1140 MISCELLANEOUS. 



Catholicism, the concerns of the present life were not forgotten. Fish- 

 ermen panted for revenge on those who had insulted them and driven 

 them from the fishing-grounds. Merchants, with Auchmuty's pamph- 

 let in their hands, thought of the increased sale and the enhanced 

 Erice of New England fish in foreign markets. Military officers who 

 ad served in Nova Scotia in the previous war were ambitious of fur- 

 ther distinction and preferment. Such were the motives. 



William Vaughan, who was extensively engaged in the fisheries, and 

 whose home was near Pemaquid, in Maine, claimed that, while listen- 

 ing to the tales of some of his own fishermen, he conceived the design 

 of the expedition. Governor Shirley,* of Massachusetts, embraced 

 his plans, and submitted them to the general court. By this body 

 they were rejected. Kenewed by the governor, and insisted upon by 

 the merchants, they w T ere finally adopted by the vote of the speaker, 

 who had acted previously in opposition, f 



Instantly Boston became the scene of busy preparation. 



William Pepperell, of Kittery, in Maine, and the son of a fisherman 

 of the Isles of Shoals, assumed command of the expedition. The 

 merchants of Boston furnished a large part of the armed vessels and 

 transports. The fishermen of Plymouth were the first troops to 

 arrive. Those of Marblehead and Gloucester, and those who had been 

 employed by Pepperell and Vaughan, followed in rapid succession. 

 Lumberers, mechanics, and husbandmen completed the force. 



Louisbourg was the point of attack; for Cape Breton w T ould fall 

 with its capital without another blow. This city w r as named in honor 

 of the king. Twenty-five years and thirty millions of livres were 

 required to complete it. Its walls were built of bricks brought from 

 France. More than two hundred pieces of cannon were mounted to 

 defend it. So great was its strength that it was called the "Dunkirk 

 of America." It had nunneries and palaces, terraces and gardens. 

 That such a city rose upon a lone, desolate isle, in the infancy of 

 American colonization, appears incredible. Explanation is alone 

 found in the fishing enthusiasm of the period. 



The fleet sailed from Boston in March. Singular to remark, of a 

 military order, Shirley's instructions required an ample supply of cod- 

 lines for use on the passage, so that the troops might be fed, as much 

 as possible, on the products of the sea. 



A more undisciplined and disorderly body of men never disem- 

 barked to attempt the reduction of a walled city. The squadron com- 

 manded by Warren, and ordered by the ministry to co-operate with 

 Pepperell, arrived in time to share in the perils and honors of the siege. 

 The colonial fleet and the ships of the royal navy kept up a close 

 blockade. The colonists on shore, without a regular encampment, 

 lodged in huts built of turf and bushes. With straps across their 

 shoulders, they dragged cannon in sledges over morasses impassable 

 with wheels. Making jest of military subordination, they fired at 

 marks, they fished and fowled, wrestled and raced, and chased after 



* William Shirley, Governor of Massachusetts, was a native of England, and was bred 

 to the law. He came to Boston about the year 1733, and was appointed governor in 

 1741. In 1755, he was commander-in-chief of the British forces in America. He ^;ed 

 in Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1771. 



f Mr. Oliver, a Boston member, broke his leg on his way to the house, and was not 

 present. His vote would have caused the rejection of the plan a second time. The 

 members deliberated under the first oath of secrecy administered to a legislative 

 assembly in America. 



