lities may be said to have been commenced by the French, when, on
the 18th day of April, 1754, they dispossessed the Ohio company of the
fort which they were erecting at the forks of the Ohio River, afterwards
named Fort Du Quesne.

The plan of a Colonial Confederation, formed at the Albany convention in
July of that year, having failed of acceptance by the mother country and
the Colonies both, the Home government was forced to meet the exigency
by the use of British troops, aided by such others as the several
Provinces were willing to furnish.

The campaign of the next year (1755) embraced:

1st. An expedition, under General Braddock, for the capture of Fort Du
Quesne.

2d. A second, under General Shirley, for the reduction of Fort Niagara,
which was not prosecuted.

3d. A third, under Colonel Moncton, against the French settlements on
the Bay of Fundy, resulting in the capture and deportation of the
Acadians.

4th. A fourth, under General William Johnson, against Crown Point, a
strong fortification, erected by the French, in the very heart of New
England and New York, whence innumerable bands of Indians had been
dispatched by the French to murder the defenceless dwellers upon the
English frontiers, particularly those of New Hampshire, to destroy their
cattle and to burn their buildings and other property.

To the army of this latter expedition New Hampshire contributed, in the
early part of this year, a regiment of ten companies, the first being a
company of Rangers, whose Captain was Robert Rogers, and whose Second
Lieutenant was John Stark. [A]

[Footnote A: New Hampshire Adjutant General's Report, vol. 2, 1866, p.
129.]

But a few words just here in explanation of the character of this
ranging branch of the English army. It was a product of existing
necessities in the military service of that time. Most of the country
was covered with primeval forests and military operations were largely
prosecuted in the woods or in limited clearings. The former were
continually infested with Indians, lying in ambush for the perpetration
of any mischief for which they might have opportunity.

It became necessary, therefore, in scouring the forests to drive these
miscreants back to their lairs, as well as in making military
reconnoissances, to have a class of soldiers acquainted with Indian life
and warfare; prepared, not only to meet the Indian upon his own ground,
but to fight him in his own fashion. The British Regu