General Jeffrey Amherst leads the English to victory over Louisbourg; French general Montcalm successfully defends Fort Carillon against an English assault; English colonel John Bradstreet captures Fort Frontenac and carries the fort's supplies to the site of Oswego, on Lake Ontario; Easton treaty is signed between the Pennsylvania colonial government and the Delawares, settling boundary questions; As General Forbes marches on Fort Duquesne with English troops, the fort is abandoned and burned by the French. The English begin construction of Fort Pitt on the site.
It was near midnight, June 1, 1758, when the lookouts on Cape Breton Island noticed something odd. The fog that had covered the island for weeks, now cleared enough to show lights off shore. Dawn revealed a large fleet laying outside Gabarous Bay, six miles west of Louisbourg. Worse yet, the ships flew a white banner with a red cross, the colors of Briton's Royal Navy.
The fleet had sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, the previous day, consisting of thirty nine warships, escorting ten transports, storage vessels, and supply ships. Half the warships were "ships-of-the-line", some with as many as a hundred cannons on three gun decks. Twelve thousand sailors and marines manned the ships, ten thousand soldiers were crowded aboard the transports. Redcoats formed the army's backbone, supported by Highlanders, light infantry, rangers, and about 500 colonial militia.
The commander-in-chief of the expedition was Major General Jeffery Amherst. Amherst's naval commander was Vice Admiral Edward Boscawen. Amherst's field commander, was recently promoted Brigadier General James Wolfe. A slender, sickly man who suffered from several maladies, but a shortage of courage was not one of them. He was an officer highly respected by his troops.
The British commanders expected a hard fight for Louisbourg. The Chevier de Drucour, it's governor, was an experienced professional skilled in fortress warfare. His troops numbered thirty-one hundred regulars, plus a thousand Canadians and five hundred Indians. The citadel mounted two hundred and seventy-seven guns on it's walls, not to mention those in the Grand and Island batteries and a new battery at Lighthouse Point. There were also ten warships in the harbor, ships-of-the-line and frigates, with over five hundred guns and three thousand seamen. Drucour had cannons aimed on likely landing sites. Trenches topped with sandbags overlooked the beaches from the cliffs
Louisburg's defenders were ready and eager to meet any invaders. But no sooner did Amherst's fleet arrive than fog rolled in and covered it. Each morning soldiers peered into the grayness, but nothing could be seen but fog. Finally, the fog lifted and at dawn, June 8, 1758, Amherst gave the order to attack.
Slowly the warships lined up broadside to the citadel and the shore batteries. Troops climbed down rope ladders hung over the sides of the transports, and into waiting longboats. Their orders were to land quickly and clear off the beach to allow the artillery to be brought ashore.
The longboats had gone only a short distance when the warships opened fire. The boom of cannon rolled across the water to the crowded boats. The men heard the roar and felt the vibrations in their guts, drifting gun smoke stung their eyes.
Twelve hundred Frenchmen watched Wolfe's approach from their trenches. They held their fire until the possible moment, then opened up with everything they had. Boats flew apart in showers of splinters. Boats overturned, dumping men into the sea, to be dragged down by their backpacks.
Wolfe watched as weeks of planning were shot to pieces. As he was about to call a retreat, he saw three boats enter a rocky cove on the left of the French works. Realizing that this was the opening he needed, he led his men into the cove. The sea claimed many boats and lives. Many made it to shore, soaked to the bone, their weapons and powder flasks wet and almost useless. This reduced the assault to close quarter fixed bayonets and drawn swords. The French, shocked at the tenacity of Wolfe's troops, scattered and ran. Wolfe persued them almost to the gates of the town, with the light infantry, rangers, Fraser's Highlanders, and the grenadiers of the first, fifteenth, seventeenth, and twenty-second regiments.
Once the British secured the beachhead, the French deserted their entrenchment's around the cove. They left behind many pieces of cannon still mounted, from twenty-four pounders on down, including some mortars. Within a week, Wolfe had the citadel surrounded by big guns. Before the circle closed, Governor Drucour abandoned his outlying fortifications at Grand Battery and Lighthouse Point. Wolfe then took over the French positions and employed his heavy artillery, which included forty-two pounders. Before long the Island Battery, harbor and eastern walls of Louisbourg were wracked by cannon fire.
Wolfe received orders to march with a large detachment, and take possession of the Light-House Point, which, with the Island battery, form the entrance of the harbor. About 2 A.M. on 12, June, Major Scott marched with 500 Light Infantry and Rangers, making a sweep through the woods, in order to take the Light-House battery. Near 5 A.M., he was followed by General Wolfe, with four companies of Grenadiers, and twelve-hundred men detached from the line. They found the battery destroyed by the enemy. Once this area was secured, Wolfe had artillery moved in by sea. From here Wolfe opened fire on the Island battery on the night of the 19th, but it took until the 25th to silence the battery.
With one lucky shot, the entire French water force was reduced to floating fire balls. The exploding shell landed on the deck of the Célébre, setting off the barrels of gunpowder stored there. The fire jumped from ship to ship, destroying all but two warships, the Prudent and Bienfaisant. At midnight on July 25th, Amherst sent 25 boatloads of Marines into the harbor. Splitting into two units they made for their objective, the last two warships. Now Louisbourg was bombarded from three sides.
The next morning, Drucour asked for the terms of surrender. Amherst promised the French regulars their lives, but no honors of war. No terms were offered to the Canadians or the Indians; if captured they would be treated the same as the garrison at Ft William Henry. Drucour refused these terms, but after he was presented with a request for surrender from the civilians, he accepted the conditions. As the British prepared to occupy the town, the Canadians and Indians fled in their canoes. The French troops were sent to England as Prisoners of War and remained there for five years. The civilian population was deported to France.
As Wolfe's guns pounded Louisbourg, Lt. Colonel John Bradstreet of the Royal Americans, led three thousand men to the Mohawk River, near Schenectady. This army was made up of mostly colonials. There were 1,112 New Yorkers, 675 from Massachusetts, 412 from New Jersey, 318 from Rhode Island, and 135 regulars. Once at the gathering place, they loaded supplies, including heavy cannon, and boarded bateaux for the westward journey. They moved easily because after the fall of Oswego, the French believed the enemy had abandoned the Mohawk.
Bradstreet's objective was Fort Frontenac, located where Lake Ontario joins the St. Lawrence River. Fort Frontenac was the chief supply base for French outposts on the Great Lakes and along the Ohio River.
For such an important place, Fort Frontenac was badly undermanned. Its small garrison was in no way able to withstand a siege with artillery. The fort was in such poor condition that, a French officer complained, "it shook whenever a cannon was fired from the walls".
Bradstreet made his final preparations at the ruins of the Oswego forts. When all was ready, he set out across Lake Ontario, and four days after launching his bateaux and whaleboats, landed his men and guns in sight of Fort Frontenac. He arrived on 25 August, with 2,600 provincial troops, 40 Indian scouts, and a force of armed bateau men, to find the fort practically defenseless. Governor Vaudreuil and Montcalm had been so concerned to concentrate their forces in defense of Fort Carillon (Ticonderoga), that they had neglected Frontenac.
The assault was so complete a surprise that his 3,000 men surrounded 120 Regulars, 40 Acadians and Indians in the fort, with their women and children. The following morning he had a battery mounted within point blank range of the enemy's walls. After a token resistance of two days, Commandant Payan de Noyan capitulated. Resistance was hopeless, the fort could not withstand the artillery. On August 27, 1758, Fort Frontenac surrendered, with only two wounded and not a single man killed on the British side.
Bradstreet's men could hardly believe their eyes when they broke into the warehouses. The fort was crammed with stores for the Ohio forts. In addition to seventy-six dismounted cannon, they found ten thousand barrels of food, trade goods, and bales of furs. Bradstreet had also captured nine armed vessels, the total French naval force on Lake Ontario. He ordered two ships be loaded with spoils, burning the rest and all the non transportable goods. The fort was burned and destroyed, with provisions, magazines, stores, artillery, and all vessels excluding the two largest. These the British loaded with the large stores of costly furs, and supplies. They then sailed to reviving Oswego, with the 150 prisoners.
This loss of supplies was soon felt throughout the French west. The booty taken and destroyed at Fort Frontenac was very great, and the loss to the French, they themselves declared, was worse than that of the battle. There were nine vessels, carrying over a hundred guns, most of which were burned, together with the fort itself, and everything inside it that could not be moved. Sixty pieces of artillery were carried away, besides an immense amount of valuable furs, stores, and provisions, valued at nearly a million livres. Bradstreet, to crown the honor of his achievement, refused his share of the booty, his portion being divided among his troops.
Bradstreet sent the prisoners to Montreal on parole, as advance payment for exchange of an equal number of British captives be forwarded to Albany. Six days after landing at Frontenac, his army arrived back at the site of Oswego. Vaudreuil's relief party found only the smoking ruins of Fort Frontenac. With Fort Frontenac in British hands, every French post in the West was cut off Canada.
Soon after the destruction of Fort Frontenac, came the abandonment of Fort Duquesne to General Forbes, a French defeat somewhat traceable to destruction at Fort Frontenac of stores intended for the fortress.
Throughout the fall, the British had been preparing for an assault on Fort Duquesne. Brigadier General John Forbes had assembled five thousand colonials and fifteen hundred Highlanders at Fort Cumberland, Virginia. Forbes, a dying man with only months to live, was so weak that he had to be carried in a litter slung between two horses. Yet his mind was sharp, and he had two assistants able to carry out his plans or act on their own when necessary. Lieutenant Colonel Henry Bouquet, his second-in-command, was a Swiss mercenary, a professional soldier serving in the Royal Americans. He would soon be recognized as one of the finest Indian fighters in America. Colonel George Washington led the Virginia regiment. On this, his third visit to the Ohio country, he hoped to see the end of the French fort.
Forbes struck northward from Fort Cumberland into Pennsylvania, then westward across the Alleghenies. The Pennsylvania route was longer than Braddock's, but easier, with more places to get fresh horses along the way. As the army advanced, a series of blockhouses and forts were built along the route as strong points and supply depots. These bases, the strongest of which was Fort Ligonier, allowed the army to leapfrog ahead or fall back to prepared positions. Forbes was also generous with gifts to the local tribes.
As the army neared Duquesne, Forbes sent Major James Grant ahead of the main force. Grant was to take 800 men, half Virginians and half Highlanders, to scout near Fort Duquesne and bring in prisoners for questioning. He must not attack under any circumstances.
Grant, unfortunately, had other ideas. A mile from the fort, he split his detachment into thirds and advanced with bagpipes skirling, as if he meant to take the place on his own. Frenchmen and Indians swarmed out of the gate and routed the invaders who lost a third of their men, including Grant. Although they suffered 300 casualties, the survivors managed to fall back to Ligonier, which Bouquet successfully held.
Despite this setback, Forbes pushed ahead confidently. So it was on the night of November 24, 1758, Forbes was in camped near Braddock's old battleground. Memories must have haunted some of the men as they settled down for a few hour's rest. Suddenly, a distant explosion shook the ground and a flash lit the sky.
Next morning, an advance party found the smoking ruins of Fort Duquesne. Lignery had burned and blown it up, sent his arms and most of the garrison down river to the Illinois country and retreated upriver to Fort Venango. Amid the ruins of mighty Fort Duquesne Forbes held a Thanksgiving service, it was November 25th.
Forbes then left Bouquet to begin work on another fort, one so large that the whole of Fort Duquesne could have fit into it's parade ground. The fort was named Fort Pitt, in honor of the Prime Minister. Forbes returned to Philadelphia, where he died soon after due to his illness.
In 1758 Fort Carillon was nearly completed. General James Abercromby had gathered at the head of Lake George, a great army of almost 15,000 men, of which 6,000 were British regulars, and the rest provincials from New England, New York and New Jersey.
On July 5, 1758, this army left the camp near the ruins of Fort William Henry in hundreds of bateaux and whale boats, to attack Fort Carillon. Early in the morning of July 6th the army landed on what is now known as Howe's Cove at the northern end of Lake George.
The army immediately advanced in four columns. The rangers were on point, with light infantry and marksmen at the heads of the columns. An advance party of French, under the Sieur de Trepezec had been watching the landing from what the French called Mount Pelee, now known as Roger's Rock. In trying to return to the fort, they had stumbled into the advancing column of George Augustus, Viscount Howe. Howe was leading the light infantry and had just reached the top of a hill, where the firing was, when he was killed. The ball entered his body on the left side, and pierced his lungs and heart, and shattered his backbone. With his death, the spirit of the army died with him, in truth he was real leader of the expedition.
The columns returned to the landing place on the 6th, but advanced again on the 7th. This time they advanced by way of a bridge over the small stream connecting Lake George with Lake Champlain. The army advanced to the spot of the present day town of Ticonderoga, where they camped for the night. The morning of the 8th, the army advanced in three columns to attack the fort.
Montcalm, meanwhile, had decided to meet the British before they could reach the fort. He ordered an earthwork built across the whole peninsula of Ticonderoga, about three quarters of a mile from the fort. These works consisted of a great wall of logs, and an abatis of trees with their branches sharpened, a hundred feet or so from the trenches. He would command the center, the Chevalier de Lévis, the right, and the Colonel de Bourlamaque the left.
Early in the morning, the British attacked. In defiance of reason, Abercromby ordered a frontal assault on the French positions. With the light infantry leading the way, British and Provincial soldiers attacked again and again. Each time they were driven back with terrible losses. The battle continued through the hot July day. In this fight, the 42nd Highlanders suffered greatly. Many of the Highlanders fought their way through the abatis and some even reached the wall, only to be killed by bayonet or bullet. The Royal American regiment had losses only less than the Black Watch. By the end of the day, when Abercromby finally ordered a retreat, he had lost almost 2000 men, while Montcalm's losses were only about 400. The British and Colonial losses were almost as great as the whole French defending force. The French were left in command of the field.
General Amherst
On July 25th, 1759 the day after Fort Niagara's surrender, Amherst, to the east, stood with his second army at the neck of the Ticonderoga peninsula. His force, evenly divided between regulars and militia, numbered eight thousand and had masses of artillery. As usual, the general had planned everything carefully and moved slowly, leaving nothing to chance. Weeks had been spent in drilling the troops and disciplining them as they'd never been disciplined before.
Fort Carillon was commanded by Colonel François Charles de Bourlamaque, an able officer with wide experience in Europe. Although Bourlamaque had thirty-two hundred soldiers, the same number Montcalm had when he defeated Abercromby, the situation was different. Amherst, he knew, would make the most of his superiority in artillery. He would blow away the zigzag barricade as if it were made of matchsticks and then go to work on the fort. It would be suicide to resist. The night before the British arrived, Bourlamaque escaped to Crown Point by boat with most of his men, leaving a rear guard to hold out as long as possible.
Amherst's guns were limbering up when a French deserter was brought in. He had good news. The good news was that the rear guard had slipped away, the fort was empty. The bad news was they had left behind a lighted fuse connected to the gunpowder magazine. Fort Carillon was a bomb ready to explode at any moment. Amherst offered one hundred guineas, a fortune to a poor man, to anyone who would go in and cut the fuse. There were no takers. Toward midnight, June 26, an explosion rocked the fort, turning it into a smoking ruin.
Five days later, as Wolfe's grenadiers were scaling the Beauport cliffs near Quebec, Amherst closed in on Crown Point, only to find that Fort St. Frédéric had also been destroyed. Instead of following the retreating French, he began rebuilding the forts, and preparing for a drive on Montreal next year. Amherst renamed the forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point.
While Wolfe was bombarding Quebec, Jeffery Amherst set two armies in motion in New York. The first army was made up of three thousand regulars under Brigadier General John Prideaux and a mixed band of a thousand warriors from the Five Nations under Sir William Johnson. In May 1759, his army reoccupied Oswego and began to build a larger fort on the site. Its work done, a small garrison was left behind, while the main force set out by boat on Lake Ontario. Destination; Fort Niagara, the connecting link between Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, and France's remaining forts in the Ohio country. Prideaux's army arrived at their destination on 7, July. The next day, a demand for the surrender of Niagara, was sent to the fort. Commandant Pouchot refused it saying "He did not understand English", so it was, the siege began.
Though Niagara was a strong fortification, the English had plenty of artillery. Outnumbered and under strength, the French garrison of was no match for the invaders. The English began digging a zigzag trench towards the fort. It would be only a matter of time until they would be close enough to mine the walls.
Pouchot sent a dispatch to Lignery at Fort Machault, for reinforcements. Lignery immediately canceled his attack on Pittsburgh, and departed for Niagara.
On July 23, Captain James De Lancey, set a barricade across the road leading to the fort. The next day, Lieutenant Colonel Massey arrived with more troops. The French reinforcements were stopped by a volley of musket fire. De Lancey led a bayonet charge that routed the enemy. The flanking British Indian allies, descended on the French and finished the route.
Johnson finished the siege on July 25, when Pouchot capitulated. But before the French surrendered, they insisted upon a solemn promise that Johnson protect them from his braves. They remembered Fort William Henry and didn't want to be on the wrong side of an Indian massacre.
With the fall of Fort Niagara, all French outposts to the south--Forts Presque Isle, Le Boeuf, Venango--became useless and had to be evacuated. After five years of disappointment and bloodshed, only the British flag flew over the lands watered by the Beautiful River.
British troops under the command of Lord Sackville fought in only one pitched battle on the continent.
The French and Ferdinand raced to secure the town of Minden, which controlled the passage of the Weser. De Broglie's army arrived on July 9th, reaching Minden first. He sent a summons to the garrison to surrender, which was refused. The French then forced entrance, and by evening they were in possession of the town, with an open road to Hanover. Broglie was soon joined by de Contades who, as senior Marshal, assumed command. Ferdinand took up position on the west bank of the Weser, north of Minden. The French position was very strong; the Weser protected their front, their left was covered by marshes. They could not be attacked with any prospect of success. De Contades had but one problem, supply. Ferdinand had placed six thousand men across his lines of communication. The French Marshal asked the mayor of Minden to recommend a reliable messenger to carry an order to the Duc de Brissac who protected the French rear at Herford, 25 miles to the west. The message sent by De Contades was first shown to Prince Ferdinand, by the messenger before it was delivered to the Duc de Brissae. The message implied that De Contades intended to cross the Weser River and attack Ferdinand. Ferdinand planned to seize the initiative, rather than await attack; he sought to fall on the French while they were in the act of deployment.
On the right of the line stood two British infantry brigades, behind the protection of the woods. Ahead and to the right were Prince Anhalt’s Hanoverian brigades. Sixteen French battalions were advancing on Hahlen. They were followed by fifteen more and by thirty guns. Ahead trotted the French cavalry. About this time, several houses in the village of Hahlen caught fire. The heat and smoke drifted towards the French, blinding them and holding them back. The British infantry was soon advanced far enough to be in range of the French artillery. Captain William Phillips, commanding the artillery, saw the danger. He brought up his heavy guns at the gallop, an unheard of feat in warfare. They quickly unlimbered and began lobbing shells into the French artillery, quenching its fire.
The British and Hanovernian infantry, commanded by the Earl of Waldegrave, advanced in three lines. Each man would have time to fire one round before the cavalry were upon them, then it would be bayonet against sword and momentum. They held their fire, waiting until the French were within ten paces. The volley smashed de Castrie’s cavalry squadrons, who reeled back. The line of infantry had broken three squadrons of cavalry. The beaten French streamed through Minden and dispersed over the countryside without order or discipline. By the end of the year, Ferdinand had driven the French back to the Rhine River.
In 1759, it appeared that the best way for France to insure the holding of Canada and her possessions in the West Indies, would be to invade England. This last, almost desperate French bid for a decisive victory would coincide with British General Wolfe's campaign against Quebec. France began extensive preparations for a cross-Channel invasion of England. In order to accomplish this, France would have to gain control of the seas. The recent alliance with Austria provided such an opportunity. The French navy would now have use of the seaports of the Netherlands.
The French plan called for the landing of two armies in England. The first, of fifty thousand soldiers, would be transported across the North Sea in barges. The second, consisting of twenty thousand men, would sail from the Biscayan ports, cross the Atlantic, sail around Ireland and land in the Clyde. A third, smaller force would make a diversionary raid on Ireland. France's chief minister, the Duc de Choiseul's plan called for the Toulon and Brest fleets to converge, collect the transports assembled in Quiberon Bay, and slip past the British unobserved. All this would have to be accomplished with a naval force that possessed neither the skill nor experienced sailors to carry it out.
Unfortunately for the French, the British were forewarned of these plans when a letter to the French ambassador in Sweden was intercepted by a spy, and smuggled to England. For home defense, a Militia Bill was passed, and fourteen thousand men volunteered for home defense. Rear Admiral Rodney was then sent to destroy the flat-bottomed transports being built at La Havre. His fleet managed to sail into the mouth of he Seine River, where much damage was done during a fifty two hour bombardment of the installations there. Two squadrons were also sent to watch the ports in the Netherlands, and Commodore William Boys cruised off the coast of Dunkirk. Vice Admiral Edward Boscawen was sent to the Mediterranean, while Admiral Hawke would cruise off the port of Brest to prevent these fleets from sailing, or destroy them if they did manage to escape to open sea. His plans went well until a British frigate spotted his fleet's sails. Running fast, he reached open sea, but lost sight of rearmost ships. So, when at 8:00 am on the 17th, the French lookouts reported sails on the horizon, De la Clue lowered sail, thinking his lagging vessels were catching up. Then, the numbers of sails being seen began to increase. Realizing his error, de la Conflans ordered his ships to raise sail in an effort escape to the neutral port of Cadiz. But it was already too late. With a total disregard for Portuguese neutrality, the British fleet closed in for the kill. The French Mediterranean fleet having been destroyed, Boscawen removed his ships to England, to re-enforce the British Channel fleet.
In 1759, General James Wolfe, was in command of the largest British naval force ever to cross the Atlantic.
After making stopovers at Halifax and Louisbourg to pick up several hundred North American Rangers and the Louisbourg Grenadiers, the fleet sailed for the St. Lawrence in mid-June. After rounding the Gaspé Peninsula, it entered the mouth of the mighty river. The ship's crews were to be tested as the fleet neared the Isle aux Coudres forty miles below Quebec. At this point, the river narrows, becoming swifter and treacherous. Shallows, sandbars, and submerged rocks become a hazard for ships. The French Navy feared the place and had stationed pilots on the island to guide ships through the channel. Only one ship at a time, sailed past the Isle aux Coudres. So it was that when French lookouts at the pilot station saw several ships appear, they paddled out to meet them. They were captured by the British, who had been flying the colors of France. Once captured, they were given the choice of hanging or guiding the ships through the channel. They then agreed to help, but several British captains thought it best to sail through on their own. They had sailed English waters far more treacherous than these!
On June 26, the fleet anchored off the Island of Orleans, located in the St. Lawrence River, three miles below the Quebec.
General Wolfe set up his main camp on the Montmorency, across from Montcalm's trenches. On the 30th of June, Brigadier General Robert Monckton, captured Point Lévis, taking it after a short fight. He set up his own camp there and moved the artillery into position. From this most commanding position, the artillery was able to lay a deadly fire on Quebec less than a mile away. The British cannon fired every day. Shot rained down on Quebec day after day, and night after night.
Bands of Canadians and Indians, mostly Abenaki, haunted the woods around Monkton's batteries. Sentries were knifed and scalped. Patrols were ambushed and mutilated. But soon these guerrilla tactics backfired. The redcoats now longer panicked at thought of Indians, the rangers had taught them better. They now turned their jackets inside out and dubbed the linings with clay. Wolfe also issued orders allowing his men to scalp Indians and French dressed as Indians.
Quebec itself, was a natural fortress. The Lower Town, with its homes, warehouses, and docks, lay along the riverside. The Upper Town was perched atop the bluffs. Here was the governor's palace, cathedral, hospital, and citadel. Steep, narrow streets connected both sections of the city.
No paths led from the riverbank to the Plains of Abraham at the top. Here and there, a few men could climb the cliffs by holding onto rocks and bushes. But a few determined men at the top could hold off an army.
Montcalm had ordered trenches dug along the cliffs from the St. Charles to the Montmorency. Cannon were placed at key points on the cliffs and in the town, so as to make passage upriver almost impossible. Colonel de Bougainville was stationed with a thousand men near Cape Rouge to deal with any English who managed to slip past the batteries and come ashore.
Montcalm would not have to fight to win, by simply holding on, avoiding an all out fight until winter drove the invaders away would work just fine . To remain until October, would mean trapping the fleet when the St. Lawrence froze over. Wolfe on the other hand, had to force Montcalm to fight, either by tricking him down, or by scaling the cliffs. Montcalm, watching all this from his headquarters at Beauport, dispatched a few parties to interceded, but refused to let these cruelties draw his army from the walls of Quebec. His best option was to let Wolfe bombard Quebec and burn villages, for every day Wolfe failed to bring him into battle was a day closer to winter and victory. Wolfe knew this and decided upon a desperate gamble. He had noticed that the French had gun batteries at several points along the shore above the high water line. At low tide, mud flats as much as a half mile wide were exposed from the Beauport shore to the mouth of the Montmorency, where the water was waist-deep for a few hours each day. His plan was to have troops rowed across from the Island of Orleans and landed on the mud flats. The first wave would be the grenadiers, elite units trained to throw grenades. He hoped Montcalm would come down from his trenches to save the batteries. This would allow Wolfe to draw him into a battle.
Soon the second wave landed and formed ranks. Now the Grenadiers became enraged. Screaming, they ran past their officers, and began scaling the cliffs. After a moment of shock, the French began to fire volley after volley down the slope. The brave grenadiers began dieing by the dozens, their bodies falling to the beach below. As the English troops began to fall back to their boats, Indians came down the cliffs to scalp the dead and wounded. At the end of the day, the English counted 443 men, were reported, killed, wounded, or missing. The French camp on the other hand, believed the battle for Quebec was surly over.
This defeat was devastating to Wolfe, he became worried that his health would not allow him time to find a way to win. They recommended a landing above Cape Rouge, about 25 miles west of the city. The area was lightly defended and offered the best chance of climbing the cliffs in safety. Once on top, they would cut the French supply line to Quebec. Montcalm must then fight to reopen the roads or starve.
Wolfe excepted their plan and put it into operation. He evacuated the camp on the Montmorency and concentrated his army at Point Lévis. Each night, Admiral Saunders maneuvered a few ships upriver, past the batteries at Quebec, until he had a squadron of twenty vessels west of the city. Each day the squadron drifted downstream with the ebb tide, as if searching for a place to land. The idea was to tire the French, and get them used to seeing English ships that never attacked. When the French became overconfident, the attack would occur.
Wolfe had in the meantime made an important discovery. He had found a inlet two miles west of Quebec with an overgrown path winding up the cliff face. The top was guarded by a company of Canadian militia under Captain Duchambon de Vergor. It was here that Wolfe found the soft underbelly of Quebec's defenses. This secret Wolfe kept to himself until the moment of action, telling no one.
At 2:00 A.M., Thursday, 13 September, 1759, a procession six miles long drifted downstream on the ebb tide.
At about a quarter mile from the landing point, a French sentry called out "Qui vive?". Stunned, the men set silent, but almost a once a Highlander responded in perfect French "François! Et vive le roi !, France!" And long live the king ! With this, they continued on their way.
Soon, winded, hands and knees scraped by rocks, Delaune's men cleared the top of the cliff. The white of French tents could just be seen outlined against the dark background. Once formed, they opened fire, taking the French by complete surprise. They rushed the
French sentries, who fired and the fell back towards the tents. Captain Vergor, being awakened by the shots, rushed out with about thirty men, to form a defense. A picket of light infantry which had landed, came to aid the volunteers. Vergor was caught between them, but all but one of his men escaped by running through the brush. Captain Vergor, was shot through the foot, while attempting his escape.
Colonel Howe was now dispatched with some light infantry, to capture the batteries. These two artillery garrisons, being assaulted by superior forces and near being surrounded, retreated towards Cap Rouge.
Before them stretched a broad, flat strip of land leading to the walls of Quebec. Here at last were the Plains of Abraham! The Plains of Abraham were named for the early Canadian settler, Abraham Martin, who had first cleared the land. This plateau is about three-quarters of a mile wide, bounded on the right by a steep cliff which at the foot of, flows the St. Lawrence River. On the left, it is bounded by the Cóte St. Geneviéve, below which the river St. Charles meanders. The two cliffs meet over a mile to the east, at Cape Diamond, crowned by the citadel of Quebec. In front of the plateau lies a slight ravine.
Montcalm was making his morning rounds, when a messenger brought a note from Governor Vaudreuil. The general had heard the cannonade from the ships, but had gone to bed when no attack had occurred. Now he would learn the truth. Patrols had spotted the British on the Plains of Abraham. He rode in the direction of the plains, and saw an awful sight. It was not yet 7:00 A.M., but in the distance, long double lines of the infantry stretched across the plains. They were standing motionless as a soft rain fell. The morning breeze carried the sound of bagpipes. With the English on the plains, there were no options but to fight.
Wolfe walked along the ranks, talking to the troops, and giving his final orders. Canadian and Indian sharpshooters appeared at the edge of the woods and began sending bullets his way. One captain, standing next to him, was hit in the chest. Wolfe kneeled and held him in his arms, promising a promotion when the fighting was over. By this time, the French regulars were forming their lines near the walls of Quebec. They formed up in three lines as they arrived. Militia formed the two wings, regiments of the line in the center, the Royal Roussillon near the river, then those of Guyenne, Béarn, Languedoc and La Sarre. Some pieces of artillery were brought out. Once formed, Montcalm, in a uniform of green and gold, rode along the ranks encouraging his men. "Are you tired? ", he joked. Cheers and laughter rose from the men. "Are you ready my children?" another cheer arose. With this he raised his sword, and gave the signal to advance. Wolfe was happy for the first time in months, finally he had his chance to take Quebec!
On Montcalm’s orders, French began their charge. The French army advanced, three rows deep, with Canadians and Indians on their flanks. They held their fire until they were within one hundred yards of the British lines. But their lines became broken while crossing the ravine, due to the rough ground. The opening volley was fired strangely by all three lines at once, with little affect on the British line. Now the firing became ragged and scattered, the men firing and reloading on the run.
Wolfe's troops stood still as death, the only moment, when a man fell and was replaced by another. They stood with their muskets shouldered, and their bayonets fixed. The French were now only seventy-five yards away, more Redcoats fell. Now, on command, the first rank dropped to one knee. Both ranks leveled their weapons, each of which were loaded with double ball, at the advancing French line. Fifty yards, now the French were close enough to count the buttons on their coats, hear the tramp of their shoes.
At forty yards, Wolfe gave the order to fire. One great volley, with a sound like a thunder clap exploded. The opening volley was devastating. The English reloaded, and taking twenty paces forward, fired again.
Both armies were than advancing, and the fight was short, but intense. Montcalm, ran from one point to another trying to rally his men.
The last volleys were fired with the two armies mere feet apart! With this final hail of musket balls, the French lines were broken. Those that survived the volley, were dazed and shaken. The shattered bodies of the dead and wounded littered the ground. Wolfe gave the order to charge. The British bayonet charge caused the French center to give way, and the whole army began to turn to the rear. Those that were able, were forced to ran for their lives.
The Canadians fell back, but then rallied in some places. In the little woods on the right, they held back part of the British regulars for a time. Indians and Canadians were not offered a chance to surrender, memories of William Henry were still fresh, French officers though were sometimes spared.
Wolfe was leading the grenadiers when a bullet hit him in the chest, puncturing both lungs. Two soldiers ran to his aid, but he was beyond help. They carried him to cover, and propped him up. It was at this moment, someone yelled "see how they run". Wolfe opened his eyes an asked "who runs?", a soldier replied, " The French run sir". With this it is said, Wolfe replied, "Now God be praised, I die in peace", and closed his eyes forever.
Governor Vaudreuil, had just reached a point near the heights, when his regiment came in contact with the British and was soon defeated. He tried in vain to rally his fleeing troops, with only a few militia going to the aid of those fighting in the woods on the St. Foy road.
The Highlanders charged with their backswords held high. Anyone in their path failing to flee, died instantly, until they reached the edge of the woods, where they were halted by a hail of musket fire. After they made several attempts to dislodge the Canadians, the Highlanders were forced to fall back and regroup on the St. Lawrence road. The Canadians made a final stand in the military bakery, which stood in the center of the valley, surrounded by several houses. Out numbered, and desperate, the Canadians managed to hold the British regiments in check for a long while and gained time for the French army retreat to the horn- work. This brave action cost the loss of almost every man killed on the spot, and broke what remained of French resistance.
With the English in control of the heights, Montcalm dying, and the French army demoralized, Governor Vaudreuil, for now, had to abandon Quebec, leaving it's people to the conquerors.