heart: he was brave beyond all question, generous to profusion, and good-natured to excess. On this occasion he was assisted by the councils of lord George Sackville, second in command, son to the duke of Dorset; an officer of experience and reputation, who had, in the civil departments of government, exhibited proofs of extraordinary genius and uncommon application. The troops, having been encamped for some time upon the Isle of Wight, were embarked in the latter end of May, and the two fleets sailed in the beginning of June for the coast of Bretagne, leaving the people of England flushed with the gayest hopes of victory and conquest. The two fleets parted at sea: lord Anson, with his squadron, proceeded to the bay of Biscay, in order to watch the motions of the enemy's ships, and harass their navigation; while commodore Howe, with the land-forces, steered directly towards St. Maloes, a strong place of considerable commerce, situated on the coast of Bretagne, against which the purposed invasion seemed to be chiefly intended. The town, however, was found too well fortified, both by art and nature, to admit of an attempt by sea with any prospect of success; and, therefore, it was resolved to make a descent in the neighbourhood. After the fleet had been, by contrary winds, detained several days in sight of the French coast, it arrived in the bay of Cancalle, about two leagues to the eastward of St. Maloes; and Mr. Howe having silenced a small battery which the enemy had occasionally raised upon the beach, the troops were landed without further opposition on the sixth day of June. The duke of Marlborough immediately began his march towards St. Servan, with a view to destroy such shipping and magazines as might be in any accessible parts of the river; and this scheme was executed with success. A great quantity of naval stores, two ships of war, several privateers, and about fourscore vessels of different sorts, were set on fire and reduced to ashes, almost under the cannon of the place, which, however, they could not pretend to besiege in form. His grace having received repeated advices that the enemy were busily employed in assembling forces to march against him, returned to Cancalle, where Mr. Howe had made such a masterly disposition of the boats and transports, that the re-embarkation of the troops was performed with surprising ease and expedition. The forces, while they remained on shore were restrained from all outrage by the most severe discipline; and the French houses, which their inhabitants had abandoned, were left untouched. Immediately after their landing, the duke of Marlborough, as commander-in-chief, published and distributed a manifesto, addressed to the people of Bretagne, giving them to understand, that his descent upon the coast was not effected with a design to make war on the inhabitants of the open country, except such as should be found in arms, or otherwise opposing the operations of his Britannic majesty; that all who were willing to continue in peaceable possession of their effects, might remain unmolested in their respective dwellings, and follow their usual occupations; that, besides the customs and taxes they used to pay to their own king, nothing should be required of them but what was absolutely necessary for the subsistence of the army; and that, for all provisions brought in, they should be paid in ready money. He concluded this notice with declaring, that if, notwithstanding these assurances of protection, they should carry off their effects and provisions, and abandon the places of their habitation, he would treat them as enemies, and destroy their houses with fire and sword. To the magistracy of St. Maloes he likewise sent a letter, importing, that as all the inhabitants of the towns and villages between Dinant, Rennes, and Doll, now in his possession, had deserted their habitations, probably to avoid the payment of the usual contributions; and he being informed that the magistrates had compelled the people of the country to retire into the town of St. Maloes; he now gave them notice, that if they did not immediately send them back to their houses, and come themselves to his head-quarters, to settle the contributions, he should think himself obliged to proceed to military execution. These threats, however, were not put in force, although the magistrates of St. Maloes did not think proper to comply with his injunction. But it was found altogether impossible to prevent irregularities among troops that were naturally licentious. Some houses were pillaged, and not without acts of barbarity; but the offenders were brought to immediate justice; and it must be owned, as an incontestable proof of the general's humanity, that in destroying the magazines of the enemy at St. Servan, which may be termed the suburbs of St. Maloes, he ordered one small-store house to be spared, because it could not be set on fire without endangering the whole district. The British forces being re-embarked, including about five hundred light-horse, which had been disciplined and carried over with a view to scour the country, the fleet was detained by contrary winds in the bay of Cancalle for several days, during which a design seems to have been formed for attacking Granville, which had been reconnoitred by some of the engineers; but, in consequence of their report, the scheme was laid aside, and the fleet stood out to sea, where it was exposed to some rough weather. In a few days, the wind blowing in a northern direction, they steered again towards the French coast, and ran in with the land near Havre-de-Grace, where the flat-bottomed boats, provided for landing, were hoisted out, and a second disembarkation expected. But the wind blowing violently towards the evening, the boats were re-shipped, and the fleet obliged to quit the land in order to avoid the dangers of a lee-shore. Next day, the weather being more moderate, they returned to the same station, and orders were given to prepare for a descent; but the duke of Marlborough having taken a view of the coast in an open cutter, accompanied by commodore Howe, thought proper to waive the attempt. Their next step was to bear away before the wind for Cherbourg, in the neighbourhood of which place the fleet came to anchor. Here some of the transports received the fire of six different batteries; and a considerable body of troops appeared in arms to dispute the landing; nevertheless, the general resolved that the forts Querqueville, l'Hommet, and Gallet, should be attacked in the night by the first regiment of guards. The soldiers were actually distributed in the flat-bottomed boats, and every preparation made for this enterprise, when the wind began to blow with such violence, that the troops could not be landed without the most imminent danger and difficulty, nor properly sustained in case of a repulse, even if the disembarkation could have been effected. This attempt, therefore, was laid aside, but at the same time a resolution taken to stand in towards the shore with the whole fleet, to cover a general landing. A disposition was made accordingly; but the storm increasing, the transports ran foul of each other, and the ships were exposed to all the perils of a lee-shore, for the gale blew directly upon the coast; besides, the provisions began to fail, and the hay for the horses was almost consumed. These concurring reasons induced the commanders to postpone the disembarkation to a more favourable opportunity. The fleet stood out to sea, and the tempest abating, they steered for the Isle of Wight, and next day anchored at St. Helen's. Such was the issue of an enterprise achieved with considerable success, if we consider the damage done to the enemy's shipping, and the other objects which the minister had in view; namely, to secure the navigation of the channel, and make a diversion in favour of the German allies, by alarming the French king, and obliging him to employ a great number of troops to defend his coast from insult and invasion; but whether such a mighty armament was necessary for the accomplishment of these petty aims, and whether the same armament might not have been employed in executing schemes of infinitely greater advantage to the nation, we shall leave to the judicious reader's own reflection.



EXPEDITION AGAINST CHERBOURG.

The designs upon the coast of France, though interrupted by tempestuous weather, were not as yet laid aside for the whole season; but, in the meantime, the troops were disembarked on the Isle of Wight; and one brigade marched to the northward, to join a body of troops, with which the government resolved to augment the army of the allies in Germany, commanded by prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. The duke of Marlborough and lord George Sackville being appointed to conduct this British corps upon the continent, the command of the marine expeditions devolved to lieutenant-general Bligh, an old experienced officer, who had served with reputation; and his royal highness prince Edward, afterwards created duke of York, entered as a volunteer with commodore Howe, in order to learn the rudiments of the sea-service. The remainder of the troops being re-embarked, and everything prepared for the second expedition, the fleet sailed from St. Helen's on the first of August; and after a tedious passage, from calms and contrary winds, anchored on the seventh in the bay of Cherbourg. By this time the enemy had intrenched themselves within a line, extending from the fort Ecoeurdeville, which stands about two miles to the westward of Cherbourg, along the coast for the space of four miles, fortified with several batteries at proper distances. Behind this retrenchment a body of horse and infantry appeared in red and blue uniforms; but as they did not advance to the open beach, the less risk was run in landing the British forces. At first a bomb-ketch had been sent to anchor near the town, and throw some shells into the place, as a feint to amuse the enemy, and deceive them with regard to the place of disembarkation, while the general had determined to land about a league to the westward of Querqueville, the most western fort in the bay. The other bomb-ketches, being posted along shore, did considerable execution upon the intrench-ments, not only by throwing shells in the usual way, but also by using ball-mortars, filled with great quantities of balls, which may be thrown to a great distance, and, by scattering as they fly, do abundance of mischief. While the ketches fired without ceasing, the grenadiers and guards were rowed regularly ashore in the flat-bottomed boats, and, landing without opposition, instantly formed on a small open portion of the beach, with a natural breast-work in their front, having on the other side a hollow way, and a village rising beyond it with a sudden ascent; on the left, the ground was intersected by hedges, and covered with orchards, and from this quarter the enemy advanced in order. The British troops immediately quitted the breast-work, in order to meet them half way, and a straggling fire began; but the French edging to the left, took possession of the hill, from whence they piqueered with the advanced posts of the English. In the meantime, the rest of the infantry were disembarked, and the enemy at night retired. As the light troops were not yet landed, general Bligh encamped that night at the village of Erville, on a piece of ground that did not extend above four hundred paces; so that the tents were pitched in a crowded and irregular manner. Next morning, the general having received intelligence that no parties of the enemy were seen moving on the hill, or in the plain, and that fort Querqueville was entirely abandoned, made a disposition for marching in two columns to Cherbourg. An advanced party took immediate possession of Querqueville; and the lines and batteries along the shore were now deserted by the enemy. The British forces marching behind St. Aulne, Ecoeurdeville, Hommet, and La Galet, found the town of Cherbourg likewise abandoned, and the gates being open, entered it without opposition. The citizens, encouraged by a manifesto containing a promise of protection, which had been published and distributed in order to quiet their apprehensions, received their new guests with a good grace, overwhelming them with civilities, for which they met with a very ungrateful return; for as the bulk of the army was not regularly encamped and superintended, the soldiers were at liberty to indulge themselves in riot and licentiousness. All night long they ravaged the adjacent country without restraint; and as no guards had been regularly placed in the streets and avenues of Cherbourg, to prevent disorders, the town itself was not exempted from pillage and brutality. These outrages, however, were no sooner known, than the general took immediate steps for putting a stop to them for the present, and preventing all irregularities for the future. Next morning, the place being reconnoitred, he determined to destroy, without delay, all the forts and the basin; and the execution of this design was left to the engineers, assisted by the officers of the fleet and artillery. Great sums of money had been expended upon the harbour and basin of Cherbourg, which at one time was considered by the French court as an object of great importance, from its situation respecting the river Seine, as well as the opposite coast of England; but as the works were left unfinished, in all appearance the plan had grown into disreputation. The enemy had raised several unconnected batteries along the bay; but the town itself was quite open and defenceless While the engineers were employed in demolishing the works, the light horse scoured the country, and detachments were every day sent out towards Walloign, at the distance of four leagues from Cherbourg, where the enemy were encamped, and every hour received reinforcements. Several skirmishes were fought by the out-parties of each army, in one of which captain Lindsay, a gallant young officer, who had been very instrumental in training the light horse, was mortally wounded. The harbour and basin of Cherbourg being destroyed, together with all the forts in the neighbourhood, and about twenty pieces of brass cannon secured on board the English ships, a contribution, amounting to about three thousand pounds sterling, was exacted upon the town, and a plan of re-embarkation concerted; as it appeared from the reports of peasants and deserters, that the enemy were already increased to a formidable number. A slight intrench-ment being raised, sufficient to defend the last division that should be re-embarked, the stores and artillery were shipped, and the light horses conveyed on board their respective transports, by means of platforms laid in the flat-bottomed vessels. On the sixteenth day of August, at three o'clock in the morning, the forces marched from Cherbourg down to the beach, and re-embarked at fort Galet, without the least disturbance from the enemy.



DESCENT AT ST. MALOES.

This service being happily performed, the fleet set sail for the coast of England, and anchored in the road of Weymouth, under the high land of Portland. In two days it weighed and stood again to the southward; but was obliged by contrary winds to return to the same riding. The second effort, however, was more effectual. The fleet with some difficulty kept the sea, and steering to the French coast, came to anchor in the bay of St. Lunaire, two leagues to the westward of St. Maloes, against which it was determined to make another attempt. The sloops and ketches being ranged along shore to cover the disembarkation, the troops landed on a fair open beach, and a detachment of grenadiers was sent to the harbour of St. Briac, above the town of St. Maloes, where they destroyed about fifteen small vessels; but St. Maloes itself being properly surveyed, appeared to be above insult, either from the land-forces or the shipping. The mouth of the river that forms its basin extends above two miles in breadth at its narrowest part, so as to be out of the reach of land batteries, and the entrance is defended by such forts and batteries as the ships of war could not pretend to silence, considering the difficult navigation of the channels; besides fifty pieces of large cannon planted on these forts and batteries, the enemy had mounted forty on the west side of the town; and the basin was, moreover, strengthened by seven frigates or armed vessels, whose guns might have been brought to bear upon any batteries that could be raised on shore, as well as upon ships entering by the usual channel. For these substantial reasons the design against St. Maloes was dropped; but the general being unwilling to re-embark, without having taken some step for the further annoyance of the enemy, resolved to penetrate into the country; conducting his motions, however, so as to be near the fleet, which had by this time quitted the bay of St. Lunaire, where it could not ride with any safety, and anchored in the bay of St. Cas, about three leagues to the westward.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}



ENGLISH DEFEATED AT ST. CAS.

On Friday the eighth of September, general Bligh, with his little army, began his march for Guildo, at the distance of nine miles, which he reached in the evening; next day he crossed a little gut or inlet of the sea, at low water, and his troops being incommoded by the peasants, who fired at them from hedges and houses, he sent a priest with a message, intimating, that if they would not desist, he would reduce their houses to ashes. No regard being paid to this intimation, the houses were actually set on fire as soon as the troops had formed their camp about two miles on the other side of the inlet. Next morning he proceeded to the village of Matignon, where, after some smart skirmishing, the French piquets appeared, drawn up in order, to the number of two battalions; but having sustained a few shots from the English field-pieces, and seeing the grenadiers advance, they suddenly dispersed. General Bligh continuing his route through the village, encamped in the open ground, about three miles from the bay of St. Cas, which was this day reconnoitred for re-embarkation; for he now received undoubted intelligence, that the duke d'Aiguillon had advanced from Brest to Lambale, within six miles of the English camp, at the head of twelve regular battalions, six squadrons, two regiments of militia, eight mortars, and ten pieces of cannon. The bay of St. Cas was covered by an intrenchment which the enemy had thrown up, to prevent or oppose any disembarkation; and on the outside of this work there was a range of sand hills extending along shore, which could have served as a cover to the enemy, from whence they might have annoyed the troops in re-embarking; for this reason a proposal was made to the general, that the forces should be re-embarked from a fair open beach on the left, between St. Cas and Guildo; but this advice was rejected, and, indeed, the subsequent operations of the army savoured strongly of blind security and rash presumption. Had the troops decamped in the night without noise, in all probability they would have arrived at the beach before the French had received the least intelligence of their motion; and in that case, the whole army, consisting of about six thousand men, might have been re-embarked without the least interruption; but instead of this cautious manner of proceeding, the drums were beaten at two o'clock in the morning, as if with intention to give notice to the enemy, who forthwith repeated the same signal. The troops were in motion before three, and though the length of the march did not exceed three miles, the halts and interruptions were so numerous and frequent, that they did not arrive on the beach of St. Cas till nine. Then the embarkation was begun, and might have been happily finished, had the transports lain near the shore and received the men as fast as the boats could have conveyed them on board, without distinction; but many ships rode at a considerable distance, and every boat carried the men on board the respective transports to which they belonged; a punctilio of disposition by which a great deal of time was unnecessarily consumed. The small ships and bomb-ketches were brought near the shore, to cover the embarkation; and a considerable number of sea-officers were stationed on the beach, to superintend the boats' crews, and regulate the service; but notwithstanding all their attention and authority, some of the boats were otherwise employed than in conveying the unhappy soldiers. Had all the cutters and small craft belonging to the fleet been properly occupied in this service, the disgrace and disaster of the day would scarce have happened. The British forces had skirmished a little on the march, but no considerable body of the enemy appeared until the embarkation was begun; then they took possession of an eminence by a windmill, and forthwith opened a battery of ten cannon and eight mortars, from whence they fired with considerable effect upon the soldiers on the beach, and on the boats in their passage. They afterwards began to march down the hill, partly covered by a hollow way on their left, with a design to gain a wood, where they might form and extend themselves along the front of the English, and advance against them under shelter of the sand-hills: but in their descent they suffered extremely from the cannon and mortars of the shipping, which made great havock and threw them into confusion. Their line of march down the hill was staggered, and for some time continued in suspense; then they turned off to one side, extended themselves along a hill to their left, and advanced in a hollow way, from whence they suddenly rushed out to the attack. Though the greater part of the British troops were already embarked, the rear-guard, consisting of all the grenadiers and half of the first regiment of guards, remained on the shore, to the number of fifteen hundred, under the command of major-general Dury. This officer, seeing the French advance, ordered his troops to form in grand divisions, and march from behind the bank that covered them, in order to charge the enemy before they could be formed on the plain. Had this step been taken when it was first suggested to Mr. Dury, before the French were disengaged from the hollow way, perhaps it might have so far succeeded as to disconcert and throw them into confusion; but by this time they had extended themselves into a very formidable front, and no hope remained of being able to withstand such a superior number. Instead of attempting to fight against such odds in an open field of battle, they might have retreated along the beach to a rock on the left, in which progress their right flank would have been secured by the in-trenchment; and the enemy could not have pursued them along the shore, without being exposed to such a fire from the shipping, as in all probability they could not have sustained. This scheme was likewise proposed to Mr. Dury; but he seemed to be actuated by a spirit of infatuation. The English line being drawn up in uneven ground, began the action with an irregular fire from right to left, which the enemy returned; but their usual fortitude and resolution seemed to forsake them on this occasion. They saw themselves in danger of being surrounded and cut in pieces; their officers dropped on every side; and all hope of retreat was now intercepted. In this cruel dilemma, their spirits failed; they were seized with a panic; they faultered, they broke; and in less than five minutes after the engagement began, they fled in the utmost confusion, pursued by the enemy, who no sooner saw them give way than they fell in among them with their bayonets fixed, and made a great carnage. General Dury being dangerously wounded, ran into the sea, where he perished; and this was the fate of a great number, officers as well as soldiers. Many swam towards the boats and vessels, which were ordered to give them all manner of assistance; but by far the greater number were either butchered on the beach, or drowned in the water: a small body, however, instead of throwing themselves into the sea, retired to the rock on the left, where they made a stand, until they had exhausted their ammunition, and then surrendered at discretion The havock was moreover increased by the shot and shells discharged from the battery which the enemy had raised on the hill. The slaughter would not have been so great, had not the French soldiers been exasperated by the fire from the frigates, which was still maintained even after the English troops were routed; but this was no sooner silenced by a signal from the commodore, than the enemy exhibited a noble example of moderation and humanity, in granting immediate quarter and protection to the vanquished. About one thousand chosen men of the English army were killed and taken prisoners on this occasion: nor was the advantage cheaply purchased by the French troops, among whom the shot and shells from the frigates and ketches had done great execution. The clemency of the victors was the more remarkable, as the British troops in this expedition had been shamefully guilty of marauding, pillaging, burning, and other excesses. War is so dreadful in itself, and so severe in its consequences, that the exercise of generosity and compassion, by which its horrors are mitigated, ought ever to be applauded, encouraged, and imitated. We ought also to use our best endeavours to deserve this treatment at the hands of a civilised enemy. Let us be humane in our turn to those whom the fate of war has subjected to our power: let us, in prosecuting our military operations, maintain the most rigid discipline among the troops, and religiously abstain from all acts of violence and oppression. Thus a laudable emulation will undoubtedly ensue, and the powers at war vie with each other in humanity and politeness. In other respects the commander of an invading armament will always find his account in being well with the common people of the country in which the descent is made. By civil treatment and seasonable gratifications, they will be encouraged to bring into the camp regular supplies of provision and refreshment; they will mingle with the soldiers, and even form friendships among them; serve as guides, messengers, and interpreters; let out their cattle for hire as draft-horses; work with their own persons as day-labourers; discover proper fords, bridges, roads, passes, and defiles; and, if artfully managed, communicate many useful hints of intelligence. If great care and circumspection be not exerted in maintaining discipline, and bridling the licentious dispositions of the soldiers, such invasions will be productive of nothing but miscarriage and disgrace: for this at best is but a piratical way of carrying on war; and the troops engaged in it are, in some measure, debauched by the nature of the service. They are crowded together in transports, where the minute particulars of military order cannot be observed, even though the good of the service greatly depends upon a due observance of these forms. The soldiers grow negligent, and inattentive to cleanness and the exterior ornaments of dress: they become slovenly, slothful, and altogether unfit for a return of duty: they are tumbled about occasionally in ships and boats, landed and re-embarked in a tumultuous manner, under a divided and disorderly command: they are accustomed to retire at the first report of an approaching enemy, and to take shelter on another element; nay, their small pillaging parties are often obliged to fly before unarmed peasants. Their duty on such occasions is the most unmanly part of a soldier's office; namely, to ruin, ravage, and destroy. They soon yield to the temptation of pillage, and are habituated to rapine: they give loose to intemperance, riot, and intoxication; commit a thousand excesses; and, when the enemy appears, run on board the ships with their booty. Thus the dignity of the service is debased; they lose all sense of honour and of shame; they are no longer restricted by military laws, nor overawed by the authority of officers; in a word, they degenerate into a species of lawless buccaneers. From such a total relaxation of morals and discipline, what can ensue but riot, confusion, dishonour, and defeat? All the advantage that can be expected from these sudden starts of invasion, will scarce overbalance the evils we have mentioned, together with the extraordinary expense of equipping armaments of this nature. True it is, these descents oblige the French king to employ a considerable number of his troops for the defence of his maritime places: they serve to ruin the trade of his subjects, protect the navigation of Great Britain, and secure its coast from invasion; but these purposes might be as effectually answered, at a much smaller expense, by the shipping alone. Should it be judged expedient, however, to prosecute this desultory kind of war, the commanders employed in it will do well to consider, that a descent ought never to be hazarded in an enemy's country, without having taken proper precautions to secure a retreat; that the severest discipline ought to be preserved during all the operations of the campaign; that a general ought never to disembark but upon a well-concerted plan, nor commence his military transactions without some immediate point or object in view; that a re-embarkation ought never to be attempted, except from a clear open beach, where the approaches of an enemy may be seen, and the troops covered by the fire of their shipping. Those who presume to reflect upon the particulars of this last expedition, owned themselves at a loss to account for the conduct of the general, in remaining on shore after the design upon St. Maloes was laid aside; in penetrating so far into the country without any visible object; neglecting the repeated intelligence which he received; communicating, by beat of drum, his midnight motions to an enemy of double his force; loitering near seven hours in a march of three miles; and, lastly, attempting the re-embarkation of the troops at a place where no proper measures had been taken for their cover and defence. After the action of St. Cas, some civilities, by message, passed between the duke d'Aiguillon and the English commanders, who were favoured with a list of the prisoners, including four sea captains; and assured that the wounded should receive all possible comfort and assistance. These matters being adjusted, commodore Howe returned with the fleet to Spithead, and the soldiers were disembarked.

The success of the attempt upon Cherbourg had elevated the people to a degree of childish triumph; and the government thought proper to indulge this petulant spirit of exultation, by exposing twenty-one pieces of French cannon in Hyde-park, from whence they were drawn in procession to the Tower, amidst the acclamations of the populace. From this pinnacle of elation and pride they were precipitated to the abyss of despondence or dejection, by the account of the miscarriage at St. Cas, which buoyed up the spirits of the French in the same proportion. The people of that nation began to stand in need of some such cordial after the losses they had sustained, and the ministry of Versailles did not fail to make the most of this advantage: they published a pompous narrative of the battle of St. Cas, and magnified into a mighty victory the puny check which they had given to the rear-guard of an inconsiderable detachment. The people received it with implicit belief, because it was agreeable to their passions, and congratulated themselves upon their success in hyperboles, dictated by that vivacity so peculiar to the French nation. Indeed, these are artifices which the ministers of every nation find it necessary to use at certain conjunctures, in governing the turbulent and capricious multitude. After the misfortune at St. Cas, nothing further was attempted by that armament; nor was any enterprise of importance achieved by the British ships in Europe during the course of this summer. The cruisers, however, still continued active and alert. Captain Hervey, in the ship Monmouth, destroyed a French ship of forty guns in the island of Malta; an exploit of which the Maltese loudly complained, as a violation of their neutrality. About twenty sail of small French vessels were driven ashore on the rocks of Bretagne, by some cruisers belonging to the fleet commanded by lord Anson, after a smart engagement with two frigates, under whose convoy they sailed. In the month of November, the Belliqueux, a French ship of war mounted with sixty-four guns, having by mistake run up St. George's channel, and anchored in Lundy-road, captain Saumarez of the Antelope, then lying in King-road, immediately weighed and went in quest of her, according to the advice he had received. When he appeared, the French captain heaved up his anchor, and made a show of preparing for an engagement; but soon hauled down his colours, and, without firing a shot, surrendered, with a complement of four hundred and seventeen men, to a ship of inferior force both in number of hands and weight of metal. By this time the English privateers swarmed to such a degree in the channel, that scarce a French vessel durst quit the harbour, and consequently there was little or no booty to be obtained. In this dearth of legal prizes, some of the adventurers were tempted to commit acts of piracy, and actually rifled the ships of neutral nations. A Dutch vessel, having on board the baggage and domestics belonging to the marquis de Pignatelli, ambassador from the court of Spain to the king of Denmark, was boarded three times successively by the crews of three different privateers, who forced the hatches, rummaged the hold, broke open and rifled the trunks and boxes of the ambassador, insulted and even cruelly bruised his officers, stripped his domestics, and carried off his effects, together with letters of credit, and a bill of exchange. Complaints of these outrages being made to the court of London, the lords of the admiralty promised, in the gazette, a reward of five hundred pounds, without deduction, to any person who should discover the offenders concerned in these acts of piracy. Some of them were detected accordingly, and brought to condign punishment.



CLAMOURS OF THE DUTCH MERCHANTS, &c.

The Dutch had for some time carried on a very considerable traffic, not only in taking the fair advantages of their neutrality, but also in supplying the French with naval stores, and transporting the produce of the French sugar-colonies to Europe, as carriers hired by the proprietors. The English government, incensed at this unfair commerce, prosecuted with such flagrant partiality for their enemies, issued orders for the cruisers to arrest all ships of neutral powers that should have French property on board; and these orders were executed with rigour and severity. A great number of Dutch ships were taken and condemned as legal prizes, both in England and Jamaica: sometimes the owners met with hard measures, and some crews were treated with insolence and barbarity. The subjects of the United Provinces raised a loud clamour against the English, for having, by these captures, violated the law of nations and the particular treaty of commerce subsisting between Great Britain and the republic. Remonstrances were made to the English ministry, who expostulated, in their turn, with the deputies of the states-general; and the two nations were inflamed against each other with the most bitter animosity. The British resident at the Hague, in a conference with the states, represented that the king his master could not hope to see peace speedily re-established, if the neutral princes should assume a right of carrying on the trade of his enemies; that he expected, from their known justice, and the alliance by which they were so nearly connected with his subjects, they would honestly abandon this fraudulent commerce, and agree that naval stores should be comprehended in the class of contraband commodities. He answered some articles of the complaints they had made with an appearance of candour and moderation; declared his majesty's abhorrence of the violences which had been committed upon the subjects of the United Provinces; explained the steps which had been taken by the English government to bring the offenders to justice, as well as to prevent such outrages for the future; and assured them that his Britannic majesty had nothing more at heart, than to renew and maintain, in full force, the mutual confidence and friendship by which the maritime powers of England and Holland had been so long united.

These professions of esteem and affection were not sufficient to quiet the minds and appease the resentment of the Dutch merchants; and the French party, which was both numerous and powerful, employed all their art and influence to exasperate their passions, and widen the breach between the two nations. The court of Versailles did not fail to seize this opportunity of insinuation: while, on one hand, their ministers and emissaries in Holland exaggerated the indignities and injuries which the states had sustained from the insolence and rapacity of the English; they, on the other hand, flattered and cajoled them with little advantages in trade, and formal professions of respect.—Such was the memorial delivered by the count d'Affry, intimating that the empress-queen being under an absolute necessity of employing all her forces to defend her hereditary dominions in Germany, she had been obliged to withdraw her troops from Ostend and Nieuport, and applied to the French king, as her ally nearest at hand, to garrison these two places; which, however, should be restored at the peace, or sooner, should her imperial majesty think proper. The spirit of the Dutch merchants, at this juncture, and their sentiments with respect to England, appeared with very high colouring in a memorial to the states-general, subscribed by two hundred and sixty-nine traders, composed and presented with equal secrecy and circumspection. In this famous remonstrance they complained, that the violences and unjust depredations committed by the English ships of war and privateers, on the vessels and effects of them and their fellow-subjects, were not only continued, but daily multiplied; and cruelty and excess carried to such a pitch of wanton barbarity, that the petitioners were forced to implore the assistance of their high mightinesses to protect, in the most efficacious manner, the commerce and navigation, which were the two sinews of the republic. For this necessary purpose they offered to contribute each his contingent, and to arm at their own charge; and other propositions were made for an immediate augmentation of the marine. While this party industriously exerted all their power and credit to effect a rupture with England, the princess-gouvernante employed all her interest and address to divert them from this object, and alarm them with respect to the power and designs of France; against which she earnestly exhorted them to augment their military forces by land, that they might be prepared to defend themselves against all invasion. At the same time she spared no pains to adjust the differences between her husband's country and her father's kingdom; and without doubt, her healing councils were of great efficacy in preventing matters from coming to a very dangerous extremity.



CHAPTER XV.

Expedition against Senegal..... Fort Louis and Senegal taken..... Unsuccessful attempt upon Goree..... Expedition to Cape Breton..... Louisbourg taken..... and St. John's..... Unsuccessful attempt upon Ticonderoga..... Fort Frontenac taken and destroyed by the English..... Brigadier Forbes takes Fort du Quesne..... Goree taken..... Shipwreck of Captain Barton..... Gallant Exploit of Captain Tyrrell..... Transactions in the East Indies..... Admiral Pococke engages the French Fleet..... Fort St. David's taken by the French..... Second Engagement between Admiral Pococke and M. d'Apehe..... Progress of M. Lally..... Transactions on the Continent of Europe..... King of Prussia raises Contributions in Saxony and the Dominions of the Duke of Wirtemberg..... State of the Armies on the Continent..... The French King changes the Administration of Hanover..... Plan of a Treaty between the French King and the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel..... Treaty between the French King and the Duke of Brunswick..... Decree of the Aulic Council against the Elector of Hanover and others..... Bremen taken by the Duke de Broglio, and retaken by Prince Ferdinand..... Duke de Richelieu recalled..... Generous Conduct of the Duke de Randan..... The French abandon Hanover..... Prince of Brunswick reduces Hoya and Minden..... Prince Ferdinand defeats the French at Creveldt, and takes Dusseldorp..... Prince of Ysembourg defeated by the Duke de Broglio..... General Imhoff defeats M. de Chevert..... General Oberg defeated by the French at Landwernhagen..... Death of the Duke of Marlborough..... Operations of the King of Prussia at the beginning of the Campaign..... He enters Moravia, and invests Olmutz..... He is obliged to raise the Siege, and retires into Bohemia, where he takes Koningsgratz..... Progress of the Russians..... King of Prussia defeats the Russians at Zorndorf..... and is defeated by the Austrians at Hoch-kirchin..... He retires to Silesia..... Suburbs of Dresden burned by the Prussian Governor..... The King of Prussia raises the Siege of Neiss, and relieves Dresden..... Inhabitants of Saxony grievously oppressed..... Progress of the Swedes in Pomerania..... Prince Charles of Saxony elected Duke of Courland..... The King of England's Memorial to the Diet of the Empire..... Death of Pope Benedict..... The King of Portugal assassinated..... Proceedings of the French Ministry..... Conduct of the King of Denmark..... Answers to the Charges brought by the Dutch against the English Cruisers..... Conferences between the British Ambassador and the States-general..... Further Proceedings



EXPEDITION AGAINST SENEGAL.

The whole strength of Great Britain, during this campaign, was not exhausted in petty descents upon the coast of France. The continent of America was the great theatre on which her chief vigour was displayed; nor did she fail to exert herself in successful efforts against the French settlements on the coast of Africa. The whole gum trade, from Cape Blanco to the river Gambia, an extent of five hundred miles, had been engrossed by the French, who built Fort Louis within the mouth of the Senegal, extending their factories near three hundred leagues up that river, and on the same coast had fortified the island of Goree, in which they maintained a considerable garrison. The gum senega, of which a great quantity is used by the manufacturers of England, being wholly in the hands of the enemy, the English dealers were obliged to buy it at second-hand from the Dutch, who purchased it of the French, and exacted an exorbitant price for that commodity. This consideration forwarded the plan for annexing the country to the possession of Great Britain. The project was first conceived by Mr. Thomas Gumming, a sensible quaker, who, as a private merchant, had made a voyage to Portenderrick, an adjoining part of the coast, and contracted a personal acquaintance with Amir, the moorish king of Legibelli.*

* The name the natives give to that part of South Barbary, known to merchants and navigators by that of the Gum Coast, and called in maps, the Sandy Desert of Sara, and sometimes Zaia.

He found this African prince extremely well disposed towards the subjects of Great Britain, whom he publicly preferred to all other Europeans, and so exasperated against the French, that he declared he should never be easy till they were exterminated from the river Senegal. At that very time he had commenced hostilities against them, and earnestly desired that the king of England would send out an armament to reduce Fort Louis and Goree, with some ships of force to protect the traders. In that case, he promised to join his Britannic majesty's forces, and grant an exclusive trade to his subjects. Mr. Gumming not only perceived the advantages that would result from such an exclusive privilege with regard to the gum, but foresaw many other important consequences of an extensive trade in a country, which, over and above the gum senega, contains many valuable articles, such as gold dust, elephants' teeth, hides, cotton, bees' wax, slaves, ostrich feathers, indigo, ambergris, and civet. Elevated with a prospect of an acquisition so valuable to his country, this honest quaker was equally minute and indefatigable in his inquiries touching the commerce of the coast, as well as the strength and situation of the French settlements on the river Senegal; and, at his return to England, actually formed the plan of an expedition for the conquest of Fort Louis. This was presented to the board of trade, by whom it was approved, after a severe examination; but it required the patriotic zeal, and invincible perseverance of Cumming, to surmount a variety of obstacles before it was adopted by the ministry; and even then it was not executed in its full extent. He was abridged of one large ship, and in lieu of six hundred land-forces, to be drafted from different regiments, which he in vain demanded, first from the duke of Cumberland, and afterwards from lord Ligonier, the lords of the admiralty allotted two hundred marines only for this service. After repeated solicitation, he, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven, obtained an order, that the two annual ships bound to the coast of Guinea should be joined by a sloop and two busses, and make an attempt upon the French settlement in the river Senegal. These ships, however, were detained by contrary winds until the season was too far advanced to admit a probability of success, and therefore the design was postponed. In the beginning of the present year, Mr. Cumming being reinforced with the interest of a considerable merchant in the city, to whom he had communicated the plan, renewed his application to the ministry, and they resolved to hazard the enterprise. A small squadron was equipped for this expedition, under the command of captain Marsh, having on board a body of marines, commanded by major Mason, with a detachment of artillery, ten pieces of cannon, eight mortars, and a considerable quantity of warlike stores and ammunition. Captain Walker was appointed engineer; and Mr. Cumming was concerned as a principal director and promoter of the expedition.*

* On this occasion Mr. Cumming may seem to have acted directly-contrary to the tenets of his religious profession; hut he ever declared to the ministry, that he was fully persuaded his schemes might be accomplished without the effusion of human blood; and that if he thought otherwise, he would by no means have concerned himself about them. He also desired, let the consequence be what it might, his brethren should not be chargeable with what was his own single act. If it was the first military scheme of any quaker, let it be remembered it was also the first successful expedition of this war, and one of the first that ever was carried on according to the pacific system of the quakers, without the loss of a drop of blood on either side.

This little armament sailed in the beginning of March; and in their passage touched at the island of Teneriffe, where, while the ships supplied themselves with wine and water, Mr. Cumming proceeded in the Swan sloop to Portenderrick, being charged with a letter of credence to his old friend the king of that country, who had favoured him in his last visit with an exclusive trade on that coast, by a former charter, written in the Arabic language. This prince was now up the country, engaged in a war with his neighbours, called the Diable Moors;* and the queen-dowager, who remained at Portenderrick, gave Mr. Cumming to understand, that she could not at present spare any troops to join the English in their expedition against Senegal; but she assured him, that, should the French be exterminated, she and their subjects would go thither and settle.

* This is the name by which the subjects of Legibelli distinguish those of Brackna, who inhabit the country farther up the river Senegal, and are in constant alliance with tha French.

In the meantime, one of the chiefs, called prince Amir, despatched a messenger to the king, with advice of their arrival and design. He declared that he would, with all possible diligence, assemble three hundred warriors to join the English troops, and that, in his opinion, the king would reinforce them with a detachment from his army. By this time, captain Marsh, with the rest of the armament, had arrived at Portenderrick, and fearing that the enemy might receive intimation of his design, resolved to proceed on the expedition without waiting for the promised auxiliaries. On the twenty-second clay of April he weighed anchor, and next day, at four o'clock, discovered the French flag flying upon Fort Louis, situated in the midst of a pretty considerable town, which exhibited a very agreeable appearance. The commodore having made prize of a Dutch ship, richly laden with gum, which lay at anchor without the bar, came to anchor in Senegal-road at the mouth of the river; and here he perceived several armed sloops which the enemy had detached to defend the passage of the bar, which is extremely dangerous. All the boats were employed in conveying the stores into the small craft, while three of the sloops continued exchanging fire over a narrow tongue of land with the vessels of the enemy, consisting of one brig and six armed sloops, mounted with great guns and swivels. At length the channel being discovered, and the wind, which generally blows down the river, chopping about, captain Millar, of the London buss, seized that opportunity; and, passing the bar with a flowing sheet, dropped anchor on the inside, where he lay till night exposed to the whole fire of the enemy. Next day he was joined by the other small vessels, and a regular engagement ensued. This was warmly maintained on both sides, until the busses and one dogger running aground, immediately bulged, and were filled with water. Then the troops they contained took to their boats, and with some difficulty reached the shore; when they formed in a body, and were soon joined by their companions from the other vessels; so that now the whole amounted to three hundred and ninety marines, besides the detachment of artillery. As they laid their account with being attacked by the natives who lined the shore at some distance, seemingly determined to oppose the descent, they forthwith threw up an intrench-ment, and began to disembark the stores, great part of which lay under water. While they were employed in raising this occasional defence, the negroes came in great numbers and submitted; and on the succeeding day they were reinforced by three hundred and fifty seamen, who passed the bar in sloops, with their ensigns and colours flying.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}



FORT LOUIS AND SENEGAL TAKEN.

They had made no further progress in their operations, when two French deputies arrived at the intrench-ment, with proposals for a capitulation from the governor of Fort Louis. After some hesitation, captain Marsh and major Mason agreed, that all the white people belonging to the French company at Senegal should be safely conducted to France in an English vessel, without being deprived of their private effects, provided all the merchandise and uncoined treasure should be delivered up to the victors; and that all the forts, store-houses, vessels, arms, provisions, and every article belonging to the company in that river, should be put into the hands of the English immediately after the capitulation could be signed. They promised that the free natives living at Fort Louis should remain in quiet possession of their effects, and in the free exercise of their religion; and that all negroes, mulattoes, and others, who could prove themselves free, should have it in their option either to remain in the place, or remove to any other part of the country.*

* The victors, however, committed a very great mistake in allowing them to carry off their books and accounts, the perusal of which would have been of infinite service to the English merchants, by informing them of the commodities, their value, the proper seasons, and methods of prosecuting the trade.

The captains Campbell and Walker were immediately sent up the river with a flag of truce, to see the articles signed and executed; but they were so retarded by the rapidity of the stream, that they did not approach the fort till three in the morning. As soon as the day broke they hoisted their flag, and rowed up towards a battery on a point of the island, where they lay upon their oars very near a full hour, beating the chamade; but no notice was taken of their approach. This reserve appearing mysterious, they retired down the river to their in-trenchment, where they understood that the negroes on the island were in arms, and had blocked up the French in Fort Louis, resolving to defend the place to the last extremity, unless they should be included in the capitulation. This intelligence was communicated in a second letter from the governor, who likewise informed the English commander, that unless the French director-general should be permitted to remain with the natives, as a surety for that article of the capitulation in which they were concerned, they would allow themselves to be cut in pieces rather than submit. This request being granted, the English forces began their march to Fort Louis, accompanied by a number of long boats, in which the artillery and stores had been embarked. The French seeing them advance, immediately struck their flag; and major Mason took possession of the castle, where he found ninety-two pieces of cannon, with treasure and merchandise to a considerable value. The corporation and burghers of the town of Senegal submitted, and swore allegiance to his Britannic majesty: the neighbouring princes, attended by numerous retinues, visited the commander, and concluded treaties with the English nation; and the king of Portenderrick, or Legibelli, sent an ambassador from his camp to major Mason, with presents, compliments of congratulation, and assurances of friendship. The number of free independent negroes and mulattoes, settled at Senegal, amounted to three thousand; and many of these enjoyed slaves and possessions of their own. The two French factories of Podore and Galam, the latter situated nine hundred miles farther up the river, were included in the capitulation; so that Great Britain, almost without striking a blow, found herself possessed of a conquest, from which, with proper management, she may derive inconceivable riches. This important acquisition was in a great measure, if not entirely, owing to the sagacity, zeal, and indefatigable efforts of Mr. Cumming, who not only formed the plan, and solicited the armament, but also attended the execution of it in person, at the hazard of his life, and to the interruption of his private concerns.

Fort Louis being secured with an English garrison, and some armed vessels left to guard the passage of the bar, at the mouth of the river, the great ships proceeded to make an attempt upon the island of Goree, which lies at the distance of thirty leagues from Senegal. There the French company had considerable magazines and warehouses, and lodged the negro slaves until they could be shipped for the West Indies. If the additional force which Mr. Cumming proposed for the conquest of this island had been added to the armament, in all probability the island would have been reduced, and in that case the nation would have saved the considerable expense of a subsequent expedition against it, under the conduct of commodore Keppel. At present, the ships by which Goree was attacked were found unequal to the attempt, and the expedition miscarried accordingly, though the miscarriage was attended with little or no damage to the assailants.



EXPEDITION TO CAPE-BRETON.

Scenes of still greater importance were acted in North America, where, exclusive of the fleet and marines, the government had assembled about fifty thousand men, including two-and-twenty thousand regular troops. The earl of Loudoun having returned to England, the chief command in America devolved on major-general Abercrombie; but as the objects of operation were various, the forces were divided into three detached bodies, under as many different commanders. About twelve thousand were destined to undertake the siege of Louisbourg, on the island of Cape-Breton. The general himself reserved near sixteen thousand for the reduction of Crown-Point, a fort situated on lake Champlain; eight thousand under the conduct of brigadier-general Forbes, were allotted for the conquest of Fort du Quesne, which stood a great way to the southward, near the river Ohio; and a considerable garrison was left at Annapolis, in Nova-Scotia. The reduction of Louisbourg and the island of Cape-Breton being an object of immediate consideration, was undertaken with all possible despatch. Major-general Amherst being joined by admiral Boscawen with the fleet and forces from England, the whole armament, consisting of one hundred and fifty-seven sail, took their departure from the harbour of Halifax, in Nova-Scotia, on the twenty-eighth of May; and on the second of June part of the transports anchored in the bay of Gabarus, about seven miles to the westward of Louisbourg. The garrison of this place, commanded by the chevalier Dru-cour, consisted of two thousand five hundred regular troops, three hundred militia, formed of the burghers, and towards the end of the siege they were reinforced by three hundred and fifty Canadians, including threescore Indians. The harbour was secured by six ships of the line, and five frigates,* three of which the enemy sunk across the harbour's mouth, in order to render it inaccessible to the English shipping.

* The Prudent, of seventy-four guns; the Entreprenant, of seventy-four guns; the Capricieux, Celebre, and Bienfaisant, of sixty-four guns each; the Apollo, of fifty guns; the Cheyre, Riche, Fidelle, Diana, and Echo, frigates.

The fortifications were in bad repair, many parts of them crumbling down the covered way, and several bastions exposed in such a manner as to be enfiladed by the besiegers, and no part of the town secure from the effects of cannonading and bombardment. The governor had taken all the precautions in his power to prevent a landing, by establishing a chain of posts, that extended two leagues and a half along the most inaccessible part of the beach; intrench-ments were thrown up, and batteries erected; but there were some intermediate places, which could not be properly secured, and in one of these the English troops were disembarked. The disposition being made for landing, a detachment, in several sloops under convoy, passed by the mouth of the harbour towards Lorembec, in order to draw the enemy's attention that way, while the landing should really be effected on the other side of the town. On the eighth day of June, the troops being assembled in the boats before day-break, in three divisions, several sloops and frigates, that were stationed along shore in the bay of Gabarus, began to scour the beach with their shot; and after the fire had continued about a quarter of an hour, the boats, containing the division on the left, were rowed toward the shore, under the command of brigadier-general Wolfe, an accomplished officer, who, in the sequel, displayed very extraordinary proofs of military genius. At the same time the two other divisions, on the right and in the centre, commanded by the brigadiers Whitmore and Laurence, made a show of landing, in order to divide and distract the enemy. Notwithstanding an impetuous surf, by which many boats were overset, and a very severe fire of cannon and musketry from the enemy's batteries, which did considerable execution, brigadier Wolfe pursued his point with admirable courage and deliberation. The soldiers leaped into the water with the most eager alacrity, and, gaining the shore, attacked the enemy in such a manner, that in a few minutes they abandoned their works and artillery, and fled in the utmost confusion. The other divisions landed also, but not without an obstinate opposition; and the stores, with the artillery, being brought on shore, the town of Louisbourg was formally invested. The difficulty of landing stores and implements in boisterous weather, and the nature of the ground, which being marshy, was unfit for the conveyance of heavy cannon, retarded the operations of the siege. Mr. Amherst made his approaches with great circumspection, securing his camp with redoubts and epaulements from any attacks of Canadians, of which he imagined there was a considerable body behind him on the island, as well as from the fire of the French shipping in the harbour which would otherwise have annoyed him extremely in his advances.



LOUISBOURG TAKEN.

The governor of Louisbourg having destroyed the grand battery, which was detached from the body of the place, and recalled his out-posts, prepared for making a vigorous defence. A very severe fire, well directed, was maintained against the besiegers and their works, from the town, the island battery, and the ships in the harbour; and divers sallies were made, though without much effect. In the meantime brigadier Wolfe, with a strong detachment, had marched round the north-east part of the harbour, and taken possession of the Lighthouse-point, where he erected several batteries against the ships and the island fortification, which last was soon silenced. On the nineteenth day of June, the Echo, a French frigate, was taken by the English cruisers, after having escaped from the harbour. From the officers on board of this ship the admiral learned that the Bizarre, another frigate, had sailed from thence on the day of the disembarkation, and the Comete had successfully followed her example. Besides the regular approaches to the town, conducted by the engineers under the immediate command and inspection of general Amherst, divers batteries were raised by the detached corps under brigadier Wolfe, who exerted himself with amazing activity, and grievously incommoded the enemy, both of the town and shipping. On the twenty-first day of July the three great ships, the Entreprenant, Capricieux, and Celebre, were set on fire by a bomb-shell, and burned to ashes, so that none remained but the Prudent and Bienfaisant, which the admiral undertook to destroy. For this purpose, in the night between the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth days of the month, the boats of the squadron were in two divisions detached into the harbour, under the command of two young captains, Laforey and Balfour. They accordingly penetrated in the dark through a terrible fire of cannon and musketry, and boarded the enemy sword in hand. The Prudent, being aground, was set on fire and destroyed, but the Bienfaisant was towed out of the harbour in triumph. In the prosecution of the siege, the admiral and general co-operated with remarkable harmony; the former cheerfully assisting the latter with cannon and other implements; with detachments of marines to maintain posts on shore, with parties of seamen to act as pioneers, and concur in working the guns and mortars. The fire of the town was managed with equal skill and activity, and kept up with great perseverance; until, at length, their shipping being all taken and destroyed, the caserns ruined in two principal bastions,* forty out of fifty-two pieces of cannon dismounted, broke, or rendered unserviceable, and divers practicable breaches effected, the governor, in a letter to Mr. Amherst, proposed a capitulation on the same articles that were granted to the English at Port-Mahon.

* It may not be amiss to observe, that a cavalier, which admiral Knowles had built at an enormous expense to the nation, while Louisbourg remained in the hands of the English in the last war, was, in the course of this siege, entirely demolished by two or three shots from one of the British batteries; so admirably had this piece of fortification been contrived and executed, under the eye of that profound engineer.

In answer to this proposal he was given to understand, that he and his garrison must surrender themselves prisoners of war, otherwise he might next morning expect a general assault by the shipping under admiral Boscawen. The chevalier Dru-cour, piqued at the severity of these terms, replied, that he would, rather than comply with them, stand an assault; but the commissary-general, and intendant of the colony, presented a petition from the traders and inhabitants of the place, in consequence of which he submitted. On the twenty-seventh day of July, three companies of grenadiers, commanded by major Farquhar, took possession of the western gate; and brigadier Whitmore was detached into the town, to see the garrison lay down their arms, and deliver up their colours on the esplanade, and to post the necessary guards on the stores, magazines, and ramparts. Thus, at the expense of about four hundred men killed and wounded, the English obtained possession of the important island of Cape-Breton, and the strong town of Louisbourg, in which the victors found two hundred and twenty-one pieces of cannon, with eighteen mortars, and a considerable quantity of stores and ammunition. The merchants and inhabitants were sent to France in English bottoms; but the garrison, together with the sea-officers, marines, and mariners, amounting in all to five thousand six hundred and thirty-seven prisoners, were transported to England. The loss of Louisbourg was the more severely felt by the French king, as it had been attended by the destruction of so many considerable ships and frigates. The particulars of this transaction were immediately brought to England in a vessel despatched for that purpose, with captain Amherst, brother to the commander, who was also intrusted with eleven pair of colours taken at Louisbourg; these were, by his majesty's order, carried in pompous parade, escorted by detachments of horse and foot-guards, with kettle-drums and trumpets, from the palace of Kensington to St. Paul's cathedral, where they were deposited as trophies, under a discharge of cannon, and other noisy expressions of triumph and exultation. Indeed, the public rejoicings for the conquest of Louisbourg were diffused through every part of the British dominions, and addresses of congratulation were presented to the king, by a great number of flourishing towns and corporations.

After the reduction of Cape-Breton, some ships were detached, with a body of troops under the command of lieutenant-colonel lord Rollo, to take possession of the island of St. John, which also lies in the gulf of St. Laurence, and by its fertility in corn and cattle, had, since the beginning of the war, supplied Quebec with considerable quantities of provisions. It was likewise the asylum to which the French neutrals of Annapolis fled for shelter from the English government; and the retreat from whence they and the Indians used to make their sudden irruptions into Nova-Scotia, where they perpetrated the most inhuman barbarities on the defenceless subjects of Great Britain. The number of inhabitants amounted to four thousand one hundred, who submitted and brought in their arms; then lord Rollo took possession of the governor's quarters, where he found several scalps of Englishmen, whom the savages had assassinated, in consequence of the encouragement they received from their French patrons and allies, who gratified them with a certain premium for every scalp they produced. The island was stocked with above ten thousand head of black cattle, and some of the farmers raised each twelve hundred bushels of corn annually for the market of Quebec.



ATTEMPT UPON TICONDEROGA.

The joy and satisfaction arising from the conquest of Louisbourg and St. John, was not a little checked by the disaster which befel the main body of the British forces in America, under the immediate conduct of general Abercrombie, who, as we have already observed, had proposed the reduction of the French forts on the lakes George and Champlain, as the chief objects of his enterprise, with a view to secure the frontier of the British colonies, and open a passage for the future conquest of Canada. In the beginning of July his forces, amounting to near seven thousand regular troops, and ten thousand provincials, embarked on the lake George, in the neighbourhood of lake Champlain, on board of nine hundred batteaux, and one hundred and thirty-five whale-boats, with provisions, artillery, and ammunition; several pieces of cannon being mounted on rafts to cover the purposed landing, which was next day effected without opposition. The general's design was to invest: Ticonderoga, a fort situated on a tongue of land, extending between lake George and a narrow gut that communicates with lake Champlain. This fortification was on three sides surrounded with water, and in front nature had secured it with a morass. The English troops being disembarked, were immediately formed into three columns, and began their march to the enemy's advanced post, consisting of one battalion, encamped behind a breast-work of logs, which they now abandoned with precipitation, after having set them on fire, and burned their tents and implements. The British forces continued their march in the same order; but the route lying through a thick wood that did not admit of any regular progression or passage, and the guides proving extremely ignorant, the troops were bewildered, and the columns broken by falling in one upon another. Lord Howe being advanced at the head of the right centre column, encountered a French detachment who had likewise lost their way in the retreat from the advanced post, and a warm skirmish ensuing, the enemy were routed with considerable loss, a good number were killed, and one hundred and forty-eight were taken prisoners, including five officers. This petty advantage was dearly bought with the loss of lord Howe, who fell in the beginning of the action, unspeakably regretted as a young nobleman of the most promising talents, who had distinguished himself in a peculiar manner by his courage, activity, and rigid observation of military discipline, and had acquired the esteem and affection of the soldiery by his generosity, sweetness of manners, and engaging address. The general perceiving the troops were greatly fatigued and disordered, from want of rest and refreshment, thought it advisable to march back to the landing-place, which they reached about eight in the morning. Then he detached lieutenant-colonel Bradstreet, with one regular regiment, six companies of the Royal Americans, with the batteaux-men, and a body of rangers, to take possession of a saw-mill in the neighbourhood of Ticonderoga, which the enemy had abandoned. This post being secured, the general advanced again towards Ticonderoga, where, he understood from the prisoners, the enemy had assembled eight battalions, with a body of Canadians and Indians, amounting in all to six thousand. These, they said, being encamped before the fort, were employed in making a formidable intrenchment, where they intended to wait for a reinforcement of three thousand men, who had been detached under the command of M. de Levi, to make a diversion on the side of the Mohawk river;* but, upon intelligence of Mr. Abercrombie's approach, were now recalled for the defence of Ticonderoga.

* This officer intended to have made an irruption through the pass of Oneida on the Mohawk river, but was recalled before he could execute his design. General Abercrombie afterwards sent thither brigadier Stanwix, with a considerable body of provincials, and this important pass was secured by a fort built at that juncture.

This information determined the English general to strike, if possible, some decisive stroke before the junction could be effected. He therefore, early next morning, sent his engineer across the river on the opposite side of the fort, to reconnoitre the enemy's intrenchments; and he reported that the works being still unfinished, might be attempted with a good prospect of success. A disposition was made accordingly for the attack, and, after proper guards had been left at the saw-mill and the landing-place, the whole army was put in motion. They advanced with great alacrity towards the intrenchment, which, however, they found altogether impracticable. The breastwork was raised eight feet high, and the ground before it covered with an abbatis, of felled trees, with their boughs pointing outwards, and projecting in such a manner as to render the intrenchment almost inaccessible. Notwithstanding these discouraging difficulties, the British troops marched up to the assault with an undaunted resolution, and sustained a terrible fire without flinching. They endeavoured to cut their way through these embarrassments with their swords, and some of them even mounted the parapet; but the enemy were so well covered, that they could deliberately direct their fire without the least danger to themselves: the carnage was therefore considerable, and the troops began to fall into confusion, after several repeated attacks, which lasted above four hours, under the most disadvantageous circumstances. The general, by this time, saw plainly that no hope of success remained; and, in order to prevent a total defeat, took measures for the retreat of the army, which retired unmolested to their former camp, with the loss of about eighteen hundred men killed or wounded, including a great number of officers. Every corps of regular troops behaved, on this unfortunate occasion, with remarkable intrepidity; but the greatest loss was sustained by lord John Murray's Highland regiment, of which above one half of the private men, and twenty-five officers, were either slain upon the spot, or desperately wounded. Mr. Abercrombie, unwilling to stay in the neighbourhood of the enemy with forces which had received such a dispiriting check, retired to his batteaux, and re-embarking the troops, returned to the camp at lake George, from whence he had taken his departure. Censure, which always attends miscarriage, did not spare the character of this commander; his attack was condemned as rash, and his retreat as pusillanimous. In such a case allowances must be made for the peevishness of disappointment, and the clamour of connexion. How far Mr. Abercrombie acquitted himself in the duty of a general we shall not pretend to determine; but if he could depend upon the courage and discipline of his forces, he surely had nothing to fear, after the action, from the attempts of the enemy, to whom he would have been superior in number, even though they had been joined by the expected reinforcement; he might therefore have remained on the spot, in order to execute some other enterprise when he should be reinforced in his turn; for general Amherst no sooner heard of his disaster, than he returned with the troops from Cape-Breton to New England, after having left a strong garrison in Louis-bourg. At the head of six regiments he began his march to Albany about the middle of September, in order to join the forces on the lake, that they might undertake some other service before the season should be exhausted.



FORT FRONTENAC TAKEN AND DESTROYED BY THE ENGLISH.

In the meantime, general Abercrombie had detached lieutenant-colonel Bradstreet, with a body of three thousand men, chiefly provincials, to execute a plan which this officer had formed against Cadaraqui, or fort Frontenac, situated on the north side of the river St. Laurence, just where it takes its origin from the lake Ontario. To the side of this lake he penetrated with his detachment, and embarking in some sloops and batteaux, provided for the purpose, landed within a mile of fort Frontenac, the garrison of which, consisting of one hun dred and ten men, with a few Indians, immediately surrendered at discretion. Considering the importance of this post, which in a great measure commanded the mouth of the river St. Laurence, and served as a magazine to the more southern castles, the French general was inexcusable for leaving it in such a defenceless condition. The fortification itself was inconsiderable and ill-contrived; nevertheless, it contained sixty pieces of cannon, sixteen small mortars, with an immense quantity of merchandise and provisions, deposited for the use of the French forces detached against brigadier Forbes, their western garrisons, and Indian allies, as well as for the subsistence of the corps commanded by M. de Levi, on his enterprise against the Mohawk river. Mr. Bradstreet not only reduced the fort without bloodshed, but also made himself master of all the enemy's shipping on the lake, amounting to nine armed vessels, some of which carried eighteen guns. Two of these Mr. Bradstreet conveyed to Oswego, whither he returned with his troops, after he had destroyed fort Frontenac, with all the artillery, stores, provisions, and merchandise, which it contained. In consequence of this exploit, the French troops to the southward were exposed to the hazard of starving; hut it is not easy to conceive the general's reason for giving orders to abandon and destroy a fort, which, if properly strengthened and sustained, might have rendered the English masters of the lake Ontario, and grievously harassed the enemy both in their commerce and expeditions to the westward. Indeed, great part of the Indian trade centered at Frontenac, to which place the Indians annually repaired from all parts of America, some of them at the distance of a thousand miles, and here exchanged their furs for European commodities. So much did the French traders excel the English in the art of conciliating the affection of those savage tribes, that great part of them, in their yearly progress to this remote market, actually passed by the British settlement of Albany, in New York, where they might have been supplied with what articles they wanted, much cheaper than they could purchase them at Frontenac or Montreal; nay, the French traders used to furnish themselves with those very commodities from the merchants of New York, and found this traffic much more profitable than that of procuring the same articles from France, loaded with the expense of a tedious and dangerous navigation, from the sea to the source of the river St. Laurence.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}



BRIGADIER FORBES TAKES FORT DU QUESNE.

In all probability, the destruction of Frontenac facilitated the expedition against Fort du Quesne, intrusted to the conduct of brigadier Forbes, who, with his little army, began his march in the beginning of July from Philadelphia for the river Ohio, a prodigious tract of country very little known, destitute of military roads, incumbered with mountains, morasses, and woods, that were almost impenetrable. It was not without incredible exertion of industry, that he procured provisions and carriages for this expedition, formed new roads, extended scouting parties, secured camps, and surmounted many other difficulties in the course of his tedious march, during which he was also harassed by small detachments of the enemy's Indians. Having penetrated with the main body as far as Ray's-Town, at the distance of ninety miles from Fort du Quesne, and advanced colonel Bouquet with two thousand men, about fifty miles farther, to a place called Lyal-Henning, this officer detached major Grant at the head of eight hundred men, to reconnoitre the fort and its out-works. The enemy perceiving him approach, sent a body of troops against him, sufficient to surround his whole detachment; a very severe action began, which the English maintained with their usual courage for three hours, against cruel odds; but at length, being overpowered by numbers, they were obliged to give way, and retired in disorder to Lyal-Henning, with the loss of about three hundred men killed or taken, including major Grant, who was carried prisoner to Fort du Quesne, and nineteen officers. Notwithstanding this mortifying check, brigadier Forbes advanced with the army, resolved to prosecute his operations with vigour; but the enemy, dreading the prospect of a siege, dismantled and abandoned the fort, and retired down the river Ohio, to their settlements on the Mississippi. They quitted the fort on the twenty-fourth day of November, and next clay it was possessed by the British forces. As for the Indians of this country, they seemed heartily to renounce their connexions with France, and be perfectly reconciled to the government of his Britannic majesty. Brigadier Forbes having repaired the fort, changed its name from du Quesne to Pittsburgh, secured it with a garrison of provincials, and concluded treaties of friendship and alliance with the Indian tribes. Then he marched back to Philadelphia, and in his retreat built a block-house, near Lyal-Henning, for the defence of Pennsylvania; but he himself did not long survive these transactions, his Constitution having been exhausted by the incredible fatigues of the service.—Thus have we given a particular detail of all the remarkable operations by which this campaign was distinguished on the continent of America; the reader will be convinced, that, notwithstanding the defeat of Ticonderoga, and the disaster of the advanced party in the neighbourhood of Fort du Quesne, the arms of Great Britain acquired many important advantages; and indeed paved the way for the reduction of Quebec, and the conquest of all Canada. In the meantime, the admirals Boscawen and Hardy, having left a considerable squadron at Halifax in Nova-Scotia, returned with four ships of the line to England, where they arrived in the beginning of November, after having given chase to six large French ships, which they descried to the westward of Scilly, but could not overtake or bring to an engagement.

The conquest of the French settlement in the river Senegal being deemed imperfect and incomplete, whilst France still kept possession of the island of Goree, the ministry of Great Britain resolved to crown the campaign in Africa with the reduction of that fortress. For this purpose commodore Keppel, brother to the earl of Albemarle, was vested with the command of a squadron, consisting of four ships of the line, several frigates, two bomb-ketches, and some transports, having on board seven hundred men of the regular troops, commanded by colonel Worge, and embarked in the harbour of Cork in Ireland, from whence this whole armament took its departure on the eleventh day of November. After a tempestuous passage, in which they touched at the isle of Teneriffe, they arrived at Goree in the latter end of December, and the commodore made a disposition for attacking this island, which was remarkably strong by nature, but very indifferently fortified. Goree is a small barren island, extending about three quarters of a mile in length, of a triangular form; and on the south-west side rising into a rocky hill, on which the paltry fort of St. Michael is situated. There is another still more inconsiderable, called St. Francis, towards the other extremity of the island; and several batteries were raised around its sweep, mounted with about one hundred pieces of cannon, and four mortars. The French governor, M. de St. Jean, had great plenty of ammunition, and his garrison amounted to about three hundred men, exclusive of as many negro inhabitants. The flat-bottomed boats, for disembarking the troops, being hoisted out, and disposed alongside of the different transports, the commodore stationed his ships on the west side of the island, and the engagement began with a shell from one of the ketches. This was a signal for the great ships, which poured in their broadsides without intermission, and the fire was returned with equal vivacity from all the batteries of the island. In the course of the action the cannonading from the ships became so severe and terrible, that the French garrison deserted their quarters, in spite of all the efforts of the governor, who acquitted himself like a man of honour; but he was obliged to strike his colours, and surrender at discretion, after a short but warm dispute, in which the loss of the British commodore did not exceed one hundred men killed and wounded. The success of the day was the more extraordinary, as the French garrison had not lost a man, except one negro killed by the bursting of a bomb-shell, and the number of their wounded was very inconsiderable. While the attack lasted, the opposite shore of the continent was lined with a concourse of negroes, assembled to view the combat, who expressed their sentiments and surprise in loud clamour and tin-couth gesticulations, and seemed to be impressed with awe and astonishment at the power and execution of the British squadron. The French colours being struck, as a signal of submission, the commodore sent a detachment of marines on shore, who disarmed the garrison, and hoisted the British flag upon the castle of St. Michael. In the meantime, the governor and the rest of the prisoners were secured among the shipping. Thus the important island of Goree fell into the hands of the English, together with two trading vessels that chanced to be at anchor in the road; and stores, money, and merchandise, to the value of twenty thousand pounds. Part of the troops being left in garrison at Goree, under the command of major Newton, together with three sloops for his service, the squadron, being watered and refreshed from the continent, that part of which is governed by one of the Jalof kings, and the prisoners, with their baggage, being dismissed in three cartel ships to France, the commodore set sail for Senegal, and reinforced fort Louis with the rest of the troops, under colonel Worge, who was at this juncture favoured with a visit by the king of Legibelli; but very little pains were taken to dismiss this potentate in good humour, or maintain the disposition he professed to favour the commerce of Great Britain. True it is, he was desirous of engaging the English in his quarrels with some neighbouring nations; and such engagements were cautiously and politically avoided, because it was the interest of Great Britain to be upon good terms with every African prince who could promote and extend the commerce of her subjects.



SHIPWRECK OF CAPTAIN BARTON.

Commodore Keppel having reduced Goree, and reinforced the garrison of Senegal, returned to England, where all his ships arrived, after a very tempestuous voyage, in which the squadron had been dispersed. This expedition, however successful in the main, was attended with one misfortune, the loss of the Lichfield ship of war, commanded by captain Barton, which, together with one transport and a bomb-tender, was wrecked on the coast of Barbary, about nine leagues to the northward of Saffy, in the dominions of Morocco. One hundred and thirty men, including several officers, perished on this occasion; but the captain and the rest of the company, to the number of two hundred and twenty, made shift to reach the shore, where they ran the risk of starving, and were cruelly used by the natives, although a treaty of peace at that time subsisted between Great Britain and Morocco; nay, they were even enslaved by the emperor, who detained them in captivity until they were ransomed by the British government: so little dependence can be placed on the faith of such barbarian princes, with whom it is even a disgrace for any civilized nation to be in alliance, whatever commercial advantages may arise from the connexion.



GALLANT EXPLOIT OF CAPTAIN TYRREL.

The incidents of the war that happened in the West Indies, during these occurrences, may be reduced to a small compass. Nothing extraordinary was achieved in the neighbourhood of Jamaica, where admiral Coats commanded a small squadron, from which he detached cruisers occasionally for the protection of the British commerce; and at Antigua the trade was effectually secured by the vigilance of captain Tyrrel, whose courage and activity were equal to his conduct and circumspection. In the month of March, this gentleman, with his own ship the Buckingham, and the Cambridge, another of the line, demolished a fort on the island of Martinique, and destroyed four privateers riding under its protection; but his valour appeared much more conspicuous in a subsequent engagement, which happened in the month of November. Being detached on a cruise in his own ship, the Buckingham, by commodore Moore, who commanded at the Leeward Islands, he fell in with the Weazle sloop, commanded by captain Boles, between the islands of Montserrat and Gaudaloupe, and immediately discovered a fleet of nineteen sail, under convoy of a French ship of war carrying seventy-four cannon, and two large frigates. Captain Tyrrel immediately gave chase with all the sail he could carry, and the Weazle running close to the enemy, received a whole broadside from the large ship, which, however, she sustained without much damage; nevertheless, Mr. Tyrrel ordered her commander to keep aloof, as he could not be supposed able to bear the shock of large metal, and he himself prepared for the engagement. The enemy's large ship, the Florissant, though of much greater force than the Buckingham, instead of lying-to for his coming up, made a running fight with her stern-chase, while the two frigates annoyed him in his course, sometimes raking him fore and aft, and sometimes lying on his quarter. At length he came alongside of the Florissant, within pistol shot, and poured in a whole broadside, which did considerable execution. The salutation was returned with equal vivacity, and a furious engagement ensued. Captain Tyrrel was wounded in the face, and lost three fingers of his right hand; so that, being entirely disabled, he was obliged to delegate the command of the ship to his first lieutenant, Mr. Marshal, who continued the battle with great gallantry until he lost his life; then the charge devolved to the second lieutenant, who acquitted himself with equal honour, and sustained a desperate fight against three ships of the enemy. The officers and crew of the Buckingham exerted themselves with equal vigour and deliberation, and captain Troy, who commanded a detachment of marines on the poop, plied his small arms so effectually, as to drive the French from their quarters. At length, confusion, terror, and uproar, prevailing on board the Florissant, her firing ceased, and her colours were hauled down about twilight; but her commander perceiving that the Buckingham was too much damaged in her rigging to pursue in any hope of success, ordered all his sails to be set, and fled in the dark with his two consorts. Nothing but this circumstance could have prevented a British ship of sixty-five guns, indifferently manned in respect to numbers, from taking a French ship of the line, mounted with seventy-four pieces of cannon, provided with seven hundred men, and assisted by two large frigates, one of thirty-eight guns, and the other wanting two of this number. The loss of the Buckingham, in this action, did not exceed twenty men killed and wounded; whereas the number of the slain on board the Florissant did not fall short of one hundred and eighty, and that of her wounded is said to have exceeded three hundred. She was so disabled in her hull, that she could hardly be kept afloat until she reached Martinique, where she was repaired; and the largest frigate, together with the loss of forty men, received such damage as to be for some time quite unserviceable.



TRANSACTIONS IN THE EAST INDIES.

In the East Indies the transactions of the war were chequered with a variety of success; but, on the whole, the designs of the enemy were entirely defeated. The French commander, M. de Bussy, had, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, quarrelled with Salabatzing, viceroy of Decan, because this last would not put him in possession of the fortress of Golconda. In the course of the next year, while the English forces were employed in Bengal, M. de Bussy made himself master of the British factories of Ingeram, Bandermalanka, and Vizagapatam, and the reduction of this last left the enemy in possession of the whole coast of Coro-mandel, from Ganjam to Massulapatam. While a body of the English company's forces, under captain Caillaud, endeavoured to reduce the important fortress and town of Madura, the French, under M. d'Anteuil, invested Trichinopoly. Caillaud no sooner received intelligence of the danger to which this place was exposed, than he hastened to its relief, and obliged the enemy to abandon the siege. Then he returned to Madura, and, after an unsuccessful assault, made himself master of it by capitulation. During these transactions, colonel Forde made an attempt upon the fort of Nelloure, a strong place at the distance of twenty-four miles from Madras, but miscarried; and this was also the fate of an expedition against Wandewash, undertaken by colonel Aldercron. The first was repulsed in storming the place, the other was anticipated by the French army, which marched from Pondicherry to the relief of the garrison. The French king had sent a considerable reinforcement to the East Indies, under the command of general Lally, an officer of Irish extraction, together with such a number of ships as rendered the squadron of M. d'Apche superior to that of admiral Pococke, who had succeeded admiral Watson, lately deceased, in the command of the English squadron stationed on the coast of Coromandel, which, in the beginning of this year, was reinforced from England with several ships, under the direction of commodore Stevens. Immediately after this junction, which was effected in the road of Madras on the twenty-fourth day of March, admiral Pococke, who had already signalized himself by his courage, vigilance, and conduct, sailed to windward, with a view to intercept the French squadron, of which he had received intelligence. In two days he descried in the road of fort St. David the enemy's fleet, consisting of nine ships, which immediately stood out to sea, and formed the line of battle a-head. The admiral took the same precaution, and bearing down upon M. d'Apche, the engagement began about three in the afternoon. The French commodore, having sustained a warm action for about two hours, bore away with his whole fleet, and being joined by two ships, formed a line of battle again to leeward. Admiral Pococke's own ship, and some others, being greatly damaged in their masts and rigging, two of his captains having misbehaved in the action, and night coming on, he did not think it advisable to pursue them with all the sail he could carry; but, nevertheless, he followed them at a proper distance, standing to the south-west, in order to maintain the weather-gage, in case he should be able to renew the action in the morning. In this expectation, however, he was disappointed; the enemy showed no lights, nor made any signals that could be observed; and in the morning not the least vestige of them appeared. Mr. Pococke, on the supposition that they had weathered him in the night, endeavoured to work up after them to windward; but finding he lost ground considerably, he dropped anchor about three leagues to the northward of Madras, and received intelligence from the chief of that settlement, that one of the largest French ships, having been disabled in the engagement, was run ashore to the southward of Alem-parve, where their whole squadron lay at anchor. Such was the issue of the first action between the English and French squadrons in the East Indies, which, over and above the loss of a capital ship, is said to have cost the enemy about five hundred men, whereas the British admiral did not lose one-fifth part of that number. Being dissatisfied with the behaviour of three captains, he, on his return to Madras, appointed a court-martial to inquire into their conduct; two were dismissed from the service, and the third was sentenced to lose one year's rank as a post-captain.

In the meantime, Mr. Lally had disembarked his troops at Pondicherry, and, taking the field, immediately invested the fort of St. David, while the squadron blocked it up by sea, Two English ships being at anchor in the road when the enemy arrived, their captains seeing no possibility of escaping, ran them on shore, set them on fire, and retired with their men into the fortress, which, however, was in a few days surrendered. A much more resolute defence was expected from the courage and conduct of major Polier, who commanded the garrison. When he arrived at Madras he was subjected to a court of inquiry, which acquitted him of cowardice, but were of opinion that the place might have held out much longer, and that the terms on which it surrendered were shameful, as the enemy were not even masters of the outward covered way, as they had made no breach, and had a wet ditch to fill up and pass, before the town could have been properly assaulted. Polier, in order to wipe off this disgrace, desired to serve as a volunteer with colonel Draper, and was mortally wounded in a sally at the siege of Madras. Admiral Pococke having, to the best of his power, repaired his shattered ships, set sail again on the tenth of May, in order to attempt the relief of fort St. David's; but, notwithstanding his utmost endeavours, he could not reach it in time to be of any service. On the thirtieth day of the month, he came in sight of Pondicherry, from whence the French squadron stood away early next morning, nor was it in his power to come up with them, though he made all possible efforts for that purpose. Then receiving intelligence that fort St. David's was surrendered to the enemy, he returned again to Madras, in order to refresh his squadron. On the twenty-fifth day of July, he sailed a third time in quest of M. d'Apche, and in two days perceived his squadron, consisting of eight ships of the line and a frigate, at anchor in the road of Pondicherry. They no sooner descried him advancing than they stood out to sea as before, and he continued to chase, in hopes of bringing them to an engagement; but all his endeavours proved fruitless till the third day of August, when, having obtained the weather-gage, he bore down upon them in order of battle. The engagement began with great impetuosity on both sides; but in little more than ten minutes, M. d'Apche set his foresail, and bore away, his whole squadron following his example, and maintaining a running fight in a very irregular line. The British admiral then hoisted the signal for a general chase, which the enemy perceiving, thought proper to cut away their boats, and crowd with all the sail they could carry. They escaped, by favour of the night, into the road of Pondicherry, and Mr. Pococke anchored with his squadron off Cari-cal, a French settlement, having thus obtained an undisputed victory, with the loss of thirty men killed, and one hundred and sixteen wounded, including commodore Stevens and captain Martin, though their wounds were not dangerous. The number of killed and wounded on board the French squadron amounted, according to report, to five hundred and forty; and their fleet was so much damaged, that in the beginning of September their commodore sailed for the island of Bourbon, in the same latitude with Madagascar, in order to refit; thus leaving the command and sovereignty of the Indian seas to the English admiral, whose fleet, from the beginning of this campaign, had been much inferior to the French squadron in number of ships and men, as well as in weight of metal.