By this time the King of Britain had thought proper to drop the connection of Russia to obtain that of Prus sia. From this choice a new combination took place among the European powers. quite opposite to the for mer state of things, and the forces of the different pow ers were thus drawn out: Britain opposed France in America, Asia, and on the ocean. France attacked Hanover, which the king of Prussia undertook to pro tect, while Britain furnished troops and money to second his operations. Austria had fixed her aims on the do minions of Prussia, and drew the Elector of Saxony into the same designs. In these views the Austrians were seconded by France, Sweden, and Russia, the last of which powers had hopes of acquiring a settlement in the west of Europe.
The war, however, soon took a brighter turn. In America, General Amherst concerted with General Abercrombie a spirited and judicious plan of operations for the campaign of 1758. Conveyed by the fleet of Admiral Boscawen, he took Louisburg, with the whole island of Cape Breton, and a fleet of six French ships that lay anchored in the harbour. General Abercrom bie, who undertook to reduce all the enemy's forts on the lakes George and Champlain, was at first dispirited by a repulse which he sustained at Ticonderoga ; but detachments of his army, under Colonel Bradstrict and General Forbes, separately, reduced the forts Fronte fac and Du Quesne ; and in October of the same year peace was established, by a formal treaty, between Great Britain and the Indians inhabiting the rich and fertile plains between the lakes and the Ohio. In the succeeding year, Ticonderoga itself surrendered, and fort Niagara capitulated to General Johnson.
But by far the most difficult part of General Amherst's plan, the reduction of Quebec, was intrusted to General Wolfe. In the month of June 1759, the armament, destined for the invasion of Canada, arrived at the island of Orleans, formed by the branches of the river St Law rence, and extending to the bason of Quebec. On the left of this river were posted 10,000 French, under Ge neral Montcalm, who repulsed the British in an attempt to pass from the island of Orleans; but the disappoint ment, though it sunk deep in the haughty spirit of the British commander, did not prevent him from trying the only effort that remained to be tried, one transcen dently bold and admirably executed. To deceive the enemy, he moved up the river several leagues beyond the spot fixed on for landing; but, during the night, he fell down with the stream, in order to protect the dis embarking of the troops, which was happily accom ?fished in 'silence and secrecy. The precipitous heights of Abraham were next ascended ; and, with infinite la bour and difficulty, the troops sustaining themselves by the rugged projection of the rocks, and by boughs of trees and plants, which sprang from its clefts, gained the summit, and formed in order of battle. Montcalm immediately hastened with his army, from his camp at AIontmorenci, and gave battle to the British to save the town. Wolfe, advancing at the head of the grenadiers, was at first slightly wounded in the wrist, by a ball from one of the enemy's marksmen; he continued, how ever, to give orders, inattentive to the wound, with a handkerchief wraps round his wrist, till a second shot pierced his breast. Expiring in the arms of victory, he
had but time to learn that the enemy fled. The gene rals Moncton and Townsend continued the fight, after the fatal wound of their commander, with unabated ar dour. The death of Montcalm, the French commander, who also received a mortal wound, was fatal to the ene my. They gave way on all sides. The city of Quebec, though provided with the means of defence, surrender ed in consternation, and the shattered remains of the French army retreated to Montreal. The French made a vigorous effort, the following season, to recover Que bec ; but were entirely repulsed by the resolute defence of the garrison, and the appearance of Lord Colville's fleet. The reduction of all Canada soon followed that of its capital, the most important acquisition of territory ever made by the British arms. An almost uninter rupted prosperity, for some years, attended the opera tions of England. Fort Louis, on the river Senegal, surrendered without effusion of blood, to a small squa dron under Captain Alarsh. Gorce, on the south of the same river, surrendered to Admiral Keppel ; and Gau daloupe was taken by Commodore More and General Hopson. Our attempts upon the French coast were, as usual, unfortunate. Cherbourg was, indeed, taken by Commodore Howe, who destroyed the harbour and bason of that place ; but the same armament having sailed back from England, and disembarked the land troops to the westward of St Malocs, General Bligh, their commander, was alarmed, in the midst of his march into the open country, by intelligence that the governor of Bretagne was advancing, to cut off his re treat, at the head of a powerful army. The English hurried back to the bay at St Cas, where their fleet lay at anchor, but could not escape to their ships, till their rear guard, of 1500, were slaughtered almost to a man. It can scarcely be presumption to impeach the policy of these expeditions to the enemy's coast, which so uni formly terminated in disaster, although they were sanc tioned by the recommendation of the elder Pitt himself, who used to boast that he could, at any time, singe a few yards of the French coast. Such attempts, when we consider their expense, their vanity, and their blood shed, may be allowed to have been compared, with much more propriety, to the folly of breaking windows with guineas. The British admirals asserted their country's honour more effectually. Boscawen inter cepted the fleet of De la Clue, off Cape Lagos, and, atter a fierce conflict, captured five of the enemy's ca pital ships. A second victory was obtained off Quiberon, by Admiral Hawke, in a manner still more creditable to British seamanship. Undismayed by the rocks, shoals, and quicksands, of a shore, to which the French retired, Ilawke pursued them, in the midst of the tempestuous month of November, and gave them battle. Two or their capital ships were sunk during the action. Ano ther struck her colours, but no boat could be sent to take possession of her; and three others were stranded or destroyed.