New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-09-02
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
TIE TAKING OF LOUISBURG.

of IOuiSburg in l145 render 1t one OF tle 'hosU
cXaspcrating events OF American history, the
origin. organization and conduct OF the expcdl-
ton make it also one OF the most interesting.
Mr.. Drake has. therefore, done we'll to devote 10
it this compact monograph, which is all the more
attractive from having been written after per-
sonal examination OF the site and ruins OF the
great French fortress. There must always be
certain amount Of pcrpleNity concerning the fail
of Louisburg. Notwithstanding the massveness
of its structure and the engineering skill DC
slowed upon it's plan, the truth seems to be that
its strength was rather apparent than real and
without necessarily detracting in any way from
the credit due to the gallant men Of Pcppereils
expedition, it seems almost necessary to assume
fatal defects in the alignment of the defences
Else how could it be possible for body OF raw
recruits under leaders one and all equally Ignorant
of the art of war; to sit down before this supposed
"Dunkirk of America" and without sap. but By
the simple erection Of batteries on anything but
scientific principles, so to batter and damage both
the outer defences and the town they were to
guard that the one became untenable and the
other uninhabitable?
1t is true that Warrens blockade and the capture
of the annual supply ship contributed to the dis
couragcment of the beseced, and that their store
Of munitions anG supplies was approaching en-
haustion when the place was surrendered. But
the surrender was based o.. the theory that the
fortress could not withstand the general assault
for which both the fleet and army were making
preparation, and such reason for surrenderlng
q place of arms thought SO strong that. as those
who fortified it said, it could he held by
handful Of women" was o strange one. but
strange things characterize the entire history OF
Louisburg. and influence its successive transfers
powerfully. Clearly, il was serious blundcr Tor
the French, after taking Canso, which lay right
across from LOuisburg, and was natural rem
dezvous for any expedition against the latter, TO
abandon it.. 1t is not less clear that tho frcnco
Governor of Canada wss fataly negligent in pay
ing no attention TO the information Brought by
the Indians of the New England preparations.
Tho evacuation Of the Royal Battery on the land
Ing of tie expedition another fatcful mistake
On the American side the risks taken were very
great We can recall parallel in history to
the temcrty exhibited by these peaceful oolonists
in undertaking the capture of fortress the renown
of which was spread over tho world Governor
Shirlcy's notion that IL could be taken BY o
coup de main" without any siege operations at
all would have been cOmical had it not involved
50 great danger; for had Pepperell followed
the advice Of his superior the presumption must
he that the fate which afterward bcfell the as
saants of the Island Battery would have attended
the whole expedition. Never was SO audaclous
and apparently Eighty an enterprise adopted by
VIGOROUSLY sober and cool blooded men with n
like proinptness and enthusiasm ; and never were
the reasonable objections of judicious prudence
more set at namght by the event. Every trained
soldier would have said that the attempt was pre-
destined to disastrous failure on every imaginable
consideration, IncXperiencc lock OF discipline,
dcarth of material, all were dead against the
colonists. not 10 speak OF the Formidable Work
they were to attack. with it's tremendous defences
and its 80 heavy guns
But when the actual test was made the most
perplcxing Of all these difficulties melted away.
The panic which emptied the Royal Battery not
ony pu. In the bcsiegers hands the siege guns they
lacked but gave them vantage point from which
tlcv could modest and harass the city at once
Again, the very ignorance Of the science OF war
which. according to the conventions, ought TO have
occurred the failure of the Americans, actually
operated to shorten the siege. For whereas skiIe'
engineers would have proceeded by sap in the
orthodox circutous ways, these inexperienced men
simply chose sites for their batteries as near as
pnssiblc 10 the eremy's works, erected those bat
tcries in TIE night, and Immediately began To
hammer away at the dcfcnces in their 'front.'
rorty-dvc DAYS bombartlment, with but ore serious
check at the Island Battery, determined the tate
Of Louisburg: and in that surrender the french
LIST all the advantages of the triumphant end Ut
The continental campaign involved IN the Victory
OF FontCnoy With the fall CT LOuisburg, The en'-
pire Of Canada passed from France, moreover ana
the future of New England became assured. lien
came that thunderbolt of Governmental imbecility.
The restoration OF Cape Breton to France. IL
wight not be safe to ASSERT that this was the most
foolish act ever perpetrated By an English Min-
is,ry bu, it certainly was one Of tile most FOOLISH
acts ever so committed; and it was wrong 10
I'nln l,ich
have reused greater resentment than the SUB
seQucnt Stamp Tax.
THE home Government, indeed. fully recognized
the importance Of the capture OF Lousourg' 40
PcppereIl was given a barOnetcy for his conduct
of the expedition, and Warren. whose part IN
tho siege was but nominal, made an admiral
Jouisburg had been q standing menace to New
ENGLAND no less than wall Of defence to Canada.
Yet TO meet European needs OF tae moinehO' no
one OF which was nearly 50 important as tills inc
brilliant conquest WAS expunged from the recoro
and the fortress they had failed to Keep was
handed back 10 it's builders. For one thing, u
must have been perfectly obvious to oil concerned
that the new situation could not endure france
could not hold Louisburg without ASSUMING all
AGGRESSIVE attitude toward Ncw-England. New
England could not continue TO prosper COLL
ucrcally or otherwise with that menace forever
q, her door Fourteen years later LOutsburg had
n be taken again, and the most signal testimony
IN the practical wisdom of PeppcrelS siege plans
consists in tho fact that the second expedition
trod literally and absolutely in the footsteps
of the first. following out the same operations
10 the same conclusion. When the place fell IN
1853 the victors destroyed the forahcatens 81
far as they could; and SO massive were Tho
dcfences that after several months of blasting
md digging it. was found necessary to leave the
great earthworks virtually in their normal con-
dition Even tho storms OF a hundred ana thirty
wears have not, according ~ Mr.. Drake. succeeded
In lcycIlinc these sreat works. and Of the masonry
many classmates still remain.
The capture OF Louisburg in l745 was practi-
oally altogether On American feat Of arms War
rem contributed to it little more than the blockade
and tho falrinn of the supplY ship. This great