Louisbourg was poor.The sailors, on the other hand, were fortunate.As a decoy Warren kept the French flag flying over the harbor, and French ships sailed in, one of them with a vast treasure of gold and silver coin and ingots from Peru valued at 600,000 pounds.One other prize was valued at 200,000 pounds and a third at 140,000 pounds.Warren's own share of prize money amounted to 60,000 pounds, while Pepperrell, the unrewarded leader of the sister service, piled up a personal debt of 10,000pounds.Quarrels occurred between soldiers and sailors, and in these the New Englanders soon proved by no means the cowards which complacent superiority in England considered them; rather, as an enlightened Briton said, "If they had pickaxe and spade they would dig a way to Hell itself and storm that stronghold."Behind all difficulties was the question whether, having taken Louisbourg, the British could continue to hold it.France answered with a resolute "No." To retake it she fitted out a great fleet.Nearly half her navy gathered under the Duc d'Anville and put to sea on June 20, 1746.If in the previous summer God had helped the English with good weather, by a similar proof His face now appeared turned a second time against the French.In the great array there were more than sixty ships, which were to gather at Chebucto, now Halifax, harbor, and to be joined there by four great ships of war from the West Indies.
Everything went wrong.On the voyage across the Atlantic there was a prolonged calm, followed by a heavy squall.Several ships were struck by lightning.A magazine on the Mars blew up, killing ten and wounding twenty-one men.Pestilence broke out.As a crowning misfortune, the fleet was scattered by a terrific storm.
After great delay d'Anville's ship reached Chebucto, then a wild and lonely spot.The expected fleet from the West Indies had indeed come, but had gone, since the ships from France, long overdue, had not arrived.D'Anville died suddenly--some said of apoplexy, others of poison self-administered.More ships arrived full of sick men and short of provisions.D'Estournel, who succeeded d'Anville in chief command, in despair at the outlook killed himself with his own sword after the experience of only a day or two in his post.La Jonquiere, a competent officer, afterwards Governor of Canada, then led the expedition.The pestilence still raged, and from two to three thousand men died.
One day a Boston sloop boldly entered Chebucto harbor to find out what was going on.It is a wonder that the British did not descend upon the stricken French and destroy them.In October, La Jonquiere, having pulled his force together, planned to win the small success of taking Annapolis, but again storms scattered his ships.At the end of October he finally decided to return to France.But there were more heavy storms; and one French crew was so near starvation that only a chance meeting with a Portuguese ship kept them from killing and eating five English prisoners.
Only a battered remnant of the fleet eventually reached home ports.
The disaster did not crush France.In May of the next spring, 1747, a new fleet under La Jonquiere set out to retake Louisbourg.Near the coast of Europe, however, Admirals Anson and Warren met and completely destroyed it, taking prisoner La Jonquiere himself.This disaster effected what was really the most important result of the war: it made the British fleet definitely superior to the French.During the struggle England had produced a new Drake, who attacked Spain in the spirit of the sea-dogs of Elizabeth.Anson had gone in 1740 into the Pacific, where he seized and plundered Spanish ships as Drake had done nearly two centuries earlier; and in 1744, when he had been given up for lost, he completed the great exploit of sailing round the world and bringing home rich booty.Such feats went far to give Britain that command of the sea on which her colonial Empire was to depend.
