taken. But ftill there was a defile to be paffed, and feveral redoubts to be mastered, which covered the village of Cunnerfdorf. These were attacked with the fame refolution, and taken one after another. The enemy made another ftand at the village, and endeavoured to preferve their ground there, by pufhing forward feveral battalions of horfe and foot; but their refiftance there proved not more effectual than it had done every where else they were driven from poft to poft quite to the laft redoubts. For upwards of fix hours fortune favoured the Pruffians, who every where broke the enemy by an unparalleled flaughter. They had driven them from almost all the ground which they had occupied before the battle, they had taken more than half their artillery; fcarce any thing feemed wanting to the moft complete decifion. The King in thofe circumftances wrote a billet to the Queen, to this effect, "Madam, we have beat "the Ruffians from their entrenchments. In two hours expect to "hear of a glorious victory." This news arrived at Berlin, just as the poft was going out, and the friends of the King of Pruffia throughout Europe, exulted in a certain and conclufive victory. Mean time Fortune was preparing for him a terrible reverse. The enemy, defeated in almoft every quarter, found their left wing, fhattered as it was, to be more entire than any other part of the army. Count Soltikoff therefore affembled the remains of his right, and gathering as many as he could from the center, reinforced that wing, and made a ftand at a redoubt, which had been erected on an advantageous eminence, in a place called ; the Jews burying geonnd. Nothing was wanting to finish matters in favour of the King, but to drive the Ruffians from this their laft hope. But this enterprize was difficult. It is confidently faid, that the Pruffian generals were unanimous in opinion, that they should not endeavour at that time to push any further the advantages they had obtained. They reprefented to the King, that the enemy was ftill very numerous, their artillery confiderable, and the poft which they occupied of great ftrength; that his brave troops who had been engaged for fo long a time, in the feverest action perhaps ever known, and in one of the hottest days ever felt, were too much exhausted for a new attempt; an attempt of fuch extreme difficulty as might daunt even troops that were quite fresh. That the advantage he gained would be as decifive in its confequences as that at Zorndorf; and whilft the enemy filled the gazettes of their party, with frivolous difputes of the field of battle, he would be reaping, as he did then, all the effects of an unquestioned victory. That the enemy would be obliged to retire immediately into Poland, and to leave him at liberty to act in other quarters, where his prefence was full as neceffary. These reasons were very cogent; and for a few moments they seemed to have fome weight with the King. But his character foon determined him to a contrary refolution. He could not bear to be a conqueror by halves. One effort more was alone wanting to that victory, which would free him for ever from the adverfary, which had leaned heaviest on him during the whole war. Once more he put all to the ha zard. zard. His infantry still refolute and fupported by their late fuccefs, were readily brought to act again. They drew on their bodies fainting with heat and labour to a new attack. But the enterprize was beyond their ftrength. The fituation of the enemy was impregnable; and their artillery, which began to be fuperior to that of the Pruffians, on account of the difficulty of the ground, which made impoffible for the latter to bring up any other than a few fmall pieces, repulfed thefe feeble battalions with a great flaughter. With an astonishing, perhaps with a blameable perfeverance, the Pruffian infantry was brought to a fecond attack, and were a fecond time repulfed, and with a lofs greater than at first. These efforts being unfuccessful, the affair was put to the cavalry. They made redoubled, but ufelefs attacks; the horfes were fpent as well as thofe they carried. It was juft at that time when the Pruffian horfe was wafted by thefe unfuccefsful efforts that the greatest part of the Ruffian, and the whole body of the Auftrian cavalry, which had been hitherto quite inactive, and which was therefore quite fresh, rushed down upon them, broke them to pieces, forced them back upon their foot, and threw the whole into irreparable diforder. The whole army was feized with a panic; and in a few minutes thofe troops fo lately victorious and irrefiftible, were totally difperfed and defeated. The King did every thing to restore the field, hazarding his perfon even beyond his former daring, and prodigal of a life which he feemed to think ought not to be feparated from conqueft. Thrice he led on his troops to the charge; two horfes were killed under him; feveral balls were in his cloaths. The efforts of skill, courage and despair were made, and proved ineffectual; a fingle error outweighed them all. Scarcely a general, hardly an inferior officer in the army was without fome wound. That of General Seidlitz was particularly unforturate; for to that wound the failure of the horfe which he commanded was principally attributed. It was to the fpirit and conduct of this able officer, that a great part of the fuccefs at Zorndorf was owing, in the laft campaign. It is known, that if it had not been for a feasonable movement of the horse, the whole Pruffian army had then been in great danger of a defeat. The night and the prudent ufe of fome eminences, which were defended as well as circumftances would admit, preferved the Pruffian army from total deftruction. However, their lofs was far greater than any which they had fuftained from the beginning of the war. All their cannon was taken. The killed, wounded and prifoners, by the most favourable accounts, were near twenty thousand. General Putkammer was killed on the fpot. Thefe generals whofe names are fo diftinguifhed in this war, Itzenplitz, Hulfen, Finck, Wedel, and Seidlitz, were among the wounded; as was the Prince of Wurtenburg, and five major generals. The enemy could not have fewer than ten thoufand killed on their fide. For hardly ever was a more bloody battle. When the King of Pruffia found himfelf obliged to quit the field, he fent another difpatch to the Qreen expreffed in this manner, "Re"move from Berlin with the roy"al family. Let the archives be "carried carried to Potzdam. The town may make conditions with the "enemy." We should in vain attempt to draw the picture of the court and city, on the receipt of fuch news in the midst of the joy, which they indulged for that which they had received but a few hours before. The terror was increased by the indiftinct relation that foon followed, which gave them only to underftand that their army was totally routed; that there was no account of the King, and that a Ruffian army was advancing to take poffeffion of their city. The day after the battle the King of Pruffia repaffed the Oder, and encamped at Retwin. From thence he moved to Fuftenwalde, and placed himself in such a manner, that the Ruffians did not venture to make any attempt upon Berlin. He continually watched their army; a part of which inftead of turning towards Brandenburgh marched irto Lufatia, where it joined that of the Auftrians. Here the victorious General Soltikoff, for the first time, met M. Daun, and amidst rejoicings and congratulations, confulted about the measures for improving their fuccefs. The Ruffian and Auftrian armies thus united, fcarce feemed from their ftrength and their victories to have any other deliberation left, than of what part of the Pruffian dominions they fhould take immediate poffeffion. The King was twice defeated with a vast lofs. He was cut off from all communication with the army of his brother Prince Henry; yet to the aftonishment of all the world, the fuperior, the victorious and united army acted upon the defenfive, and were curbed in all their motions, and fruf trated in all their defigns by the inferior, the beaten and divided. Nothing ever fhewed the genius of the King of Pruffia more fully than his condu& after the battle of Cunnerfdorf. In a few days after fo terrible a defeat, every thing was in order in his camp. He fupplied the lofs of his artillery from his ftores in Berlin. He recalled General Kleift with about five thoufand men from Pomerania; in prefence of two fuch armies as thofe of M. Daun and Count Soltikoff, he detached fix thousand men from his small body, to the relief of Saxony, where the army of the Empire had availed itself of his abfence to reduce the whole country. Hall, Wittemberg, Leipfic, Torgau, and at laft Drefden itself had opened their gates to their Imperialifts. With the remainder of his troops he put himself between the Ruffians and Great Glogau, covered that city which was the object of the enemy's defigns, and faw them foon after, notwithstanding their two victories, obliged to return again into Poland; and to leave him free for the reft of the campaign. What was done by the King of Pruffia fince that time, will be the fubject of another chapter; after we have related the proceedings of the English and French in America, to which the order of time directs our prefent attention. But we can not difmifs the affairs of Germany, in which two fuch battles as those of Minden and Cunnerfdorf were fought, with events fo different for the common caufe, without obferving fomething concerning the two generals who conducted them. They are certainly in reputation the firft in Europe, which probably never never produced two greater men; tho' they differ as much in their characters, and in the kind of talents they poffefs, as they agree in the greatnefs of their abilities for war. The King of Pruffia rapid, vehement, impatient, often gives decifive blows; but he often miffes his ftroke and wounds himself. Prince Ferdinand is cool, deliberate, exact and guarded; he fees every poffible advantage, he takes it at the moment, pursues it as far as it will go, but never attempts to push it further. Nothing in the man difturbs the commander. In him we do now fee a person who is a great foldier; it is the idea of a perfect general; it is a genera! in the abstract. Ferdinand fuffers his temper to be guided by his business. He never precipitates matters; he takes them in their order and their courfe, and trufts nothing to fortune. The king on the other hand leads, and even forces circumstances; he does not endeavour to remove but to overleap obftacles; he puts all to the rifque; and by fuffering fortune to play her part in his defigns, he acquires a fplendor and eclat in his actions, which mere wifdom could never give them. Prince Ferdinand is famous for never committing a fault. The King of Pruffia is above all the world in repairing thofe he has committed. Like fome of the great mafters in writing, whenever he makes or feems to make a miftake, it is a fignal to the obferver to prepare for fome great and admirable ftroke of fpirit and conduct. His errors feem to be fpurs to his abilities. He commits an error, he repairs it; he errs again, and again attonithes us by his manner of efcaping. We should often condemn the commander, but that we are always forced to admire the hero. CHAP. VI. Plan of the campaign in North America. Three expeditions. Ticonderoga and Crown Point abandoned. Col. Townfpend killed. Expedition to Niagara. Col. Prideaux killed. Sir William Johnson defeats the French. Takes the Fort of Niagara. Confequences of this. T HE theatre of our operations in America is of fuch a vaft xtent, that if we had perfevered in the course we purfued for fome time, in attacking but one place at once, the war would inevitably be fpun out to an extreme length, without bringing on any thing decifive; and it would have rendered our natural fuperiority of little ufe, by fuffering the French to collect, as they had hitherto done, their ftrength into one fingle point, which enabled them to contend with us, with a force fufficient for the service in that country. This year another method was followed. It was propofed to attack the French in all their ftrong pofts at once; to fall as nearly as poffible at the fame time upon Crown Point, Niagara, and the forts to the fouth of Lake Erie, whilft a great naval armament, and a confiderable body of land forces fhould attempt Quebec, by the river St. Lawrence. This plan was very advifeable, as it tended to weaken by diftracting the refiftance of the enemy, and whilst we adhered to it, it was clearly impoffible for the French to maintain their ground in any of these places places which were attacked, withOut very weakly defending, or even deferting fome of the others; and if by the means of fuch diverfions any one of thofe places fhould fall into our hands, the campaign could not be faid to be spent to no purpofe. But befides the end in diftracting the enemies defence, there was another propofed of no lefs confequence; which was to make a concurrence in all the various operations, so that whilst they divided the enemy, they might mutually fupport one another. General Amherst who commands the American forces in chief, with the moft confiderable body, amounting in regulars and provincials to about twelve thousand men, was to attack Ticonderoga and Crown Point by Lake George; the reduction of those forts would naturally lay open the Lake Champlain, where having eftablished a fufficient naval force, he was by the river Sorel, which forms the communication between this lake and the great river St. Lawrence, to proceed directly to Quebec the capital of Canada, Here he was to make a junction with General Wolfe and Admiral Saunders, who having entered the river St. Lawrence at the oppofite quarter, would probably have commenced the fiege of Quebec, by the time that General Amherst might find it practicable to join them. It was not doubted that if this junction could be effected, the reduction of that city would follow of course. The third of the grand operations was against the fort, near the falls of Niagara; a place of very great confequence both in war and in peace. The reduction of this was committed to Brigadier General Pri deaux, under whom Sir William Johnfon commanded the provincials of New York and feveral Indians of the Five Nations, who were engaged in our service by the credit that gentleman has obtained among their tribes. The object of this operation lay too remote from the others, to expect with any great confidence, that they would be affifted by its fuccefs in any other manner than by weakening the enemies forces. However it was hoped that if they should be fortunate enough to take Niagara, early in the season, the troops might be embarked on the Lake Ontario, and finding no longer any obftruction from Fort Frontenac, which was destroyed laft year, might fall down the river St. Lawrence, and poffibly either make themselves maiters of Montreal, or by their approach at least, draw fuch a force. to that part as greatly to facilitate our defigns upon Quebec and Crown Point. But if this fcheme in addition to its own end, fhould not facilitate either of the other two capital undertakings, it would probably, as it was the most important place the French had in that part of the world, draw all the troops they had upon the lakes to attempt its relief, which would leave the forts on thofe lakes exposed to a fourth though inferior expedition, which was made against them by general Stanwix. In reality it afterwards had that effect. The army under General Amherft was the first in motion. The Lake George, or as the French call it, Lake Sacrament, is a long but in proportion narrow water, about forty miles in length, and enclofed on either fide with marfhy grounds. This communicates by |