pedition I have the fullest perswasion, with the Assembly of the Massachusetts Bay and throughout the province. The Expressions of your Grace's kind regard for me in your Letter have greatly added to my Obligations to your Grace for the Patronage and protection, with which you have been pleas'd to honour me hitherto, and encourage me farther to request of Your Grace to procure of His Majesty leave for me to come to England for a Twelve month for the reestablishment of my Health and the Settlement of my private affairs, as soon as may be consistent with His Service here; which I hope may be sometime next Summer. The very close Application, which His Majesty's Service has indispensibly requir'd from me ever since I have been in my Government, but especially for these last Eighteen Months, and the Fatigue and anxiety, which have attended my duty during that time, having occasion'd the Intire Loss of my Appetite and fix'd a violent headache upon me, to which I was an Intire Stranger before, and which will irretrievably destroy my health unless I can soon have a Relaxation from publick Business; and I am in hopes that during my Residence in England I may not be wholly unusefull there to His Majesty by having an Opportunity of more fully laying before the Ministry some points, which greatly concern his Service here and the welfare of his Colonies, than I can do by Letters from hence. I am with the most gratefull sense of my Obligations to your Grace, and the most dutifull regard My Lord Duke Your Grace's most Obedient and most devoted Servant W. SHIRLEY. P.S. Cloathing for 1500 men is, as I am inform'd, just arriv'd here from Boston, and the Assembly have rais'd the Massachusetts Soldiers wages. His Grace the Duke of Newcastle Endorsed: Louisburgh Sept. 27. 1745 WILLIAM SHIRLEY TO WILLIAM PEPPERRELL1 Louisbourg, October, 2. 1745. SIR, His Grace the Duke of Newcastle having acquainted both of us that the Lords Justices had it under Consideration whether one or more Regiments should be establish'd of the American Troops under your Command, whereby their Excellencies seem to think a sure Dependence may be had upon our raising one or more Regiments out of those Troops, I desire you would give me your Sentiments upon this point, and let me know what Number of the Troops now rais'd you think we may depend upon to continue in his Majesty's Service here as Garrison Soldiers upon the common Terms of Enlistment; and what measures you think may be the most Adviseable for us to pursue in order to raise one or more Regiments in New England for the Service of this Garrison. I think it is necessary for me to transmit our Opinion home to his Grace concerning this matter, that his Majesty may know what may be depended upon in it, and that his Service may not be disappointed by his Expectation of what is not practicable here. Be pleased to favour me with your Opinion in writing, and you will oblige Sir, Your most Assured Sir William Pepperell. Friend and Humble Servt W. SHIRLEY. 1 Original A. L. S., Mass. Hist. Society, Belknap Manuscripts, 61 B, p. 171. 2 A draft of Newcastle's letter of Sept. 11, to Shirley and Pepperrell announcing that two regiments were to be formed from the American troops and that Shirley and Pepperrell were to be their respective colonels is in P. R. O., C. O. 5, 45, p. 209. Shirley did not receive his official promotion however until Oct. 10, when a letter from the War Office announced that his regiment with others would form the garrison for Cape Breton (War Office Mss. in P. R. O., 4, 41, p. 7). Another reason for asking Pepperrell how large an enlistment could be relied upon was that at the Council held Sept. 17, a spirit of discontent appeared quite pronounced in the army. See Record of Council in C. O. 5, 900, p. 229. WILLIAM SHIRLEY TO WILLIAM PEPPERRELL.1 SIR, Louisbourg, October 7, 1745. As my friend Mr Kilby has desired me to use my interest with you that he may be agent of your regiment, designed to be established out of the American troops now under your command, I would beg the favour of you that you would give me the promise of it for him. This is what I have much at heart to obtain of you, and if I have any interest with you, shall not be without hopes of succeeding in my request. You know the gentleman whom I recommend very well, and he is your friend. If it was necessary for me to give him a character to you, I should say that he has deserved extremely well of the Province, and is a person of great integrity and honour and a good friend. Your answer to me in a line will much oblige, Sir, Your most humble servt. Sir William Pepperrell, Baronett. 1Printed: 6 Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. 10, 377. 2See Shirley to Pepperrell, Oct. 2, preceding. W. SHIRLEY.3 'Pepperrell's reply to this request follows: Sir, Your Excellency's favour of this date I received, and should have preventd your giving yourselfe the trouble of writing, if my indisposition of body had not preventd my waiting on you and shewing you a letter I wrote to our friend Mr Kelby, wherein I have promisd that if I should have a regiment I will use my endeavour that he be appointd agent to it. And nothing will give me more pleasure than obliging your Excellency in serving any friend of yours. I am with all dutyfull regards, Your Excellency's most obedt humble servt. LOUISBOURG, October 7th, 1745. W. P. WILLIAM SHIRLEY TO THE DUKE OF MY LORD DUKE, NEWCASTLE1 Louisbourg, October 28, 1745. The Council and House of Representatives of the Province under my Governmt having taken Occasion in a late Address to me to desire, that upon my Arrival here "I would give Orders that a full Account of the Proceedings of the New England Forces rais'd under my Commission for the Reduction of Cape Breton during the late Siege of this Place to the time of it's Surrender should be transmitted in the most effectual manner, and as soon as possible to his Majesty," I have caused the inclosed Account of their Proceedings and Services from their first landing at Canso to the time of the Surrender of his Place to be taken upon the Spot from Persons who were privy to every Part of the Transactions, and to be laid before Sr. Wm. Pepperrell and other principal Officers of the Army for their Perusal and Attestation, and am persuaded from my Own Observations upon the Spot as well as the Accounts of these Gentlemen, that it contains a just Representation of the Conduct and Behaviour of the Troops in the Reduction of this Place, and now take the Liberty to transmit it to your Grace, pursuant to the Assemblys Request to me. 1 P. R. O., C. O. 5, 900, p. 240. An Autograph copy of this letter sent by Shirley to Governor Wentworth of New Hampshire is among the Massachusetts Manuscripts in the Library of Congress. Other accounts of the capture of Louisbourg are noted in Winsor, "Narrative and Critical History of America," V, 410413, 434-447. See also the pamphlet: Shirley, William, A letter to the Duke of Newcastle with a Journal of the Siege of Louisbourg etc. London, 1746, and Pepperrell, William, A letter to Captain Henry Stafford with An Accurate Journal and Account etc. Exon. 1746. See also the Journal published for the American Antiquarian Society, 1910, from an original manuscript account of the Pepperrell Expedition in its Collections, edited with notes and bibliography by Charles Henry Lincoln. The Sum of this Account is, That the New England Troops having sail'd from Canso the 29th of April, till which time they were detain'd there by the unusual Quantity of Ice in Chappeau-rouge Bay, came to an Anchor the next Morning between 9 and 10 in the Bay, at the Distance of about two Miles from Flat Point Cove; where being discovered by the Enemy, a Party of about 150 Men were detach'd from Louisbourg under the Command of Capt Morepang and Mr. Boulardrie to oppose their Landing. That General Pepperrell having made a Feint to land a Party in Boats at the Cove in order to draw the Enemy thither, did by a Signal from the Vessels cause those Boats suddenly to row back and join another party of Boats under his Stern, out of which were landed at two Miles d stance from the Cove about 100 of our Men, before the Enemy could come round to oppose 'em, who notwithstanding the Enemy had the Advantage of being cover'd by their Woods, attack'd 'em so briskly that they kill'd 6 of 'em upon the Spot, took as many Prisoners (among whom was Mr. Boulardrie) wounded several more, and after exchanging some Shot put the rest to flight (some of whom were taken Prisoners the next day) with the Damage sustained on our Side of only two Men's being slightly wounded. That 2000 of the Troops were landed the same day, and the Remainder being near 2000 more the day following. That on the next day a Detachment of 400 of our men march'd round to the North East Harbour behind the Range of Hills there, where they burnt all the Enemy's Houses and Stores in that Neighbourhood, at the Distance of about a Mile from the Grand Battery, whereby such a Terror was struck into 'em that the same Night they deserted that Battery, leaving the Artillery consisting of 28 Cannon of 42le Shott and two of 18le and the Ordnance Stores belonging to it (except their Powder which they threw into a Well) so precipitately that they only spik'd up their Cannon in a slight manner without knocking off any of the Trunnions, or doing other 1 The account in full covers about 4200 words and is found in C. O. 5, 900, p. 248, following this letter. |