Note 126 — Chapter V

Graham, whose authority is always questionable where the comparative merits of the British regulars and Provincials[148] are concerned, asserts that "the French party consisted of regulars and a few Indians; and, notwithstanding their surprise and inferiority of numbers, displayed a promptitude of skill and courage that had nearly reproduced the catastrophe of Braddock.... The suddenness of their assault, the terror inspired by the Indian yell, and the grief and astonishment created by the death of Lord Howe, excited a general panic among the British regulars; but the Provincials, who flanked them, and were better acquainted with the mode of fighting practiced by the enemy, stood their ground and soon defeated them."—Graham's Hist. of the United States, vol. iv., p. 30.