AFFAIRS IN CANADA—ARNOLD AT POINT LEVI—QUEBEC REINFORCED—CROSSING OF THE
ST. LAWRENCE—LANDING IN WOLFE’S COVE—ARNOLD ON THE HEIGHTS OF
ABRAHAM—CAUTIOUS COUNSEL—QUEBEC AROUSED—THE INVADERS BAFFLED—WITHDRAW TO
POINT AUX TREMBLES—BOOMING OF CANNON—CARLETON AT QUEBEC—LETTER OF
WASHINGTON TO ARNOLD.
We again turn from the siege of Boston, to the invasion of Canada, which
at that time shared the anxious thoughts of Washington. His last
accounts of the movements of Arnold, left him at Point Levi, opposite to
Quebec. Something brilliant from that daring officer was anticipated. It
was his intention to cross the river immediately. Had he done so, he
might have carried the town by a _coup de main_; for terror as well as
disaffection prevailed among the inhabitants. At Point Levi, however, he
was brought to a stand; not a boat was to be found there. Letters which
he had despatched some days previously, by two Indians, to Generals
Schuyler and Montgomery, had been carried by his faithless messengers,
to Caramhe, the lieutenant-governor, who, thus apprised of the impending
danger, had caused all the boats of Point Levi to be either removed or
destroyed.
Arnold was not a man to be disheartened by difficulties. With great
exertions he procured about forty birch canoes from the Canadians and
Indians, with forty of the latter to navigate them; but stormy winds
arose, and for some days the river was too boisterous for such frail
craft. In the mean time the garrison at Quebec was gaining strength.
Recruits arrived from Nova Scotia. The veteran Maclean, too, who had
been driven from the mouth of the Sorel by the detachment under Brown
and Livingston, arrived down the river with his corps of Royal Highland
Emigrants, and threw himself into the place. The Lizard frigate, the
Hornet sloop-of-war, and two armed schooners were stationed in the
river, and guard-boats patrolled at night. The prospect of a successful
attack upon the place was growing desperate.
On the 13th of November, Arnold received intelligence that Montgomery
had captured St. Johns. He was instantly roused to emulation. His men,
too, were inspirited by the news. The wind had abated: he determined to
cross the river that very night. At a late hour in the evening he
embarked with the first division, principally riflemen. The river was
wide; the current rapid; the birch canoes, easy to be upset, required
skilful management. By four o’clock in the morning, a large part of his
force had crossed without being perceived, and landed about a mile and a
half above Cape Diamond, at Wolfe’s Cove, so called from being the
landing-place of that gallant commander.
Just then a guard-boat, belonging to the Lizard, came slowly along shore
and discovered them. They hailed it, and ordered it to land. Not
complying, it was fired into, and three men were killed. The boat
instantly pulled for the frigate, giving vociferous alarm.
Without waiting the arrival of the residue of his men, for whom the
canoes had been despatched, Arnold led those who had landed to the foot
of the cragged defile, once scaled by the intrepid Wolfe, and scrambled
up it in all haste. By daylight he had planted his daring flag on the
far-famed Heights of Abraham.
Here the main difficulty stared him in the face. A strong line of walls
and bastions traversed the promontory from one of its precipitous sides
to the other; enclosing the upper and lower towns. On the right, the
great bastion of Cape Diamond crowned the rocky height of that name. On
the left was the bastion of La Potasse, close by the gate of St. Johns
opening upon the barracks; the gate where Wolfe’s antagonist, the
gallant Montcalm, received his death wound.
A council of war was now held. Arnold, who had some knowledge of the
place, was for dashing forward at once and storming the gate of St.
Johns. Had they done so, they might have been successful. The gate was
open and unguarded. Through some blunder and delay, a message from the
commander of the Lizard to the lieutenant-governor had not yet been
delivered, and no alarm had reached the fortress.
The formidable aspect of the place, however, awed Arnold’s associates in
council. They considered that their whole force was but between seven
and eight hundred men; that nearly one third of their fire-arms had been
rendered useless, and much of their ammunition damaged in their march
through the wilderness; they had no artillery, and the fortress looked
too strong to be carried by a _coup de main_. Cautious counsel is often
fatal to a daring enterprise. While the council of war deliberated, the
favorable moment passed away. The lieutenant-governor received the tardy
message. He hastily assembled the merchants, officers of militia, and
captains of merchant vessels. All promised to stand by him; he had
strong distrust, however, of the French part of the population and the
Canadian militia; his main reliance was on Colonel Maclean and his Royal
Highland Emigrants.
The din of arms now resounded through the streets. The cry was up—“The
enemy are on the Heights of Abraham! The gate of St. Johns is open!”
There was an attempt to shut it. The keys were not to be found. It was
hastily secured by ropes and handspikes, and the walls looking upon the
heights were soon manned by the military, and thronged by the populace.
Arnold paraded his men within a hundred yards of the walls, and caused
them to give three hearty cheers; hoping to excite a revolt in the
place, or to provoke the scanty garrison to a sally. There were a few
scattered cheerings in return; but the taunting bravado failed to
produce a sortie; the governor dared not venture beyond the walls with
part of his garrison, having too little confidence in the loyalty of
those who would remain behind. There was some firing on the part of the
Americans, but merely as an additional taunt; they were too far off for
their musketry to have effect. A large cannon on the ramparts was
brought to bear on them, and matches were procured from the Lizard, with
which to fire it off. A few shots obliged the Americans to retire and
encamp.
In the evening Arnold sent a flag, demanding in the name of the United
Colonies the surrender of the place. Some of the disaffected and the
faint-hearted were inclined to open the gates, but were held in check by
the mastiff loyalty of Maclean. The veteran guarded the gate with his
Highlanders; forbade all communication with the besiegers, and fired
upon their flag as an ensign of rebellion.
Several days elapsed. Arnold’s flags of truce were repeatedly insulted,
but he saw the futility of resenting it, and attacking the place with
his present means. The inhabitants gradually recovered from their alarm,
and armed themselves to defend their property. The sailors and marines
proved a valuable addition to the garrison, which now really meditated a
sortie.
Arnold received information of all this from friends within the walls;
he heard about the same time of the capture of Montreal, and that
General Carleton, having escaped from that place, was on his way down to
Quebec. He thought at present, therefore, to draw off on the 19th to
_Point aux Trembles_ (Aspen-tree Point), twenty miles above Quebec,
there to await the arrival of General Montgomery with troops and
artillery. As his little army wended its way along the high bank of the
river towards its destined encampment, a vessel passed below, which had
just touched at Point aux Trembles. On board of it was General Carleton,
hurrying on to Quebec.
It was not long before the distant booming of artillery told of his
arrival at his post, where he resumed a stern command. He was unpopular
among the inhabitants; even the British merchants and other men of
business, were offended by the coldness of his manners, and his
confining his intimacy to the military and the Canadian noblesse. He was
aware of his unpopularity, and looked round him with distrust; his first
measure was to turn out of the place all suspected persons, and all who
refused to aid in its defence. This caused a great “trooping out of
town,” but what was lost in numbers was gained in strength. With the
loyally disposed who remained, he busied himself in improving the
defences.
Of the constant anxiety, yet enduring hope, with which Washington
watched this hazardous enterprise, we have evidence in his various
letters. To Arnold, when at Point Levi, baffled in the expectation of
finding the means of making a dash upon Quebec, he writes: “It is not in
the power of any man to command success, but you have done more, you
have deserved it; and before this time (Dec. 5th), I hope you have met
with the laurels which are due to your toils, in the possession of
Quebec.
“I have no doubt but a junction of your detachment with the army under
General Montgomery, is effected before this. If so, you will put
yourself under his command, and will, I am persuaded, give him all the
assistance in your power, to finish the glorious work you have begun.”