Page:History of the United States of America, Spencer, v1.djvu/198

174, a proposal carried by only a single vote. The northern States, invited to coöperate against the common enemy, furnished some small supplies of men and money, but the chief burden fell upon Massachusetts itself. The enthusiasm of her citizens was enkindled by religious zeal as well as commercial interest: all classes offered themselves as volunteers, from the hardy woodman of the interior, to the intrepid fisherman of the coast. The celebrated Whitfield, at the time on a preaching tour throughout the colonies, aided the expedition by his stirring eloquence, and suggested as a motto for the flag of the New Hampshire regiment, "Nil desperandum duce:" "Nothing is to be despaired of with  as our leader."

Early in April ten vessels, with a body of over three thousand men, assembled at Canso, to wait there the melting of the ice and the arrival of the Connecticut and Rhode Island quotas. Very fortunately they were here joined by four English ships of war, under the command of Captain Warren, who, at the solicitation of Shirley, had been ordered to coöperate zealously with the expedition. Over the New England armament was William Pepperell, a wealthy merchant of Maine, but who had no further knowledge of military affairs than he had obtained by commanding the militia. On the morning of the last day of April, the squadron arrived off Louisburg, the troops were landed in spite of opposition, and the siege was carried on with all the energy of courage and enthusiasm, though uninstructed and inexperienced in the art of war. Cannon were dragged through morasses and over rocky hills, and batteries were established in an irregular sort of way; but no impression was made upon the works, and after the first outburst of excitement was spent, the most sanguine were compelled to admit that the place seemed all but impregnable, and that the campaign promised to be both long and arduous. Happily the greatest friends of the besiegers were a discontented garrison and embarrassed governor, whose supplies had been already cut off by the vigilance of the English fleet, that now succeeded in capturing, under his very eyes, a ship of war sent to his relief. To hold out longer with any chance of success was impossible, and on the 17th of June he accordingly surrendered. This important capture was looked on by the pious New Englanders as "a remarkable providence," and caused great rejoicings at Boston. The enterprise indeed was all their own, though its success had been materially promoted by succors from the mother country, where their energy and prowess were duly recognised, not without some slight tincture of jealous apprehensions for the future. Pepperell was made a baronet, and both he and Shirley received commissions as colonels in the British army. Warren was made rear admiral. The attempt under the Duke D'Anville, with a large fleet and several thousand veteran troops, to retake Louisburg, was defeated by storms and fatal sickness. The French, however, obtained possession again of this strong fortress by the terms of the