Canada, the empire of the North; being the romantic story of the new dominion's growth from colony to kingdom (1909) (14760904131)

Identifier: canadaempireofno00laut (find matches)
Title: Canada, the empire of the North; being the romantic story of the new dominion's growth from colony to kingdom
Year: 1909 (1900s)
Authors: Laut, Agnes C. (Agnes Christina), 1871-1936
Subjects: Canada -- History
Publisher: Boston, London : Ginn and company
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN



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men dashes downshore for Flat Cove to prevent the landing.Pepperrell out-tricks the enemy by leaving only a few boats tomake a feint of landing at the Cove, while he swings his mainfleet inshore round a bend in the coast a mile away. Here, witha prodigious rattling of lowered sails and anchor chains, thecrews plunge over the rolling waves, pontooning a bridge ofsmall boats ashore. By nightfall the most of the English havelanded, and spies report the harbor of Louisburg alive withtorches where the French are sinking ships to obstruct theentrance and setting fire to fishing stages that might inter-fere with cannon aim. The next night, May 1, Vaughans NewHampshire boys—-raw farmers, shambling in their gait, singingas they march — swing through the woods along the marsh THE SIEGE OF THE GREAT FORT 217 behind the fort, and take up a position on a hill to the far side ofLouisburg, creating an enormous bonfire with the French tarand ships tackling stored here. The result of this harmless
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WILLIAM PEPPERRELL maneuver was simply astounding. It will be recalled that Louis-burg had an outer batter)- of forty cannon on this side. TheFrench soldiers holding this battery mistook the bonfire for the 2l8 CANADA: THE EMPIRE OF THE NORTH English attacking forces, and under cover of darkness abandonedthe position, —battery, guns, powder and all, — which the Eng-lish promptly seized. This was the Royal Battery, which com-manded the harbor and could shell into the very heart of the fort.The next thing for the English was to get their heavy gunsashore through a rolling surf of ice-cold water. For two weeksthe men stood by turns to their necks in the surf, steadying thepontoon gangway as the great cannon were trundled ashore ; andthis was the least of their difficulties. The question was how toget their cannon across the marsh behind the fort to the hill onthe far side. The cannon would sink from their own weight insuch a bog, and either horses or oxen would flounder to deathin a