On the 4th of April the levies from New England, having reached _Canso_, were encamped and brought into military order and discipline preparatory to the arrival of other corps from the several provinces, while the ships of war upon the coast, and some stout privateers, continued off the harbour of _Louisburg_, in order to cut off all intelligence of the projected enterprise. On the 23rd of April Commodore Warren arrived at _Canso_, and by the 29th all the land forces were embarked, and proceeded to _Gabaras Bay_, about four miles from the capital of _Cape Breton_. On the 30th of April 2000 men were landed at noon, who beat back a detachment of troops which was sent to prevent their disembarkation. On that and the following day three hundred seamen and _five hundred Marines_ were disembarked under cover of the vessels ranged along the coast. The troops were under the command of Brigadier-General William Pepperell, a native of Piccataway, and Colonel of American Militia. The French, conscious of the strength of their positions, maintained possession of the city until their means of defence were overpowered by the forces brought against them. By indefatigable labour, the British Marines, and the American provincials, succeeded in effecting an entrance into the harbour on the 1st of June, 1745; _Louisburg_ capitulated, and with it the whole dependency of _Cape Breton_; the object was attained with a loss little exceeding 100 men.[46] Two regiments were formed for service at Cape Breton, by Colonel William Shirley and Sir William Pepperell, each consisting of ten companies of 100 men per company: these were numbered the 50th and 51st regiments of infantry of the line. [Sidenote: 1746] In the year 1746 very serious complaints were made of the neglect and delay which had occurred in the settlement of the accounts of the Marine Corps, and a committee was appointed to investigate the grievances which had been represented. The cause of the delay was alleged to arise, in the first instance, from the absence of regular and periodical muster-rolls, according to the practice in regiments of the regular army. This system, it was stated, could not easily be acted upon in the corps of Marines, who were employed by detachments in the several ships of war. The investigation produced, however, the effect of a large balance in the hands of the Paymaster-General being repaid into the Bank of England, for the benefit of those who were justly entitled to it. The privations and inconveniences, which this meritorious body of troops had continued to endure for several years, did not affect their loyalty and steady allegiance, and they still remained the useful corps, in periods of emergency, they had always proved in former years.