The Fall of Generals

 

Benjamin West's The Death of Wolfe

 The Fun Fact today returns us to the French and Indian War and Wolfe's attempt to take Quebec.

In September 1759, Wolfe was moving forces up river, but Montcalm believed that was a diversion and that the British attack on the French stronghold would once again be directed at Beauport. In fact, that was what Wolfe had wanted to do. His brigadiers, however, said, "Don't" to that plan--thus extending the conflict (drama) and creating tension, for those of you interested in story techniques. Therefore, Wolfe, like a true literary hero, pointed out the cliffs at Anse au Foulon west of Quebec to Monckton as the place were that general would lead his troops in an assault. Monckton reacted with "Suspicion" to the idea, not knowing the overall scheme of attack and what Murray and Townsend might be assigned.

September 12, the brigadiers told Wolfe, "Don't Be Cruel" and demanded some details on his plan. Wolfe was not forthcoming with specifics, letting them know that he would be with Monckton's troops, and that Murray and Townsend would follow with their troops if the assault proved successful. Wolfe prepared his will and dressed in his best uniform. At midnight he determined "It's Now or Never" and gave the word to execute the transport of troops to the landing site. 

His plan, which did not seem the best option at the time, required moving his soldier in a flotilla of boats down the swift Saint Lawrence River to on a rocky shore in the dark, to scale a steep cliff, and form up on the plain above without being spotted and driven away before they could so assemble. Understandably, the generals were not filled with "Burnin' Love."

By way of distraction, British guns bombarded the defenses at Beauport where the French continued to expect the assault. French sentries noted the passing of boats in the darkness and cried out. However, someone on the British boats replied in French, and the sentries did not raise an alarm. By four in the morning the advance force of 1800 men, among whom was Lt. Col. William Howe leading a detachment of light infantry. Howe would command the British forces for a time during the American War for Independence.

A detachment of Canadian militia opened fire on Howe's light infantry, and Wolfe halted the landing. However, Wolfe's adjutant, Major Isaac Barré (who would be wounded in the cheek and lose his right eye in the coming battle) ignored Wolfe's command and continued sending troops up the cliff. If there is a hero of the battle, perhaps it's Barré rather than Wolfe.

Montcalm heard the shooting, but continued to believe it was a diversion from the true point of attack at Beauport. Nevertheless, he did order a battalion back to a position west of Quebec. When the sound of battle became more convincing, the French General rode with 4500 regulars and militia to the Plains of Abraham to confront Wolfe and the 4,000 British of Monckton's and Townsend's commands who had climbed into position.

Montcalm had sent orders for Bougainville and his troops to come and attack Wolfe from the west, trapping him between the two French forces. Unfortunately, the hammer refused to wait for the anvil, and simply cast itself into the flames. Montcalm sent his line of troops against Wolfe's red line in a frontal assault.

When the French had closed to within 150 yards, the first rank of French attackers dropped to one knee and fired a volley into the British line. A ball struck General Wolfe in the wrist, shattering the bones. The French reloaded and continued the advance. At 60 yards, the British flanks began to fire. At 40 yards, the British center unleashed a blast that halted the French advance and sent into a precipitate charge to the rear.

Wolfe, before falling with mortal wounds in the intestines and chest, ordered a bayonet charge to destroy the running French. Montcalm fell with wounds to his leg and stomach, to die the next morning. Wolfe died on the field.

Command fell to Townsend, who ordered the British forces to regroup. Bougainville withdrew.

The garrison of 2,200 soldier, sailors, and militia had rations for three days to defend Quebec and its 6,000 inhabitants from the British invasion. The garrison chose to "Surrender" on September 17 with a relief force of 5,000 only a dozen miles away. The English granted the French troops safe passage to France and the militiamen were permitted to join their families.

Just in time for winter, the British had made themselves masters of the ruins. The British fleet left. Townsend said, "I'm Leavin'," and returned to England, and Monckton went to New York to recover from his wounds. James Murray was left in charge of a starving city with a French army to the west and no hope of immediate aide.

--I've consulted my highlights from The French and Indian Wars: Deciding the Fate of North America by Walter R. Borneman, Chapter 13 for this fun fact episode.

*"Don't," "Suspicion," "Don't Be Cruel," "It's Now or Never," "Burnin' Love," "I'm Leavin'," and "Surrender" were hits by what great American performer? 

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I've just started reading Dan Snow's Crusaders, and I'm listening to Alan Dean Foster's To The Vanishing Point. 

In the writing war, I'm down to the final 10-15K words on the bugmageddon novel. I've also had an interesting idea that will put a twist on a couple characters in the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series.

British Invasion of Quebec pt. 1

 Fun Fact:

General Wolfe is in the middle

After the campaigning of 1758, Brigadier James Wolfe believed he had a Ticket to Ride and returned to England of his own volition, much to the surprise of William Pitt who had sent orders for Wolfe to stay in America only like Yesterday. Pitt didn't dwell on Wolfe's improper return because he had decided on an expedition up the St. Lawrence and wanted the redheaded general to lead it. In the meantime, Wolfe became reacquainted with Katherine Lowther, with whom he opened up a can of Love Me Do. When he sailed from Portsmouth February 14, 1759 aboard the Neptune, he carried the new rank of major general, a small portrait of the lady, and, in response to his plea to Please Please Me, her promise of marriage on his return.

Wolfe commanded 9,000 men with brigadiers John, Paul, George, and Ringo, Robert Monckton, James Murray, and George Townshend. Wolfe was the youngest by 6 months. Before the expedition to Quebec was over, all three brigadiers would come to consider him to be a real Nowhere Man.

Quebec was founded as a permanent settlement in 1608. It stood on the east end of a promontory in the river. Behind the city, the island widened and fell away on the Plain of Abraham. Although it occupied a stern and defensible position, all was not well in the city. A bad harvest and cold winter had left the populace starving and looking for Help!

Vice Admiral Charles Saunders had the task of getting Wolfe and his soldiers and supplies up the St. Lawrence to Quebec. Unfortunately for Wolfe, two French frigates and 14 supply ships managed to get up the St. Lawrence before him to provide relief to the starving city. Montcalm would be able to mount a strong defense Eight Days a Week.

Although the British proceeded up the river without major incidents and successfully installed artillery on the Ile d'Orlean where they could shell the city, and Wolfe sent regular bombardment From Me to You, the French were not frightened--Michelle was still belle, apparently. Montcalm spread his 14,000 men about the Beauport shore to defend the landing areas. 

Wolfe ordered a full assault on July 31. An amphibious attack would land on the shores and other forces would attack across the river against Montcalm's flank. The assault had to be timed so that the forces at the river could cross at low tide. Unfortunately, that caused difficulties for the amphibious landing craft. British Grenadiers left their boats far from shore to race into a storm of French fire. By the time the attackers were able to break free, British losses had mounted to 443 men during the Hard Day's Night.

With the city and shore stoutly defended, Wolfe sent Murray up river to raid and probe the area northwest of Quebec. Murray learned from British prisoners liberated during the foray that General Amherst had been successful in taking Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and that Fort Niagra belonged to the British as well. 

Hearing news of Amherst's successes, Wolfe was unable to say I Feel Fine, and fell ill. He held a council of war with his brigadiers with regard to three options he presented, and which were all variations on the same attack that had already failed. His brigadiers said You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, and rejected all of them. However, they said We Can Work it Out, and favored moving the camp to cut communications and supplies to Quebec from Montreal.

--I've consulted my highlights from The French and Indian Wars: Deciding the Fate of North America by Walter R. Borneman, Chapter 13 for this fun fact episode.

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In the future we'll see if any other album can help complete the British invasion of Quebec.

I've completed only one chapter on the bugmageddon novel this week, as the real job and play practice absorbed almost all available time. I did get a rejection on a short story, but I also got definite maybe on another one depending on whether the anthology can fit it thematically in with the others that are chosen. I've still got two others to hear back on as well, and I've got high expectations for them.

Of Parties and Pencils - British Arms Ascendant

 Fun Fact:

Abercromby had his brief and ill-fated Iliad at Carillon in 1758. General Amherst was set to make another attempt at it in 1759. After beginning construction on Fort George--to replace Fort William Henry--Amherst had assembled 10,000 men to embark on Lake George in July. The clash between Amherst's 10,000 and Charles de Bourlamaque's garrison of 3,000 at Fort Carillon is difficult to describe--mostly because there was no clash. The French commander and his troops slipped away as the British approached, leaving only 400 men to decorate and plan the welcome party for Amherst. 

(Portrait of Jeffery Amherst by Joshua Reynolds)

The British occupied the trenches and hauled up six 24 pounders to RSVP for the reception. Just before midnight on July 26, the party began with a bang--an explosion even. The last of the garrison had departed via Lake Champlain, but being no slouches at party planning, they had left a fuse burning slowly to the fort's ample powder magazine. 

Amherst set to work rebuilding the damaged fort and christened it--apparently because of the prodigious supply of number 2 pencils strewn about the place--Ticonderoga. Among the many individuals with Amherst who would rise to prominence in the future were both Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold. Those two would revisit the fort several years later in arms against the British.

The French continued their retreat, blowing up Fort Saint Frederic as well. Amherst advanced and began construction of Crown Point on the rise to the west of the ruins of the old fort. 

Fortune favored the British on many fronts. Brigadier General John Stanwix advanced from Fort Pitt to take Venango, Le Boeuf, and Presque Isle, and Sir William Johnson had already captured Niagara. Brigadier James Wolf had taken Louisbourg and had his sights set on the greatest prize of all: Quebec.

--I've consulted my highlights from The French and Indian Wars: Deciding the Fate of North America by Walter R. Borneman, Chapter 12 for this fun fact episode.

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Based on some communications with some of my readers, I've honed my ideas about the three elements of literary alchemy--The Trauma, The Drama, and The Dream--to an edge as keen as a nine-iron and added their thoughts to create a presentation about How to Write Unforgettable Stories. I've submitted an incomplete skeleton of the idea for consideration as a presentation at an upcoming writer's conference. I suspect I'll have more to say on that later, one way or another. Now I'm hoping the kind words from my readers were more than mere flattery. Maybe I can arrange a presentation to local writers as practice for the potentially larger show.

The image below was the best result in my attempts to get an AI image generator to create a picture of the Atu character from my Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series. I think Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson could play him in the movie.

 

 

Mind Blown at Niagara

 Fun Fact:

After arriving with several regiments in Boston in September 1758, Major General Amherst marched to Abercromby's camp at Fort Edward to find the force there in no condition to mount a winter strike against Ticonderoga. The Major General heard New York, New York calling his name, and retired to that city for the winter. There's no report on what Broadway shows were playing.

In March 1759, Amherst dispatched Robert Rogers with 90 rangers, 200 regulars, and 50 Mohawk allies to reconnoiter the defenses of Ticonderoga. The garrison Forbes left at Fort Pitt had retained the fort, but the supply line was subject to attack from enemy regulars, militia, and their Indian allies. Commandant Lignery had retreated from Duquesne a hundred miles away to Venango to gather forces for a planned lightning attack down the Allegheny to retake Fort Pitt. 

To take pressure off Fort Pitt, Amherst dispatched a force to attack Fort Niagara under newly appointed General John Prideaux. He took 3000 regulars, a battalion of Royal Americans, and a company of Royal Artillery up the Mohawk to rendezvous with 1,000 Iroquois warriors at the ruins of Oswego on June 27, 1759. Prideaux left part of his force to rebuild that fort and advanced with 2,000 troops and 1,000 warriors in bateaux to land three miles east of Fort Niagara.  

The formidable defenses at Fort Niagara suffered from a lack of troops to man them, many having been sent to Lignery for his attack on Fort Pitt, and the fact that the undefended promontory on the opposite side of the river offered an excellent position for artillery to bombard the fort. Prideaux proceeded to mount artillery on the promontory on July 7. 

Commandant Pouchot in command of Fort Niagara sent to Lignery for aid while Prideaux's men advanced siege trenches against the fort. The 50 Senecas at Niagara lost interest in defending and left--only to attack the outposts where Pouchot had sent his cattle to keep them from British hands; adding salt to the wound, the Seneca butchered the cattle and took the meat to the English camp. Additionally, the Iroquois with Prideaux were in communication with the Indian allies in Lignery's relief force, with each native force promising to sit out the contest if the other would. 

July 20, after helping remove the body of Colonel Johnstone, who was killed by a French sniper, Prideaux watched a newly placed howitzer fire on the French fort. The howitzer exploded, blowing Prideaux's mind as a shard from the barrel removed part of his skull. With the grim reaper now managing Prideaux's retirement plan, Colonel Sir William Johnson and Lt. Colonel Eyre Massey contended for command. Johnson was a provincial; Massey claimed that he outranked him as a regular officer. News of the appearance of the French relief force provoked a compromise. Massey led the attack against Lignery while Johnson managed the siege.

Despite Pouchot's instructions to approach on the west side of the portage and attack the promontory from which the British artillery shelled the fort, Lignery came down the east side on July 24. As the French advanced along the narrow road, Massey's men waited. The Indians with Lignery turned back to depart in their canoes, leaving the French on their own. The French advanced, firing as they went. The British waited behind an abatis blocking the road. 

Lignery had led his men into an ambush. When they approached within 30 yards, Massey sprung the trap, opening fire from both flanks. The fire devastated the French. When the British finally mounted a bayonet charge and the French fled, the Iroquois joined the slaughter. Only a hundred French survived to be taken prisoner. 

Pouchot surrendered the next day to Johnson. Pouchot and his men were sent to Albany as prisoners.

The above was taken from my notes from Chapter 12 of The French and Indian War by Walter R. Borneman.

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I finished a short story on Saturday immediately before the crew sharing my last name arrived. I say "finished," but that's the first draft. I'll run over it a time or two and then see if my skirmish team would like to give me some feedback on the space cowboy story -- which remains sans titre for the moment. I wrote a good hunk of the story during the evenings in the hotel room after the professional conference I attended during the days for most of last week. It went better than I had expected as I sat in the chair beside the bed with the laptop on my knees, tapping out the story that didn't quite go in the direction I had anticipated, but which drew me along as it grew. I hope to submit it before the end of the month.

 

Caribbean Scene

 

Fun Fact:

Before the outbreak of the French and Indian war, the French had traded sugar, molasses, and rum with the British North American colonies. Many American ship men ignored the trade restrictions after the war started and continued as smugglers. Others armed their vessels and went after French merchantmen. Some French shippers did likewise. Both England and France adopted a convoy system to protect the shipping.

Sugar production flourished on the French island of Martinique, and the powerful sugar lobby convinced William Pitt that it should be taken and later used as a bargaining chip to exchange for Minorca in the Mediterranean, which the French had captured. Pitt's friend and sugar magnate assured him that Martinique would be an easy conquest.

Lord Anson, first lord of the Admiralty, resisted Pitt's attempt to divert ships from the channel for the planned conquest. However, George II had caught Pitt's vision of global empire and become one Pitt's strongest supporters, avowing that Martinique must be taken to trade for the return of Minorca. 

I guess you could say: He had a yearning for a Caribbean Scene, George and Pitt were sharing the same dream, and their hearts beat as one, all for love of the rum.

November 12, 1758, and fleet of 73 ships sailed from Portsmouth for the Caribbean, arriving off Barbados in January, 1759, and joining a small squadron under the command of Commodore John Moore, who assumed command of the combined naval force. Major General Thomas Peregrine Hopson commanded the land forces.  Martinique law 125 miles to the northwest.

Hopson chose Fort Royal as his goal and landed troops on Martinique. He soon discovered that his troops would have to hack a road through tropical jungle under the constant threat of French fire along the route. He withdrew his forces. The invasion had lasted a day.

In a second effort, Commodore Moore sent Captain Edward Jekyll commanding the 60 gun ship-of-the-line Rippon to attack the coastal defenses at Saint Pierre. Contrary winds pinned the ship against the coast and Jekyll had to put down longboats to tow the damaged ship from the dangerous crossfire of the French batteries. 

Moore and Hopson re-assessed their situation and the strength of Martinique. They found that the island of Guadalupe, a hundred miles to the north, might be less formidable. January 23, 1759, the commodore sent eight ships to bombard the fort at Basse-Terre on Martinique. During the fierce exchange, a mortar shell fouled the fort's cistern, and the militia garrison instead drank rum all day. Thus relaxed, they simply went home. 

Moore launched bomb ketches against the town--which soon became a firestorm as the bombs ignited the abundant and flammable wooden warehouses of sugar and molasses. After occupying what remained of Bass-Terre, Moore took Fort Louis and the town of Grand-Terre on the opposite side of the island in a similar manner. However, the rest of Guadalupe remained under French control, and soon over a quarter of Hopson's troops took fever and had to be evacuated. Hopson himself fell victim and died. John Barrington assumed command of the land forces and hastened to attack and subdue the rest of the island before the arrival of the French fleet.

Although Governor General Marquis de Beauharnais landed troops from Martinique on Guadalupe, the French planters, tired of the destruction to their livelihoods, refused to support Beauharnais. The governor general had to return to Martinique, and Barrington's terms for their previous surrender had been most generous. 

The Guadalupe sugar producers would soon be providing the Massachusetts rum distillers with nearly half of their molasses requirements.

The above was taken from my notes from Chapter 11 of The French and Indian War by Walter R. Borneman -- and with apologies to Billy Ocean.

Don't forget, you have less than 24 hours to get in on this chance to win two autographed books:

 

 

The British Empire Strikes Back

 Fun Facts:

Forbes' first attempt at taking Fort Duquesne had met with disaster. In late November 1758, he remained the only British commander in the north still pursuing his campaign. Negotiations neutralized the influence of the French Indian allies in the Ohio country, leaving the French alone and hungry at Fort Duquesne on Hoth.  Forbes sent the complaining Colonel Washington of the First Virginia Regiment west after a French raiding party, with another Virginia unit under Colonel Mercer following after. Washington captured an Indian couple and an Englishman who claimed to have been kidnapped by the French along with his two droids. Colonel Mercer's Virginia's came upon Washington's camp in the dark, and in true storm trooper fashion, attacked the supposed rebel base. 2 Officers and 35 others were killed in the exchange of friendly fire. The number of tauntaun and AT-AT walker casualties was not reported. On the bright side, the Englishman admitted, under the influence of the force, that he was an agent for the French, and provided a full report on the deteriorated state of the garrison at Duquesne. Bradstreet's success at Frontenac had deprived Lignery and his men of supplies.

Forbes sent the Virginians and Pennsylvanians forward to complete the road to Duquesne. They took to the task and very shortly established a camp within 12 miles of the French fort and waited for Forbes and the new death star. During the night, the camp heard musket fire and eventually a great rumbling like the firing of heavy guns from the direction of Duguesne.

Lignery had gone full Alderaan, blowing up the magazines and burning the fort to the ground. The French had dispersed, leaving nothing to the English but the scorched spot of earth and a strange block of carbonite on which the fort had stood.

Nevertheless, it was a grisly journey to the ashes. The heads of the English soldiers who had been killed in the previous advance had been erected on rows of stakes along the trail to the fort.

Forbes began construction of a stockade to guard the forks of the Ohio and left a small garrison. He returned to Philadelphia in January. Six weeks later, General John Forbes died at age 51. 

The above was taken from my notes from Chapter 10 of The French and Indian War by Walter R. Borneman--with pointless The Empire Strikes Back references added for no reason whatsoever. I haven't seen the referenced movie in many years and don't remember most of it. Perhaps I should've gone with Back to The Future II as the theme.

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The curtain finally closes on 2023 tonight. We celebrated with a fire last night. Unfortunately, I forgot to get some pictures of the awesome flames of the inferno. They would've made a great book cover.

 Happy New Year from me and my writing buddies!

Back to Fort Duquesne

 

Fun Fact:

Although Abercromby had been defeated in his poorly executed attack on Carillon, Louisbourg and Frontenac had fallen to the British. The English next moved on Fort Duquesne--again--hoping to achieve a different result than the disaster of three years earlier. The French and their Indian allies had fanned out from that fort to spread death and destruction. There were even rumors of attacks on the outskirts of Philadelphia. 

William Pitt chose John Forbes to lead this prong of his attacks against New France. Forbes was a Scotsman trained as a doctor (with no known experience in time travel) who had received a commission in the Scots Greys. He had experience in the War of Austrian Succession, and would lead Pitt's attack on Duquesne as a brigadier general. Col. Sir John St. Clair, who had accompanied Braddock's ill-fated expedition three years earlier, would serve as Forbes' quartermaster. Lt. Col. Henry Bouquet was Forbes' second in command. Bouquet found himself well-suited to wilderness warfare and wrote a a set of recommended tactics for units in such terrain. Neither Doc Brown, Einstein, nor Marty McFly accompanied the force, which at no point attained 88 miles per hour. The troops for the attack would include a battalion of the Royal Americans, a regiment of Highlanders, and a company of artillery. The remaining troops were provincials, which included George Washington's First Virginia Regiment--but no DeLorean.

In August of 1758, François-Marie le Marchand de Lignery commanded Fort Duquesne. He suffered from a lack of men and a lack of supplies. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to withstand a long siege, Lignery engaged in a series of raids with hopes of delaying the British advance beyond the time the lightning would strike the clock tower.

Bouquet, responsible for executing Forbes' plans, responded to the raids by sending Major James Grant of the Highlanders with 400 regulars and 350 provincials forward from the newly constructed Fort Ligonier, where he awaited Forbes, to conduct reconnaissance and lay siege to Duquesne--or pick up some plutonium--if possible.

Grant had been led to believe that only about 600 French defended Duquesne. Drawing near the fort, he divided his force into 3 groups. One watched his baggage train from hidden positions. A hundred Highlanders under William MacDonald marched toward the gates of the fort with drums beating in an attempt to lure the French from the stronghold. Grant commanded the remaining 400 men with the intent to ambush the French when they pursued MacDonald to the enchantment under the sea dance.

MacDonald's men met with astonishing success--drawing 1,000 French and Indians from the fort. 100 Pennsylvanians suddenly remembered pressing business elsewhere and departed without orders. Overwhelmed by the French, Grant fell back toward the baggage train. Lewis, in command of the troops watching the baggage, led them toward the fight outside the fort--but took a different route than Grant. Both forces both came under heavy fire, and MacDonald's Highlanders were completely cut off from the rest of the column. Lewis and Grant both surrendered with much of their force. 100 Virginians held firm and prevented the defeat from becoming a complete route. The remnants of the attack force fell back to Fort Ligonier. The British suffered nearly 300 killed or captured while the French losses stood at 8 killed and 8 wounded--and the time continuum remained intact.

In October, the French launched an attack against Ligonier, where Forbes still had not yet arrived, but were forced to withdraw with minor casualties--and most of the British horses.

The above was taken from my notes from Chapter 10 of The French and Indian War by Walter R. Borneman--with superfluous and annoying Back to the Future references added to preserve color and texture.

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 Photo by Walter Chávez --Unsplash
 

Merry Christmas!

Fun Fact:

Following Abercromby's defeat at Carillon/Ticonderoga, he granted permission to Colonel John Bradstreet to undertake a bold mission that would have greater consequences than the taking of Ticonderoga. Bradstreet had mastered the use of flat-bottomed boats. Each boat could haul 25 men and supplies along the waterways. General Shirley had discovered Bradstreet and put him in charge of the bateau supply service on the Mohawk River, which served as the vital link between Albany and the western outposts, including Oswego.

Bradstreet's plan was to lead an attack on Fort Frontenac--the hub of the French supply line in the west. In July 1758, Bradstreet was ordered to go up the Mohawk to help General Stanwix complete Fort Stanwix at the carrying place between the Mohawk River and Lake Oneida. From there, Bradstreet would take the fight up to Lake Ontario and to Frontenac at the vital location where the Lake Ontario jointed the St. Lawrence River. All the supplies for France's western outposts, including Fort Duquesne, came through Fort Frontenac.

August 25, 1758, Bradstreet landed about a mile west of Fort Frontenac. The French were completely unprepared. The French commander, Major Pierre-Jacques Payen de Noyan had a few days before received word of Bradstreet's advance and sent to Governor Vaudreuil for help The governor had called for the militia to go to Frontenac. Bradstreet started his bombardment on August 26. The French didn't even have enough troops to man all their cannons. On the second morning, two of Bradstreet's guns fired from a hill only 150 yards from the fort's northwest corner. 

The 85 year-old fort was in no state to withstand the destructive attack, and Noyan surrendered. The garrison consisted of only 110 men, but there were civilians, including women and children in the fort. Bradstreet gathered the plunder, burning everything he couldn't haul away, including 2000 barrels of provisions as well as the boats at the wharf for transporting goods. Even in additional provisions should arrive, there would be no way to haul them to Fort Duquesne and the other outposts. Bradstreet allowed Noyan and his men to leave for Montreal on the promise to release an equal number of British prisoners, and he left the ashes of the fort to return to the lake. Bradstreet had lost one man killed and a dozen wounded.

--I've consulted my highlights from The French and Indian Wars: Deciding the Fate of North America by Walter R. Borneman, Chapter 9 for this fun fact episode. 

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The editing of Book 6, Crisis in Fire and Snow, is nearing completion. It's still on course to be available before Christmas.

 

American Iliad

 

 Fun Fact:

Amherst took Louisbourg as the first prong of the British assault. The second prong of Pitt's vision for the conquest of Canada was led by Major General James Abercromby. At 52 years of age with many years of military experience, Abercromby was a methodical plodder who had never had an independent command.

Montcalm himself went to Carillon as the British massed their forces near Albany for the strike north. 

George Augustus, viscount Howe, was appointed as Abercromby's second-in-command. His brother Richard was Admiral Howe, and his brother William Howe would lead the British Army in America 20 years in the future. Lord Howe was the idol of the army, being everything Abercromby was not. Also figuring prominently among the soldiery was Robert Rogers, commissioned as Major of the Rangers in His Majesty's service. Howe impressed the rangers' style upon the other units of Abercromby's command--including cutting the brims from their hats and cutting their coats to the waist.

The British advanced and Howe sent the rangers ahead to reconnoiter Fort Carillon, where Montcalm was scraping together 4,000 men to counter the largest army yet assembled in America--6,000 British Regulars and 9,000 Colonials--advancing on his position. Lord Howe led the fleet of 900 bateaux and 135 whale boats down Lake George, which included in its vanguard Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Gage, who had led Braddock's advance across the Monongahela. Like the Greeks before Troy, they came ashore flush with hopes of conquest.

The advance guard landed, pressed forward toward the fort, and ran into French forces hurrying toward the fort as well. After a sharp skirmish, the French fled, but Lord Howe had been killed with a bullet in the chest. With the death of the most competent leader among their force, the British, only two hours march from the fort, experienced a minor collapse and spent two days disentangling themselves from the wilderness.

Montcalm, the Priam of our tale, profited by Abercromby's delay to construct entrenchments and abatis at the approach to the fort. He positioned most of his troops along this defense, leaving some in the fort to man the artillery. Although his flanks were undefended, he foresaw Zeus blinding the enemy's eyes to his weakness.

July 8, 1758, Abercromby sent a junior officer forward to evaluate the defenses. The officer reported the defenses could be taken by a frontal assault. While his artillery remained at the landing site--like Achilles in his tent--Abercromby formed his men in ranks three deep for the assault on the defenses, while Montcalm looked on with joy that the British were following the script he had prepared. Montcalm would've offered hecatombs to Zeus if he had had any to spare.

Abercromby sent his regulars forward against the entrenched enemy whose fire shredded his troops before they got close enough to deliver the customary volley and rush the defenses. After loosing 2,000 men to this meat grinder, this stationary Hector, the British retreated all the way back to the boats like the panicked Achaeans.

On July 9, the remains of the largest British army assembled on the continent fled across Lake George from an enemy force a quarter of its size and which wasn't even pursuing. Troy remained defiant, and Montcalm declared victory.

--I've consulted my highlights from The French and Indian Wars: Deciding the Fate of North America by Walter R. Borneman, Chapter 8 for this fun fact episode. 

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Taking Louisbourg with the wave of a hat

 

 Fun Fact:

1757 had not been a good year for British arms in North America. William Pitt, convinced that Canada could be taken, devised a three-pronged assault for implementing his strategy of attacking Canada from all sides.  First he would take another stab at Louisbourg. Second, a strike north from Fort Edward to Forts Carillon (Ticonderoga) and Frederic would open the way from Lake Champlain through the Richelieu River to Montreal.The third prong would drive to Fort Duquesne and up to Fort Niagra to cut Canada's connection with the Louisiana.

France's victories in Canada concealed a fatal secret: Canada was starving. Provisions from France were required to feed the colony, and the Royal Navy had the mouth of the St. Lawrence nearly corked. Pitt dispatched William Amherst as Commander-in-Chief to realize his vision of conquering Canada with the attack on Louisbourg.

Louisbourg was a fortified town with stone walls, glacis, earthen ramparts for artillery and soldiers, anchored by multi-sided bastions. Four artillery batteries protected the harbor. Governor Augustin de Drucour and his soldiers and militia waited for the coming British onslaught. The French fleet at Canada was nearly non-existent with only a few ships lying in Louisbourg's harbor.

Jeffery Amherst

 Admiral Boscawen with troops under Brigadier General James Wolfe sailed from England in February, but Amherst couldn't get away until March. Boscawen and company didn't reach Halifax until May and by the time they made for Louisbourg, Amherst had arrived. 

Wolfe led a division ashore at Kennington Cove. Pounding surf capsized some boats and smashed others against the rocks. When Wolfe's soldiers hit the shore, they waded into a maelstrom of artillery and musket fire. Witnessing the terrible beating his troops were taking, Wolfe stood in the bow of his rocking boat and waved his hat for all to see, perhaps to call off the attack. At the same instant, a boatload of Highlander's found a sandy haven on the rocky shore and rowed furiously for it. Other boats followed--including Wolfe.

Wolfe formed up the troops under terrible fire from the French and, after returning volley fire, began to move inland. The other two divisions in the attack also came ashore at Kennington Cove, but the French defenders who were spread along the mile-long shore failed to concentrate against the landing force--and instead retreated to Louisbourg. Wolfe later said of the matter, "We made an ill-advised attempt to land, and by the greatest good fortune imaginable we succeeded."

Amherst had the town surrounded. Des Gouttes, commanding the small French fleet, asked permission to escape back to France, but Governor Drucour denied the request as he wanted to delay Amherst as long as possible from proceeding against Quebec. The British tightened the noose, taking the harbor batteries, and the French sank four ships at the harbor entrance and fled the ships for the shelter of the town--which the British began to pound with heavy artillery.

After burning the ships, on July 26, 1758, Drucour asked for surrender terms--which Amherst and Boscawen insisted be unconditional. The next morning the gates to the ruined and starving city were thrown open to the British. 

--Once again I've consulted my highlights from The French and Indian Wars: Deciding the Fate of North America by Walter R. Borneman for this fun fact episode. 

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Movie Review - Quest for the Mighty Sword.

Good sword and sorcery movies are few and far between, and Quest for the Mighty Sword is in a void of its own. The story, such as it is, finds the hero struggling to comprehend the concept of acting, and going down in defeat--but he is not alone. He goes through the motions and, although the effort is minimal, it is apparent that he's making an effort. Some others in the show don't even bother. Some lines sound like they're being read, and read for the very first time. There was an actress or two who demonstrated an ability to act, but even their valiant efforts were hindered by a script that was inferior to the blank page. The budget had to be huge for this thing, by which I mean someone must have absconded with what budget there was and the actors had to steal their own costumes and props from unrelated sets. The movie is so bad that it could very well be a humorless parody of the genre. If that's the case, it's almost brilliant--except parody should be funny, or at least entertaining, and this one is neither. It's not a movie that's so bad it's good--it's just bad. It's bad in the train wreck sort of way. It's a terrible, awful tragedy, but throughout, the viewer is held transfixed by the question: How bad can this get? I'll give you the answer: This is a dumpster fire after the smoke has cleared. It's a smoking ruin of what might have been that never rises to the point of actually giving the viewer the slightest hope that it could become something more. From beginning to end, it is a vast, empty, barren, dry desert of dull brown sand. It never gets better. It never gets worse.

Party Time at Fort William Henry

 Fun Fact:

With things going poorly for the British, Newcastle resigned his position at the head of the government. When William Pitt took over, he declared that North America should be defended by land and sea as a critical component of the British Empire. He asked for 8,000 men and a fleet to give form to his words, and he began a program of construction to bring the British Navy up to 400 ships. He and George II had never been besties, and after Pitt objected to Admiral Bying's execution, the king informed Pitt that he would accept his resignation. Necessity soon forced a compromise whereby Pitt would run the war, and Newcastle would carry on the the internal affairs of government.

Lord Loudoun, who was now in command in America, agreed with the opinion that the way to win the war was to seize Quebec. Advancing by sea, a conservative step toward that goal would be to take Louisbourg, and Pitt ordered him to do just that. When Loudoun pulled troops from New York to mount an attack on Louisbourg in Nova Scotia, Montcalm moved south from Fort Carillon (Ticonderoga) to attack Fort William Henry at the southern tip of Lake George.

Command on the New York frontier fell to Brigadier General Daniel Webb, whose commander at Fort William Henry was Lt. Col. George Monro. Scouts brought the happy news that as many as 8,000 men were gathering at Carillon for jaunt in his direction. Webb, while inspecting the fort got the news along with the colonel. Webb headed back to Fort Edward with the promise to send reinforcements to Monro.

The French and their Indian allies arrived in the mood to party. They surrounded Monro and his 2,000 men in the fort with their 7,500 men and commenced a siege of the formidable fortification. Monro received no help from Webb with the exception of a cordial note suggesting that he make the most favorable terms possible for his capitulation--the note came via Montcalm's officer after the British messenger from Webb had been killed. Montcalm added his recommendation for following Webb's advice.

Monro followed the advice on Aug 9, 1757, with the promise his men would be escorted to Fort Edward and could keep their personal effects, sidearms, colors, and one 6 pounder on the condition they not fight again for 18 months. If the deal seemed too good to be true, Montcalm's Indian allies couldn't believe it either. Their party invitations had specified plunder and scalps, not fancy soldiers marching away with most of their toys still in hand. The Abenaki strongly objected to the terms by first murdering and scalping the British wounded in the fort hospital, and seconded the objection by taking plunder from the British baggage and personal effects. The objection carried handily when the Indians attacked the first contingent of soldiers on the way to Fort Edward on Aug 10 and continued the vigorous execution of the new terms the next day. 700 British prisoners or more were killed, wounded, or missing.

Montcalm's Indians had achieved their aim for the campaign and began to disperse, and his own militiamen were needed at home for the harvest. He destroyed Fort William Henry and retired to the north. Meanwhile, Loudoun's attack on Louisbourg was stymied by bad weather and the French Navy. Another season had passed without a victory for British arms.

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The work on Book 6 continues with a return to some threads that haven't received much attention for a few chapters. The stakes are rising and the temperature's heating up--even though winter is settling in. Five or six chapters will wrap it up if everything goes as planned.

Another Head Rolls

 Fun Fact:

Braddock had gone down beneath French and Indian fire. Admiral Byng had fallen before a British firing squad. When the French attacked Fort Ontario, another head would roll.

 The Marquis de Montcalm--whose name would later be linked forever with James Wolfe, Quebec, and the Plains of Abraham--sailed from Fort Frontenac across Lake Ontario to Oswego and surrounded the British forts of Ontario, Pepperell, and George. Fort Ontario on the east bank of the Oswego River overlooked Fort Pepperell on the western bank and the small redoubt of Fort George farther to the west. Montcalm placed his guns and rolled for initiative. Winning the roll, he opened up on Fort Ontario on August 12, 1756. Lieutenant Colonel James Mercer did not appreciate Montcalm's arrival and felt he was not properly prepared to welcome visitors. He evacuated Fort Ontario and retreated. Montcalm did the inevitable, and placed his guns on the heights to send his greetings to the other two forts. Mercer finally decided it was time to use his head, but his saving throw versus artillery came up a critical failure, and he was beheaded by a cannonball. The remaining British officers held a quick council of war and voted against death by heavy flying objects to the head and elected to surrender. As a result, England lost access to Lake Ontario and much of New York. The new war with France was taking a heavy toll on British commanders.

Capitulation of Fort Oswego, Aug. 1756

John Henry Walker (1831-1899) - public domain

--Although the above information is available from many sources, and I've read them in other places, I've consulted my highlights from The French and Indian Wars: Deciding the Fate of North America by Walter R. Borneman for this fun fact episode. 

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On the writing front (Did I mention that I sold a short story? - Well, I did.) Book 6 of the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series got some attention. I roughly outlined the final eight chapters and wrote a couple paragraphs on Saturday. Next week, I expect to complete the edits on another short story, get it submitted, and resume the exciting final chapters of Book 6, which remains untitled. I usually have a title before I start, or something leaps out at me during the writing process that demands to become the title, but that hasn't happened yet with this one. Perhaps when I re-read it, a heretofore unrecognized contender for the title will manifest itself amid angel voices and bursts of glory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shooting Admirals

 Fun Fact:

General Braddock had the good sense to join the 500 corpses he left in the wilderness, so no action could be taken against him. Vice Admiral John Byng wasn't so fortunate.

The French looked in the Mediterranean for a soft target and found Minorca. They massed 15,000 men with siege artillery and the duc de Richelieu sailed with them from Toulon. Vice Admiral Byng at 52 years of age was tagged to take a hastily assembled fleet from Portsmouth to intercept the French. The French landed and laid siege to Fort Saint Philip. Byng's orders and those of the governor of Gibraltar, where he was supposed to get additional troops, were conflicting. That governor worried about an attack on Gibraltar. Byng had to choose between trying to save Minorca or risking Gibraltar--at a time when no war had been declared. He chose to risk a naval battle for Minorca with his ten ships of the line and two frigates. Galissoniere waited with twelve ships of the line, including Foudroyant, which could hurl more weight in a single broadside than any rival. 

Byng had a sound plan to advance in line obliquely toward the French line, turn in line and pound the French ships in passing. The captain of the lead ship, Defiance, misunderstood, leading his ships straight into the French broadsides. As a result, Byng found half his ships no longer fit for action by the time he got away. Byng could've attempted to land his troops, but his officers were unanimous in favoring a return to Gibraltar. Fort Saint Philip surrendered to the French a month later.

To celebrate the loss of the fort and the devastation to the fleet, the Royal Navy informed Byng, following a court-martial, that he would be the recipient of a 7 gun salute at close range with loaded muskets aboard the Monarch in Portsmouth harbor--he was not given the option to decline. 

On the bright side, Great Britain declared war on France, who returned the favor. 

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The writing on Book 6 is back on. Hugh, Lee, and the women have been in a tight spot, but have resolved that step in their adventure. Some characters are on a collision course--though they remain unaware of the fact, and Akram and the hunters have encountered the next link in the chain to realizing his goal--but there's a complication, and some uninvited guests endanger the entire enterprise. I enjoy the way these characters have developed over the course of the series. I should've finished this one back in June, but life and an irresitible impulse to write some short stories diverted my time and attention. In fact, I've just completed a round of edits on the recent story--which was a truckload of fun to write. I hope to submit it to the anthology next week.

Braddock's Defeat

 First -- Promise of Carnage and Flame is only 99 cents on Sep 11 and 12. After that, the price jumps back to $4.99 

A disturbing vision sends Alex and Lucette into action in the cause of liberty. The Americans are losing the war and a new power has risen to counter the efforts of Alex and Lucette. When Alex is forced to make a deal with the devil, neither Alex nor the cause may recover. Will he succeed in defeating his new nemesis, or will the American forces in the north be utterly destroyed?

One of the dragon hunters has a secret that may forever rend the alliances, friendships, and new relationships. None of that matters. The secret has driven this one across the sea to face risks unknown to most of mankind. Even the American cause cannot compare with the importance of this very personal mission.

These adventures and more await our friends who must put everything at risk for their ideals and obligations.

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Fun Fact:

After the treaty of Aix-la-chapelle, the English colonies in North America remained surrounded by French claims from the St. Lawrence to the the mouth of the Mississippi. Although France claimed a vast territory, it lacked a population in the New World to settle and hold it. From New Orleans to Acadia, the French population numbered around 75,000. By contrast, the English colonists numbered 1.1 million. 

While the French floated the rivers nailing metal markers to trees and burying lead plates to stake the French King's claims to the Ohio country, the English were increasing their stream of commerce with the Iroquois Empire, pushing its frontiers with commercial settlements. 

The French did build forts. On December 11, 1753, George Washington and his guide Christopher Gist, appeared at Fort Le Boeuf at the head of French Creek to deliver a message from Governor Dinwiddie informing the French that they were encroaching on English territory and were directed to withdraw. The French responded with a big "How 'bout Not," politely phrased as, "I do not think I am obliged to obey it," and sent Washington back the way he came.

As you might expect, relations did not improve. George Washington was sent back at the head of troops and Indian allies. They ambushed the French at Jumonville Glen (retold as I imagined it here in the prologue to Clamorous Harbingers, book 3 in the Tomahawks and Dragon Fire Series), and on July 4, 1754, the same young officer was forced to surrender Fort Necessity to the French and retreat toward the Potomac.

Enter the tactless General Edward Braddock to lead the attack in an as-yet-undeclared war against the French. The British would make four thrusts against the French in North America. Braddock would lead one of those attacks, following Washington's trail to the forks of the Ohio to take the newly constructed Fort Duquesne. You may have heard about Braddock's expedition. Some have reported that it did not go well. I could describe the fort for you, but Braddock never got theat far, so I don't think I will. 

Although his force outnumbered the French and their Indian allies at the Battle of the Monongahela, or Braddock's defeat as it has been called, his troops were stretched out when they ran into the French van guard and at a distinct tactical disadvantage; he also had no Indian allies with him. Braddock exacerbated his disadvantage by ordering his main force forward as his advance troops were falling back into the same position--resulting in disorganization and confusion in both bodies. 

The French turned the two six-pounders, abandoned by Gage and the advance troops, against their former owners to supplement the musket fire from the surrounding woods. The muddled affair continued for two hours. Braddock had five horses shot from beneath him before he proved he could catch lead as well as any equine and had to be taken to the rear, mortally wounded. 

The British troops made a tactical withdrawal in the form of a mad dash to the ford and across the river, leaving some 500 dead in their wake. The French and Indians combined suffered approximately 40 killed and 60 wounded. Braddock's three principal lieutenants, Washington, Gage, and Horatio Gates would all oppose one another in one way or another 20 years in the future. John Burgoyne, who criticized Braddock as unfit for his command, would also come to understand defeat in the American wilderness and the label of scapegoat.

In addition to the wagons, supplies, and munitions captured by the French at the event, were the plans for the other three thrusting attacks on the French. As one might expect, when the information reached Paris, fans and fecal matter collided. The war--which might arguably be called a world war--was on.

If I remember, next time I'll get to the fun and games of how the British, having lost a general and their clandestine war plans, decided to execute an admiral.

--Although the above information is available from many sources, and I've read them in other places, I've consulted my highlights from The French and Indian Wars: Deciding the Fate of North America by Walter R. Borneman, which I am currently enjoying immensely, for this fun fact episode.