Island furnished 1,000 more between them.
The people were alive with enthusiasm, and the
New England provinces raised 15,000 men.
Boscawen arrived at
Halifax early in May, with about forty armed vessels, bearing a land force of over 12,000 men, under
General Amherst as chief, and
General Wolfe as his lieutenant.
The armament left
Halifax May 28, and the troops landed on the shores of
Gabarus Bay, June 8, without much opposition, within a short distance of the fort.
Alarmed by this unexpected and powerful display, the
French almost immediately deserted their outposts, and retired within the fortress and the town.
They made a vigorous resistance to the besiegers for almost fifty days. When all the shipping in the harbor was lost to the
French, they surrendered the town, the fort, the islands of Cape Breton and
St. John (now Prince Edward), and their dependencies, July 26, 1758.
The garrison became prisoners of war. The spoils of victory were more than 5,000 prisoners and a large amount of munitions of war. The garrison lost about 1,500 men, and the town was made a ruin.
So ended the attempts of the
French to settle in and near the
Gulf of St. Lawrence.
That region passed into the permanent possession of the
English.
With the fall of
Louisburg the power of
France in
America began to wane, and its decline was rapid.
Louisiana, State of
