Part 13 (1/2)

HIS DEFEAT AT GREAT MEADOWS.

A MEMBER OF BRADDOCK'S STAFF.

BRADDOCK'S CRUs.h.i.+NG DEFEAT.

WAs.h.i.+NGTON RETIRES TO MOUNT VERNON.

TO THE PUPIL

1. Write on the following topics, using a paragraph for each: George Was.h.i.+ngton's early home; his school-training; George and his mother; the boy soldier; the young athlete; the truthful boy.

2. It would be well for you to commit to memory George's rules of conduct.

3. Give an account of the young surveyor's life in the woods out in the Shenandoah Valley. Imagine the two young fellows riding alone through the forest, and the scene in the woods when the Indians danced by the huge fire.

4. Trace on your map Was.h.i.+ngton's perilous journey to the French forts. What was the purpose of this journey? Travel in imagination with Was.h.i.+ngton on his return to Williamsburg, and tell, in the first person, some of your experiences.

5. What do you think of General Braddock? In what way was he defeated? This was one of the battles of the Last French War.

What caused this war?

6. Find as many words as you can that describe George Was.h.i.+ngton.

CHAPTER XI

James Wolfe, the Hero of Quebec

[1727-1759]

[Ill.u.s.tration: James Wolfe.]

We have just seen how the English and the French struggled to get control of the Ohio Valley. But the fighting in the Last French War was not confined to this region. Many of the battles were fought to secure control of two waterways. One of these was the route to Canada, including Lakes George and Champlain, and the other was the St. Lawrence River. Indeed, the crowning feature of the Last French War was the heroic effort made by a young English general to capture Quebec.

This young general was James Wolfe. He was born in the southeastern part of England in 1727. From his father, who was an officer in the English army, he inherited a love for the soldier's life. But in all the trials and dangers to which he was exposed in his short and stormy career, he continued to be a devoted son, his love for his mother being especially tender and sincere. With her he kept up a regular correspondence, in which he freely expressed his inmost thoughts and feelings.

When only sixteen years of age he was sent to Flanders as an adjutant in a regiment of the English army. Here, by faithful and thorough work, he won promotion and soon, through bravery and skill, received an appointment as brigadier-general. At the age of thirty-two he was sent to America to a.s.sist in an expedition to Louisburg, and played a large part in the capture of that stronghold.

He presented an awkward figure. At that time he was tall and slender, with long limbs, narrow shoulders, and red hair tied in a queue behind.

His face was plain, with receding chin and forehead, and up-turned nose.

But his keen, bright eyes, full of energy and fearlessness, gave him an attractive countenance and revealed a heroic nature.

His health was never robust. As a child he was delicate, and as a youth he had frequent attacks of illness. But his resolute will and his high ideals enabled him to do what others of a different mould would never have attempted. He was governed, too, by an overmastering sense of duty, which was his most striking trait.

Although at times extremely impatient, his tenderness and frankness of nature easily won enduring friends.h.i.+ps. His soldiers loved him so dearly that they were willing to follow him through any dangers to victory or death.

After the capture of Louisburg, Wolfe was so worn by the demands upon his strength that he returned to England and went to Bath for treatment.

At this time he met Miss Katherine Lowther, to whom he soon became engaged.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Quebec and Surroundings.]