During this whole summer he received not the least intelligence of Mr. Wolfe’s operations, except a few hints in some letters relating to the exchange of prisoners, that came from the French general Montcalm, who gave him to understand that Mr. Wolfe had landed in the neighbourhood of Quebec, and seemed determined to undertake the siege of that city; that he had honoured him (the French general) with several notes, sometimes couched in a soothing strain, sometimes filled with threats; that the French army intended to give him battle, and a few days would determine the fate of Quebec. Though Mr. Amherst was ignorant of the proceedings of the Quebec squadron, his communication continued open with the forces which undertook the siege of Niagara; and he received an account of their success before he had quitted the lines of Ticonderoga. General Prideaux, with his body of troops, reinforced by the Indian auxiliaries under sir William Johnston, advanced to the cataract of Niagara, without being exposed to the least inconvenience on his march; and investing the French fortress about the middle of July, carried on his approaches with great vigour till the twentieth day of that month, when, visiting the trenches, he was unfortunately slain by the bursting of a cohorn. Mr. Amherst was no sooner informed of his disaster, than he detached brigadier-general Gage from Ticonderoga, to assume the command of that army. In the meantime it devolved on sir William Johnston, who happily prosecuted the plan of his predecessor with all the success that could have been desired. The enemy, alarmed with the apprehension of losing a place of such importance, resolved to exert their endeavours for its relief. They assembled a body of regular troops, amounting to twelve hundred men, drawn from Detroit, Venango, and Presque Isle; and these, with a number of Indian auxiliaries, were detached under the command of monsieur d’Aubry, on an attempt to reinforce the garrison of Niagara. Sir William Johnston having received intelligence of their design, made a disposition to intercept them in their march. In the evening he ordered the light infantry and picquets to post themselves to the left, on the road leading from Niagara Falls to the fortress; these were reinforced in the morning with the grenadiers and part of the forty-sixth regiment, commanded by lieutenant-colonel Massey; and another regiment, under lieutenant-colonel Farquhar, was posted at the tail of the works, in order to support the guard of the trenches. About eight in the morning, the enemy being in sight, the Indians in the English army advanced to speak with their countrymen who served under the French banners; but this conference was declined by the enemy. Then the French Indians having uttered the horrible scream called the war-whoop, which by this time had lost its effect among the British forces, the enemy began the action with impetuosity; but they met with such a hot reception in front, while the Indian auxiliaries fell upon their flanks, that in a little more than half an hour their whole army was routed, their general, with all his officers, taken, and the pursuit continued through the woods for several miles with considerable slaughter. This battle, which happened on the twenty-fourth day of July, having been fought in sight of the French garrison at Niagara, sir William Johnston sent major Harvey with a trumpet to the commanding officer, to present him with a list of seventeen officers taken in the engagement, and to exhort him to surrender before more blood was shed, while he had it in his power to restrain the Indians. The commandant, having certified himself of the truth, by sending an officer to visit the prisoners, agreed to treat, and in a few hours the capitulation was ratified. The garrison, consisting of six hundred and seven effective men, marched out with the honours of war, in order to be embarked in vessels on the lake, and conveyed in the most expeditious manner to New-York. They laid down their arms when they embarked; but were permitted to keep their baggage, and by proper escort protected from the savage insolence and rapacity of the Indians. All the women were conducted, at their own request, to Montreal; and the sick and wounded, who could not bear the fatigue of travelling, were treated with humanity. This was the second complete victory obtained on the continent of North America, in the course of the same war, by sir William Johnston, who, without the help of a military education, succeeded so signally in the field by dint of innate courage and natural sagacity. What remarkably characterizes these battles, is the circumstance of his having taken, in both, the commanders of the enemy. Indeed, the war in general may be distinguished by the singular success of this gentleman and the celebrated lord Clive, two self-taught generals; who, by a series of shining actions, have demonstrated that uninstructed genius can, by its own internal light and efficacy, rival, if not eclipse, the acquired art of discipline and experience. Sir William Johnston was not more serviceable to his country by his valour and conduct in the field, than by the influence and authority which his justice, benevolence, and integrity, had acquired among the Indian tribes of the Six Nations, whom he not only assembled at Niagara to the number of eleven hundred, but also restrained within the bounds of good order and moderation.
The reduction of Niagara, and the possession of Crown-Point, were exploits much more easily achieved than the conquest of Quebec, the great object to which all these operations were subordinate. Of that we now come to give the detail fraught with singular adventures and surprising events; in the course of which a noble spirit of enterprise was displayed, and the scenes of war were exhibited in all the variety of desolation. It was about the middle of February that a considerable squadron sailed from England for Cape Breton, under the command of admirals Saunders and Holmes, two gentlemen of worth and probity, who had on several occasions signalised their courage and conduct in the service of their country. By the twenty-first day of April they were in sight of Louisbourg; but the harbour was blocked up with ice in such a manner, that they were obliged to bear away for Halifax in Nova-Scotia. From hence rear-admiral Durell was detached with a small squadron to sail up the river St. Laurence as far as the Isle de Coudres, in order to intercept any supplies from France intended for Quebec: he accordingly took two store-ships; but he was anticipated by seventeen sail, laden with provision, stores, and some recruits, under convoy of three frigates, which had already reached the capital of Canada. Meanwhile admiral Saunders arrived at Louisbourg; and the troops being embarked, to the number of eight thousand, proceeded up the river without further delay. The operations by land were intrusted to the conduct of major-general James Wolfe, whose talents had shone with such superior lustre at the siege of Louisbourg; and his subordinates in command were the brigadiers Monckton, Townshend, and Murray; all four in the flower of their age, who had studied the milifeiry art with equal eagerness and proficiency, and though young in years, were old in experience. The first was a soldier by descent, the son of major-general Wolfe, a veteran officer of acknowledged capacity: the other three resembled each other, not only in years, qualifications, and station, but also in family rank, all three being the sons of noblemen. The situation of brigadier Townshend was singular; he had served abroad in the last war with reputation, and resigned his commission during the peace, in disdain at some hard usage he had sustained from his superiors. That his military talents, however, might not be lost to his country, he exercised them with equal spirit and perseverance in projecting and promoting the plan of a national militia. When the command and direction of the army devolved to a new leader, so predominant in his breast was the spirit of patriotism and the love of glory, that though heir-apparent to a British peerage, possessed of a very affluent fortune, remarkably dear to his acquaintance, and solicited to a life of quiet by every allurement of domestic felicity; he waived these considerations: he burst from all entanglements; proffered his services to his sovereign; exposed himself to the perils of a disagreeable voyage, the rigours of a severe climate, and the hazard of a campaign peculiarly fraught with toil, danger, and difficulty.
The armament intended for Quebec sailed up the river St. Laurence, without having met with any interruption, or having perceived any of those difficulties and perils with which it had been reported that the navigation of it was attended. Their good fortune in this particular, indeed, was owing to some excellent charts of the river, which had been found in vessels taken from the enemy. About the latter end of June the land-forces were disembarked in two divisions upon the isle of Orleans, situated a little below Quebec, a large fertile island, well cultivated, producing plenty of grain, abounding with people, villages, and plantations. General Wolfe no sooner landed on the island of Orleans, than he distributed a manifesto among the French colonists, giving them to understand that the king his master, justly exasperated against the French monarch, had equipped a considerable armament in order to humble his pride, and was determined to reduce the most considerable French settlements in America. He declared it was not against the industrious peasants, their wives and children, nor against the ministers of religion, that he intended to make war; on the contrary, he lamented the misfortunes to which they must be exposed by the quarrel; he offered them his protection; and promised to maintain them in their temporal possessions, as well as in the free exercise of their religion, provided they would remain quiet, and take no part in the difference between the two crowns. He observed, that the English were masters of the river St. Laurence, so as to intercept all succours from Europe; and had besides a powerful army on the continent, under the command of general Amherst. He affirmed, that the resolution they ought to take was neither difficult nor doubtful; as the utmost exertion of their valour would be useless, and serve only to deprive them of the advantages which they might reap from their neutrality. He reminded them that the cruelties exercised by the French upon the subjects of Great Britain in America, would excuse the most severe reprisals; but Britons were too generous to follow such barbarous examples. He again offered to the Canadians the sweets of peace, amidst the horrors of war; and left it to themselves to determine their own fate by their own conduct. He expressed his hope that the world would do him justice, should they oblige him, by rejecting these favourable terms, to adopt violent measures. He expatiated upon the strength and power, as well as upon the generosity, of Great Britain, in thus stretching out the hand of humanity; a hand ready to assist them on all occasions, even when France was by her weakness compelled to abandon them in the most critical conjuncture. This declaration produced no immediate effect; nor indeed did the Canadians depend on the sincerity and promised faith of a nation, whom their priests had industriously represented as the most savage and cruel enemy on earth. Possessed of these notions, which prevailed even among the better sort, they chose to abandon their habitations, and expose themselves and families to certain ruin, in provoking the English by the most cruel hostilities, rather than be quiet, and confide in the general’s promise of protection. Instead of pursuing this prudent plan of conduct, they joined the scalping parties * of Indians who skulked among the woods; and falling upon the English stragglers by surprise, butchered them with the most inhuman barbarity.
* The operation of scalping, which, to the shame of both nations, was encouraged both by French and English, the savages performed in this manner—The hapless victim being disabled, or disarmed, the Indian, with a sharp knife, provided and worn for the purpose, makes a circular incision to the bone round the upper part of the head, and tears off the scalp with his fingers. Previous to this execution, he generally despatches the prisoner by repeated blows on the head, with the hammer-side of the instrument called a tomahawk: but sometimes they save themselves the trouble, and sometimes the blows prove ineffectual; so that the miserable patient is found alive, groaning in the utmost agony of torture. The Indian strings the scalps he has procured, to be produced as a testimony of his prowess, and receives a premium for each from the nation under whose banners he has been enlisted.
Mr. Wolfe, whose nature revolted against this wanton and perfidious cruelty, sent a letter to the French general, representing that such enormities were contrary to the rules of war observed among civilized nations, dishonourable to the service of France, and disgraceful to human nature; he therefore desired that the French colonists and Indians might be restrained within due bounds, otherwise he would burn their villages, desolate their plantations, and retaliate upon the persons of his prisoners whatever cruelties should, in the sequel, be committed on the soldiers or subjects of his master. In all probability the French general’s authority was not sufficient to bridle the ferocity of the savages, who continued to scalp and murder, with the most brutal appetite for blood and revenge, so that Mr. Wolfe, in order to intimidate the enemy into a cessation of these outrages, found it necessary to connive at some irregularities in the way of retaliation.
M. de Montcalm, who commanded the French troops, though superior in number to the invaders, very wisely resolved to depend upon the natural strength of the country, which appeared almost insurmountable, and had carefully taken all his precautions of defence. The city of Quebec was tolerably fortified, secured with a numerous garrison, and plentifully supplied with provisions and ammunition. Montcalm had reinforced the troops of the colony with five regular battalions formed of the best of the inhabitants, completely disciplined all the Canadians of the neighbourhood capable of bearing arms, and several tribes of savages. With this army he had taken the field in a very advantageous situation, encamped along the shore of Beaufort, from the river St. Charles to the Falls of Montmorenci, every accessible part being deeply intrenched. To undertake the siege of Quebec against such odds and advantages, was not only a deviation from the established maxims of war, but a rash enterprise, seemingly urged in diametrical opposition to the dictates of common sense. Mr. Wolfe was well acquainted with all the difficulties of the undertaking; but he knew at the same time he should always have it in his power to retreat, in case of emergency, while the British squadron maintained its station in the river; he was not without hope of being joined by general Amherst; and he was stimulated by an appetite for glory, which the prospect of accumulated dangers could not allay. Understanding that there was a body of the enemy posted, with cannon, at the Point of Levi, on the south shore, opposite the city of Quebec, he detached against them brigadier Monckton, at the head of four battalions, who passed the river at night; and next morning, having skirmished with some of the enemy’s irregulars, obliged them to retire from that post, which the English immediately occupied. At the same time colonel Carlton, with another detachment, took possession of the western point of the island of Orleans: and both these posts were fortified, in order to anticipate the enemy; who, had they kept possession of either, might have rendered it impossible for any ship to lie at anchor within two miles of Quebec. Besides, the Point of Levi was within cannon shot of the city, against which a battery of mortars and artillery was immediately erected. Montcalm, foreseeing the effect of this manoeuvre, detached a body of sixteen hundred men across the river, to attack and destroy the works before they were completed; but the detachment fell into disorder, fired upon each other, and retired in confusion. The battery being finished without further interruption, the cannons and mortars began to play with such success, that in a little time the upper town was considerably damaged, and the lower town reduced to a heap of rubbish.
In the meantime, the fleet was exposed to the most imminent danger. Immediately after the troops had been landed on the island of Orleans, the wind increased to a furious storm, which blew with such violence, that many transports ran foul of one another, and were disabled. A number of boats and small craft foundered, and divers large ships lost their anchors. The enemy resolving to take advantage of the confusion which they imagined this disaster must have produced, prepared seven fire ships; and at midnight sent them down from Quebec among the transports, which lay so thick as to cover the whole surface of the river. The scheme, though well contrived, and seasonably executed, was entirely defeated by the deliberation of the British admiral, and the dexterity of his mariners, who resolutely boarded the fire ships, and towed them fast aground, where they lay burning to the water’s edge, without having done the least prejudice to the English squadron. On the very same day of the succeeding month they sent down a raft of fire-ships, or radeaux, which were likewise consumed without producing any effect.
The works for the security of the hospital and the stores, on the island of Orleans, being finished, the British forces crossed the north channel in boats; and, landing under cover of two sloops, encamped on the side of the river Montmorenci, which divided them from the left of the enemy. Next morning a company of rangers, posted in a wood to cover some workmen, were attacked by the French Indians, and totally defeated; however, the nearest troops advancing, repulsed the Indians in their turn with considerable loss. The reasons that induced general Wolfe to choose this situation by the Falls of Montmorenci, in which he was divided from Quebec by this and another river called St. Charles, he explained in a letter to the secretary of state. He observed, that the ground which he had chosen was high, and in some measure commanded the opposite side on which the enemy was posted: that there was a ford below the Falls passable in every tide for some hours, at the latter part of the ebb and beginning of the flood; and he hoped that means might be found of passing the river higher up, so as to fight the marquis de Montcalm upon less disadvantageous terms than those of directly attacking his intrenchments. Accordingly, in reconnoitring the river Montmorenci, a ford was discovered about three miles above; but the opposite banks, which were naturally steep and covered with woods, the enemy had intrenched in such a manner, as to render it almost inaccessible. The escort was twice attacked by the Indians, who were as often repulsed; but these rencounters cost the English about forty men killed and wounded, including some officers. Some shrewd objections might be started to the general’s choice of ground on this occasion. He could not act at all without passing the river Montmorenci at a very great disadvantage, and attacking an enemy superior to himself in number, secured by redoubts and intrenchments. Had he even, by dint of extraordinary valour, driven them from these strong posts, the success must have cost him a great number of officers and men: and the enemy might have retreated behind the river St. Charles, which he also must have passed under the same disadvantages, before he could begin his operations against the city of Quebec. Had his good fortune enabled him to surmount all these difficulties, and after all to defeat the enemy in a pitched battle, the garrison of Quebec might have been reinforced by the wreck of their army; and he could not, with any probability of success, have undertaken the siege of an extensive fortified place, which he had not troops sufficient to invest, and whose garrison would have been nearly equal in number to the sum total of the troops he commanded. At any rate, the chance of a fair engagement in the open field was what he had little reason to expect in that situation, from the known experience, and the apparent conduct, of the French general. These objections appeared so obvious and important, that general Wolfe would not determine to risk an attack, until he had surveyed the upper part of the river St. Laurence, in hopes of finding some place more favourable for a descent.
On the eighteenth day of July, the admiral, at his request, sent two ships of war, two armed sloops, and some transports with troops on board, up the river; and they passed the city of Quebec, without having sustained any damage. The general, being on board of this little armament, carefully observed the banks on the side of the enemy, which were extremely difficult from the nature of the ground; and these difficulties were redoubled by the foresight and precaution of the French commander. Though a descent seemed impracticable between the city and Cape Rouge, where it was intended, general Wolfe, in order to divide the enemy’s force, and procure intelligence, ordered a detachment, under the command of colonel Carleton, to land higher up, at the Point au Tremble, to which place he was informed a great number of the inhabitants of Quebec had retired with their most valuable effects. This service was performed with little loss; and some prisoners were brought away, but no magazine was discovered. The general, thus disappointed in his expectation, returned to Montmorenci, where brigadier Townshend had, by maintaining a superior fire across that river, prevented the enemy from erecting a battery, which would have commanded the English camp; and now he resolved to attack them, though posted to great advantage, and everywhere prepared to give him a warm reception. His design was, first to reduce a detached redoubt close to the water’s edge, seemingly situated without gunshot of the intrenchment on the hill. Should this fortification be supported by the enemy, he foresaw that he should be able to bring on a general engagement: on the contrary, should they remain tame spectators of its reduction, he could afterwards examine their situation at leisure, and determine the place at which they could be most easily attacked. Preparations were accordingly made for storming the redoubt. On the last day of July, in the forenoon, part of brigadier Monckton’s brigade was embarked in the boats of the fleet, to be transported from the Point of Levi. The two brigades, commanded by the brigadiers Townshend and Murray, were drawn out in order to pass the ford when it should be necessary. To facilitate their passage, the admiral had stationed the Centurion ship of war in the channel, to check the fire of the lower battery, by which the ford was commanded: a numerous train of artillery was placed upon the eminence, to batter and enfilade the left of the enemy’s intrenchment; and two flat-bottomed armed vessels, prepared for the purpose, were run aground near the redoubt, to favour the descent of the forces. The manifest confusion produced among the French by these previous measures, and by the fire of the Centurion, which was well-directed and sustained, determined Mr. Wolfe to storm this intrenchment without further delay. Orders were issued that the three brigadiers should put their troops in motion at a certain signal, which was accordingly made at a proper time of the tide. Many of the boats from Point Levi ran aground upon a ledge that runs off a considerable distance from the shore; and this accident occasioned a disorderly which so much time was lost, that the general was obliged to stop the march of brigadier Townshend’s corps, which he perceived to be in motion. In the meantime, the boats were floated, and ranged in proper order, though exposed to a severe fire of shot and shells; and the general in person sounding the shore, pointed out the place where the troops might disembark with the least difficulty. Thirteen companies of Grenadiers, and two hundred men of the second American battalion, were the first who landed. They had received orders to form in four distinct bodies, and begin the attack, supported by the corps of brigadier Monckton, as soon as the other troops should have passed the ford, and be near enough to contribute to their assistance. These instructions, however, were entirely neglected. Before Mr. Monckton had landed, and while brigadier Townshend was on his march at a considerable distance, the grenadiers, without waiting to be drawn up in a regular form, impetuously rushed towards the enemy’s intrenchments in the utmost disorder. Their courage served only to increase their misfortune. The first fire they received did such execution among them, that they were obliged to shelter themselves under the redoubt which the French had abandoned at their approach. In this uncomfortable situation they remained some time, unable to form under so hot a fire, notwithstanding the utmost efforts of many gallant officers, who lavishly exposed, and even lost their lives in the honourable discharge of their duty.511[See note 3 Y, at the end of this Vol.]The general, seeing all their efforts abortive, ordered them to retreat, and form behind Monckton’s brigade, which was by this time landed, and drawn up on the beach in order. They accordingly retired in confusion, leaving a considerable number lying on the field, to the barbarity of the Indian savages, who massacred the living, and scalped the dead, even in the sight of their indignant companions. This unhappy accident occasioned a new delay, and the day was already far advanced. The wind began to blow with uncommon violence, and the tide to make; so that in case of a second repulse, the retreat of brigadier Townshend might have been rendered hazardous and uncertain; Mr. Wolfe, therefore, thought proper to desist, and returned without further molestation to the other side of the river Montmorenci. The admiral ordered the two vessels which were aground to be set on fire, that they might not fall into the hands of the enemy. The advantages that favoured an attack in this part, consisted of the following particulars:—All the artillery could be used with good effect; all the troops could act at once; and in case of a miscarriage, the retreat was secure and open, at least for a certain time of the tide. These, however, seemed to be over-balanced by other considerations. The enemy were posted on a commanding eminence; the beach was covered with deep mud, slippery, and broken into holes and gullies; the hill was steep, and in some places impracticable; the enemy were numerous, and poured in a very severe fire from their intrenchments. Had the attack succeeded, the loss of the English must have been very heavy, and that of the French inconsiderable, because the neighbouring woods afforded them immediate shelter. Finally, the river St. Charles still remained to be passed before the town could be invested.
GEORGE II. 1727-1760
Immediately after this mortifying check, in which above five hundred men, and many brave officers, were lost, the general detached brigadier Murray, with twelve hundred men, in transports, above the town, to co-operate with rear-admiral Holmes, whom the admiral had sent up with some force against the French shipping, which he hoped to destroy. The brigadier was likewise instructed to seize every opportunity of fighting the enemy’s detachments, and even of provoking them to battle. In pursuance of these directions, he twice attempted to land on the north shore; but these attempts were unsuccessful. The third effort was more fortunate. He made a sudden descent at Chambaud, and burned a considerable magazine, filled with arms, clothing, provisions, and ammunition. The enemy’s ships being secured in such a manner as not to be approached, and nothing else occurring that required the brigadier’s longer stay, he returned to the camp, with intelligence obtained from his prisoners, that the fort of Niagara was taken, Crown Point abandoned, and general Amherst employed in making preparations to attack the corps at the isle aux Nois, commanded by M. Burlemaque. The disaster at the Falls of Montmorenci made a deep impression on the mind of general Wolfe, whose spirit was too great to brook the most distant prospect of censure or disgrace. He knew the character of the English people—rash, impatient, and capricious; elevated to exultation by the least gleam of success, dejected even to despondency by the most inconsiderable frown of adverse fortune; sanguine, even to childish hyperbole, in applauding those servants of the public who have prospered in their undertakings; clamorous, to a degree of prosecution, against those who have miscarried in their endeavours, without any investigation of merit, without any consideration of circumstances. A keen sense of these vexatious peculiarities conspiring with the shame of disappointment, and eager desire of retrieving the laurel that he might by some be supposed to have lost at the Falls of Montmorenci, and the despair of finding such an occasion, excited an internal agitation, which visibly affected his external frame, and disordered his whole constitution, which was naturally delicate and tender. Among those who shared his confidence, he was often seen to sigh; he was often heard to complain; and even in the transports of his chagrin declare, that he would never return without success, to be exposed, as other unfortunate commanders had been, to the censure and reproach of an ignorant and ungrateful populace. This tumult of the mind, added to the fatigues of the body he had undergone, produced a fever and dysentery, by which for some time he was totally disabled.
Before he recovered any degree of strength, he desired the general officers to consult together for the public utility. It was their opinion, that, the Points of Levi and Orleans being left in a proper state of defence, the rest of the troops should be conveyed up the river, with a view to draw the enemy from their present situation, and bring them if possible to an engagement. This measure, however, was not adopted, until the general and admiral had reconnoitred the town of Quebec, with a view to a general assault; and concluded from their own observations, reinforced by the opinion of the chief engineer, who was perfectly well acquainted with the interior of the place, that such an attack could not be hazarded with any prospect of success. The ships of war, indeed, might have silenced the batteries of the lower town, but they could not affect the upper works, from which they must have sustained considerable damage. When we consider the situation of this place, and the fortifications with which it was secured; the natural strength of the country; the great number of vessels and floating batteries they had provided for the defence of the river; the skill, valour, superior force, and uncommon vigilance of the enemy; their numerous bodies of savages continually hovering about the posts of the English, to surprise parties, and harass detachments; we must own that there was such a combination of difficulties as might have discouraged and perplexed the most resolute and intelligent commander.
In consequence of the resolution taken to quit the camp at Montmorenci, the troops and artillery were re-embarked, and landed at Point Levi: they afterwards passed up the river in transports, while admiral Holmes made a movement with his ships to amuse the enemy posted on the north shore; and the men being much crowded on board, the general ordered one-half of them to be landed for refreshment on the other side of the river. As no possibility appeared of annoying the enemy above the town, the scheme of operations was totally changed. A plan was formed for conveying the troops farther down in boats, and landing them in the night within a league of Cape Diamond, in hopes of ascending the heights of Abraham, which rise abruptly with a steep ascent from the banks of the river, that they might take possession of the ground on the back of the city, where it was but indifferently fortified. The dangers and difficulties attending the execution of this design were so peculiarly discouraging, that one would imagine it could not have been embraced but by a spirit of enterprise that bordered on desperation. The stream was rapid; the shore shelving; the bank of the river lined with sentinels; the landing place so narrow as to be easily missed in the dark; and the ground so difficult as hardly to be surmounted in the day-time, had no opposition been expected. If the enemy had received the least intimation from spy or deserter, or even suspected the scheme; had the embarkation been disordered in consequence of the darkness of the night, the rapidity of the river, or the shelving nature of the north shore, near which they were obliged to row; had one sentinel been alarmed, or the landing place much mistaken; the heights of Abraham must have been instantly secured by such a force as would, have rendered the undertaking abortive: confusion would necessarily have ensued in the dark; and this would have naturally produced a panic, which might have proved fatal to the greater part of the detachment. These objections could not escape the penetration of the gallant Wolfe, who nevertheless adopted the plan without hesitation, and even executed it in person; though at that time labouring under a severe dysentery and fever, which had exhausted his constitution, and reduced him almost to an extremity of weakness. The previous steps being taken, and the time fixed for this hazardous attempt, admiral Holmes moved with his squadron farther up the river, about three leagues above the place appointed for the disembarkation, that he might deceive the enemy, and amuse M. de Bougainville, whom Montcalm had detached with fifteen hundred men to watch the motions of that squadron; but the English admiral was directed to sail down the river in the night, so as to protect the landing of the forces; and these orders he punctually fulfilled. On the twelfth day of September, an hour after midnight, the first embarkation, consisting of four complete regiments, the light infantry commanded by colonel Howe, a detachment of Highlanders, and the American grenadiers, was made in flat-bottomed boats, under the immediate command of the brigadiers Monck-ton and Murray; though general Wolfe accompanied them in person, and was among the first who landed; and they began to fall down with the tide, to the intended place of disembarkation, rowing close to the north shore in order to find it the more easily. Without any disorder the boats glided gently along: but by the rapidity of the tide, and the darkness of the night, the boats over-shot the mark, and the troops landed a little below the place at which the disembarkation was intended.513[See note 3 Z, at the end of this Vol.]As the troops landed the boats were sent back for the second embarkation, which was superintended by brigadier Townshend. In the meantime, colonel Howe, with the light infantry and the Highlanders, ascended the woody precipices with admirable courage and activity, and dislodged a sergeant’s guard which defended a small intrenched narrow path, by which alone the rest of the forces could reach the summit. Then they mounted without further molestation from the enemy, and the general drew them up in order as they arrived. Monsieur de Montcalm no sooner understood that the English had gained the heights of Abraham, which in a manner commanded the town on its weakest part, than he resolved to hazard a battle; and began his march without delay, after having collected his whole force from the side of Beauport.
General Wolfe, perceiving the enemy crossing the river St. Charles, began to form his own line, which consisted of six battalions and the Louisbourg grenadiers; the right commanded by brigadier Monckton, and the left by brigadier Murray: to the rear of the left, colonel Howe was posted with his light infantry, just returned from a four-gun battery, which they had taken without opposition. M. de Montcalm advancing in such a manner as to show his intention was to flank the left of the English, brigadier Townshend was sent thither with the regiment of Amherst, which he formeden potence, presenting a double front to the enemy: he was afterwards reinforced by two battalions; and the reserve consisted of one regiment drawn up in eight sub-divisions, with large intervals. The right of the enemy was composed of half the colony troops, two battalions, and a body of Canadians and savages; their centre consisted of a column formed by two other regular battalions; and on the left one battalion, with the remainder of the colony troops, was posted; the bushes and corn-fields in their front were lined with fifteen hundred of their best marksmen, who kept up an irregular galling fire, which proved fatal to many brave officers, thus singled out for destruction. This fire, indeed, was in some measure checked by the advanced posts of the British line, who piqueered with the enemy for some hours before the battle began. Both armies were destitute of artillery, except two small pieces on the side of the French, and a single gun which the English seamen made shift to draw up from the landing place. This was very well served, and galled their column severely. At length, about nine in the morning, the enemy advanced to the charge with great order and vivacity, though their fire was irregular and ineffectual. On the contrary, the British forces reserved their shot until the French had approached within forty yards of their line: then they poured in a terrible discharge; and continued the fire with such deliberation and spirit, as could not fail to produce a very considerable effect. General Wolfe was stationed on the right, at the head of Bragg’s regiment and the Louisbourg grenadiers, where the attack was most warm. As he stood conspicuous in the front of the line, he had been aimed at by the enemy’s marksmen, and received a shot in the wrist, which however did not oblige him to quit the field. Having wrapped a handkerchief round his hand, he continued giving orders without the least emotion; and advanced at the head of the grenadiers with their bayonets fixed; when another ball unfortunately pierced the breast of this young hero,* who fell in the arms of victory, just as the enemy gave way.
* When the fatal ball took place, general Wolfe, finding himself unable to stand, leaned upon the shoulder of a lieutenant, who sat down for that purpose. This officer seeing the French give way, exclaimed, “They run! they run!”—“Who run?” cried the gallant Wolfe, with great eagerness. When the lieutenant replied, “The French.”— “What!” said he, “do the cowards run already? then I die happy.” So saying, the glorious youth expired.
ENLARGE
Death of General Wolfe
At that very instant, every separate regiment of the British army seemed to exert itself for the honour of its own peculiar character. While the right pressed on with their bayonets, brigadier Murray briskly advanced with the troops under his command, and soon broke the centre of the enemy: then the High landers, drawing their broad-swords, fell in among them, with irresistible impetuosity, and drove them with great slaughter into the town, and the works they had raised at the bridge of the river St. Charles. On the left and rear of the English, the action was not so violent. Some of the light infantry had thrown themselves into houses; where, being attacked, they defended themselves with great courage and resolution. Colonel Howe having taken post with two companies behind a small copse, sallied out frequently on the flanks of the enemy during this attack, and often drove them into heaps; while brigadier Townshend advanced platoons against their front; so that the right wing of the French were totally prevented from executing their first intention. The brigadier himself remained with Amherst’s regiment, to support this disposition, and to overawe a body of savages posted opposite to the light infantry, waiting for an opportunity to fall upon the rear of the British army. General Wolfe being slain, and at the same time Mr. Monckton dangerously wounded at the head of Lascelles’ regiment, where he distinguished himself with remarkable gallantry, the command devolved on brigadier Townshend, who hastened to the centre; and finding the troops disordered in the pursuit, formed them again with all possible expedition. This necessary task was scarce performed, when M. de Bougainville, with a body of two thousand fresh men, appeared in the rear of the English. He had begun his march from Cape Rouge, as soon as he received intelligence that the British troops had gained the heights of Abraham, but did not come up in time to have any share in the battle. Mr. Townshend immediately ordered two battalions, with two pieces of artillery, to advance against this officer; who retired, at their approach, among woods and swamps, where general Townshend very wisely declined hazarding a precarious attack. He had already obtained a complete victory, taken a great number of French officers, and was possessed of a very advantageous situation, which it would have been imprudent to forego. The French general, M. de Montcalm, was mortally wounded in the battle, and conveyed into Quebec; from whence, before he died, he wrote a letter to general Townshend, recommending the prisoners to that generous humanity by which the British nation is distinguished. His second in command was left wounded on the field; and next day expired on board an English ship, to which he had been conveyed. About one thousand of the enemy were made prisoners, including a great number of officers; and about five hundred were slain on the field of battle. The wreck of their army, after they had reinforced the garrison of Quebec, retired to Point-au-Tremble; from whence they proceeded to Jacques Quatiers, where they remained intrenched until they were compelled by the severity of the weather to make the best of their way to Trois Rivieres and Montreal. This important victory was obtained at the expense of fifty men killed, including nine officers; and of about five hundred men wounded: but the death of general Wolfe was a national loss, universally lamented. He inherited from nature an animating fervour of sentiment, an intuitive perception, an extensive capacity, and a passion for glory, which stimulated him to acquire every species of military knowledge that study could comprehend, that actual service could illustrate and confirm. This noble warmth of disposition, seldom fails to call forth and unfold the liberal virtues of the soul. Brave above all estimation of danger, he was also generous, gentle, complacent and humane; the pattern of the officer, the darling of the soldier: there was a sublimity in his genius which soared above the pitch of ordinary minds; and had his faculties been exercised to their full extent by opportunity and action, had his judgment been fully matured by age and experience, he would without doubt have rivalled in reputation the most celebrated captains of antiquity.
Immediately after the battle of Quebec, admiral Saunders, who, together with his subordinates Durell and Holmes, had all along co-operated heartily with the land-forces for the advantage of the service, sent up all the boats of the fleet with artillery and ammunition; and on the seventeenth day of the month sailed up with all the ships of war, in a disposition to attack the lower town, while the upper part should be assaulted by general Townshend. This gentleman had employed the time from the day of action in securing the camp with redoubts, in forming a military road for the cannon, in drawing up the artillery, preparing batteries, and cutting off the enemy’s communication with the country. On the seventeenth, before any battery could be finished, a flag of truce was sent from the town, with proposals of capitulation; which, being maturely considered by the general and admiral, were accepted, and signed at eight next morning. They granted the more favourable terms, as the enemy continued to assemble in the rear of the British army; as the season was become wet, stormy, and cold, threatening the troops with sickness, and the fleet with accident; and as a considerable advantage would result from taking possession of the town while the walls were in a state of defence. What rendered the capitulation still more fortunate for the British general, was the information he afterwards received from deserters, that the enemy had rallied, and were reinforced behind cape Rouge, under the command of M. de Levy, arrived from Montreal for that purpose, with two regular battalions; and that M. de Bougainville, at the head of eight hundred men, with a convoy of provisions, was actually on his march to throw himself into the town on the eighteenth, that very morning on which it was surrendered. The place was not then completely invested, as the enemy had broke the bridge of boats, and posted detachments in very strong works on the other side of the river St. Charles. The capitulation was no sooner ratified, than the British forces took possession of Quebec on the land side; and guards were posted in different parts of the town, to preserve order and discipline; at the same time captain Palliser, with a body of seamen, entered the lower town and took the same precautions. Next day about a thousand prisoners were embarked on board transports, which proceeded to France with the first opportunity. Meanwhile the inhabitants of the country came in great numbers, to deliver up their arms, and take the oath of fidelity to the English government. The death of Montcalm, which was indeed an irreparable loss to France, in all probability overwhelmed the enemy with consternation, and confounded all their councils; otherwise we cannot account for the tame surrender of Quebec to a handful of troops, even after the victory they had obtained: for although the place was not regularly fortified on the land-side, and most of the houses were in ruins, their walls and parapets had not yet sustained the least damage; the besiegers were hardly sufficient to complete the investiture; a fresh army was assembled in the neighbourhood, with which their communication continued open; the season was so far advanced, that the British forces in a little time must have been forced to desist by the severity of the weather, and even retire with their fleet before the approach of winter, which never fails to freeze up the river St. Laurence.
Immediately after the action at the Falls of Montmorenci, general Wolfe had despatched an officer to England, with a detail of that disaster, written with such elegance and accuracy, as would not have disgraced the pen of a Cæsar. Though the public acquiesced in his conduct, they were exceedingly mortified at his miscarriage; and this mortification was the greater, as he seemed to despair of being able to strike any other stroke of importance for the accomplishment of their hope, which had aspired at the absolute conquest of Canada. The first transports of their chagrin were not yet subsided, when colonel Hale arrived in the ship Alcide, with an account of the victory and surrender of Quebec; which was immediately communicated to the people in an Extraordinary Gazette. The joy which this excited among the populace rose in proportion to the despondence which the former had produced: all was rapture and riot; all was triumph and exultation, mingled with the praise of the all-accomplished Wolfe, which they exalted even to a ridiculous degree of hyperbole. The king expressed his satisfaction by conferring the honour of knighthood upon captain Douglas, whose ship brought the first tidings of this success; and gratified him and colonel Hale with considerable presents. A day of solemn thanksgiving was appointed by proclamation through all the dominions of Great Britain. The city of London, the universities, and many other corporations of the kingdom, presented congratulatory addresses to his majesty. The parliament was no sooner assembled, than the secretary of state, in the house of commons, expatiated upon the successes of the campaign, the transcendent merit of the deceased general, the conduct and courage of the admirals and officers who assisted in the conquest of Quebec. In consequence of this harangue, and the motion by which it was succeeded, the house unanimously resolved to present an address, desiring his majesty would order a monument to be erected in Westminster-abbey to the memory of major-general Wolfe; at the same time they passed another resolution, that the thanks of the house should be given to the surviving generals and admirals employed in the glorious and successful expedition to Quebec. Testimonies of this kind, while they reflect honour upon the character of the nation, never fail to animate individuals to a spirited exertion of their talents in the service of the public. The people of England were so elevated by the astonishing success of this campaign, which was also prosperous on the continent of Europe, that, far from expressing the least sense of the enormous burdens which they bore, they, with a spirit peculiar to the British nation, voluntarily raised large contributions to purchase warm jackets, stockings, shoes, coats, and blankets, for the soldiers who were exposed to the rigours of an inclement sky in Germany and America. But they displayed a more noble proof of unrestrained benevolence, extended even to foes. The French ministry, straitened in their finances, which were found scarce sufficient to maintain the war, had sacrificed their duty to their king, and every sentiment of compassion for his unhappy subjects, to a thirst of vengeance, and sanguinary views of ambition. They had withdrawn the usual allowance from their subjects who were detained prisoners in England; and those wretched creatures, amounting in number to near twenty thousand, were left to the mercy of those enemies whom their sovereign had taken such pains to exasperate. The allowance with which they were indulged by the British government effectually secured them from the horrors of famine; but still they remained destitute of other conveniences, and particularly exposed to the miseries of cold and nakedness. The generous English beheld these forlorn captives with sentiments of sympathy and compassion; they considered them as their fellow-creatures and brethren in humanity, and forgot their country while they beheld their distress. A considerable subscription was raised in their behalf; and in a few weeks they were completely clothed by the charity of their British benefactors. This beneficent exertion was certainly one of the noblest triumphs of the human mind, which even the most inveterate enemies of Great Britain cannot but regard with reverence and admiration.—The city of Quebec being reduced, together with great part of the circumjacent country, brigadier Townshend, who had accepted his commission with the express proviso that he should return to England at the end of the campaign, left a garrison of five thousand effective men, victualled from the fleet, under the command of brigadier Murray; and, embarking with admiral Saunders, arrived in Great Britain about the beginning of winter. As for brigadier Monckton, he was conveyed to New York, where he happily recovered of his wound.