[grant] THE CAPTURE OF OSWEGO BY MONTCALM 197 



with this in mind it becomes evident that here again we can supple- 

 ment Parkman, that Oswego was lost not only owing to the superior 

 generalship of Montcalm and the superior spirit and gallantry of his 

 troops, but owing to the loss of the control of Lake Ontario. The 

 men might indeed have been marched through the woods, but without 

 naval supremacy the heavy guns which were essential to success, 

 could not have been transported. As Captain Vickers said: "Fort 

 Ontario could not be taken with small arms only by 10,000 men." 



The Commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America 

 during the early part of 1756 was William Shirley, Governor of Mas- 

 sachusetts Bay, a lawyer who had long burned to exchange the pen 

 for the sword. He was active and energetic, but his ability as an 

 administrator is open to doubt. It seems evident that he carried 

 contempt for red tape to a disorderly excess. Important plans were 

 kept not on paper, but in his head; important orders were given 

 only verbally. Early in July, influenced by a cabal of his enemies, 

 the British Government sent out orders as remarkable as any which 

 ever entered the head of the author of "The Bab Ballads." Shirley 

 was to be superseded by Colonel Webb, who was in his turn to hand 

 over the command to General Abercrombie, who in his turn was to 

 hand it over to the Earl of Loudoun. The natural result of this re- 

 markable arrangement was that the British campaign was "all action 

 and no go." Each Commander-in-chief consumed valuable time in 

 giving over to his successor an account of what he had done and in 

 justifying his actions. All with one accord fell foul of Shirley. All 

 three were narrow-minded military men, bitterly jealous of the civilian 

 soldier, in whose irregular methods they found some just cause for 

 complaint. While they lingered and haggled, and wrote recriminatory 

 dispatches to the Secretary of State, Oswego was lost. 



Shirley had seen the importance of keeping the control of the 

 Lake. In a Council of War held at Oswego on 18th September, 

 1755, one of the five points discussed had been "whether it will not 

 be advisable for his Majesty's Service, to prepare materials here this 

 winter, and build, as soon as may be, one or more vessels of a larger 



il leur a été ordonné si elles nous aperçoivent, de faire des signaux soit de jour ou 

 de nuit, et de leur répondre. Je les joins à la présente instruction ce 4 Août 1756." 



Instruction pour le sieur Laforce. 



La Marquise and Le Hurault shall put to sea fully armed. The Victor, unarmed, 

 shall go to Niagara to carry the effects of the voyageurs. The Louise shall be dis- 

 armed, and left with two of her crew on board. The remainder shall man and arm 

 the English prize, which shall convoy the provisions for the Reg. de Béarn. The 

 Marquise and the Hurault shall cruise off Oswego . and shall attack any English ves- 

 sels which come out, "sans se compromettre s'ils se croyent inférieurs en forces." 

 An elaborate system of signals follows, and is sent to Rigaud and others. 



