.
Above, beneath, around, the scenery was that of enchantment. It was a
complication of beauty and magnificence, on which the sun rarely
shines. But General Abercrombie was unequal to the command of such an
army. He left to incompetent Aides-de-Camp the task of reconnoitering
the ground and entrenchments, and without a knowledge of the strength
of the place, or of the points proper for attack, and without bringing
up a single piece of artillery, he issued his orders to attempt the
lines. The army advanced with the greatest intrepidity, and for upwards
of four hours (the duration of the battle of the Alma) maintained the
attack with incredible obstinacy. Nearly two thousand of the English
were killed or wounded, and a retreat was ordered. On reaching Lake
George, his former quarters, the defeated and mortified Abercrombie
yielded to the solicitations of Colonel Bradstreet, who desired to be
sent against Fort Frontenac, (now Kingston) on Lake Ontario. Three
thousand provincials were detached on this expedition, and in two days
the fortress had surrendered, and 9 armed vessels, 60 cannon, and
sixteen mortars, and a vast quantity of ammunition were taken
possession of. Fort du Quesne was evacuated on the approach of General
Forbes, with 8,000 men, and was re-named Pittsburg, in honor of the
Prime Minister of England, Mr. Pitt.

Elated by success, the entire conquest of Canada was now determined
upon by the English. Three powerful armies were simultaneously to enter
the French Province by three different routes--Ticonderoga and Crown
Point, Niagara and Quebec were to be attacked as nearly as possible at
the same time. On the 22nd of July, 1759, the successor of Abercrombie,
General Amherst, attacked, first, Ticonderoga, and then Crown Point,
both places being evacuated on his approach, the French retiring to
Isle Aux Noix, where General Amherst could not follow them, for want of
a naval armament. On the 6th of the same month, Fort Niagara was
invested by Sir William Johnston, who succeeded to the command of the
Niagara division of the army on the death of General Prideaux, an able
and distinguished officer, unfortunately killed, four days previously,
by the bursting of a cohorn. A general battle took place on the 24th,
which decided the fate of Niagara, by placing it in the hands of the
invaders.

The intended campaign of 1759, was early made known to General
Montcalm: that on Quebec was made known to him on the 14th of Ma