On the spot where Wolfe fell has been raised a simple shaft on which is
written:--
"Here Wolfe died victorious,
Sept. 13th, 1759,
In the thirty-fourth year of his age."
The stone which formed his death couch is preserved in its original
position, but sunk beneath the ground to protect it from the ravages of
the relic hunter. The column is supported on a pedestal of rocks formed
of boulders from the scene of the battle, conspicuous among which may be
seen the actual rock upon which Wolfe was supported when he breathed his
last. The stones of the monument are strongly cemented together,
embedded in the solid foundation of rock, and will be as enduring as the
fame of him whose name it bears.
The well near by, from which the water was brought to allay his thirst,
was filled up and obliterated some years ago, much to the regret of
those who venerated the immortal incident connected with it, and which
placed it among the historic shrines of the world.
[Illustration: Chas Saunders]
Associated with Wolfe, and a sharer in the glory of the capture of
Quebec, was Charles Saunders, commander of the squadron. By bombarding
the town, he kept the enemy in a state of constant and anxious alarm,
at the same time showing wonderful skill in cleverly protecting his
fleet from disaster; even when threatened by fire-ships sent to destroy
it, which were grappled by the British sailors and run aground.
Among those who rendered signal service to Admiral Saunders when he
neared Quebec was the famous navigator, Captain Cook. He was the pilot
who conducted the boats to the attack at Montmorency on July 31st, 1759,
and managed the disembarkment at the Heights of Abraham.
The great mariner, while engaged in his celebrated voyages of discovery,
was murdered by South Sea Islanders at Owhyhee on the 14th of Feby.,
1779. He had been sent by the British Government to find if the
discovery of the North-West passage, which seemed impossible by the
Atlantic, were feasible by the Pacific Ocean; for which purpose he had
to round the southern part of the entire American Continent. He was on
the point of abandoning the project and returning home when he met his
terrible death, "leaving a name unsurpassed for gallantry by any
sea-faring man of his time."
In the month of October Saunders' fleet dropped silently down the river.
On one of the ships was the embalmed body of James Wolfe, returning to
the land he had served so well, but where alas! he would never hear the
acclamations with which his fellow countrymen, from the palace to the
cabin, would lay the laurel wreath upon his tomb,--the paths of glory
had truly led but to the grave!
Saunders on his return was appointed Lieutenant-General of Marine, and
on taking his seat as a member of the House of Commons received the
thanks of the Speaker. He became Knight Commander of the Bath, and on
his death was buried in Westminster Abbey near to the Monument of Wolfe.
Of the regiments to whom England owes the Conquest of Canada, the Scotch
claim the greatest share of glory. "Hardy sons of mountain and heather,
they were in fact the flower of the army, the boldest in attack, the
fiercest at close quarters, the last to retreat at command, and always
the bravest of the brave in the forefront of England's battles."
The kilted "laddies" from beyond the Grampians, in their "_braw_" plumed
bonnets, with their war-pipes lilting above the loudest din of war, have
met some of the fiercest onslaughts singing and stepping to the
blood-stirring strains of "Scots wha ha'e wi' Wallace bled."
An eye-witness of their march out of Brussels on that beautiful June
morning in 1815, the dawn of Waterloo, says:
"One could not but admire their fine appearance, their steady military
demeanour, with their pipes playing before them, and the beams of the
rising sun shining on their glittering arms." Many of the young officers
were in the silk stockings and dancing pumps which they wore the night
before to the Duchess of Richmond's ball, when they laughed:--
"On with the dance, let joy be unconfined,
No sleep till morn when youth and beauty meet,
To chase the glowing hours with flying feet."
With swords waving, the pibroch screaming and the "stirring memories of
a thousand years," they rushed into the stupendous conflict leading the
"_Forty-twa_" into the field, which the setting of the same sun saw
drenched through with blood, but marked by deeds which covered with
glory many a thatched ingle-nook on highland hills and in lowland
valleys.
After the Conquest of Canada, the Fraser Highlanders with the remains of
the 42nd were offered grants of land if they chose to remain as
settlers, a privilege which many of them accepted. Sixteen years
afterward, when a foreign invasion threatened Canada, they loyally left
the plough in the furrow and again sprang to arms, to protect their
altars and firesides.
Among the blue Laurentian hills of the lower St. Lawrence, around their
simple hearths, their descendants live the placid life of the Canadian
_habitant_. They bear the old historic names of their Gaelic
forefathers,--Fraser, Cameron, Blackburn, MacDonald, etc.--but in
nothing else could it be thought that in their veins runs the blood of
those who fought at Colloden and Bannockburn. They are as purely French
in their religion, language and customs, as those whose sires sailed
from Breton and Norman ports.
The Commandant of Quebec at the time of its fall was the son of Claude
de Ramezay, the builder of the Chateau of that name. After the
disastrous battle, Vaudreuil, Governor of Montreal, sent him urgent
charges to do his utmost to hold out until reinforcements, which were on
a forced march from Montreal and elsewhere, should arrive to his
succour; but, the besieged being in the greatest extreme of fright and
starvation, his force refused to fight. His conduct has been much
criticized, but one annalist asserts that he was "not the man to shrink
from danger or death had there been anything but foolhardiness in the
risk, as he belonged to the good old fighting stock of North
Britain,"--the race which produced a Wallace and a Bruce. He, however,
signed the articles of capitulation, as recommended by the Council of
War summoned, and the British marched in through the iron-spiked
gates,--when, had he held out only twenty-four hours longer, Canada
might have been saved for France, as the British could not for any
length of time have maintained their position on the Plains of Abraham.
Returning to France, where he was related to several families of the
Noblesse, who held that "war was the only worthy calling, and prized
honour more than life," he received so cool a reception at Court that
his proud spirit, being unable to brook the humiliation, he applied for
a passport allowing him to return to Canada, but subsequently he
abandoned the idea of returning to his native land. Had he carried out
his intention, he might have seen French, English and American flags
successively wave over the red roof of the Chateau of his boyhood.
To complete the conquest, Montreal was attacked at three different
points by Generals Amherst, Murray and Haldimand. Arriving within a few
hours of each other, they camped outside of the old walls of the town.
Vaudreuil and de Levis tried to oppose them, but with Quebec lost, and
the only defences a rude citadel and weak walls built to resist Indian
attack and useless in civilized warfare, they were compelled to
surrender. A small stone cottage, until quite recently standing in a
private garden on the mountain side, was used as Amherst's headquarters,
and in which the articles of capitulation were signed between the
victorious and vanquished generals.
Among those who entered the town with Amherst was Israel Putnam, a man
who had been brought into Montreal a year before a prisoner by the
French. He had great physical strength and decision of character, and
was absolutely incapable of fear. On the breaking out of the
Revolutionary War, he entered with zeal into the cause of the colonists,
and lead them in the battle of Bunker Hill. True to his convictions, he
refused the large sums of money offered him by the British for his
services. By the American troops he was lovingly called "Old Put." On
his tombstone was inscribed:--"He dared to lead where any dared to
follow."
As the British entered the city by the old Recollet Monastery gate, the
French retired to _la Citadelle_, a strong wood block house at the other
end of the town. General Haldimand was the First Englishman to enter
within the walls, remains of which are still frequently dug up in
excavating. The oldest Ensign in Amherst's army received the French
colours, and it is said the keys of the city were given over by a woman,
but it is recorded with certainty that the fallen foes were treated with
the greatest consideration and respect, not even the Indian allies being
permitted to commit a single act of violence. "Amherst commanded the
principal division, including the 'Black Watch,' or gallant 42nd, which
has been renowned in military story wherever the British flag has been
borne to victory for more than a hundred and forty years." At Waterloo,
Corunna, Alma and Lucknow, in Afghan defiles and Egyptian deserts, they
were always in the thickest of the fight.
It is said, Pitt, wanting a safe and sure officer to command them, chose
what he called a stubborn Colonel, who had shown his mettle in Germany,
and made him Major-General Amherst.
[Illustration]
CANADA UNDER ENGLISH RULE.
General James Murray, the son of Lord Elibank, was appointed the first
British Governor of Canada. Previous to the fall of Montreal, de Levis,
refusing to consider the cause of France lost on the St. Lawrence,
valiantly resolved on an attack on General Murray at Quebec. The news of
his advance was conveyed to Murray by a "half-frozen _cannonier_, whom
the British troops carried up Mountain Hill in a sailor's
hammock."--April 26th, 1760. Hearing of this unfortunate circumstance,
which gave up to the enemy his intention of taking him unawares, de
Levis hurriedly led his men under the walls of the city, where Murray,
promptly coming out to meet him, the battle of "Ste. Foye" took place,
when the French this time saw their efforts crowned with success, the
British having to find a shelter within the walls of the old Citadel.
The French leader was too weak to operate a regular siege, so remained
camped on the battle-field, awaiting the reinforcements expected.
[Illustration: De Levis]
One bright sunny morning it was heralded on all sides that a fleet had
been signalled, and the joy of the French troops knew no bounds; but,
alas! for them it was found out but too soon that the ships were under
England's flag. Instead of de Levis receiving the assistance he
required, it came to the already victorious Briton. It but remained,
therefore, for him to retire in haste to Montreal, where, being soon
followed up by the enemy and surrounded on all sides, he had to submit
to the dictates of fate, as already stated.
He affixed his name to the Articles of Capitulation, with, it is said,
the document placed against a tree at the head of St. Helen's Island.
De Levis, although blamed for his unsoldierlike act in the destruction
of his regimental colours, was, nevertheless, a fine specimen of the
long line of chivalrous nobles, whose names and deeds emblazon French
chronicles of field and foray since the days when Charlemagne wore his
iron crown. Deeply chagrined at the refusal of the British to allow the
garrison to march out with the honours of war, although high-spirited to
a fault, he humbled himself to pray in writing for the reversal of the
order. It may have been in the salon of the Chateau that the
representatives of the two knights stood face to face as suppliant and
arbiter. Their fathers may have crossed swords at Crecy, when the
Plantagenet Prince bore off the feathered crest which was to be the
insignia of all future first-born sons of English kings, or they may
have tilted with lance and pennon on the Field of the Cloth of Gold; but
here de Levis, with his petition sternly denied, was forced to retire in
anger, filled with humiliation at the failure of his intercession.
It may be imagined with what conflicting emotions he entered the
following words in his journal:--
"The British sent a detachment to _Place d'Armes_ with artillery,
whither our battalions marched one after another, to lay down their
arms, and the enemy took possession of the posts and watches of the
city." As they filed past the Chateau, which was on their line of march,
many a heavy heart beat beneath the blue coats, and when a few days
later they embarked with their chief for France, even valour need not
have been ashamed if tears dimmed the sight of the English colours
flying from their flag staffs, and the fair land fading from their sight
forever.
The Chateau de Vaudreuil was then dismantled of its treasures of fine
china and specimens of the arts revived in what is known as the
_Renaissance_, when everything that was exquisite in painting,
sculpture, working in metals, and art in all its forms had received such
an impetus from the Italian artists whom Louis the Fourteenth gathered
around his court, as well as from the influence of Madame de Pompadour,
whose taste, unhappily, far exceeded her morals. It was purchased by
Chartier de Lotbiniere, and it is pleasant to chronicle that a few years
ago his direct descendant, M. de Lery Macdonald, while visiting France,
had the honour of meeting la Comtesse de Clairemont-Tonnerre, the last
living representative of the De Vaudreuil family, who graciously
presented to him the "_Croix St. Louis_," which had been bestowed upon
the first Vaudreuil who held an official position in Canada, which relic
is now to be seen in the Chateau de Ramezay.
The old fortifications of Ville Marie were planned by a de Lery; he, and
the military engineer who traced out his campaigns with Bonaparte, and
whom he called the "_Immortel General_," were members of this family, in
the possession of which are priceless old tapestries, which were gifts
from royalty as rewards of diplomatic or personal services.
About a year after the evacuation of Quebec, Murray was sitting in the
chilliness of an October evening by the chimney meditating. As he gazed
at the glowing fire of maple logs, he may have fancied that he saw again
the face of his dead commander, and may have thought of that desperate
charge outside the gates--of the shouts of victory and cries of
defeat--where then the only sound to be heard was the wind rustling the
withered grass that had been dyed red in the blood of so many gallant
young hearts. The soldier's face may have softened as he thought of the
old hearthstone among the heather hills, where tales of the Border and
the traditions of his clan had fired his young soul for the glory of
conquest.
He was suddenly aroused from his dream by the announcement that two
warlike frigates were sailing below the cliffs. He hurried to the
bastion, which commanded the spot, to survey what might portend fresh
struggles and more bloodshed. But soon a standard was run up to the
masthead, unfolding to the breeze the flag of England. Immediately from
the ramparts, where so recently had proudly floated the flag of France,
an answering signal was shown, and, as the guns roared out a salute to
the British colours, it was also a farewell honour to the old _Regime_,
which has passed away forever from Canadian shores.
Of Murray, the first British Governor of Canada, it has been said that,
in the long roll of unblemished good service, in the record of his
honourable fidelity to his trust and duty, no passage of his life stands
out in brighter colours than this period, during which he turned a deaf
ear to intolerance and the spirit of persecution, and strove to show the
new subjects of the Crown how truly beneficent, just and good, with all
its errors, the rule of Great Britain had ever proved to be.
With the Treaty of Paris in 1763 King George III. abolished the French
laws, substituting for them the English Code in the newly won Dominion;
later on, however, by the "Quebec Act," they were restored to the
Canadians.
The members of the _Noblesse_, whose ties compelled their remaining in
Canada, sent to London to offer fealty to King George, and thus further
their personal interests.
When the Chevalier de Lery and his wife, the beautiful Louise de
Brouages, one of the most lovely women of her day, were presented at the
Court of St. James, the young Sovereign was so struck with her beauty
that he gallantly exclaimed:--
"If all Canadian ladies resemble her, we have indeed made a conquest."
A French writer of the time says:--
"How can we sufficiently deplore the loss of Canada, with all its
present value and with all its future hope--a possession of which all
the difficulties were already overcome, and of which the consequent
advantages were secure and within reach! That loss might have been
guarded against--yes, that land consecrated by the blood of a Montcalm,
a Jumonville, and so many brave Frenchmen who shared their dangers, and
were united with them in fate--that country honoured with the name of
New France--that country where we may yet trace her children enjoying
the manners and customs of their forefathers--that country might yet
have existed under its rightful princes, if the Cabinet of Versailles
had known the true position it held--had erected there a new throne and
had placed upon it a Prince of the Royal Family--it would have ruled
to-day over that vast region, and preserved the treasures vainly spent
in its defence."
After the conquest the Chateau de Ramezay was saved from being a mere
fur-trading post by becoming the city residence of the Baron de
Longueuil, a Canadian feudal lord, the towers, embattlements and chapel
of whose castle were visible on the south side of the river. The founder
of this house, which to-day holds the only hereditary feudal barony of
Canada, was Charles LeMoyne, who came to Canada in 1642 with
Maisonneuve. This man was the son of an innkeeper at Dieppe (France),
who it is alleged was descended from a younger branch of the old Norman
family of LeMoyne, the head of the house being the Marquis de Longueuil.
Fourteen years after his arrival in Canada, LeMoyne received the
Seigniory of Longueuil, he having in the meantime amassed a considerable
fortune in the fur trade.
The eldest son, who was named after his father, was born in 1656, and
in recognition of his services at a siege of Quebec, and against the
Iroquois, he was made a Baron of France in 1700 by Louis 14th. The old
deed of nobility is to this day in an almost perfect condition.
An original sketch of the Chateau de Longueuil, taken after a fire which
partially destroyed it in 1792, is still in possession of the family.
The Chateau, or in reality the Castle, was built by the first Baron in
1699, and for nearly a hundred years sheltered the family of LeMoyne.
It stood partly on the ground now occupied by the front of the present
parish church of Longueuil, and partly across the highway, at a corner
of the Chambly road. The north-west tower was located as late as 1835,
but was covered with earth by the excavation for the new church. The
Chateau, comprising the chapel, was 210 by 170 feet, and was constructed
in the strongest possible manner of stones which were gathered by the
river bank. The building was two storeys in height all around, and was
flanked by four towers with conical tops. There were high gables over
the building, and in the centre a court. On the river-side front it was
loop-holed for defence, and it was here that the retainers came in time
of trouble. On the west side was the chapel, which was large and
extensive.
After the fire it was never again occupied, and later on the stone work
went to help make the present roadway, as had been the fate of many an
Italian palace and temple of Greece. The family gave the land where the
present church stands, and they also built the first church, with vaults
below. This was done on condition that the family should all be buried
there, and so far this has been carried out. The barony was once very
extensive, taking in a territory of about one hundred and fifty square
miles, including St. Helen's Island, upon which may still be recognized
the ruins of the residence which stood on the eastern side of it, Capt.
Grant and his wife, Madame de Baronne de Longueuil, having lived there
for some time.
Fort Senneville, an interesting ruin, at the western end of Montreal
Island, and which was destroyed by Benedict Arnold at the invasion of
Canada, during the American Revolution, was erected by the Le Ber
family, which was closely allied to that of LeMoyne, and was enobled at
the same time as the latter. The fort was intended for a fortified
fur-trading post.
In 1880 the seventh Baron claimed royal recognition from the English
Crown of his title to the old French Barony, which Queen Victoria was
graciously pleased to recognize. The de Longueuil family was always
generously treated by royalty, and on the Richelieu river are several
Seigniories which have been granted to members of it. On the same side
of the river St. Lawrence, but a considerable distance inland, is the
pretty town of Iberville. It is named after LeMoyne d'Iberville, a
member of this family, who, with his seven brothers, took their several
names from their seigniories, and were all distinguished for daring and
ambition in all the perilous adventures of New France in their day.
[Illustration: Le Moyne D'Iberville]
In the Indian village of Caughnawaga, situated near the Lachine Rapids,
is the half-ruined Curial House, if it may be so called, of the early
historian, the Jesuit Charlevoix. Like all French travellers of that
period, he had his visions of reaching the Pacific coast, which,
although never realized, yet he was a celebrated explorer and an
accurate and painstaking writer. His "_Histoire Generale de la Nouvelle
France_" is a valuable and authentic history of the period it covers,
and is looked upon as one of the most reliable authorities to-day.
In this thrifty hamlet, clustering around the church, under whose
steeple worship the remnants of the once fierce and dreaded Iroquois,
are the last of their race. They are adroit in the use of the canoe, and
for many years have acted as pilots for the St. Lawrence steamers in the
perilous navigation of the Rapids. The squaws are skilful in the bead
work so dear to the savage heart, and form picturesque groups in
blankets and moccasins exposing their wares for sale in the railway
stations.
About ten years after the British occupation, the Chateau de Ramezay
fell again into government hands, being selected as the official
residence. One of those who frequently crossed its threshold at this
period was General Thomas Gage, second in command under Sir Jeffrey
Amherst.