Book: Elements of Military Art and Science

H >> Henry Wager Halleck >> Elements of Military Art and Science




But it is unnecessary to further discuss this question We repeat what
has already been said, no matter what may be the relative cost of ships
and forts, the one, as a general thing, cannot be substituted for the
other. Each has its own sphere of action, and each will contribute, in
its own way, to the national defence; and any undue increase of one, at
the expense of the other, will be attended by a corresponding diminution
of national power.[25]

[Footnote 25: For further information concerning our system of sea-coast
defences, the reader is referred to House Doc. 206, twenty-sixth
Congress, second session; Senate Doc. 85, twenty-eighth Congress, second
session; and to the annual reports of the Chief Engineer.]




CHAPTER VIII.

OUR NORTHERN FRONTIER DEFENCES.


In discussing engineering as a branch of the military art, we spoke of
the use of fortifications on land frontiers, and their influence on the
strategic operations of a campaign. A brief notice was also given of the
different systems that have been proposed for arranging these defensive
works. Let us now apply this discussion to our northern frontier.

The principle laid down by Napoleon and Jomini, "that fortifications
should always be constructed on important strategic points," is
undoubtedly the correct one: but how to determine these points is a
question that will often perplex the patience and try the skill of the
engineer; yet determine them he must, or his fortifications will be
worse than useless; for a fort improperly located, like a cannon with
its fire reversed on its own artillerists, will be sure to effect the
destruction of the very forces it was designed to protect.

The selection of positions for fortifications on our northern frontier
must have reference to three distinct classes of objects, viz.: the
security, _first_, of the large frontier towns, where much public and
private property is exposed to sudden dashing expeditions of the foe,
made either on land or by water; _second_, of lake harbors, important as
places of refuge and security to our own ships, or to the enemy's fleets
while engaged in landing troops or furnishing supplies to an invading
army; _third_, of all strategic points on the probable lines of
offensive or defensive operations. These objects are distinct in their
nature, and would seem to require separate and distinct means for their
accomplishment; nevertheless, it will generally be found that positions
selected with reference to one of these objects equally fulfil the
others, so intimately are they all connected. To determine the strategic
points of a probable line of military operations is therefore the main
thing to be attended to in locating fortifications. That such points of
maximum importance are actually marked out by the peaceful or hostile
intercourse of nations cannot be doubted.

The _relative_ importance of cities and towns is less varied by the
fluctuations of commerce on a land frontier than on the sea-coast. The
ever-changing system of "internal improvements," by furnishing new
highways and thoroughfares for the transportation of the products of
manufacturers and agriculture, either continually varies the relative
standing of the seaports already opened, or opens new ones for the
exportation of these products, and the importation of foreign articles
received in exchange. But these "internal improvements" are seldom
carried so far as to connect together two separate and distinct
countries, and consequently the principal places on the dividing line
usually retain their relative importance, no matter how often they may
have declined during times of hostility, or again flourished with the
increased commercial intercourse which results from peace. The principal
European places of traffic near the frontiers have remained the same for
ages, and in all probability ages hence the great frontier marts will be
nearly the same as at present. This stability of rank among border towns
is not confined to commercial influence; the same holds true with
respect to that established by intercourse of a hostile character.
Military history teaches us that lines of hostile operations, and the
fields upon which the principal battles between any two countries have
been fought, are nearly the same, no matter how remote the periods of
comparison. These points and lines, so important in commerce as well as
in war, result from the natural features of the ground, and we ought
therefore to expect that they would be as little liable to sudden
changes as the character of the earth itself.

From these remarks it will readily be perceived that there are three
distinct methods of determining the strategic points between this
country and Canada: 1st, by an examination of the topography of the two
countries; 2d, by tracing out the main channels of commercial
intercourse; 3d, by reviewing the lines of their military operations.
The last method is the least liable to error, and perhaps is the most
easily understood, inasmuch as it is sometimes difficult to point out
the precise degree of connection between prospective military lines and
the channels of commerce, or to show why these two have a fixed relation
to the physical features of the country. In the present instance,
moreover, this method furnishes ample data for the formation of our
decision, inasmuch as the campaigns between this country and Canada have
been neither few in number nor unimportant in their character and
results.

In tracing out the main features of the early wars upon our northern
frontier, it must be borne in mind that nearly the same portion of
country which is now possessed by the English, was then occupied by the
French, and that the English possessions in North America included the
present Middle and Northern States. At the period of the American
revolution the French and English had completely changed ground, the
armies of the former operating in the "States," while the English were
in possession of Canada.

The first expedition to be noticed against that portion of the country,
was conducted by Samuel Argall, who sailed from Virginia in 1613, with a
fleet of eleven vessels, attacked the French on the Penobscot, and
afterwards the St. Croix.

In 1654, Sedgwick, at the head of a small New England army, attacked the
French on the Penobscot, and overrun all Arcadia.

In 1666, during the contest between Charles II. and Louis XIV., it was
proposed to march the New England troops across the country by the
Kennebec or Penobscot, and attack Quebec; but the terrors and
difficulties of crossing "over rocky mountains and howling deserts" were
such as to deter them from undertaking the campaign.

In 1689, Count Frontenac, governor of Canada, made a descent into New
York to assist the French fleet in reducing that province. His line of
march was by the river Sorrel and Lake Champlain. An attack upon
Montreal by the Iroquois soon forced him to return; but in the following
January a party of French and Indians left Montreal in the depth of a
Canadian winter, and after wading for two and twenty days, with
provisions on their backs, through snows and swamps and across a wide
wilderness, reached the unguarded village of Schenectady. Here a
midnight war-whoop was raised, and the inhabitants either massacred or
driven half-clad through the snow to seek protection in the neighboring
towns.

In 1690, a congress of the colonies, called to provide means for the
general defence, assembled at New York, and resolved to carry war into
Canada: an army was to attack Montreal by way of Lake Champlain, and a
fleet to attempt Quebec by the St. Lawrence. The former advanced as far
as the lake, when the quarrels of the commanding officers defeated the
objects of the expedition. The Massachusetts fleet of thirty-four
vessels, (the largest carrying forty-four guns each,) and two thousand
men, failed to reduce Quebec, though the defences of that place were
then of the slightest character, and armed with only twenty-three guns.

In 1704, and again in 1707, Port Royal was attacked by costly
expeditions fitted out by the eastern colonies; and again, in 1709, a
land force of fifteen hundred men advanced against Montreal by Lake
Champlain; but nothing of importance was effected by either expedition.

In 1711, Lord Bolingbroke planned the conquest of Canada. The land
forces, numbering five thousand men in all, were separated into two
distinct armies, the one sent against Detroit, and the other against
Montreal by Lake Champlain; while a fleet of fifteen ships of war, forty
transports, and six store-ships, carrying a land force of six thousand
five hundred men, was to attack Quebec. The maritime expedition failed
to reach its destination, and after losing a part of the fleet and more
than a thousand men in the St. Lawrence, this part of the project was
abandoned. Nor was any thing important accomplished by either division
of the land forces.

The same plan of campaign was followed in 1712. An army of four thousand
men marched against Montreal by Lake Champlain, but on hearing of the
failure of the naval expedition and of the concentration of the French
forces on the river Sorel, they retired towards Albany.

The next expedition of any importance was the naval one of 1745 against
Louisburg. For the attack of this place the colonies raised about four
thousand men, and one hundred small vessels and transports, carrying
between one hundred and sixty and two hundred guns. They were afterwards
joined by ten other vessels carrying near five hundred guns. This
attacking force now, according to some of the English writers, consisted
of six thousand provincials, and eight hundred seamen, and a combined
naval force of near seven hundred guns. The troops landed, and laid
siege to the town. The garrison of the fortifications of Louisburg
consisted of six hundred regulars and one thousand Breton militia, or,
according to some writers, of only twelve hundred men in all. The
armament of these works was one hundred and one cannon, seventy-six
swivels, and six mortars. Auxiliary to the main works were an
island-battery of thirty twenty-two-pounders, and a battery on the main
land armed with thirty large cannon. Frequent attempts were made to
storm the place, but the most persevering efforts were of no avail, many
of the New Englanders being killed and wounded, and their boats
destroyed, while the garrison remained unharmed. At length, after a
siege of forty-nine days, want of provisions and the general
dissatisfaction of the inhabitants, caused the garrison to surrender.
When the New Englanders saw the strength of the works, and the slight
impression which their efforts had produced, they were not only elated
but greatly astonished at their success. It should be noticed, that in
the above attack the number of guns in the fleet was almost _three_
times as great as that of all the forts combined; and yet the _naval_
part of the attack was unsuccessful. The besieging army was more than
_four_ times as great as all the garrisons combined; and yet the place
held out forty-nine days, and at last was surrendered through the want
of provisions and the disaffection of the citizens. This place was soon
afterwards restored to the French.

We see that, thus far in these wars, the English were vastly superior in
strength and numbers, yet the result of the several campaigns was
decidedly in favor of the French, who not only retained their
possessions in the North, but extended their jurisdiction to the mouth
of the Mississippi, and laid claim to the whole country west of the
Alleghany mountains. This success must be attributed, not to any
superiority of the Canadians in bravery, but to the higher military
character of their governors, _and more especially to their
fortifications_, which were constructed in situations most judiciously
selected, to influence the Indians and facilitate incursions into the
English colonies. The French pursued interior and central lines, while
the English followed exterior and divergent lines. The disparity of
numbers was always very great. At the beginning of the eighteenth
century, the whole population of the colonies amounted to upwards of one
million of souls, while that of both Canada and Louisiana did not exceed
fifty-two thousand. But the French possessions, though situated at the
extremities of a continent and separated by an almost boundless
wilderness, were nevertheless connected by a line of military posts,
strong enough to resist the small arms that could then be brought
against them. This fort-building propensity of the French became a
matter of serious alarm to the colonies, and in 1710 the legislature of
New York especially protested against it in an address to the crown.
While the military art was stationary in England, France had produced
her four great engineers--Errard, Pagan, Vauban, and Cormontaigne; and
nowhere has the influence of their system of military defence been more
strikingly exhibited than in the security it afforded to the Canadian
colony, when assailed by such vastly superior British forces. Still
further accessions were now made to these English forces by large
reinforcements from the mother country, while the Canadians received
little or no assistance from France; nevertheless they prolonged the war
till 1760, forcing the English to adopt at last the slow and expensive
process of reducing all their fortifications. This will be shown in the
following outline of the several campaigns.

Very early in 1755, a considerable body of men was sent from Great
Britain to reinforce their troops in this country. These troops were
again separated into four distinct armies. The _first_, consisting of
near two thousand men, marched to the attack of Fort Du Quesne, but was
met and totally defeated by one-half that number of French and Indians.
The _second_ division, of fifteen hundred, proceeded to attack Fort
Niagara by way of Oswego, but returned without success. The _third_, of
three thousand seven hundred men, met and defeated Dieskau's army of
twelve hundred regulars and six hundred Canadians and Indians, in the
open field, but did not attempt to drive him from his works at
Ticonderoga and Crown Point. The _fourth_, consisting of three thousand
three hundred men and forty-one vessels, laid waste a portion of Nova
Scotia; thus ending the campaign without a single important result. It
was commenced under favorable auspices, with ample preparations, and a
vast superiority of force; _but this superiority was again more than
counterbalanced by the faulty plans of the English, and by the
fortifications which the French had erected, in such positions as to
give them a decided advantage in their military operations._ Washington
early recommended the same system of defence for the English on the
Ohio; and, after Braddock's defeat, advised "the erection of small
fortresses at convenient places to deposit provisions in, by which means
the country will be eased of an immense expense in the carriage, and it
will also be a means of securing a retreat if we should be put to the
rout again."

But this advice of Washington was unheeded, and the campaign of 1756 was
based upon the same erroneous principles as the preceding one. The
_first_ division, of three thousand men, was to operate against Fort Du
Quesne; the _second_, of six thousand men, against Niagara; the _third_,
of ten thousand men, against Crown Point; and a _fourth_, of two
thousand men, was to ascend the Kennebec river, destroy the settlements
on the Chaudiere, and, by alarming the country about Quebec, produce a
diversion in favor of the third division, which was regarded as the main
army, and was directed along the principal line of operations. The
entire French forces at this time consisted of only three thousand
regulars and a body of Canadian militia. Nevertheless, the English, with
forces nearly _six times_ as numerous, closed the campaign without
gaining a single advantage.

We here see that the French, with very inferior forces, still continued
successful in every campaign, uniformly gaining advantage over their
enemy, and gaining ground upon his colonies. By the possession of Forts
William Henry, Ticonderoga, and Crown Point, they completely commanded
Lake George and Lake Champlain, which afforded the shortest and easiest
line of communication between the British colonies and Canada. By means
of their forts at Montreal, Frontenac, Detroit, &c., they had entire
dominion of the lakes connecting the St. Lawrence with the Mississippi,
and Canada with Louisiana; moreover, by means of Fort Du Quesne and a
line of auxiliary works, their ascendency over the Indians on the Ohio
was well secured. But experience had at length taught the English
wherein lay the great strength of their opponents, and a powerful effort
was now to be made to displace the French from their fortresses, or at
least to counterbalance these works by a vast and overwhelming
superiority of troops.

In 1757, a British fleet of fifteen ships of the line, eighteen
frigates, and many smaller vessels, and a land force of twelve thousand
effective men, were sent to attempt the reduction of the fortifications
of Louisburg; but they failed to effect their object.

In 1758 the forces sent against this place consisted of twenty ships of
the line and eighteen frigates, with an army of fourteen thousand men.
The harbor was defended by only five ships of the line, one fifty-gun
ship, and five frigates, three of which were sunk across the mouth of
the basin. The fortifications of the town had been much neglected, and
in general had fallen into ruins. The garrison consisted of only two
thousand five hundred regulars, and six hundred militia. Notwithstanding
that the number of guns of the British fleet exceeded both the armaments
of the French ships and of all the forts, these British ships did not
risk an attack, but merely acted as transports and as a blockading
squadron. Even the French naval defence, and the outer works commanding
the harbor, were reduced by the temporary land-batteries which Wolfe
erected; and the main work, although besieged by an inequality of forces
of nearly _five_ to _one_, held out for two months, and even then
surrendered through the fears and petitions of the non-combatant
inhabitants, and not because it had received any material injury from
the besiegers. The defence, however, had been continued long enough to
prevent, for that campaign, any further operations against Canada. The
whole number of the English land forces in this campaign was computed at
fifty thousand men, of which more than forty thousand were in the field.
The _first_ division, of nine thousand men, was directed against Fort Du
Quesne, whose garrison did not exceed as many hundred. The _second_
division, of sixteen thousand effective troops, proceeded against
Ticonderoga and Crown Point; while a detachment of three thousand men
captured Fort Frontenac, then garrisoned by only one hundred and ten
men. The whole force of the French amounted to only five thousand; the
English attempted to drive them from their works by storm, but were
repulsed with a loss of near two thousand men, while their opponents
were scarcely injured. The _third_ division acted, as has just been
stated, in concert with the naval force against Louisburg.

In 1759, the _western_ division of the English army, consisting of a
strong body of Indians, and five thousand troops, wasted the whole
season in reducing Fort Niagara, which was garrisoned by only six
hundred men. The _central_ column of thirteen thousand men was
sufficiently successful to enable it to winter at Crown Point. The
_eastern_ division of eight thousand men under Wolfe ascended the St.
Lawrence with a fleet of twenty-two ships, thirteen frigates, and
fourteen sloops, and smaller vessels, carrying one thousand nine hundred
and ninety guns, and five thousand five hundred and ninety seamen. The
naval defence of Quebec consisted of eight frigates, carrying two
hundred and ten guns; the land forces numbered about nine thousand, and
the fortifications were armed with ninety-four guns and five mortars,
only a part of which could be brought to bear upon the anchorage ground.
Several attempts were made by the combined forces to carry these works,
but they proved equally unsuccessful. Although the English fleet carried
_twenty times_ as many guns as the forts, their inability to reduce
these works was acknowledged. The siege had continued for two months,
and still the fortifications were uninjured. General Wolfe himself
distinctly stated, that, in any further attempt to carry the place, the
"guns of the shipping could not be of much use;" and the chief engineer
of the expedition gave it as his opinion, that "the ships would receive
great damage from the shot and bombs of the upper batteries, without
making the least impression upon them." Under these circumstances it was
finally determined to endeavor to decoy Montcalm from his works, and
make him risk a battle in the open field. In an evil hour, the French
consented to forego the advantages of their fortifications, and the
contest was finally decided on the plains of Abraham, with forces nearly
equal in number. Both Wolfe and Montcalm fell in this battle, but the
former on the field of victory; and five days afterwards the inhabitants
of Quebec, weakened and dispirited by their losses, surrendered the
town, although its fortifications were still unharmed.

The French, in this campaign, had relinquished all idea of opposing the
enemy in the open field, and confined their efforts to retard the
advance of the English till France could send troops to their relief;
but no such relief came, and when the campaign of 1760 opened, the
little French army was concentrated at Montreal. As the English
divisions advanced, one by Oswego, one by Lake Champlain, and the third
by Quebec, they afforded to the French a fine opportunity for the
strategic movement from a centre against converging lines; but the
garrison was too weak to hope for success in either direction, and
therefore awaited the enemy within their works. Montreal, being but
slightly fortified, was soon reduced, and with it fell the French
empire erected in this country at infinite labor and expense.

At the first outbreak of the American Revolution, it was so obviously
important to get possession of the military works commanding the line of
Lake Champlain, that expeditions for this purpose were simultaneously
fitted out by Massachusetts and Connecticut. The garrisons of these
works were taken by surprise. This conquest, says Botta, the able and
elegant historian of the Revolution, "was no doubt of high importance,
but it would have had a much greater influence upon the course of the
whole war, if these fortresses, _which are the bulwarks of the
colonies_, had been defended in times following, with the same prudence
and valor with which they had been acquired."

In the campaign of 1775, an army of two thousand seven hundred and
eighty-four effective men, with a reserve of one thousand at Albany,
crossed the lake and approached the fortress of St. John's about the 1st
of September. The work was garrisoned by only about five or six hundred
regulars, and some two hundred militia. This was the only obstacle to
prevent the advance of our army into the very heart of Canada; to leave
it unreduced in rear would cut off all hope of retreat. Allen had
already made the rash and foolish attempt, and his whole army had been
destroyed, and he himself made prisoner. The reduction of this place was
therefore deemed absolutely necessary, but was not effected till the 3d
of November, and after a long and tedious siege. This delay decided the
fate of the campaign; for, although Montreal fell immediately
afterwards, the season was so far advanced that a large portion of our
troops, wearied with their sufferings from cold and want of clothing,
now demanded their discharge. The eastern division, of one thousand men
under Arnold, crossing the country by the Kennebeck and Chaudiere,
through difficulties and suffering almost unparalleled, arrived
opposite Quebec on the 9th of November. The place was at this time
almost without defence, and, had Arnold possessed a suitable pontoon
equipage, it might easily have been taken by surprise. But by the time
that the means for effecting a passage could be prepared, and a junction
could be effected between the two American armies, Quebec was prepared
to sustain their attack. The result of that attack is too well known to
require a repetition here.

Early the next season it was deemed necessary to withdraw the American
army from Canada. This retreat of undisciplined troops, in the presence
of vastly superior numbers of the enemy, would have been extremely
hazardous had it not been effected on a line of forts which were held by
our own troops. As it was we sustained no considerable loss.

Carleton pursued on rapidly, to co-operate with General Howe, who was
now lying at New York with over one hundred ships and about thirty-five
thousand troops; but he received a decided check from the guns of
Ticonderoga, and retired again to Canada.

Copyright (c) 2007. knowncrafts.net. All rights reserved.