Where's Lord Loudoun in July 1757?
Lord Loudoun is up north, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
He was in Philadelphia in March 1757 taking care of plans for the southern colonies while keeping mum on his northern campaign,
Then he went back to NYC and now to Halifax.
Winchester Virginia has a street and a Fort named after this Commander of all allied forces in North America. Two other forts and a county are named after this Lord Loudoun.
Our Lord ultimately does not achieve his goal in Halifax.
He is in command of a much larger force to fight the Spanish who joined with France in this war. As you can see, Portugal is an old ally of England.
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So what is Lord Loudoun's goal in Halifax?
It's Fortress Louisbourg.
Lord Loudoun's original goal was Quebec, but Pitt, the mastermind of this world wide war of conquest, changed the target to Fortress Louisbourg.
Fortress Louisbourg unbeknownst to itself or to Winchester Va knows little of its connections.
Although Lord Loudoun's planned "descent and reduction" of Fortress Louisbourg is called off in 1757, the next year a successful siege in 1758 occurs.
The heroes of that siege are used as names for streets in Winchester VA by the founder of this town, James Wood.
Seige of Louisbourg 8 June 1758 to 26 July 1758
Source of photo: SEPTEMBER 19, 2017 BY BILL BRADLEY … Article on website Cape 94.9 radio station. $9.2 million will be spent on flood protection in light of rising sea levels and more intense storms. The fragile Barrier Beach will be reinforced and the Quay Wall raised. ….
in Canada
shown here,
is why Winchester VA
has 3 streets
named for that siege.
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(There was a local "Wolfe" family we are currently investigating to confirm that they were not the reason for that street name.)
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A 4th street named for Lord Loudoun because Colonel George Washington named a fort in town for him, was going to “reduce” Fortress Louisbourg the year before in 1757. .
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Sources:
Source 1
Source 2
To George Washington from John Hall, 5 July 1757
From John Hall Nova Scotia Hallifax July 5. 1757
Sir
I wrote you last from New York,1 &
have now to acquaint you Our Fleet arriv’d at this place the 30. Ultimo, after a blustring Passage of 9 days:
Heaven propitious to our Designs, happily carrd the french Fleet under Marq. Beaufremont off this Coast a very few days before, where he had been cruising sometime with 8 Sail of the Line—had they fell in with us, the Event wou’d have disconcerted all Measures for the ensuing Scene, & frustrated the grandest Design that ever was projected in this Quarter.
Since we have been here,
11 of the English Fleet with a 60 gun Ship have drop’d in,
who seperated from the Whole in a Fog on the Banks of Newfoundland.
they have on board 11 Regiments;
convoy’d by 15 Sail of the Line & 5 Frigates,
under the command of Vice Admirl Holbourn
evr’y moment we expect to see them in the Offing, &
immediately on their Arrival we proceed,
but God knows where tho’ generally supposd to be against Louisbourgh—
We are well assurd theres 21 or 22 french sail of the Line laying ready for us,
who brot over lately 12 french Regiments, &
an hourly Expectation of 7 more;
with the 3 Regiments at this Place
We shall have in all 20.
19 of wch consisting of as many thousands,
they being all compleat will embark on this Expedition, &
yet many are diffident of our Success, for by so considerable an Armament as the Enemy are said to have against us,
they are appriz’d of our designs, & the Opposition will be violent.
Hitherto we have been crown’d with Success,
all Health & Spirits greatly elated at our good Luck in escaping the French Fleet.
What but the Influence of Heaven coud enduce Beaufremont after he had cruis’d off this place 6 Weeks, having known of our Embarkation, & confident of our Weakness to leave it 6 days before our Appearance.
had he fell in with us, not only the Loss of our Troops but the taking of our General must have been the Consequence.
In all likelihood the Fate of America is impending, & the revolution2 of 6 Weeks will greatly change the face of Affairs in regard to the british Interest in America.
Heaven avert the worst[.] I send the List of our Squadron & the Regiments on this Expedition, if it gets to hand soon it will be the more amusing.
I shall make it my Business at any time to transmit you, what I may think new or agreable, & I hope whilst you do me the honour to receive them, you’l think I execute the Task with great Pleasure—here’s all the Preparations you can conceive, such a design can require, more than I can imagine & much more than I can describe. If I am well, I shall write you from the next Place. Interim wishing you the greatest Felicity I subscribe Sr with gt regd Yr most obt
Jno. Hall ALS, DLC:GW.
1. See Hall to GW, 1 June 1757 and notes.
2. The word “revolution” is used here in the sense of passage or lapse of time.
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Source 3
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To George Washington from John Hall, 1 June 1757
From John Hall New York June 1st 1757
Sr
I have to inform you I have been at this Place this 7 days.
I have made use of all my Credentialls, & got admitted to an Interview with his Lordship—he seem’d much displeas’d at my leaving the Virginia Regiment,1 &
I believe t’was owing to the Influence of yr kind Lr he did not reject me,
being apprehensive I presume too favourable a Reception might encourage others of that Chore to revolt.2
I am appointed to join the 44th regiment & this day embark.
the general Embarkation has been made this fortnight,
his Lordship & Admiral Hardy going aboard this Evning,
gives the Alarm for sailing—6000 Regulars &
500 Provincials with Rogers
in 90 sail of Transports convoy’d by a 50 three 20s & a Sloop of War accompanys—
an infinite Qty of Stores & Provisions—
fine train of Artillery,
vast qty of scaling Ladders—
floating Battery’s &c.
Yet to what Purpose no one can with certainty determine.
We are this moment alarm’d with an account from a Vessell just arrivd that 6 large french men of War, are laying near to intercept us—
this account agrees with others we have before had—how far it may influence his Lordships Intentions none knows,
tho’ its generally believ’d we sail tomorrow3—
I hope to give you more agreable news in my next, while youl do me the Honour to receive my Lrs I shall not be remiss that the motions of the Troops under yr command may conduce to yr honour & that you may enjoy health & felicity are the cordial Wishes of Sr Yr mo. obt humble Servt
Jno. Hall ALS, DLC:GW.
2. In the eighteenth century “Chore” was sometimes used to mean a band or company, but Hall may have simply misspelled corps.
3. Rear Admiral Sir Charles Hardy, governor of New York, was in command of this fleet sailing for Halifax. Robert Rogers (1731–1795) commanded a company of rangers on the expedition. On 21 May nearly 6,000 troops boarded the transports in New York harbor to join forces at Halifax, Nova Scotia, with an expedition from England for an attack on Louisburg and ultimately on Quebec. News of the arrival of French warships in American waters and the delay in the sailing of the expedition from England caused Loudoun to defer until 20 June ordering the fleet of warships and transports at New York to leave for Halifax. In early August Loudoun decided at Halifax against attacking the fortress at Louisburg, bringing the campaign to an end. For further details, see William Fairfax to GW, 22 Jan. 1757, n.4.
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Source 4
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Washington Post article
By Eugene Scheel May 7, 2000
May 5 marked the birthday of Lord Loudoun, born at Loudoun Castle, near Darvell in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1705. Considering that he was in America for only about a year and a half--from July 1756 through spring 1758--he left his name on a surprising number of towns and counties: Loudon Township and village, N.H.; Loudon, N.J.; Loudonville, N.Y.; Loudon County and town, Tenn.; Loudendale and Loudenville, W.Va.; a host of Fort Loudouns; and our county. After all, he was commander in chief of the British forces in North America, and the French and Indian War was raging.
At least our Loudoun, which officially took its name when the county was formed June 8, 1757, used the spelling Lord Loudoun preferred. The first spelling was "Laudunum," Latin for "one worthy of praise," as there had been a 4th century Roman settlement near the castle. By the 11th century, the name was often spelled "Lowdun," and by 1641, when John Campbell Lowers received the title of First Earl of Loudoun, that spelling--or one omitting the second "u"--became fairly standard among the English-speaking family. John Campbell was also the name of our Lord Loudoun, the fourth earl to hold that title.
In 1756, King George II appointed him "Lieutenant General of all our forces" and acting governor of Virginia, replacing Robert Dinwiddie, who was unpopular with the General Assembly because he kept asking for money to support the war. The king also suspected Dinwiddie of withholding land rents due the crown.
The fourth earl was an outside choice to lead the troops, for unlike his gallant forebears, he had presided over three military disasters in Scotland during George II's wars against the clans. In 1745, nearly all of Lord Loudoun's regiment had been killed at the Battle of Preston. Later that year, a prisoner, Lord Lovat, head of the clan Fraser, escaped under Lord Loudoun's watch. In 1746, the forces of Prince Charles ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") got away after Lord Loudoun devised a failed plan to surprise them. But Lord Loudoun had been loyal to the crown, a quality the king was inclined to reward.
Lord Loudoun arrived in New York City to assume his post as commander of British forces in February 1756. In his 1933 book, "Lord Loudoun in North America," Stanley Pargellis wrote that he brought with him wine, plates, silverware and an entourage that included two secretaries, a surgeon and 17 servants--among them " 'a matter de hotel,' [as Lord Loudoun's papers referred to him], 'vallet de chamber,' a cook, a groom, a coachman, a postilion, footman, and two women, one of them, Jean Masson, his mistress." (David R. Williams--of Swampoodle, a Loudoun County hamlet east of Hamilton--is a Harvard-educated expert on Colonial history and culture. He told me that during Lord Loudoun's first Christmas week in America, he and friends imbibed 19 dozen bottles of claret, 31 dozen of Madeira, a dozen bottles of Burgundy, four bottles of Port and eight of Rhine wine.)
Lacking barracks, his troops stayed mostly in taverns or private homes--without the owners' consent. Williams added that an unnamed historian of that era described the soldiers as "lewd and viscious outcasts of society. How could a respectable churchgoing head of family expose his wife and daughter to depraved men in such intimacy that intercourse daily might result in intercourse nightly?"
In a letter from Winchester in July 1756, Col. George Washington, commander of the Virginia militia in the Appalachian Mountains, welcomed Lord Loudoun with this: "Full of Hopes that a perfect Union of the Colonies will be brought about by Your Lordship's Wisdom and Authority, and big with Expectations of seeing the extravagant insolence of an Insulting Subtle and Inhuman Enemy restrained." Meanwhile, Virginia was awaiting the arrival of its acting governor--and would continue to do so. In January, from Fort Loudoun near Winchester, Washington wrote to Lord Loudoun's aide-de-camp, James Cunninghame: "It is reported that Important affairs to the Northward will deprive this Colony of that much desird Honour and Happiness this Season." Indeed, Lord Loudoun never ventured south of Philadelphia.
Worried that supplies would reach the French fortress of Louisbourg, on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia--a fort he intended to attack but never did--Lord Loudoun prohibited Atlantic shipping in April 1757. In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin wrote: "There were two of the packet-boats [belonging to Lord Loudoun], which had been long in readiness, but were always detained for the general's letters, which were always to be ready to-morrow."
Meanwhile, angry merchants watched their goods rot while they waited for commercial steamers that never came, and angry passengers waited in vain for sailing ships. "But their anxiety availed nothing," Franklin added, "His Lordship's letters were not ready, and yet whoever waited on him found him always at his desk, pen in hand and concluded he must needs write abundantly." Massachusetts Gov. William Shirley, who had commanded British forces in 1745 and had once captured Louisbourg, remarked that Lord Loudoun was "a pen-and-ink man whose greatest energies were put forth in getting ready to begin."
At the close of June, Lord Loudoun's flotilla set sail for Halifax, Nova Scotia, where, Franklin related, "he stayed some time and exercised the men in sham attacks on sham forts, then altered his mind as to besieging Louisbourg and returned to New York with all his troops, together with the two packets and all their passengers!"
"During his absence the French and savages had taken Fort George [on Lake George] on the frontier of that province [New York], and the Indians had massacred many of the garrison after capitulation."
According to Franklin, "one Innis, a messenger of Philadelphia," best summed up Lord Loudoun's "indecisions" with a reference to St. George, patron saint of travelers. As few could read, a likeness of the saint mounted on horseback was painted on signs in front of taverns and hostelries. Innis remarked that Lord Loudoun "is like St. George on the Signs, always on horseback and never rides on." One wonders whether Washington, Shirley or Franklin--and Innis--knew that the Loudoun Campbells' motto since the early 14th century was "I Byde My Time."
Early in 1758, safely ensconced in New York City, Lord Loudoun received news from the British secretary of state, William Pitt, that he had been relieved of his command. Pitt replaced him with a real soldier, Jeffrey Amherst, who took Louisbourg in July and masterminded the siege of Quebec next year.
After brief service as second in command of British troops in Portugal, Lord Loudoun returned to his 45,000-acre Ayrshire estate and his first love, farming. An ancestor, Craufuird Loudoun, recently noted: "Sir John Campbell, fourth Earl of Loudoun, earned the accolade Father of Agriculture for his contribution to restructuring farms, inclosures, tree plantings and establishing an infrastructure. He was responsible for the development of existing tracks into roads and the construction of many new bridges in Ayrshire." Lord Loudoun died at 77 in 1782. As he never married, there were no direct heirs. A cousin, Sir James Campbell, became the fifth earl.
The name became known in the world of music when Franz Josepf Haydn subtitled his 69th symphony "Laudon" for a Campbell cousin, Austrian field marshal Ernst Gideon Loudoun. "The Laudon name should sell a lot of copies," Haydn remarked in 1779.
The contemporary musical world knows the name through Krysztof Penderecki's 1968 opera, "The Devils of Loudun" (for the Carmelite convent in Loudun, France). The eminent Fauquier County musical scholar, David Greene, notes that the work "generated much excitement, not alone for the 'topless' nuns in a scene of diabolic possession."
Back in Scotland, the Loudoun manor fell on hard times after World War I. Edith Maud, the 12th Countess of Loudoun, lost two of her brothers in the war, and from 1921 to 1930, the Loudoun Campbells auctioned off artwork, furnishings and some 147,000 Loudoun family papers.
The private Huntington Library in San Marino, Calif., bought 1,600 of the fourth Earl of Loudoun's American papers in 1923. These documents became the basis for Pargellis's biography. In 1936, the gardener's home at the Loudoun estate burned. In 1938, the stables burned. In December 1941, Loudoun castle--which dated from the mid-1500s, as a 1527 fire destroyed the first one--burned. All the fires were caused by faulty flues. Then in 1944, Edith Maud's son was killed at Anzio.
In 1976, Loudoun County adopted the Loudoun family's "I Byde My Time" motto, and that April, at the invitation of the county Board of Supervisors and the old Peoples' National Bank, the 13th Countess of Loudoun, Lady Barbara Huddleston Abney Hastings, visited the county. She presented the board with a stone from the second Loudoun castle, and it reposed on the courthouse green until it was removed recently for the expansion of the courts complex.
By the early 1990s, the Loudoun estate in Scotland had been reduced to 600 acres, and much of the remaining land--just 17 miles south of Glasgow, Scotland's largest city--was bought by developers for an amusement park. The park, which opened in 1995, features a "grand prix" go-cart track, the rapids of a log flume and a "Thunder Loop" roller coaster. As a paean to our Lord Loudoun, however, there are livestock paddocks, woodland walks and rose gardens about the stabilized ruins of the second Loudoun castle.
The park's brochure notes: "You've never felt your heart Loud'n Screaming beat quite like this before." Eugene Scheel is a Waterford historian and mapmaker.
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Other unrelated sources
to this story but are related to Lord Loudoun in general
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For Lord Loudoun' in Boston 1757 seeing Charles Lawrence, Gov of Nova Scotia
". . . He then departed for Boston early in 1757 to meet Lord Loudoun [John Campbell],
commander-in-chief of British forces in America, . . .".
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"Lawrence might have prevented the alliance between members of the council and the Halifax merchants simply by issuing the writs after his return from Boston in May 1757. But he claimed that Loudoun did not approve of assemblies and that he could not attend to the matter himself that summer because he would be involved in preparations for an expedition against Louisbourg. He went off to Chignecto in the fall, on Loudoun’s orders, to strengthen its defences. "
The making of a colonial governor: Charles Lawrence in Nova Scotia, 1749–60” (unpublished ma thesis, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, 1963).
S. M. Pargellis, Lord Loudoun in North America (New Haven, Conn., London, 1933).
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