strengthened with a proper Body of Regular Troops, without both which I think Defeat and Ignominy are most likely to be your Lot. I wish you and the Officers under your Command Success: and shall hope to hear from you by the Return of this Express; if not upon your March to Tionderoge, before this reaches Fort William Henry. I am etca: W. SHIRLEY. Major General Winslow a true Copy JAMS BRADFORD Secy. Endorsed: Copy Major General Shirley's Letter to Major General Winslow dated August 10th, 1756. In Majr. Genl. Shirley's Letter of Septr. 15th, 1756. SIR, WILLIAM SHIRLEY TO HENRY FOX1 Boston, August 13th, 1756. In my Letter of the 4th of July2 I had the Honour to acquaint you, that "I had the Satisfaction to find at a Meeting between myself, Major General Abercromby, Colonel "Webb, Major General Winslow, and the Commanding Officer "of the provincial Artillery, held at my Lodgings the Day I "left Albany, at General Abercromby's Request, that there was a very fair prospect of a right Understanding, good Agreement and Harmony's being maintain'd between the "Regulars and Provincials." Since then the Disposition of the Troops propos'd to Mr. 'P. R. O., C. O. 5, 46. A transcript is in the Library of Congress, 2 Ante, p. 478. Winslow at that Meeting by General Abercromby; which was that the Provincials should march to Tionderoge and attempt the Reduction of that and Crown point, and the Regulars move to Fort Edward and Fort William Henry upon their quitting them, and be ready there to march, and join the Provincials, in case they should find, upon their coming before Tionderoge, that they wanted their Assistance (and which was perfectly agreeable to the provincials,) hath been alter'd; and upon the Question's being put by General Abercromby to Mr. Winslow, and by him afterwards to the Field Officers of the provincials, vizt. “what "Effect a Junction of the King's Forces with the provincial Troops would have, if the former should be order'd to join the latter;" which must be meant of a Junction between the Troops upon the march of the provincials to Tionderoge; the Officers of the Provincial Troops have express'd a general Dissatisfaction at it; as will appear from the several papers inclos'd, which it is necessary for me to trouble you with, Sir, in order to set this matter in a full light. Upon this Turn, Sir, I thought it my Duty, tho' my Command is expir'd, to let Mr. Winslow, and thro' him the Field Officers of the provincials know my Opinion of their Behaviour; and have taken the liberty to offer my Sentiments upon this Emergency to the Earl of Loudoun. Tho' I am sensible how delicate a Point Rank is with the New England Irregulars, yet as the Massachusetts Assembly had, in the last year, when the Provincial Troops were first rais'd for the Expedition against Crown point, made Application to me to use my Endeavours to have my own and Sir William Pepperrell's Regiments, or one of them at least, employ'd in it in conjunction with the Provincial Troops; which I found afterwards, was likewise the desire of the other New England Governments; and I found no Difficulties the last Campaigne from those two Regiments. acting jointly with the New Jersey Regiment of Irregulars at Oswego; and the New England Officers were well appriz'd, at the time of their entering this Year into the Service for an Expedition against Crown point, of the King's Regulation of Rank between the provincial and Regular Forces when acting jointly (which, notwithstanding other pretences, is their only real difficulty at Bottom) I had, Sir, so little Apprehension of the provincial Officers starting such Objections, as they have done, to a Junction of Regular Forces with them, that I had determin'd in my own mind, before I knew it was his Majesty's pleasure to alter the Chief Command this Year, to have join'd the 44th and 48th Regiments with the Provincial Troops in the Attempt for the Reduction of the Forts at Tionderoge and Crown point, without committing any Question upon it to a Council of their field Officers for their consideration. As to the prejudices, they say the private Men have imbib'd against a Junction in this Case; provided the Officers had submitted to it, as it was their Duty to have done, I am perswaded, Sir, there is as little weight in that, as there is in the other Objection made by them, with regard to the several Governments where the Troops were rais'd, vizt: that if such a Junction was to be made now, they would 66 never raise any more Men for future Service;" which I look upon as groundless. However, as on the one hand, the Decision of the Question concerning the Junction of the Troops hath been so far committed to the Field Officers of the provincials, and they have given the Answer, they have done upon it, I think it would be running too great a risque to his Majesty's Service to have a Junction of the Troops order'd without a more favourable Answer from them upon this Point; And on the other, that if the Provincials should march without a Body of the Regulars ready at hand to support them, in case they should be attack'd by the French Regulars, where the Ground would admit of their forming in a Body to engage them, there might be danger of their being defeated; I have offer'd it to the Earl of Loudoun's Consideration, whether it might not be adviseable upon this Emergency, that a Body of the Regulars should march towards Tionderoge at the same time with the Provincials, in a separate Corps without interfering with the Field Officers in their Command, and at so short distances from those Troops, as to be ready to support them, if they should be attack'd by the French Regulars; in which Case the provincials would have, I am perswaded, no Scruple of admitting a Junction. If his Lordship should approve of this Expedient, there does not appear the least Shadow of an Objection against it in the Provincials, and I should hope it might secure all Points. Yesterday his Majesty's Frigate Mermaid arriv'd here from Halifax in order to carry me to England, and I shall embark, as soon as she is ready to receive me; before which time, I hope the Ship, which brings over the £120,000 Sterling for the Colonies will arrive, that I may see the £43,000 refunded, which I advanc'd to the Massachusetts, Connecticutt, and New Hampshire to enable them to raise Men in time for the Expedition against Crown point. Captain Shirley, who commands the Mermaid, brings an Account of a late Engagement off Louisbourg between two French Ships of the line and two of their Frigates, one of the former of which is suppos'd to be the Soleil Royal of 84 Guns, the other a 70 Gun Ship; one of the Frigates to be mounted with 40 or 44 Guns, and the other with 30 or 36; and the Grafton, Captain Holmes, of 70 Guns, the Nottingham, Captn. Marshall, of 60, and the Jamaica Sloop, Captn. Hood; That the Engagement lasted seven hours, in which the French were worsted, the largest of the French Ships having been so shatter'd, that She was oblig'd to be tow'd into Louisbourg Harbour by the Frigates in the night; That the Grafton had not above 40 Men kill'd and wounded, and the Nottingham and Jamaica Sloop an inconsiderable Number; the French 84 Gun Ship is suppos'd to have lost a very large Number. The two large French Ships were lately arriv'd from France with a Number of Soldiers, which they landed at Louisbourg, and soon after came out to attack the English Ships; and it is apprehended, that they may be forerunners of a French Squadron. Captain Shirley likewise informs me, that it is suspected at Halifax, that the French have 700 Men sculking on the Side of the peninsula next the Gulf of St. Lawrence with design to Attack our Fort at Gaspereau near Bay Verte. I have for some time look'd upon that End of the Isthmus as the most necessary for the English to fortify strongly, it lying expos'd to Attacks of the French from St. John's Island, Louisbourg and Quebec, thro' the Gulf of St. Lawrence, whereas we have little or nothing to fear from them on the Bay of Funda Side, where our own Strength lies; I observ'd it, Sir, to Governor Lawrence some Months ago for his Consideration, and that as Fort Lawrence seem'd to me, at present, to be of little or no Use, I thought the Expence of the Works, and the Garrison there might be spar'd towards strengthening Gaspereau, or erecting some proper Fort on a Spot near it. This at least seems to have been the policy of the French; while they were in possession of the Isthmus; the side on which their Danger lay was the Bay of Funda, thro' which they were expos'd to sudden Attacks from New England; and therefore they guarded against them by building their strong Fort on the End of the Isthmus next that Bay; But looking upon themselves to be more secure at the End of it next Bay Verte, as they might be supported on that Side by the beforemention'd places, they thought one of less Force, and strong enough to secure their Magazines there for supplying their Fort at Beausejour from a Surprize was sufficient on that Side. I have the honour to be with the Highest Respect, Sir, Your most Humble and Most Obedient Servant. W. SHIRLEY. Rt. Honble. Henry Fox, one of his Majesty's principal Secretaries of State. Endorsed: Boston Augt. 13th, 1756. Majr. Genl. Shirley. R Novr. 8th. |