AMERICA; FORT NECESSITY; PITTSBURGH, tory; WASHINGTON, GEORGE). The effect of Braddocic's defeat was felt in the expeditions of Shirley against Oswego (Qv.), and in that of Johnson against Crown Point (see CROWN POINT, FORTRESS or). • A body of provincials had been raised, and placed under the com mand of Johnson for the reduction of Crown Point. But Dieskau intercepted, and almost captured, a detachment of this expedition. Re inforcements arrived at a critical moment, and the tables were turned by the capture of Dies kau. This circumstance was made a great deal of, but, nevertheless, Crown Point was unmo lested, and still in the hands of the French. War and bloodshed had desolated the homes of the colonists and destroyed their commerce, and over all of them hung the dread of the tomahawk and the scalping knife of the In dian. Panic-stricken, they could devise no means of defense, and surrender seemed prefer able to fight. In Acadia, while the two nations were still at peace, the determination of the British had driven into exile the unhappy Acadians. But their own position there was by no means to be envied. position prestige was indeed at a low ebb in America, when the struggle between the colonists was superseded by a contest between the two powers, which commenced officially when King George II signed the declaration of war against France in May 1756.
The situation in New France was indeed acute. Agriculture had been neglected, g= was scarce, horses were slaughtered for f famine was imminent. But it should be borne in mind that this deplorable state of affairs was not the inevitable outcome of the struggles through which the country had passed, but a condition actually created for profit, toiled for and plotted for by Bigot, in order that he might appear as the real savior of the dis tressed colony. The advice of the intendant to his somewhat weak-kneed, and certainly dis honest, henchman, Vergor, to recut and slip, and make hay while the sun shone, in order that he might have the means to build a chateau in France ,° was but an indication of the course he intended to follow himself, though on a grander and more colossal scale. New France was to be pillaged. The people must be sub dued, and bodily suffering would prove effect ive where less persuasive methods might fail. New life was given to the colony for a moment when the Marquis de Montcalm (q.v.) arrived in Canada in the spring of 1756, with 1,200 troops and ample supplies. No better general could have been chosen than Montcalna. In fact, men of his mold were just what New France needed most at this time. He was an excellent soldier and had already won renown. He was loyal to his. sovereign, at a time when loyalty was not profitable; he was brave and courteous, and he dearly loved France. Vau dreuil, the governor, was a Canadian, and at tached to the land of his birth, but he despised every form of interference from France.
Hence there was constant friction. Bigot, the representative of the King, loved his master and the colony only in proportion to the measure in which they contributed to his needs; and his needs were of abnormal proportions. The conduct of Montcalm throughout the war, until the supreme hour when he yielded up his life in defense of the colony, forms a striking and pleasing contrast to the actions of his two colleagues. He was also fortunate in the chief officers under him.
England was far less happy than France in the choice of the commander-in-chief of her forces. Lord Loudon, who was placed at the head of the 900 regulars sent out to the colonies, was no match for the brilliant Montcalm. Ar riving in Albany two months after he.was ex pected by his chief officers, Abercromby and Webb, London was confronted with a condition of affairs similar to that with which Montcalm had to contend — jealousy between colonials and regulars. The War Office had decreed that a colonial officer could not rank above a senior captain of regulars, and consequently well-sea soned officers, experienced in the methods of the enemy, were liable to orders from a man who had never been under fire, and had no knowledge whatever of colonial affairs. The British general seemed unable to decide upon any plan of action, and much valuable time was wasted. In the meanwhile, disaster had over taken the British at Oswego. By clever tactics Montcalm had surprised the fort, and had 30 guns directed against it before the commander was aware of the danger which threatened him. There was little effective resistance, and capit ulation necessarily followed; 1,600 men were made prisoners, and in a few days the fort was razed. The year was passing away without any important move on the part of the British. Loudon desired a change of scene, and induced the home government to agree to an expedition against Louisburg. Large reinforcements were sent out, and in the month of June 1757 he had nearly 12,000 men arrayed against that strong hold. Still unable to decide upon a plan of attack, he wasted a month in exercis the troops, or, as Lord Charles Howe ing •In keeping the courage of His Majesty's soldiers at bay, and in expending the nation's wealth in making sham fights and planting cabbages, when they ought to have been fighting the enemies of the King in reality.° On 4 August a movement was set on foot, but intelligence was conveyed to the commander that the French expected reinforcements and were eager for the fray. Thereupon, the noble lord abandoned the enter prise and returned to New York, having cov ered himself with ridicule, and greatly amused the French.