instantly hid in the bushes
and behind trees, and poured an incessant fire into the ranks of the
British. They, too, would gladly have fought in Indian fashion. But
Braddock thought this cowardly and would not allow them to get behind
trees, so they stood huddled in groups, a fine mark for the Indians,
till so many were killed that a retreat had to be ordered. Then they
fled, and had it not been for Washington and his Virginians, who covered
their flight, they would probably have been killed to a man.[1]

[Footnote 1: Read Parkman's _Montcalm and Wolfe_, Vol. I., Chap. 7, pp.
162-187; T.J. Chapman's _The French in the Allegheny Valley_, pp. 60-72;
Sargeant's _History of Braddock's Expedition_.]

Braddock was wounded just as the retreat began, and died a few days
later.

%86. The Other Expeditions.%--The expedition against Niagara was a
failure. The officer in command did not take his army further than
Oswego on Lake Ontario.

The expedition against Crown Point was partially successful, and a
stubborn battle was fought and a victory won over the French on the
shores of that beautiful sheet of water which the English ever after
called Lake George in honor of the King.

%87. War declared.%--Up to this time all the fighting had been done
along the frontier in America. But in May, 1756, Great Britain formally
declared war against France. The French at once sent over Montcalm,[1]
the very ablest Frenchman that ever commanded on this continent, and
there followed two years of warfare disastrous to the British. Montcalm
took and burned Oswego, won over the Indians to the cause of France, and
was about to send a strong fleet to attack New England, when, toward the
end of 1757, William Pitt was made virtually (though not in name) Prime
Minister of England.

[Footnote 1: Read Parkman's _Montcalm and Wolfe_, Vol. I., pp. 318-380.]

William Pitt was one of the greatest Englishmen that ever lived. He
could see exactly what to do, and he could pick out exactly the right
man to do it. No wonder, then, that as soon as he came into power the
British began to gain victories.

%88. The Victories of 1758.%--Once more the French were attacked at
their three vulnerable points, and this time with success. In 1758
Louisburg surrendered to Amherst and Boscawen. In that same year
Washington captured Fort Duquesne, which, in honor of the great Prime
Minister, was called Fort Pitt. A provincial officer named Bradstreet
destroyed Fort Fro