is very necessary that a strong and regular work should be erected at Lake George, to keep possession of that country, so far; that if the French can seize and take the before mentioned work at the Carrying Place, he fears it would be attended with bad consequences; as it would cut off your retreat and communication with Albany, and totally stop your reinforcements and provisions, from joining you, if another road cannot be found, which he believes is not easy to be met with; that he thinks what induced the French, or may induce them hereafter to attack you at Lake George, is fearing that you would not attempt to go any further, and so were resolved to call you off, before you returned; and seems to infer from thence that the enemy must be so formidable, as to make it unadvisable for you to proceed further; and concludes with extolling the gallantry and resolution of the French troops in their late attack of you." I agree, sir, in sentiments with your engineer, concerning the bad consequences of the enemy's taking the fort at the Carrying Place, and am much concerned at the weakness of its works; especially, as both yourself and he, are apprehensive of another attack at Lake George, with cannon.1 If I was in your situation, my chief apprehensions would be, that the French would make an attempt upon that fort with cannon, which they might transport thither as easily as to Lake George; and I think you judged extremely right in sending a detachment of one thousand men to its support, upon the first alarm of the enemy's being upon their march towards it; and for my own part, I must own, I should have thought it a better piece of conduct, in M. Dieskau, if, after defeating the party under Col. Williams's command, he had attacked the fort at the Carrying Place, instead of your camp; which, according to your engineer's account of it, might have been more easily won, with the force he had with him, than had your camp been stormed. 1 Shirley thought Johnson had not made the most of his repulse of the French at Lake George. See John Shirley_(for his father) to Governor R. H. Morris, Sept. 22-25, 1755, I Penna. Arch. 2, 423, and Shirley to Johnson, Sept. 19, ante, p. 270. I can by no means adopt your engineer's opinion of the urgent necessity of immediately erecting a strong regular fort at Lake George, for maintaining possession of the country so far. In my opinion, the most material place for erecting the strongest works, is at the other end of the Carrying Place (at or near where the fort lately built, stands), which is about seventeen miles distant from it. It seems to me that a regular strong fort there, would be a much more essential one for covering the country against the attacks of the French, from the river Champlain, through the three several routes that lead from thence to it, than one at Lake George, which would leave it uncovered in two of those routes; besides, how could a fort at Lake George, be supported, when its communication with Albany was cut off, which, as your engineer rightly observes, would most probably be the case, if the French should take our fort at the Carrying Place. I would therefore recommend it to you in the strongest manner, as an object which deserves your attention, to have the . . . fort at the Carrying Place strengthened as much as the circumstances of your army will admit, consistent with your proceeding directly to Ticonderoge.1 As to the formidable strength of the enemy, you will have to encounter in your march thither, I have told you my 1 Letters of Shirley showing the importance of Crown Point and Fort Lyman are numerous. See Shirley to Governor Hopkins of Rhode Island, R. I. Col. Rec. 5, 461, for one in print. More important is Shirley's letter of Sept. 25, 1755 (Johnson Manuscripts, 3, II; Mass. Arch., Col. Ser. 54, 153), in reply to Johnson's of Sept. 22 (Johnson Manuscripts, 2, 237; Mass. Arch., Col. Ser. 54, 142). The latter had spoken of lack of zeal in the army, other obstacles to advance, and brought up the matter of his commission and instructions from Braddock. Shirley urged advance, and suggests to Johnson that General Lyman and Colonel Ruggles were worthy commanders if the former did not care to lead because of his wound. He was not convinced by Johnson's statement of the superiority of the French, and was eager for an aggressive movement. Moreover, as early as Sept. I Johnson had spoken of his impaired health, and his delay in reporting to Shirley led the latter to mistrust that Johnson was not willing to contribute to another's success. See note, ante, p. 259. sentiments at large in my last letter; and with regard to the gallant behaviour of their troops in the late actions, I must own, I differ widely in opinion from your engineer; their retreat was a very bad one, without conduct or resolution; they could not otherwise have suffered so great a slaughter as you say they did, in the short pursuit made of them by your troops and Indians, which jumped over the barricade of your camp after them. The more I think of your situation, the more advisable I think it will be for you to proceed to Ticonderoge; as the honor of His Majesty's arms and the interest of the colonies seem to require it. The consequences, I fear, will be bad, if you do not; and I can't but hope that you will see these matters in the same light which I view them in. The weak condition which I found this place in, and our want of dry provisions, have hitherto inevitably hindered me from proceeding in the expedition under my command; but both these obstacles will, I hope, be so far surmounted in three days, as to permit me to do it. I wish you a speedy recovery of your wound, and much success; and am, Sir, your most humble servant, To Major General Johnson. W. SHIRLEY. MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL COURT TO A Representation of the Case of his Maj- We herewith transmit you an Address of the General Assembly to his Majesty upon occasion of the late Success 1 1 B. M., Additional Manuscript 33029, 206. A transcript is in the Library of Congress. obtain❜d by his Majesty's Colony's Forces near Lake George, in which Address we represent the present State of our Affairs, and humbly crave that relief and Assistance which his Majesty in his great Wisdom and Paternal Goodness shall be pleased to afford us: We desire this Address may be immediately presented, but as we have not sett the Importance of the late Success in the fullest Light, neither have so largely represented the present Situation of Affairs, together with our particular Services as might be necessary in order to obtain what we hope for, it is needfull that we should add something further on these Heads. The proportion of Men this Province were by Contract to employ [for the Crown Point Expedition] in conjunction with the other Colony Troops was 1200, but so much had we the Design at heart that we made an Establishment for 1500, those Troops we apprehended might be sufficient to carry our Scheme into Effect, while we concluded that the Grand Expedition on the Ohio would have drawn the chief of their Attention and Strength that way, but the unhappy Defeat of that Army gave us so great an Alarm that we Voted a reinforcement of 2800 Men; it was while these Troops were raising that the late Action happen'd. The Enemy flush'd with their Success march'd about 2000 Men with Design to attack Fort Lyman not 50 Miles from Albany, but having made their Appearance turn'd off to follow General Johnson, who they learn'd had march'd but a little before to Lake George. In their way they came up with a party of our men, detach'd by General Johnson, who being overpower'd with Numbers retreated to the Camp, which the Enemy attack'd but were defeated and pursued, the particulars of which are set forth. in the General's Letter inclosed; but had not Providence turn'd the Victory in our favour, we tremble to think of the Consequence: New York and these Provinces would have laid open to their ravages, the Six Nations and other Indians lost to the English Interest, Albany could not have made a Stand, and by proceeding from thence up Mohawk river, they might possibly have cut off his Majesty's Regiments under General Shirley, then at Oswego, join'd their other Forces station'd at Cattarocky1 river, and had it in their power this Season so to have secured the great Lakes, and that part of the Country, as would have put his Majesty, or those Provinces to an Immense Charge in removing their Encroachments. But altho' the Enemy have received a very great Check by this seasonable Defeat, and the Ardour of our people is greatly heightened, we are not for all this quite out of pain as to the Success of the present Enterprize, and have much to apprehend from their future Attempts; this would not indeed be the Case had we only to deal with the Canadians and their Indian Allies, but for some time past, and at present the Treasure, and great Numbers of the regular Troops of Old France are employed against us, and this Province, upon whose Loyalty Zeal and Resolution his Majesty may place as great a Dependance as upon any other of his Provinces, have already exerted themselves in the common Cause so much beyond their Ability, that in our own Strength we can proceed but little further. Not to mention the Number of Men employed the last Year in the Kennebeck and other Services we have near 8000 Men now employed against the Enemy, which Number will appear by the following Computation, about 1500 Men of the 2000 are gone to Nova Scotia, about 1000 were encouraged to enlist in Governor Shirley's and Sir William Pepperrell's Regiments, and it was supposed that one or both of those regiments would have gone in the Service General Johnson's Army is now engaged in, 4300 are now in and raised for the Army under General Johnson, upwards of 500 are stationed at our Forts and Garrison Houses on the Frontiers, about 600 are employed in scouting parties and other Military Services. Above 5400 of these Troops are in the actual pay of this Government, and we must soon have a larger Number, as all the Indians on our Borders have now commenced Hostilities against us. The fortresses we have lately built and are now building for 1 Otherwise the St. Lawrence River, known also by its French names as the Iroquois or Cadaracoui at the point of outlet for Lake Ontario. |