n up the
fortifications. A stockade was formed, and a fort afterwards built
there. This was called Fort Pitt, and the place itself, Pittsburg. A
small garrison was left there, and the army, after having collected and
buried the bones of Braddock's men, retired to Virginia. The general,
who, though suffering terribly from disease, had steadfastly carried
out the enterprise in the face of enormous difficulties, died shortly
after the force returned to the settlements.

Another successful enterprise, during the autumn, had been the capture
of Fort Frontenac, and the gaining of a foothold by the English on Lake
Ontario.

Thus, the campaign of 1758 was, on the whole, disastrous to the French.
They had held their own triumphantly at Ticonderoga, but they had lost
their great fortress of Louisbourg, their right had been forced back by
the capture of Fort Duquesne, and their line of communication cut by
the destruction of Fort Frontenac.

Chapter 18: Quebec.

In the following spring, the French prepared to resist the serious
attack which they expected would be made by way of Lake Champlain and
Ontario. But a greater danger was threatening them, for, in the midst
of their preparations, the news arrived from France that a great fleet
was on its way, from England, to attack Quebec. The town was filled
with consternation and surprise, for the Canadians had believed that
the navigation of the Saint Lawrence was too difficult and dangerous
for any hostile fleet to attempt. Their spirits rose however when, a
few days later, a fleet of twenty-three ships, ladened with supplies
from France, sailed up the river.

A day or two later, the British fleet was at the mouth of the Saint
Lawrence, and the whole forces of the colony, except three battalions
posted at Ticonderoga, and a strong detachment placed so as to resist
any hostile movement from Lake Ontario, were mustered at Quebec. Here
were gathered five French battalions, the whole of the Canadian troops
and militia, and upwards of a thousand Indians, in all amounting to
more than sixteen thousand.

The position was an extremely strong one. The main force was encamped
on the high ground below Quebec, with their right resting on the Saint
Charles River, and the left on the Montmorenci, a distance of between
seven and eight miles. The front was covered by steep ground, which
rose nearly from the edge of the Saint Lawrence, and the right was
covered by the guns of the citadel