CHAPTER XI
FORT TICONDEROGA AND THE ASSAULT
The following morning the Rangers were sent to the front, to the placewe occupied the day before. Captain Stark with Captain Abercrombie andMr. Clark, the engineer, went with two hundred Rangers to RattlesnakeHill to reconnoitre the French works.
Fort Ticonderoga was at the southern end of the narrow strip of landwhich lies between Lake Champlain and the outlet of Lake George. Ahalf-mile to the north of the fort, a little ridge runs across thepeninsula. As we looked down from the hill, we saw the French hard atwork on a strong breastwork of logs which they had nearly completed. Ateither end of it was low, marshy ground, difficult to pass. Thebreastwork zigzagged along the ridge in such a manner that if troopsattacked it, the French could rake them with grapeshot, and it was toohigh to climb over.
"How are we going to get over that breastwork, Edmund? There's no slopeto it, and we can't reach within two feet of the top."
"Oh, we'll knock it to pieces with cannon, and then we can rush over it.Our officers will know what to do."
"There won't be any rushing through that mass of sharpened stakes thatthey have driven into the ground in front of the works."
"No. That's so. There's a regular thicket of them with the pointssticking out toward us. They'll have to be cut off or torn up, and theFrench will be raking us all the time."
"See those Canadians cutting down the forest just beyond the stakes. Thetops of the trees fall outward, and the branches are matted together. IfAbercrombie thinks his army can march up to the breastwork, he's greatlymistaken."
"Yes; it will be a piece of work to scramble through those branches; andthen comes the abattis of stakes; and then a wall eight feet high.Montcalm knows his business, Ben. I wish he were on our side. We shallhave no easy task. It looks tough to-day, and it will be worseto-morrow."
[Sidenote: THEY INSPECT TICONDEROGA]
"We shall lose a good many men. Possibly we may go through the swamp, atthe ends of the breastwork."
"Where's Amos?"
We looked round and saw Amos, with his back turned toward us. He seemeddeeply interested.
"What is it, Amos? What are you looking at?"
"I tell you, boys, I think this hill's about the best place forp-pigeons I ever saw. There's a good spot for a booth, and that littletree would make a fine standard for a p-pigeon p-pole."
"Hang your pigeons! You may be dead to-morrow. Look down the lake,Edmund. See the reenforcements of French regulars with their white coatsrowing up Champlain. They'll be at Fort Ti in half an hour."
We were told to get ready to go back. I overheard Mr. Clark say:--
"Oh, we can take a place like that by an assault with small arms. We'llgive them a taste of the bayonet. We don't need cannon."
Stark replied: "I don't think so. Bring some cannon up here, and you canrake the breastwork and drive them out; or take cannon round in front,and you can knock the breastwork to pieces in half an hour, and then youcan easily take the place by assault; but otherwise you cannot."
"Oh, I assure you, my dear sir, we can carry a place like that by anassault easily. You provincials have no idea what British officers andBritish regulars can do."
"I know what Braddock did," said Stark.
We came down the mountain and joined the rest of the Rangers. Stark wentwith Clark to report to General Abercrombie. He returned and said thatAbercrombie had agreed with Clark on an attack with small arms only.
"To-morrow you'll see a sad sight. You'll see the finest army there everwas in America killed off by the stupidity of its commanding officer.Why couldn't poor Lord Howe have been spared two days longer, to wineverlasting renown? We talked this over as we lay on our bearskins atSabbath Day Point; and if he were alive, there would be no suchtomfoolery and murder."
[Sidenote: THE ARMY ADVANCES]
We lay down in the woods by the river, and slept on our arms. The sunrose the next morning clear and bright. We received orders to advance.We crept through the forest till we came to the open place, where thegreat trees lay on the ground with their tops toward us.
About two hundred of the French were concealed in the mass of boughs,and fired at us. We got behind trees and logs and returned their fire.
Bradstreet's batteaux men now formed on our left, Gage's light infantryon our right, and three regiments of provincials came up behind us. Weexchanged a scattering fire with the enemy. Then we pushed into the massof boughs and drove the French back into their breastwork.
Colonel Haldiman and the grenadiers now came up in solid formation. Weseparated and let them pass. They struggled through the trees. TheHighlanders of the Black Watch followed them; and I caught sight ofHector, as he went by us, looking very grim and determined. I waved mycap at him, but he was too intent on the work ahead to see me.
What a jaunty, ugly, devil-may-care set of fellows they were! Theiruniforms set off their figures to advantage. Their faces showed theywere eager for the fight. Their bayonets were fixed, for they had beenordered to take the works by a bayonet charge. When they got through thetrees, their formation was completely broken up; but they advanced tothe abattis of sharpened stakes, and were met by a terrible fire ofgrape and musket shot that mowed them down. They stood at the abattis,hacking away at the stakes, falling in heaps before the shower ofgrapeshot. They took off their bayonets and fired at the enemy. Some gotthrough the abattis, and went up to the breastwork, eight feet high.They tried to scale it, but could not. Unwilling to retreat, they stoodin front of it, exchanging shots with the French, shaking their guns atthem, and cursing them in Gaelic.
[Sidenote: THE REGULARS REPULSED]
"They're b-brave enough, Ben, and hang on like bulldogs; but they can'tget over that b-breastwork, unless they grow a couple of feet in am-mighty short time."
We watched this attack with great interest, for we had wonderfulexpectations as to what the regulars would do; and they had ridiculedthe provincials and lauded themselves so long, that their confidencebecame unbounded. How they were to take the breastwork in this way, wecould not see. But we waited in the hope of seeing the impossible occur.At last the few who were left were driven back.
As they returned, we saw Hector supporting his brother Donald. We ranout from the fallen trees, and helped him through the branches.
"'Deed, man, that was the hottest place I ever was in, and I'm well outof it with naught but a bit of lead in my leg. I dinna envy the poorfellows who have to go in there again."
After this attack there was a lull. Abercrombie, who was in a safe placetwo miles away, ordered another attack. Some of the provincial regimentswere with them. They rushed into the space, like so many cattle into anenclosure, where they were knocked over without a chance to get at theirenemy.
We were eager for the Rangers to join in this assault, and asked: "Whydon't we advance?" "Why doesn't Rogers order us to attack?" "We ought tohelp those men and be in the thick of the fight."
Old McKinstry said: "Don't you see, boys, why we don't advance? Becauseit's all nonsense and folly. We have no orders to go ahead, and Rogersknows it's nothing but murder to put us up before that wall to be shotdown. We're doing the best work where we are. See me take off thatofficer with the white coat." He fired, and the officer fell back."There, if you can knock over three or four of them, you've done yourshare."
"He's right, after all, Ben. We're killing more men by picking them offthan the regulars are."
[Sidenote: THEY RESCUE A BRAVE MAN]
I felt easier in my mind after this talk. We stood among the branches,and fired at the heads that appeared above the breastwork.
These assaults were kept up all the afternoon. At five the mostdetermined one took place, and some of the Highlanders succeeded ingetting over the breastwork, only to be immediately bayoneted. ColonelCampbell was killed in the fort, and Major Campbell was badly wounded.
While this attack on the right was going on, we saw a provincial who hadcrept close to the breastwork, and was pic
king off the Frenchmen.
He was seen by them, and a man fired and wounded him. But he jumped upand brained the man with his hatchet. Then he fell down. It was a pityto let such a brave man lie there to be killed and scalped by theIndians.
I turned to Edmund and said, "Can't we get that man out of there?"
"I will do what you will."
I shouted to our men to cover us as well as they could by their fire,and we ran forward.
The Rangers advanced a little, and opened fire at every head thatshowed above the breastwork.
Edmund and I got through the abattis and ran up to the wall. We joinedhands. The man sat on them, put his arms around our necks, and we ranoff with him.
Some of the enemy fired at us, but the Highlanders were taking most oftheir attention, and our men were good marksmen, so that but few showedtheir heads above the breastwork. Still, the bullets whistled about usin a most uncomfortable manner.
We found that the man we had saved was a Rhode Island provincial, namedWilliam Smith. He was boiling over with wrath against the French, sworeat them like a pirate, and though badly wounded would have crept back ifwe had not prevented him.
Amos listened to him with wonder, and said: "Your f-friend Smith, Ben,couldn't have b-been raised when there were tythingmen, or he'd havejust lived in the stocks. He must have great natural g-gifts to be ableto swear like that."
"Here come the regulars again."
[Sidenote: A PANIC]
They passed through the fallen trees, marched up to the breastwork, andagain made an attempt to scale it. The French raked them with grapeshot,and soon they came running back nearly frantic with fear. We let thempass and gazed at them with astonishment.
"That's human nature, boys," said McKinstry. "Those men have fought herefor six hours, a foolish, hopeless battle. They hung to it likebulldogs. No men could have been braver. All of a sudden the ideastrikes them that they are beaten, and they run away in a panic. It'sstrange. It's mighty strange, but it's human nature."
Rogers shouted: "Stay where you are, boys. Hold your ground and keep onfiring."
The Rangers and provincials remained among the fallen trees, exchangingshots with the enemy till dusk. Then we went up to the abattis andpicked out some of the wounded from among the heaps of dead men. Thiswas the hardest part of the day for me, stumbling over the dead, pickingup the poor wounded fellows and hearing them moan and cry as we carriedthem off.