Page:The Annual Register 1758.djvu/85

 the left, and the right followed the center, so that the landing was compleated, though not without much time and trouble, in an excellent order, and with little loss.

The operations of a siege are too minute and uninteresting to make a detail of them agreeable to readers, who are not conversant in the art military. The operations against Louisbourg for several days went on very slowly, owing entirely to the prodigious surf and the rough weather, which made it extremely difficult to land the artillery, stores, and instruments to be employed in the siege; however, the excellent conduct of the Generals Amherst and Wolfe, by degrees overcame all the difficulties of the weather, which was extremely unfavourable, the ground, which was rugged in some places and boggy in others, and the resistance of the garrison, which was confiderable. The French had five men of war of the line in the harbour, who could bring all their guns to bear upon the approaches of the English troops. The first thing done was to secure a point called the light-house battery, from whence he might play upon the vessels, and on the batteries on the other side of the harbour.

General Wolfe performed the service with his usual vigour and celerity, and took possession of this and all the other posts in that quarter. His fire from the post on the 25th silenced the island battery, which was that most immediately opposed to his; but the ships still continued to bear upon him until the 21st of the following month, when one of them blew up, and communicating the fire to two others, they also were in a short time consumed to the water edge. This was a loss not to be repaired; the approaches drew near the covered way, and things were in a good condition for making a lodgment in it; the enemies fire was considerably slackened; the town was consumed to the ground in many places, and the works had suffered much in all. Yet the enemy still delaying to surrender, gave occasion to add one brave action to the others which had been displayed during the course of this siege. The admiral, who had all along done every thing possible to second the efforts of the land forces, notwithstanding the severity of the weather, resolved on a stroke, which by being decisive of the possession of the harbour, might make the reduction of the town a matter of little difficulty. He resolved to send in a detachment of 600 seamen in boats to take or burn the two ships of the line which remained, and he should succeed in this, he proposed the next day to send in some of his own great ships, who might batter the town on the side of the harbour. This was not more wisely planned by the admiral, than gallantly and successfully executed by Captain Laforey.

In spite of the fire from the ships and the batteries, he made himself master of both these ships; one he towed off, and the other, as she ran aground, was set on fire.

This stroke, in support of the spirited advances of the land forces, was conclusive. The town surrendered the next day. The garrison were prisoners of war, and amounted with the irregulars and seamen to 5637.