Chapter XVIII
The Attack on Louisbourg
"You have turned up in the very nick of time, gentlemen," said General Wolfe, as he surveyed the party standing before him on the deck of the French vessel. "Our fleet and transports have arrived in these waters, and we are about to attempt a landing on Cape Breton Island. After that we shall lay siege to the fort of Louisbourg. Can I be of service to you in any way?"
He swept his eye over each one of the group, smiling at the strange appearance of Steve and his white friends, for they were now dressed in the rough sailor clothing which they had found aboard, and for the most part looked curious objects. Their paint and feathers had disappeared entirely, but all clung to their fringed hunting shirts, while rough trousers of sailcloth protected their legs, and French sailor hats covered their heads where only a few days before there had been scalp locks and the crests of eagles.
"Come, gentlemen, now that you are free, you have the world to choose from. You can return to England, you can make for your old haunts near Ticonderoga, where I am sure Hawk and his band of scouts will be welcome, or you can remain here and help us a little. Personally, I should be glad if that were your decision, for I am training a number of the men of my brigade to fight in open order, making use of cover as do backwoodsmen. I could not have better instructors than yourselves."
"You can put me down, then, general," sang out Jim, promptly, raising his arm. "Only there's jest one condition of service I bargain for after rations and pay are earned. I fight under my old cap'n. He's here, and he's fit to lead a hul regiment."
"Pay and allowances will be the same as formerly. As to your condition, that can be arranged if Mr. Steve Mainwaring wishes to take up a commission again."
Steve promptly agreed to do so, and within a very few minutes the general had obtained seven valuable recruits for his new regiment.
"You will be able to enter upon your duties almost at once," said the general. "As I said, we are about to attempt a landing. Up to this the sea has been too rough for such an expedition, but there is every sign of its getting calmer, and should it do so, our boats will put out. We will now return to the frigate, where the master-tailor can supply you with suitable clothing, for, after all, I fear that we could not allow you to take your places in our ranks in such dress as you now wear."
He walked to the rope ladder, swung himself down with wonderful agility, and was followed by Steve and his friends and by the naval officer. An order was then given, and the two men at the oars pulled away for the frigate, a couple of sailors being left aboard the captured vessel.
"We have lost a few of our ships since we sailed from Halifax," said the general, "and as I expect that you have no further use for the ship you captured, we will put her into commission at once. There is a permanent Prize Board sitting, and they will inspect her and decide on her value to-day. That money will be yours, gentlemen, for you are the owners."
Some hours later as Steve walked the broad deck of the frigate, he could hardly believe that he had so recently escaped from prison. The days had flown since his father and his old friends came to his rescue, and they had been so filled with incident. He felt strange on this big vessel, and found it difficult to realize that he was again under orders, holding a captain's commission, and about to take part in the conflict between England and France.
"This is a very different affair from those up by Ticonderoga, Steve," said his father, coming up to him. "Look at the force we have; there must be ten thousand men at least. I mean soldiers of course, and am not counting the crews of the ships."
"Of the ships there are nearly two hundred," answered Steve, for he had been busily counting them. Indeed, Mr. Mainwaring might well observe that this was a big affair, for on this sunny June morning those who patrolled the deck of the frigate could see numerous ships of war, sloops, frigates, and transports, all cruising backwards and forwards off Cape Breton Island. Boscawen, "Old Dreadnought," was the admiral in command, and his fleet had only recently reached Halifax, where he had picked up the vessels remaining there, and had brought them on with him. Amherst, whom the reader will recollect, was in command of the troops, had now some twelve thousand men aboard the ships and transports, for on his arrival at Halifax he had strengthened his own force with the troops taken to this port by the Earl of Loudon in the previous year. Nor had he a single regiment too many, for the task before him was a formidable one.
Louisbourg, like Quebec, may be said to have been the stronghold of the military, while, owing to its excellent harbour, it was also a rendezvous for the French fleets. It consisted of private residences, churches, and innumerable barracks and forts. In fact, it was a vast fort, constructed at huge expense and pains, and designed by the very best engineers of France. Seen from the edge of the harbour, its most prominent features were the king's bastion and barracks, the hospital, and the Recollects church nestling under the walls of the former. There were fish stages and wharves, for Louisbourg was occupied by a large number of men who looked to the sea for their living. In all there were some four thousand inhabitants at this period, and these consisted of the fisher folk above mentioned, of numerous priests, and of many others whose business was connected in some way or other with the military or with the navy.
This vast fortress undoubtedly existed for war alone, and the French had made enormous efforts to make it impregnable. Once before the gallant New Englanders had captured the place, but a shortsighted English ministry had handed it back to France, whose ministers were possessed of far keener perception. They realized that the struggle between the two nations would break out again, and since it had come into their hands after capture, they had spared no pains to complete their preparations for offence and defence. There were four thousand French and Canadian regulars behind the two miles of granite walls of the fortress, making eight thousand defenders if the civil population are counted. Four hundred cannon grinned from the embrasures, while the store-houses contained ample ammunition and food for a year. Add to these preparations against attack the natural defences of the place, for the seas were rough, and the coast rocky for miles on either side, save for an occasional cove capable of easy defence, and the reader will be able to gather some idea of the difficulties before our forces. In addition, the seven-mile circumference of the harbour prevented all approach from the sea-side to the fortress, and sheltered seven battleships and five frigates, which together added five hundred and fifty guns and three thousand men to the strength of the garrison.
"There will be a landing to-morrow," said General Wolfe that evening, as he joined Steve and his father on the deck. "This sea is settling down, I am thankful to say, for I am the worst of sailors, and if only the wind will remain fair we shall embark during the night. You will take part in the landing."
That night, in fact, it became known through the fleet that an endeavour would be made to land in the early hours of the following morning, and sunrise found the troops embarked in the ship's boats, and hanging on to their sides awaiting the signal. Three spots had been selected for the expedition to attack, and in consequence the force at General Amherst's disposal was divided into three divisions. The first and second of these were under the command of Brigadiers Lawrence and Whitmore respectively, and they were to attack the two coves nearest to the fortress on its west. Wolfe was in command of the third division, with orders to row along the rocky coast till he came to Le Coromandiere, which while being the most likely spot for a landing, being easier than the former two, was at the same time strongly defended by the enemy, who had trenches, rifle pits, and strong barricades, with mounted cannon. It was four miles from Louisbourg, so that it was some little while before the boats of this division arrived near the cove. Meanwhile our fleet opened a terrific fire on the fortress.
"Listen to that fer cannon," said Jim, who sat beside Steve, his musket, now provided with a bayonet, set upright between his legs. "I've never in all the course of my days heard the like of it. It's thunder and worse."
"Our men are just giving the French in the fortress a taste of what they have in store for them," laughed Steve. "But take a look at the cove, Jim. Those are guns there, and there must be a large force of men ready to receive us."
"Then the more the merrier, lad. I've fought behind trees many a score of times. I've been shut in a fort with a couple of hundred redskin varmint howlin' and firin' outside, but I've never in all my days tried my hand at this sort of thing. Somehow we rangers think we're better soldiers than air these here reg'lars. But I ain't so sartin. No doubt when it's a war with braves, or a fight in the forest, we're the best boys at the game. But out here, a job of this sort ain't done by hanging behind trees and rocks. It wants a rush, and to make that a man has to have downright pluck. Yes, I'm beginnin' to see that a reg'lar has got heaps o' grit when he fights in his own way, and as he's been taught. Whew! Did yer feel that?"
Steve did. It was the shot from one of the French batteries which, now that the boats were within some hundred yards, opened on the flotilla suddenly. The shot, round and grape, hissed and hummed through the air, and striking the water for the most part, sent up cascades which blew away in spray, drenching many of the occupants of the boats. Had that cove been sheltered it is probable that Wolfe's division would have suffered terribly, for there were twelve hundred Frenchmen waiting for their attack, and they had many guns. But this barren, rockbound coast gave little or no shelter, and it happened that a big swell was running, which made correct aim impossible, and a hit more a matter of chance than of skill. And so it turned out that little damage was done. The bellow of the cannon was answered by a derisive cheer, and at once the boats' crews bent to their oars and raced for the narrow beach.
"Thunder! That air wuss nor bullets," sang out Jim, half rising to his feet, for this was a weird and new experience for the hunter. "Reckon another of them bangs and there won't be much of this crowd left to fight. Cap'n, it air clean mad to keep out here in the open when there's a bit of a rock thar that'll shelter us from them guns and give a landing at the same time."
This time the trapper got to his feet, in spite of the shouts of the ensign in command of the regulars aboard the boat, and as if to show how right he was, there came the crash of a second discharge, round shot and ball, hurtled about the boats, striking some of the men, and splashing foam and spray everywhere.
"Look thar," cried Jim, in no way abashed by the gold lace and smart uniform of the young officer. "Yer'll never set yer toe on the beach, but yer'll get to hand grips with them ere Frenchies ef yer'll make away where I'm pointin'."
The officer was on his feet in a moment, scanning the rock to which the trapper had drawn his attention. Then he gave a sharp word of command, which caused the tiller to be put over and the bows of the boat to sheer off in that direction, while the crew, who had lain on their oars and looked doubtfully about them after the last discharge of cannon, bent to their work again with a will. Another boat near at hand followed their example, and a third was not slow to do the same. It became a race, and the water was churned into froth at the bows of the boats.
"Steady! That's near enough. Over we go. Hurrah!"
A wild cheer burst from the men as they leaped into the surf, and with their young officer and Steve ahead made for the shore.
"Make way for the other men and just get your breath, my lads," sang out the officer. "Sit down and keep close to the rock. They cannot see us here, and we shall be able to form up for a charge. Ha! Look at the brigadier. He is following. Did anyone see his signals?"
He looked round anxiously, passing his eyes from face to face till he came to Steve. The latter nodded, while a smile played on his lips.
"I fancy I did," he laughed. "The brigadier was in a hot place, and saw that his men would be shot to pieces. I rather think I saw him signal to the whole flotilla to retire."
This, in fact, was the case. General Wolfe, seeing the narrowness of the beach, its difficult approach, and the batteries which commanded it, had signalled for the flotilla of boats to retire at once, for he was fearful of losing his men. But he was not the officer to allow a breach of discipline of this sort to arouse his anger. His boat came surging up to the rock upon which the first party had landed, and in a trice he was being carried ashore on the shoulders of a stalwart sailor.
"Well done! Well done, indeed, my lads. A very smart manœuvre, which may save the situation for us. Lucky none of you saw my signal."
There was a dry smile on his thin lips, and he looked at the young officer directly, causing him to flush to the roots of his hair.
"Now we shall turn those gentlemen out, my lads. Will any one follow me?"
There was a shout at that, a bellow of excitement, for the men had been roused by the small losses already suffered, and were stung by the fear of failure. In a trice they were lined up behind the brigadier, who faced round to inspect them, a simple cane his only weapon. And beside this gallant officer stood Steve and Jim, the latter looking grim and determined.
"What reg'lars can do, so kin I," he growled. "But I 'low as this fightin' in the open air enough to scare a chap as is used to the forest. Let's get ahead with the charge. I'm warm and ready."
So were the men. Their blood was thoroughly up. They gripped their muskets, and held the bayonets levelled with their chests. Then the brigadier gave the word, and the troops, now all collected, save for those who had been hit, or who had been drowned in the surf, gave a shout and set off towards the intrenchments held by the French.
"Steady, boys. Here are some of their grenadiers. Let the left flanking company get down and open fire. Steady. Drive them back, or they will take us in the rear."
The brigadier brought the column to a halt for a few moments, while the company selected sent out its riflemen, for a company of French grenadiers had suddenly put in an appearance. However, the English soldiers were not to be gainsaid on this particular day. There were a number of defeats to be wiped out. The memory of Braddock's defeat was still fresh, while Fort William Henry and its dastardly massacre was always before them. Those skirmishers fired a hail of bullets into the grenadiers sent down by the enemy to oppose the landing, and then, finding that their powder was damped by the sea-water, for very few of the men had escaped a drenching, they clapped bayonets to their muzzles, gave a fierce shout, and heads down charged the enemy, the long and terrible weapon, which they knew so well how to wield, held well in advance.
Meanwhile the column, thanks to Jim's sagacity and to the sharpness of the ensign and of the other two commanders of boats who had followed to the spit of rock, lay out of range of the French cannon and musketry fire. The enemy lying in their rifle pits and trenches above could not see them, and were forced to remain idle while the company of grenadiers they had sent down attempted the impossible task of turning the invaders back. Nor did it improve their steadiness when they saw these same grenadiers flying back for their lives, a draggled and drenched crew of red coats charging after them, with bayonets flashing in the June sun and shouts of triumph on their lips. For that sight gave them an idea of what they might expect in a very few minutes, and caused many to have doubts. Brigadier-General Wolfe did not give them long before showing them his intentions.
"We will charge now," he sang out, standing there before the column as cool as an iceberg, while he swished the air with his ridiculous little cane. "There are batteries, with some hundreds of men to defend them. We are about to take those batteries and to chase the French back to the walls of their fort."
There was a shout from the officers, who had by now got their companies into order, a shout which was taken up deliriously by the men. The brigadier turned, waved a signal, and set off steadily round the spit of rock. Then he broke into a trot, and as soon as the companies swung round from the shelter, they wheeled so as to face the enemy's position, opened out a little, preserving wonderful steadiness in spite of the bullets and round shot hurtling about their ears, and then broke into a fast run which very soon changed into a most determined and furious charge. The men's blood was undoubtedly up. All thought of personal safety was gone. They forgot the fact that bullets were flying, forgot that they were drenched to the skin, and that their powder was wet, for they had no need for it now. This was a day for cold steel, and the thought of that, the determination to get up to those batteries, to fling the French back and punish those who had fired at the flotilla alone filled the minds of the men.
"It 'ud do a lot of trappers a power of good to see 'em," shouted Jim, as with Steve beside him he swung out from the shelter of the rocks. "This air fightin'! This I 'low would take all the grit a backwoodsman's got, 'cos there's no cover. Air yer ready?"
He turned to find that Steve was not only ready, but was already rushing away from him. For our hero had caught the infection spread by these gallant fellows under Wolfe's command. He had no wish to kill. He felt only a huge desire to be amongst the very first to reach those batteries, come what might, and when he was there, not a Frenchman would dare to remain. He would see to that. He was armed with a sabre on this occasion, and dressed in the red coat and pantaloons of an officer who had died on the voyage from England. He felt more than ever now that he was an officer, to whom the men would look. And that thought, as well as his own natural dash and gallantry, stimulated him. He shouted with the loudest, swung his sabre above his head, and then raced through the bullets and the cannon shot. A low wall of rock stood in his way, and Brigadier Wolfe was in the act of scaling it. With one leap Steve stood on the summit. Then he turned, caught the brigadier by the arm and hoisted him up. The two were now ahead of the charging column.
Brigadier Wolfe faced the tall young officer for a second, and coolly shook him by the hand, gripping his left, for Steve had his hilt in the right. The sight of such an act of coolness brought a frantic shout from the men. Steve turned to look at them for one brief moment, and noted the set expression of their faces, the grim, determined looks, the gaping nostrils and the heaving chests. Then, as the brigadier waved his cane, he faced the enemy again, and with a shout went on at the head of the men. A huge Frenchman, armed with a ponderous musket, suddenly shot up from behind a barricade, brought his piece to his shoulder, and aimed at our hero. There was a flash, the powder in the pan spluttered up into smoke, while the bullet swept within an inch of Steve's head, thudding heavily on something just behind him.
"Ef I don't get even with that ere chap, why, I ain't Huntin' Jim," shouted a voice at his elbow. "Jest wait a minute. Ha! Yer'd shoot me down. That's jest to make yer remember that I ain't so soft as to fall 'cos a bullet's happened to strike me."
It was Jim undoubtedly, all his old backwoods coolness gone, all his cunning and his Indian ways forgotten in the excitement of this moment. His eyes were wide open, his lips set close together, while rage was written on every feature. The stolid hunter had been struck through the fleshy part of one arm, and the sting of the wound had served only to increase his excitement. With a bound he passed Steve, and in another second he had bayonetted the Frenchman, bringing the grenadier to the ground with a terrific crash. By then the head of the column was up at the batteries, and for a few moments a desperate hand to hand contest was fought, while the gunners endeavoured to fire their charges of grape into the midst of the rear of the column. However, English bayonets had before then driven the French off the field, and on this occasion our gallant fellows were not to be denied. They drove those of the enemy who dared to remain out of their rifle pits with their murderous bayonets, broke down and shattered their defence, and sent them racing for the fortress. Nor did that entirely satisfy them. They broke into more open order, and with Jim and Mac and Steve to lead, chased those fugitives to the very gates of the fortress, till reinforcements poured out of Louisbourg, and until the cannon of the fortress began to ply them with shot. Only then did they deign to retire, showing a defiant face to the enemy, now outnumbering them by many hundreds.
"Very gallantly done, lads," said the general, when the column was again drawn up, and the wounded had been seen to. "I congratulate officers and men on the brilliant dash which they have shown, and on having won a most valuable landing-place for our army. To-night you will have the place of honour in the general's published orders. Let me not forget to thank those gentlemen who have so recently come from a visit paid to the French in Quebec. Their gallantry and dash were most stimulating, while I myself owe some help to their leader."
There was a shout at that, for long ago the men had been made acquainted with Steve's history. But these men of the backwoods were as yet strangers to the majority of the attacking party, who had but lately arrived from England. They had heard many a time of their particular methods of fighting in the forests, of their cunning and of their value as scouts. It did them good to find that these same men could stand in the open and deliver a charge when bullets and round shot were flying, and when there was no cover to be obtained.
"I expect we shall soon have some of our old scouting work now," said Steve that night, as he and Jim and Mac sat under a tent which had been brought ashore, and discussed the action of the morning. "One of the first duties of the general will be to see that the country round about the fortress is clear, for there are many Indians about, and a canoe can easily be paddled across from the mainland. While we are scouting, the troops will be busily engaged in getting the guns ashore and making ready for a proper siege. That will be slow work, and I for one shall not care to take part in it."
Two mornings later our hero was sent for to the tent of Brigadier Wolfe.
"You will at once be attached to my light companies," he said, as Steve saluted. "Your friends will, of course, be with you, and you will do all you can to give instruction. The men had about two weeks' work at Halifax, but are, of course, very inexperienced. They are all young and active, and picked as marksmen."
On the following day, therefore, Steve and his friends walked over to the officer in command of these light infantry companies, and promptly set to work. On his advice the men were at once taken away from the camp, and divided into smaller parties, each of which was under one of the backwoodsmen, for Pete and Mr. Mainwaring had now come ashore. There was dense forest within easy reach, as well as some more open ground, on which, however, it was possible to find cover. And here for hours at a time the men were practised, till they were fairly proficient. Then one half was set to fight the other, the men being roused to such keenness by these methods that they hardly seemed to notice any fatigue.
"They are the fellows who will help us to win this war," said the brigadier a few days later, as he watched them at their work. "But now for my news. The rough seas are delaying the landing of stores, and until they are all ashore we cannot, of course, undertake to lay siege to the fortress. Meanwhile the general has ordered me to march round to the far side of the harbour and erect a battery there. I will take these companies. We start at daybreak to-morrow."
It would be tedious to narrate how Steve and his friends accompanied this expedition, and how, in spite of a galling fire from the batteries and the ships, General Wolfe managed to construct his earth-works and batteries at Lighthouse Point. It was a class of warfare which, like the attack on the cove, was entirely new to them, and all agreed in admiring the persistency and the cool bravery, not to say recklessness, of the soldiers.
That battery, in spite of the heavy fire poured upon it, silenced the French guns, and broke to pieces a battery on Goat Island in the middle of the harbour. Its fire was soon followed by the bellow of the huge siege guns which had now been brought ashore, and very soon the din about the fortress of Louisbourg was such that men were deafened, and Steve had never heard the like of it before. Sorties were delivered, and were promptly met and driven back. The siege was pressed vigorously, shot and shell pouring on the devoted place, while the politest messages passed between besiegers and besieged. Then the Canadians and their Indians outside our lines delivered their attack, an attack which Steve and the light regiments, now employed as scouts, were able to detect in good time and drive off easily.
And so a month passed, a month of endless cannonading, till the fortress was shattered, and the walls and buildings flying in fragments everywhere. The French were in desperate plight, and wisely agreed to surrender, having fought most gallantly. Thus the formidable fortress came into our hands, and Pitt's forward policy began to bring a long-looked for success. We had captured a place for long the greatest menace to our power in America, and with it had taken some six thousand soldiers and sailors, thus reducing the enemy's strength, while it set ten thousand of our own troops free to operate in other quarters. As for the fortress itself, it was of no use to us, and some two years later was torn to pieces and utterly dismantled. Hardly a stone of that fine costly place can be seen to-day.
Steve did not long remain at Cape Breton, for scouts were required at Ticonderoga, and an urgent message had been sent through to General Amherst to ask for a supply. Steve and his friends were sent, therefore, and arrived in the neighbourhood of Fort William Henry, now reconstructed, only to hear the doleful tidings of a defeat, the effects of which required even more than the crowning victory at Louisbourg to counteract. For General Abercromby had made a most hopeless and inexcusable failure of his long projected attack on the French fort at Ticonderoga. Nor was this failure due to want of careful preparation, to unsuitable troops, or to lack of courage. Of the troops there were plenty and to spare. Had the attack been delivered by the same troops again, properly led over ground which had been carefully reconnoitred, there would have been a different result, in spite of the stubborn and wonderful gallantry of the French. But Abercromby made no use of the excellent scouting material which he possessed. He made no use of the few guns dragged to this part with infinite labour, but left them six miles in his rear. He had six thousand troops, all burning to avenge the massacre at Fort William Henry, and he launched his regiments one after another over open ground in a frontal attack upon the chevaux de frise which the French had erected. Time and again gallant souls dashed forward, only to be beaten down and slain by the bullets and cannon of unseen marksmen and gunners. Why, the youngest subaltern, inexperienced in war, would have ordered all further attacks to cease till he had brought up his guns and smashed those formidable but flimsy defences to pieces. Not so General Abercromby. He had shown no lack of astuteness and organising ability up till now. But at this the critical time in the actions of this expedition he ruined all by his helpless and singularly unsuitable tactics, or, rather, by his absolute disregard of the simplest of tactics.
That bitter defeat cost us two thousand men, for the most part men of the regular regiments, though the colonial militia did their duty admirably. Indeed, as has been said, there was never any lack of bravery. The soldiers one and all were filled with the utmost courage and zeal.
Steve and his little band soon found more work to do, for Bradstreet, a popular and very dashing New England officer serving with Abercromby, jumped at the news which Mr. Mainwaring was able to give. Frontenac, a French port at the entrance to Lake Ontario, and almost opposite the forts at Oswego which Montcalm had captured and burned, had for a long time been of the utmost importance to the French. But to meet Abercromby at Ticonderoga, and Amherst at Louisbourg, the French had been compelled to denude it of its troops. Bradstreet at once took advantage of this news. With Steve and Jim leading his forces, he went by river and land, taking the Mohawk route, and after a long struggle reached the lake. From there he paddled across to Frontenac, captured the place, for there were only a hundred soldiers to defend it, and promptly burned the forts and town, together with some armed vessels lying off it, and enormous stores of food and armaments, powder and ball, which had been collected there. In fact, he delivered a blow of the utmost consequence, and one which helped not a little to counteract the defeat we had received at Ticonderoga. Let any reader who may happen to sail into Lake Ontario just glance at the fine city of Kingston, and remember that it was there, on the site which this city occupies, that Steve and his friends, with Bradstreet in command, inflicted a blow on the French which was of the utmost consequence, and which helped to make this eventful year of 1758 stand out prominently in our annals.