raising men, but had furnished them with provisions, which he had
ordered to be found at the national expense." (Minot's History of
Massachusetts Bay, Vol. I., p. 288.)]

[Footnote 234: "The loss of the two small forts, called Ontario and
Oswego, was a considerable national misfortune. They were erected on the
south side of the great Lake Ontario, standing on the opposite sides, at
the mouth of Onondaga river, that discharges itself into the lake, and
constituted a port of great importance, where vessels had been built to
cruise upon the lake, which is a kind of inland sea, and interrupt the
commerce as well as the motions and designs of the enemy. The garrison
consisted of 1,400 men, chiefly militia and new-raised recruits, under
the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Mercer, an officer of courage and
experience; but the situation of the forts was very ill-chosen; the
materials mostly timber or logs of wood; the defences wretchedly
contrived and unfurnished; and, in a word, the place altogether
untenable against any regular approach. Such were the forts which the
enemy wisely resolved to reduce. They assembled a body of troops,
consisting of 1,300 regulars, 1,700 Canadians, and a considerable number
of Indian auxiliaries, under the command of the Marquis de Montcalm, a
vigilant and enterprising officer, to whom the conduct of the siege had
been entrusted by the Marquis de Vaudreuil, Governor and
Lieutenant-General of New France. The garrison having fired away all
their shells and ammunition from Fort Ontario, spiked up the cannon,
and, deserting the fort, retired next day across the river into Fort
Oswego, which was even more exposed than the other, especially when the
enemy had taken possession of Fort Ontario, from whence they immediately
began to fire without intermission. Colonel Mercer being on the 13th
killed by a cannon ball, the fort destitute of all cover, the officers
divided in opinion and the garrison in confusion, they next day demanded
capitulation, and surrendered themselves prisoners of war, on condition
that they should be exempted from plunder, conducted to Montreal, and
treated with humanity. These conditions, however, the Marquis did not
punctually observe. The British officers were insulted by the savage
Indians, who robbed them of their clothes and baggage, massacred several
of them as they stood defenceless on parade, and barbarously scalped all
the sick people in the hospital. Finally, Montcalm, in d