History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, Vol. 1: Compiled from the Original RecordsDuncan, Francis
History
History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, Vol. 1: Compiled from the Original Records
Duncan, Francis
Great Britain. Army. Royal Regiment of Artillery
But another motive was thirst for revenge. And why? Was there not room
on this vast continent for both nations to plant any wandering or
surplus children, without the vile passions seeking place, which thrive
in the hot-bed of crowded, neighbouring, and rival states? Here the old
poet's words come in most truly: "Cœlum, non animum, mutant, qui trans
mare currunt."
National jealousies _were_ reproduced: the French allied themselves in
Canada with the Indians, and incessant incursions were made thence by
them on the English colonies. Hardly a child grew up in New England who
did not know of some hideous tragedy in the domestic life of his
immediate neighbours, if not in his own family; from infancy one of the
articles of his creed was detestation of the French; and this feeling
found ready and revengeful expression whenever opportunity offered. But
revenge is not always true in its aim, is indeed often wofully blind;
and too often when maddened with thoughts of cruelty and outrage on his
wife or sisters—and what thoughts stir the Anglo-Saxon more fiercely?—he
would avenge himself wildly and recklessly on victims who mayhap were
innocent. And so the ghastly vendetta crossed from hand to hand, from
one side to the other, and hardly a year passed without its existence
being attested by tales of horror and of blood!
But the end for Port Royal was approaching, an end which was to mean
defeat, but was to ensure a lasting peace. In 1709, news reached the
Governor of an intended attack on a large scale in the ensuing spring by
the English; and as his garrison had recently been much reduced by
disease, he wrote, strongly urging its reinforcement either from France,
or from the French post at Placentia, in Newfoundland. Apparently, his
request was not complied with; and after a gallant, and almost heroic
resistance, Port Royal capitulated in the following year to the
expeditionary forces under the command of Colonel Nicholson, comprising
regular troops from England, militia from New York, and a strong train
of Artillery,—the whole being supported by a powerful fleet. On the 2nd
October, 1710, the capitulation was signed; and, out of compliment to
the Queen, the name of the village was changed to Annapolis.
A fortnight after the expedition left England for New York and Boston,
_en route_ to Port Royal, a Royal Warrant was issued establishing a
Train of Artillery to _garrison Annapolis_. It will thus be seen that so
confident was the English Government of the success of the expedition,
that the new name for Port Royal had already been fixed, and
arrangements made for a permanent garrison. The acquisition of
Newfoundland followed; the French garrison of Placentia were allowed
with many of the inhabitants to go to the Island of Cape Breton, where
they fortified a place which will occupy a prominent part in this
volume, Louisbourg; and the year 1713 saw, by the Treaty of Utrecht,
Acadia or Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland formally surrendered to the
English.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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