This com

vated place which commanded the town. pelled the French to hazard a battle, which was fought on the 13th of September, in which general Wolfe was killed, and the French general, Montealm, mortally wounded; but the French were defeated; and in a few days the town was surrendered to general Townsend upon capitulation.

395. Operations at Quebec in 1760. General Murray, with six thousand troops, was left to garrison Quebec. By means of the rigors of the climate, and a want of fresh provisions, one thousand of these men died before spring, with the scurvy, and two thousand were disabled from duty. Near the close of April, the French troops, which had been collected during the winter, to the number of ten thousand, attacked general Murray, and defeated his small army, with considerable loss. But general Murray retreated to the town, which he bravely defended, against superior numbers, until the arrival of a squadron of ships, and the destruction of the French ships in the river, induced the French commander, Vaudreuil, to abandon the siege.

397. Final reduction of Canada. Early in the summer of 1763, general Amherst put in motion his troops, with a view to attack Montreal, the last fortress of consequence remaining in the hands of the French. Advancing from Albany to the lake, he took the French fort at Isle Royal, and proceeded down the St. Lawrence to Montreal, where he was joined by general Murray, from Quebec. While preparing to lay siege to the place, Vaudreuil made offers of capitulation, which were accepted, and the town was surrendered on the 7th of September. A small French squadron, sent with provisions and stores to relieve the troops at Montreal, was destroyed by captain Byron, in the bay of Chaleurs. The inhabitants of Canada submitted, and took the oath of allegiance to the British crown. Thus, after a century of wars, massacres, and destruction, committed by the savages, the colonies were secured from ferocious invaders, and Canada, with a valuable trade in furs, came under the British dominion.

398. Expedition of colonel Montgomery. While

the troops were conquering Canada, the Cherokees, a powerful tribe of savages, were committing outrages on the frontiers of Virginia and Carolina. Governor Lyttleton, of South Carolina, with a body of colonial troops, entered the country, and obliged the Indians to sue for peace, which was granted. But the savages violated the treaty, and attempted to surprise a fort on the frontiers of Carolina. General Amherst, on application, sent colonel Montgomery, with twelve hundred troops, to protect the southern colonies. This officer penetrated into the heart of the Cherokee country, plundering and destroying all the villages and magazines of corn. revenge, the savages besieged fort Loudon, on the confines of Virginia; the garrison, after being reduced to extreme distress, capitulated; but on their march towards Carolina, a body of savages fell upon the party, and murdered five and twenty of them, with all the officers, except captain Stuart.

In

399. Progress and termination of this war. Colonel Montgomery being obliged by his orders to return to Canada, the Carolinians were alarmed for the safety of the colony, and prevailed with him to leave four companies of men for their defense. Canada being entirely subdued, general Amherst sent colonel Grant, with a body of troops, who landed at Charleston early in 1761. These troops, being joined by a regiment of colonial forces under colonel Middleton, undertook an expedition into the Cherokee country; in which they defeated the savages, with the loss of fifty or sixty of their own men. After destroying fourteen Indian towns, with the corn and stores, the troops repaired to fort Prince George for rest and refreshment. In a few days after, several chiefs of the Indians arrived with proposals of peace, which were gladly received and peace concluded.

400. Conclusion of the war in Europe, and the peace of Paris. The reduction of Canada, and the expulsion of the French from the Ohio, put an end to important military operations in America. The great purpose of the war, which was to expel or cripple the power of the French, on the western frontiers, was happily accomplished. In Europe, the war continued to rage,

and in the West Indies, the British, aided by colonial troops, took Havanna from the Spaniards in 1762; an expedition in which multitudes of men fell victims to the bilious plague. But on the 10th of February, 1763, a definitive treaty of peace was signed at Paris, by which the French king ceded Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and Canada to the British king, and the middle of the Mississippi, from its source to the river Ibberville, and the middle of that river to the sea, was made the boundary between the British and French dominions in America. Spain ceded to Great Britain, Florida and all her possessions to the east of the Mississippi. Such was the state of the European possessions in America, at the commencement of the revolution.

QUESTIONS.

374. Why did the expedition against Canada under sir William Phips fail?

375. Who attempted to bring Connecticut under New York, and what was the result?

376. Who took possession of Nova Scotia in 1690 ?

377. What events took place in the war in Queen Ann's reign ?

378. What expedition was planned against Canada?

379. What attempt was planned against Canada in 1711, and what was the result?

380. When and how was Lewisburg taken ?

381. What great expedition was planned by the French to recover Cape Breton, and what the event?

382. What plan was formed in 1754 to secure the colonies? 383. What was the result of the plan?

384. What occasioned the war of 1754?

When and in

what manner did general Washington commence his military career?

385. Where was general Braddock defeated?

386. Who planned to take Crown Point?

337. When and by whom was Nova Scotia conquered? What was done with the inhabitants?

388. Who were the commanders of the English forces in America in 1756?

389. What were the military operations in 1757?

390. When and by whom was Cape Breton re-taken? 391. What great defeat did the English suffer under general Abercrombie ?

392. Who took fort Duquesne, and gave name to Pittsburg? 393. Who took Ticonderoga and Crown Point in 1759 ? 394. Who took the fort at Niagara ?

395. Who defeated the French before Quebec, and was killed?

397. Who reduced Canada in 1760?

398. Who defeated the Indians in Carolina ?

399. What defeated the Cherokees ?

400. What put an end to military operations in the colonies? When was peace between England and France signed?

CHAPTER XI.

BILLS OF CREDIT.

401. History of paper money. After the year 1660, while the people of America were subject to the crown of Great Britain, their commerce was entirely regulated by acts of parliament, which limited and restrained the trade of the colonies principally to British ports. By this means the colonies were deprived of the benefit of many of the best markets for their produce; and the enterprising spirit of the inhabitants was checked, or rendered subservient to the politic views of the parent state. In consequence of these disadvantages, the balance of trade was usually against the colonies; that is, they imported goods to a greater value than they exported; and the difference was paid in specie, as long as it could be procured. This unprofitable trade exhausted the colonies of money, to a distressing degree; and when the public exigencies called for extraordinary taxes, the peo ple could not pay them in cash. For a long period, taxes were paid in produce, which was deposited in public stores and sold to raise money. But this was very troublesome and expensive; and the colonies adopted the plan of issuing bills of credit for a medium of trade, in lieu of specie.

402. First emission of bills of credit in Massachusetts. The colony of Massachusetts, in 1652 coined, into small pieces, a quantity of silver bullion taken from

the Spaniards, or received from the West Indies, in the course of trade. The pieces bore the figure of a pine tree, and circulated in New England. This practice continued more than thirty years, and this was the only instance of a mint in the colonies. But this coinage extended only to small change, and could not supply the requisite cash for the colony. The unfortunate expedition against Quebec in 1690, had created a considerable debt against Massachusetts which there was no money in the treasury to pay. When the soldiers re

turned, they clamored for their wages; a tax was laid to raise the money; but to prevent a mutiny, the colony issued bills of credit which were to be received in payment of the tax. With these the soldiers were paid; the value of them sunk immediately one third; but as the bills were receivable on the tax, as the time of payment approached, they gradually appreciated.

403. Subsequent emissions of paper money. To defray the expenses of another expedition against Quebec in 1711, Massachusetts issued a large sum in bills of credit, and in 1714 and 1716 no less than the value of a half million of dollars. Besides these sums, the colony had, from time to time, issued bills to pay the expenses of government, and neglected to redeem the bills, until their depreciation, and its consequent evils had alarmed the crown, and a royal order had been sent to the governor to restrain all further emissions, until the bills extant should be redeemed. Many schemes were projected to preserve the value of the bills; some part of them were lent to individuals on security; others rested on the faith of government, which was pledged to redeem them; in one case a private company was formed to support their declining credit. But all expedients failed, and in 1749, when the sums in circulation, amounted to more than seven millions of dollars, the value had sunk to about one twelfth of the value of specie.

404. The redemption of the Massachusetts bills. The honorable efforts of Massachusetts in the conquest of Lewisburg, had induced the parliament of Great Britain, to grant one hundred and eighty thousand pounds sterling, to indemnify that colony for her ex