[the visits of breton fishermen to newfoundland in the early sixteenth century, the voyages of cartier to the st. lawrence in 1534 and 1541–43, the foundation of port royal in acadia in 1605, and of quebec by champlain in 1608, were the beginnings of a french occupancy of the northern and central portions of north america which led inevitably to conflict with england and the american colonists. the title based upon marquette’s discovery of the mississippi in 1673, and la salle’s exploration and claim to the whole vast valley in 1682, would have confined the english to the atlantic seaboard. the contact between the wholly different types represented in english and french colonization caused friction which became acute when king william’s war broke out in 1689. the eight years of that war, with its profitless capture of port royal, nova scotia, were followed by queen anne’s war, 1702–13, and king george’s war, 1744–48, and the interval after the treaty of utrecht was a truce rather than peace. the french were strengthening their hold along the western frontier of the english colonists, at fort duquesne, and elsewhere. braddock’s defeat in 1755, and attacks upon crown point and niagara, preceded the formal declaration of hostilities between france and england in 1756, the beginning of the seven years’ war, involving nearly all europe, with england and prussia facing russia, france, austria, sweden, and saxony. in america, in 1756–57, the incompetency of loudon and abercrombie, the dilatory preparations to attack louisburg, and montcalm’s capture of fort william henry, made the first stage of the war a gloomy one. but pitt’s entrance into the british cabinet as secretary of state brought an intelligent and active prosecution of the war. the next year, 1758, witnessed the capture of fort frontenac on ontario, fort duquesne, and louisburg by the english and american forces.—editor.]
the british parliament met late in november, 1758, at a time when the nation was aglow with enthusiasm over the successes of the year—louisburg and frontenac64 in north america, and the driving of the french from the guinea coast as the result of battles at sénégal (may) and gorée (november).22 the war was proving far more costly than had been anticipated, yet pitt rigidly held the country to the task; but not against its will, and the necessary funds were freely voted. walpole wrote to a friend: “our unanimity is prodigious. you would as soon hear ‘no’ from an old maid as from the house of commons.” the preparations for the new year were on a much larger scale than before; both by land and sea france was to be pushed to the uttermost, and the warlike spirit of great britain seemed wrought to the highest pitch.
the new french premier, choiseul, was himself not lacking in activity. he renewed with vigor the project of invading great britain, preparations therefor being evident quite early in the year 1759. fifty thousand men were to land in england, and twelve thousand in scotland, where the stuart cause still lingered. but as usual the effort came to naught. the toulon squadron was to co-operate with one from brest; boscawen, who now commanded the mediterranean fleet, apprehended the former while trying to escape through the straits of gibraltar in a thick haze (august 17), and after destroying several of the ships dispersed the others; while sir edward hawke annihilated the brest fleet in a brilliant sea-fight off quiberon bay (november 20).23 relieved of the possibility of insular invasion, the channel and mediterranean squadrons were now free to raid french commerce, patrol french ports, and thus intercept communication with new france, and to harry french—and, later, spanish—colonies overseas.
progress of french discovery in the interior 1600–1762
(full size)
in 1757 clive had regained calcutta and won bengal at the famous battle of plassey. two years thereafter the east indian seas were abandoned by the french after65 three decisive actions won by pitt’s valiant seamen, and india thus became a permanent possession of the british empire.24 in january, 1759, also, the british captured guadeloupe, in the west indies.25 lacking sea power, it was impossible for france much longer to hold her colonies; it was but a question of time when the remainder should fall into the clutches of the mistress of the ocean.
notwithstanding all this naval activity, pitt’s principal operations were really centred against canada. the movement thither was to be along two lines, which eventually were to meet in co-operation. first, a direct attack was to be made upon quebec, headed by wolfe, who was to be convoyed and assisted by a fleet under the command of admiral saunders; second, amherst—now commander-in-chief in america, abercrombie having been recalled—was to penetrate canada by way of lakes george and champlain. he was to join wolfe at quebec, but was authorized to make such diversions as he found practicable—principally to re-establish oswego and to relieve pittsburg (fort duquesne) with reinforcements and supplies.
wolfe’s selection as leader of the quebec expedition occasioned general surprise in england. yet it was in the natural course of events. he had been the life of the louisburg campaign of the year before, and when amherst was expressing the desire of attacking quebec after the reduction of cape breton he wrote to the latter: “an offensive, daring kind of war will awe the indians and ruin the french. block-houses and a trembling defensive encourage the meanest scoundrels to attack us. if you will attempt to cut up new france by the roots, i will come with pleasure to assist.”26
wolfe, whose family enjoyed some influence, had attained a captaincy at the age of seventeen and became a67 major at twenty. he was now thirty-two, a major-general, and with an excellent fighting record both in flanders and america. quiet and modest in demeanor, although occasionally using excitable and ill-guarded language, he was a refined and educated gentleman; careful of and beloved by his troops, yet a stern disciplinarian; and although frail in body, and often overcome by rheumatism and other ailments, capable of great strain when buoyed by the zeal which was one of his characteristics. the majority of his portraits represent a tall, lank, ungainly form, with a singularly weak facial profile; but it is likely that these belie him, for he had an indubitable spirit, a profound mind, quick intuition, a charming manner, and was much thought of by women. indeed, just before sailing, he had become engaged to the beautiful and charming katharine lowther, sister of lord lonsdale, and afterward the duchess of bolton.27
on february 17 wolfe departed with saunders’ fleet of twenty-one sail, bearing the king’s secret instructions to “carry into execution the said important operation with the utmost application and vigor.”28 the voyage was protracted, and after arrival at louisburg he was obliged to wait long before the promised troops appeared. he had expected regiments from guadeloupe, but these could not yet be spared, owing to their wretched condition; and the nova scotia garrisons had also been weakened by disease, so that of the twelve thousand agreed upon he finally could muster somewhat under nine thousand.29 these were of the best quality of their kind; although the general still entertained a low opinion of the value of the provincials, who, it must be admitted, were, however serviceable in bush-ranging, far below the68 efficiency of the regulars in a campaign of this character. the force was divided into three brigades, under monckton, townsend, and murray, young men of ability; although townsend’s supercilious manner—the fruit of a superior social connection—did not endear him either to his men or his colleagues.
on june 1 the fleet began to leave louisburg. there were thirty-nine men-of-war, ten auxiliaries, seventy-six transports, and a hundred and sixty-two miscellaneous craft, which were manned by thirteen thousand naval seamen and five thousand of the mercantile marine—an aggregate of eighteen thousand, or twice as many as the landsmen under wolfe.30 while to the latter is commonly given credit for the result, it must not be forgotten that the victory was quite as much due to the skilful management of the navy as to that of the army, the expedition being in all respects a joint enterprise, into which the men of both branches of the service entered with intense enthusiasm.
the french had placed much reliance on the supposed impossibility of great battle-ships being successfully navigated up the st. lawrence above the mouth of the saguenay without the most careful piloting. this portion of the river, a hundred and twenty miles in length, certainly is intricate water, being streaked with perplexing currents created by the mingling of the river’s strong flow with the flood and ebb of the tide; the great stream is diverted into two parallel channels by reefs and islands, and there are numerous shoals—moreover, the french had removed all lights and other aids to navigation. but british sailors laughed at difficulties such as these, and, while they managed to capture a pilot, had small use for him, preferring their own cautious methods. preceded by a crescent of sounding-boats, officered by captain james cook, afterward of glorious memory as a pathfinder,69 the fleet advanced slowly but safely, its approach heralded by beacons gleaming nightly to the fore, upon the rounded hill-tops overlooking the long thin line of riverside settlement which extended eastward from quebec to the saguenay.31
the french had at first expected attacks only from lake ontario and from the south. but receiving early tidings of wolfe’s expedition, through convoys with supplies from france that had escaped saunders’ patrol of the gulf, general alarm prevailed, and montcalm decided to make his stand at quebec. to the last he appears to have shared in the popular delusion that british men-of-war could not ascend the river; nevertheless, he promptly summoned to the capital the greater part of the militia from all sections of canada, save that a thousand whites and savages were left with pouchot to defend niagara, twelve hundred men under de la corne to guard lake ontario, and bourlamaque, with upward of three thousand, was ordered to delay amherst’s advance and thus prevent him from joining wolfe. the population of canada at the time was about eighty-five thousand souls, and of these perhaps twenty-two thousand were capable of bearing arms.32 the force now gathered in and about quebec aggregated about seventeen thousand, of whom some ten thousand were militia, four thousand regulars of the line, and a thousand each of colonial regulars, seamen, and indians; of these two thousand were reserved for the garrison of quebec, under de ramezay, while the remainder were at the disposal of montcalm for the general defence.33
the “rock of quebec” is the northeast end of a long, narrow triangular promontory, to the north of which lies70 the valley of the st. charles and to the south that of the st. lawrence. the acclivity on the st. charles side is lower and less steep than the cliffs fringing the st. lawrence, which rise almost precipitously from two to three hundred feet above the river—the citadel cliff being three hundred and forty-five feet, almost sheer. either side of the promontory was easily defensible from assault, the table-land being only reached by steep and narrow paths. surmounting the cliffs, at the apex of the triangle, was upper town, the capital of new france. batteries, largely manned by sailors, lined the cliff-tops within the town, and the western base, fronting the plains of abraham, was protected by fifteen hundred yards of insecure wall—for, after all, quebec had, despite the money spent upon it, never been scientifically fortified, its commanders having from the first relied chiefly upon its natural position as a stronghold.
at the base of the promontory, on the st. lawrence side, is a wide beach occupied by lower town, where were the market, the commercial warehouses, a large share of the business establishments, and the homes of the trading and laboring classes. a narrow strand, little more than the width of a roadway, extended along the base of the cliffs westward, communicating with the up-river country; another road led westward along the table-land above. thus the city obtained its supplies from the interior both by highway and by river.
the plains of abraham on the morning of the battle
entrance to the st. charles side of the promontory had been blocked by booms at the mouth of that river, protected by strong redoubts; and off lower town was a line of floating batteries. beyond the st. charles, for a distance of seven miles eastward to the gorge of the montmorenci, montcalm disposed the greater part of his forces, his position being a plain naturally protected by a steep slope descending to the meadow and tidal flats which here margin the st. lawrence. this plain rises gradually from the st. charles, until at the montmorenci71 cataract it attains a height of three hundred feet, and along the summit of the slope were well-devised trenches. the gorge furnished a strong natural defence to the left wing, for it could be forded only in the dense forest at a considerable distance above the falls, and to force this approach would have been to invite an ambuscade. wolfe contented himself, therefore, with intrenching a considerable force along the eastern bank of the gorge, and thence issuing for frontal attacks on the beauport flats—so called from the name of the village midway. montcalm had chosen this as the chief line of defence, on the theory that the approach by the st. charles would be the one selected by the invaders; as, indeed, it long seemed to wolfe the only possible path to the works of upper town.
westward of the city, upon the table-land, bougainville headed a corps of observation, supposed continually to patrol the st. lawrence cliff-tops and keep communications open with the interior; but this precaution failed in the hour of need. the height of point lévis, across the river from the town, on the south bank, was unoccupied. montcalm had wished to fortify this vantage-point, and thus block the river from both sides, but vaudreuil had overruled him, and the result was fatal. other weak points in the defence were divided command and the scarcity of food and ammunition, occasioned largely by bigot’s rapacious knavery.
on june 26 the british fleet anchored off the isle of orleans, thus dissipating the fond hopes of the french that some disaster might prevent its approach. three days later wolfe’s men, now encamped on the island at a safe distance from montcalm’s guns, made an easy capture of point lévis, and there erected batteries which commanded the town. british ships were, in consequence, soon able to pass quebec, under cover of the point lévis guns, and destroy some of the french shipping anchored in the upper basin; while landing parties72 harried the country to the west, forcing habitants to neutrality and intercepting supplies. frequently the british forces were, upon these various enterprises, divided into three or four isolated divisions, which might have been roughly handled by a venturesome foe. but montcalm rigidly maintained the policy of defence, his only offensive operations being the unsuccessful dispatch of fire-ships against the invading fleet.
on his part, wolfe made several futile attacks upon the beauport redoubts. the position was, however, too strong for him to master, and in one assault (july 31) he lost half of his landing party—nearly five hundred killed, wounded, and missing.34 this continued ill-success fretted wolfe and at last quite disheartened him, for the season was rapidly wearing on, and winter sets in early at quebec; moreover, nothing had yet been heard of amherst. there was, indeed, some talk of waiting until another season. however, more and more british ships worked their way past the fort, and, by making frequent feints of landing at widely separated points, caused bougainville great annoyance. montcalm was accordingly obliged to weaken his lower forces by sending reinforcements to the plains west of the city. thus, while wolfe was pining, french uneasiness was growing, for the british were now intercepting supplies and reinforcements from both above and below, and bougainville’s men were growing weary of constantly patrolling fifteen or twenty miles of cliffs.35
meanwhile, let us see how amherst was faring. at the end of june the general assembled five thousand provincials and sixty-five hundred regulars at the head of lake george. he had previously dispatched brigadier prideaux with five thousand regulars and provincials to reduce73 niagara, and brigadier stanwix, who had been of bradstreet’s party the year before, to succor pittsburg, now in imminent danger from french bush-rangers and indians who were swarming at presque isle, le b?uf, and venango.
amherst himself moved slowly, it being july 21 before the army started northward upon the lake. bourlamaque, whose sole purpose was to delay the british advance, lay at ticonderoga with thirty-five hundred men, but on the twenty-sixth he blew up the fort and retreated in good order to crown point. on the british approaching that post he again fell back, this time to a strong position at isle aux noix, at the outlet of lake champlain, where, wrote bourlamaque to a friend, “we are entrenched to the teeth, and armed with a hundred pieces of cannon.”36 amherst now deeming vessels essential, yet lacking ship-carpenters, it was the middle of september before his little navy was ready, and then he thought the season too far advanced for further operations.37 amherst’s advance had, however, induced montcalm to defend montreal, lévis having been dispatched thither for this purpose.
prideaux, advancing up the mohawk, proceeded to oswego, where he left half of his men to cover his retreat, and then sailed to niagara. slain by accident during the siege, his place was taken by sir william johnson, the indian commander, who pushed the work with vigor. suddenly confronted by a french force of thirteen hundred rangers and savages from the west, who had been deflected thither from a proposed attack on pittsburg, with the view of recovering that fort, johnson completely vanquished them (july 24). the discomfited crew burned their posts in that region and retreated precipitately74 to detroit. the following day niagara surrendered, and thus, with pittsburg also saved, the west was entirely cut off from canada, and the upper ohio valley was placed in british hands. the work of stanwix having been accomplished by johnson, the former, who had been greatly delayed by transport difficulties, advanced as promptly as possible to the forks of the ohio, and in the place of the old french works built the modernized stronghold of fort pitt.38
on august 20, wolfe fell seriously ill. both he and the army were discouraged. the casualties had thus far been over eight hundred men, and disease had cut a wide swath through the ranks. desperate, he at last accepted the counsel of his officers, that a landing be attempted above the town, supplies definitively cut off from montreal, and montcalm forced to fight or surrender. from september 3 to 12, wolfe, arisen from his bed but still weak, quietly withdrew his troops from the montmorenci camp and transported them in vessels which successfully passed through a heavy cannonading from the fort to safe anchorage in the upper basin. reinforcements marching along the southern bank, from point lévis, soon joined their comrades aboard the ships. for several days this portion of the fleet regularly floated up and down the river above quebec, with the changing tide, thus wearing out bougainville’s men, who in great perplexity followed the enemy along the cliff-tops, through a beat of several leagues, until from sheer exhaustion they at last became careless.
on the evening of september 12, saunders—whose admirable handling of the fleet deserves equal recognition with the services of wolfe—commenced a heavy bombardment of the beauport lines, and feigned a general landing at that place. montcalm, not knowing that the majority of the british were by this time above the town,75 and deceived as to his enemy’s real intent, hurried to beauport the bulk of his troops, save those necessary for bougainville’s rear guard. meanwhile, however, wolfe was preparing for his desperate attempt several miles up the river.
before daylight the following morning (september 13), thirty boats containing seventeen hundred picked men, with wolfe at their head, floated down the stream under the dark shadow of the apparently insurmountable cliffs. they were challenged by sentinels along the shore; but, by pretending to be a provision convoy which had been expected from up-country, suspicion was disarmed. about two miles above quebec they landed at an indentation then known as anse du foulon, but now called wolfe’s cove. from the narrow beach a small, winding path, sighted by wolfe two days before, led up through the trees and underbrush to the plains of abraham. the climbing party of twenty-four infantrymen found the path obstructed by an abatis and trenches; but, nothing daunted, they clambered up the height of two hundred feet by the aid of stunted shrubs, reached the top, overcame the weak and cowardly guard of a hundred men, made way for their comrades, and by sunrise forty-five hundred men of the british army were drawn up across the plateau before the walls of quebec.39
siege of quebec
76 montcalm, ten miles away on the other side of the st. charles, was amazed at the daring feat, but by nine o’clock had massed his troops and confronted his enemy. the battle was brief but desperate. the intrepid wolfe fell on the field—“the only british general,” declared horace walpole, “belonging to the reign of george the second who can be said to have earned a lasting reputation.”40 montcalm, mortally wounded, was carried by his fleeing comrades within the city, where he died before morning. during the seven hours’ battle the british had lost forty-eight killed and five hundred and ninety-seven wounded, about twenty per cent. of the firing-line; the french lost about twelve hundred killed, wounded, and prisoners, of whom perhaps a fourth were killed.41
tom by disorder, the militia mutinous, the walls in ruins from the cannonading of the british fleet, and vaudreuil and his fellows fleeing to the interior, the helpless garrison of quebec surrendered, september 17, the british troops entering the following day. the english flag now floated over the citadel, and soon there was great rejoicing throughout great britain and her american colonies; and well there might be, for the affair on the plains of abraham was one of the most heroic and far-reaching achievements ever wrought by englishmen in any land or sea.
77
synopsis of the principal events, chiefly
military, between the capture of
quebec, 1759, and the battle
of bunker hill, 1775
1760. accession of george iii. to throne of england. the english capture montreal.
1761. american commerce and industry closely restricted by enforcement of navigation laws, acts of trade, and writs of assistance. protests of james otis and patrick henry.
1762. england declares war against spain and captures havana.
1763. treaty of paris, and cession of canada to england.
1765. passage of the stamp act by the british parliament, followed by american protests.
1766. repeal of the stamp act.
1767. the british parliament, by the townshend acts, imposes duties on paper, glass, tea, etc., imported into america.
1769. massachusetts house of representatives refuses to pay for quartering british troops. defeat of paoli and subjection of corsica by the french.
1770. “boston massacre”—british soldiers, provoked by citizens, kill three and wound several.
1772. first partition of poland between russia, austria, and prussia. samuel adams actively advocates independence in boston. british ship, the gaspee, burned by rhode islanders. virginia assembly appoints committee of correspondence to keep in touch with other colonies.
1773. “boston tea-party”—taxed tea from england thrown overboard in boston harbor by disguised americans.
78 1774. five oppressive acts, including boston port bill, passed by british parliament. general gage, commissioned as governor, comes to boston with additional british troops. a congress meets in philadelphia, with delegates from all colonies except georgia, and issues a “declaration of rights,” frames articles of association, and indorses opposition of massachusetts to the oppressive acts of parliament.
1775. general gage sends troops to destroy supplies gathered at concord. battles of lexington and concord. north carolina the first to instruct delegates to congress for independence. battle of bunker hill. seizure of ticonderoga and occupation of crown point by americans. washington takes command of the army at cambridge. the americans capture montreal. arnold repulsed at quebec and montgomery killed.
