Pi? THE FALL OF NEW FRANCE 
in America. With such vigorous preparations as 
these, events proceeded rapidly. In July, General 
Amherst captured Louisburg, and finally relieved New 
England from its standing menace, besides securing 
the mouth of the St. Lawrence. In August, General 
Bradstreet, by the destruction of Fort Frontenac, broke 
the communication between Canada and the French 
settlements in the West. In November, General 
Forbes, having built a road over the Alleghanies and 
being assisted by Washington and Henry Bouquet, 
succeeded in capturing Fort Duquesne, which then 
became Fort Pitt, and now as Pittsburg still bears 
the name of the great war minister. 
The capture of this important post gave the English 
the control of the Ohio Valley, and thus secured the 
object for which the war had been originally under- 
taken. Great were the rejoicings in Pennsylvania and 
Virginia, and great was the honour accorded to Wash- 
ington, to whose skill the capture of the “ gateway of 
the West” had been chiefly due. But Pitt had now 
made up his mind to drive the French from America 
altogether, and what had been done was only the prel- 
ude to heavier blows. Terrible was the catalogue of 
French defeats. In 1759 their army in Germany was 
routed at Minden by the Prince of Brunswick; one 
great fleet was defeated at Lagos Bay by Admiral 
Boscawen, and another was annihilated at Quiberon 
by Sir Edward Hawke; Havre was bombarded by 
Admiral Rodney; Guadeloupe, the most valuable of 
the French West Indies, was taken; and serious re- 
verses were experienced in India. In America, Niag- 
ara was taken on the 24th of July, Ticonderoga on the 
27th, and Crown Point on the 1st of August. And 
Se Se _ 


