of the Canadian campaign he was most fortunate.  Fort William Henry, at the foot of Lake George, and Fort Oswego, on the south side of Lake Ontario, were captured, but his signal victory at the former place was sullied by the massacre of defenceless men, women and children by his Indian allies, although it is now admitted by all impartial writers that he did his utmost to prevent so sad a sequel to his triumph.  The English Commander-in-Chief, Lord Loudoun, assembled a large military force at Halifax in 1757 for the purpose of making a descent on Louisbourg; but he returned to New York without accomplishing anything, when he heard of the disastrous affair of William Henry, for which he was largely responsible on account of having failed to give sufficient support to the defenders of the fort.  Admiral Holbourne sailed to Louisbourg, but he did not succeed in coming to an engagement with the French fleet then anchored in the harbour, and the only result of his expedition was the loss of several of his ships on the reefs of that foggy, rocky coast.

In 1758 Pitt determined to enter on a vigorous campaign against France in Europe and America.  For America he chose Amherst, Boscawen, Howe, Forbes, Wolfe, Lawrence and Whitman.  Abercromby was unfortunately allowed to remain in place of Loudoun, but it was expected by Pitt and others that Lord Howe, one of the best soldiers in the British army, would make up for the military weakness of that commander.  Louisbourg, Fort Duquesne, and the forts on Lake George, were the immediate objects of attack.  Abercromby at the head of a large force failed ignominiously in his assault on Ticonderoga, and Lord Howe was one of the first to fall in that unhappy and ill-managed battle.  Amherst and Boscawen, on the other hand, took Louisbourg, where Wolfe displayed great energy and contributed largely to the success of the enterprise.  Forbes was able to occupy the important fort at the forks of the Ohio, now Pittsburg, which gave to the English control of the beautiful country to the west of the Alleghanies.  Fort Frontenac was taken by Bradstreet, and Prince Edward Island, then called Isle St. Jean, was occupied by an English force as the necessary consequence of the fall of the Cape Breton fortress.  The nation felt that its confidence in Pitt was fully justified, and that the power of France in America was soon to be effectually broken.

In 1759 and 1760 Pitt’s designs were crowned with signal success.  Wolfe proved at Quebec that the statesman had not overestimated his value as a soldier and leader.  Wolfe was supported by Brigadiers Moncton, Townshend, Murray, and Guy Carleton—­the latter a distinguished figure in the later annals of Canada.  The fleet was commanded by Admirals Saunders, Durell and Holmes, all of whom rendered most effective service.  The English occupied the Island of Orleans and the heights of Levis, from which they were able to keep up a most destructive fire on the capital.  The whole effective force under Wolfe