Massachusetts, and was remarkable for his doughty deeds during the
American Revolution. And then in these rooms, where so often had
sparkled French wit and wine, high-born English dames held sway, with
the grand manners and stately dances of Queen Charlotte's Drawing Rooms
at Windsor Castle. These doors were none too large for the extended
skirts and towering head-dresses, some of which had satin cushions large
enough to have had the family coat of arms painted on them, and yet had
room to spare. The ladies naturally followed the fashions set by the
Queen, who was exceedingly fond of display in dress, and had an oriental
love for gems. A description of one of her toilettes has come down to
us, which was almost barbaric in its profusion of ornaments. At the
first Drawing Room held after King George's recovery from a dangerous
illness, she "fairly glittered in a blaze of diamonds. Around her neck
was a double row of these gems, to which was suspended a medallion.
Across her shoulders were festooned three rows of costly pearls, and the
portrait of the King was hung upon the back of her skirt from five rows
of brilliants, producing a gorgeous effect. The tippet was of fine lace,
fastened with the letter G. in diamonds of immense size and value, and
in Her Majesty's hair was--'God save the King,' in letters formed of the
same costly gems."
[Illustration: THE MINUET--QUEEN OF SWORDS.]
Under her sovereignty the guttural Anglo-Saxon tongue was heard in the
homes and on the streets mingling with the mellifluent French, and the
liturgy of Westminster Abbey was solemnized side by side with the ritual
of St. Peter's in the hush of Sabbaths, after the din and clamour of war
had ceased, and quiet once more reigned in the grey old town.
As memorials of those days of strife, carnage and conquest, some
Canadian names have taken root in British soil. Gen. James Murray chose
the name of Beauport for his country seat, and that of the Earls of
Amherst, among the hop gardens and rose hedges of Kent, bears the name
of Montreal, Amherst having been created Baron of Montreal.
[Illustration]
AMERICAN INVASION.
In the year 1775, when the thirteen American Colonies had risen in arms
against the Motherland, it was to be expected that they would desire to
have the assistance of those north of the forty-ninth parallel. Being so
recently laid under British allegiance, it was supposed there would be
much sympathy for the young cause in the Canadian Colonies. But, whether
the treaty which had been made had been considered gracious in its
terms, or that the horrible memories of war had not had time to die
away, or from a combination of causes, the French-English provinces
refused to take up the Colonial grievances. To compel them to do this,
an expedition, consisting of Col. Ethan Allen and his "Green Mountain
Boys," was detached against Montreal. Arriving on the opposite bank of
the river, just below the town, with about one hundred and fifty men, he
crossed over from Longueuil and reached the eastern suburbs at about
ten o'clock p.m., when he proceeded to billet his men in private houses.
That was before the days of telephones, so it was some time before the
news reached the city and the gates were closed. The rash project of so
small a force attempting to beleaguer a walled town of fourteen thousand
inhabitants could have but one outcome, and it resulted in the capture
of Ethan Allen. He was brought in through the Quebec Gate, or _Porte St.
Martin_, sent to England and lodged in Pendennis Castle, where he could
hear the moan of the wide sea that separated him from the land he loved
and longed to fight for.
But the expedition was not abandoned on account of this repulse, for
soon General Montgomery appeared. Rattray describes Montgomery as a
brave officer of generous and exemplary character. He was an Irishman, a
lieutenant in the 17th Foot, but resigned his commission in the year
1772, owing, it is said, to some grievance connected with promotion;
when he settled and married in the State of New York. Crossing the
Canadian lines he captured Forts St. Jean and Chambly, the latter a
stone fortress on the site of a post built by Tracey's men, and thus he
became possessed of ammunition and other military stores of which he
stood in need. The French-Canadian _Noblesse_ were the first to offer to
defend the country against the invader, but Sir Guy Carleton,
Commander-in-Chief of the forces, being without sufficient troops to
successfully resist attack at this point, determined to retire to Quebec
and make a resolute stand within its walls. He therefore dismissed to
their homes the Canadians under arms, spiked the cannon and burned the
_bateaux_ he could not use. Three armed sloops were loaded with
provisions and baggage to be ready for emergency. He felt it was a point
of honour to remain at Montreal as long as possible, but it was of the
utmost importance to the cause that his person should not fall into the
hands of the enemy. He therefore remained until news arrived that the
Americans had landed on a small island in the river, a short distance
above the city, now called Nun's Island, and then hurried arrangements
were made for his departure. As he left the Chateau, passing out of the
main entrance and down the path that led to the river, he was followed
by groups of friends and citizens, whose sad countenances evinced their
forebodings of the future. The historian Bouchette, whose father was one
of those in attendance on the Commander, relates the incidents of the
perilous and momentous journey in the following words:--
[Illustration: FORT CHAMBLY,
Near Montreal, captured by the Continental Army, under Gen. Montgomery,
in 1775.]
"It was through the intrepidity of a party of Canadian boatmen that the
Governor of the country was enabled, after escaping the most critical
perils, to reach the Capital of the Province, where his arrival is well
known to have prevented the capitulation of Quebec and the surrender of
the country. In reverting to the history of the Revolutionary contest,
no event will be found more strikingly illustrative of the extraordinary
chances of war than the perilous, though fortunate, adventure of the
Commander-in-Chief of the army in Canada, whose descent by water from
Montreal to Quebec was effected with safety in the very teeth of
danger. The shores of the St. Lawrence for upwards of fifty miles below
the city were possessed by the enemy, who had constructed armed rafts
and floating batteries at the junction of the Sorel with the St.
Lawrence, to cut off communication with the Capital. Upon the successful
issue of so hazardous an attempt depended the preservation of Canada,
and the taking of General Carleton, which appeared nearly certain, would
have rendered its fate inevitable; but the happy arrival of the Governor
at Quebec at so critical a juncture, and the well-advised and active
steps which he immediately adopted, secured to Britain a footing in that
beautiful portion of America which circumstances threatened to forever
deny her. A clandestine escape from the surrounding enemy was the only
alternative left, and an experienced officer, distinguished for his
intrepidity and courage, was immediately sent for to concert measures
for the General's precipitate departure. Captain Bouchette, the officer
selected for this purpose, then in command of an armed vessel in the
harbour, and who was styled the 'wild pigeon' on account of the celerity
of his movements, zealously assumed the responsible duty assigned him,
suggesting at the same time the absolute necessity of the General's
disguise in the costume of a Canadian peasant fisherman. This was deemed
prudent as increasing the chances of escape, if, as seemed probable,
they should fall in with the enemy, whose gun-boats, chiefly captures,
were cruising in various parts of the river.
"It was a dark and damp night in November, a light skiff with muffled
paddles, manned by a few chosen men, provisioned with three biscuits
each, lay alongside the waiting vessel." Under cover of the night, the
disguised Governor embarked, attended by an orderly sergeant, and his
devoted Aide-de-Camp, Charles Terieu de la Perade, Sieur de Lanaudiere,
Seigneur de Ste. Anne, and a lineal descendant of de Ramezay. The skiff
silently pushed off, the Captain frequently communicating his orders in
a preconcerted manner by silently touching the shoulder or head of the
man next to him, who passed on the signal to the one nearest, and so on.
"Their perplexity increased as they approached the Berthier Islands,
from the knowledge that the enemy had taken up strong positions at this
point, especially in the islands which commanded the channel on the
south-west of Lake St. Peter, which compelled their adoption of the
other to the northward, although the alternative seemed equally fraught
with peril, as the American troops were encamped on the banks. The most
eminent danger they experienced was passing through the 'Narrows' at
Berthier, the shores of which were lined by American bivouacs, whose
blazing fires, reflecting far out on the surface of the waters, obliged
them to stoop, cease paddling and allow themselves to drift down with
the current, imitating the appearance of drifting timber frequently seen
in the St. Lawrence. So near did they approach, that the Sentinel's
exulting shout of 'All's well' occasionally broke upon the awful
stillness of the night. Their perilous situation was increased by the
constant barking of dogs that seemed to threaten them with discovery. It
evidently required the greatest prudence and good fortune to escape the
vigilance of an enemy thus stationed. The descent was, however, happily
made by impelling the skiff smoothly along the water, and paddling with
the hands for a distance of nine miles. After ascertaining that the
enemy had not yet occupied Three Rivers (a point half way to Quebec),
they repaired thither to recruit from their fatigue, when the whole
party narrowly escaped being made prisoners by a detachment of the
American Army which was then entering the town. Overcome by exhaustion,
the General leaned over a table in an inner room and fell asleep. The
clang of arms was presently heard in the outer passage, and soon
afterward American soldiers filled the adjoining apartment to that in
which the General himself was, but his disguise proved his preservation.
Captain Bouchette, with peculiar self-possession and affected
listlessness, walked up to the Governor, and with the greatest
familiarity beckoned him away, at the same time apprising him of the
threatened danger. Passing through the midst of the heedless guards, and
hastening to the beach, they moved oft precipitately in the skiff and
reached unmolested the foot of the Richelieu Rapids, where an armed brig
was fortunately found lying at anchor, which on their arrival
immediately set sail with a favouring breeze for Quebec.
Arrived at the Citadel, they proceeded to the Chateau St. Louis, where
the important services just rendered the country were generously
acknowledged."
[Illustration: Lanaudiere]
It is remarkable that the man who shared so largely in the risk involved
in this dramatic scene should have been a Frenchman, Carleton's
Aide-de-camp. Between him and his Chief a warm attachment continued to
exist until the end of their lives, an uninterrupted correspondence
being kept up between this noble soldier, Charles Terieu de Lanaudiere
and Lord Dorchester, after the latter with the title bestowed upon him
for his success on this occasion had retired from active service in the
colonies. De Lanaudiere's career was a remarkable one. He began with the
rank of Lieutenant in the Regiment de la Sarre, and was wounded in the
battle of Ste. Foye. He was afterwards received with royal favour by
King George the Third, being present at the state dinner when His
Majesty with the dignity which he knew how to assume when the occasion
required, rang for the carriage of his sometime favourite, the
fastidious Beau Brummel, who had presumed on his august good nature by
undue familiarity.
[Illustration]
THE CONTINENTAL ARMY IN CANADA.
On the Sunday following Sir Guy Carleton's departure from Montreal, as
the people were proceeding to church, they were thrown into a state of
great alarm by the tidings of the landing of Montgomery's force on the
Island of Montreal itself, at the spot where now the great Victoria
Bridge springs from the shore, this densely-packed manufacturing
district being then swamps and meadows. There was no hope of attempting
defence under the circumstances, so both French and English, represented
by an important committee of the foremost inhabitants of the town,
headed by Col. Pierre Guy, entered into terms with Montgomery respecting
persons and property. At nine o'clock in the morning, Nov. 13, 1775, the
American troops marched in through the same gate by which Amherst had
entered sixteen years before. Just inside the walls was the most
sumptuous private dwelling in the city, called the Chateau Fortier. Its
walls were hung with beautiful tapestries wrought in historical scenes,
and its rooms were elegantly furnished and elaborately wainscotted. This
old house still stands among the tall, business blocks, strong yet as a
fortress, with high tin roof and deep windows and doors. It is now used
as a tavern, but even this does not spoil the charm of its unique
exterior, which still remains unchanged since the winter of 1775, when
Montgomery and his officers held their mess here, and the descendants of
the Puritans changed the character of the French chateau, as Oliver
Cromwell and his "Roundheads," a century before, altered that of the
English palace of Whitehall.
[Illustration: CHATEAU FORTIER.
Where Montgomery and his officers held their mess in the winter of 1775.
COPYRIGHT.]
Little or nothing is known of what happened in Montreal during the
autumn of 1775, when the Army of Congress held possession of the town.
There may, and doubtless were, some sympathizers in the city who
frequented the Chateau Fortier, but the loyalists avoided its vicinity
as much as policy permitted. The French and English ladies looked
askance at the American soldiers, and if a town, invested by an enemy,
indulged in any form of merriment, it is probable that no invitation was
ever addressed to General Montgomery or Brigadier-General Wooster. In
their rounds of the town it may have been that glimpses of home
gatherings in the firelight may have given to these men of war many a
twinge of homesickness for hearths across the border, where women who
had been clad in satin and brocade sat spinning homespun, and were
content to drink spring water from the hills, while the tea they had
loved to sip in their Colonial drawing-rooms was floating about the
Boston beaches. If the Boys in blue and buff encountered any of the
Montreal maidens in their walks by the river, or glanced at them as they
passed through the gates to wander in the maple woods around, the
English girls passed them haughtily with a cold disdain in their blue
eyes, and the French demoiselles flashed a fine scorn from the depths of
their dark orbs, which wounded as keenly as a thrust of steel.
Events followed each other so rapidly across the line that Montgomery,
tired of inaction, resolved to carry out before the year ended his
cherished plan of making an assault on Quebec, and proceeded to join
Arnold's men, who, half-famished and in rags, had arrived outside that
city's walls.
Arnold, who was born at Norwich, Connecticut, Jan. 14, 1741, was, it is
said, a very handsome man, but his character was a striking combination
of contradictory qualities, and his career marked by extremes. He was
the bearer of a letter from General Washington to the Canadians, in
which was written: "We have taken up arms in defence of our liberty, our
property, our wives and our children. The Grand American Congress has
sent an army into your province, not to plunder but to protect you. To
co-operate with this design I have detached Col. Arnold into your
country, with a part of the Army under my command. Come then, ye
generous citizens, range yourselves under the standard of general
liberty, against which all the force of artifice and tyranny will never
be able to prevail."
Arnold with his two regiments, numbering together about eleven hundred
men, had left Boston in the month of September, with the fixed intention
of penetrating the unbroken wilderness which lay between the two cities.
On the twenty-second of the month he embarked with his troops on the
Kennebec River, in two hundred _batteaux_, and notwithstanding "all the
natural impediments, the ascent of the rapid streams, interrupted by
frequent _portages_, through thick woods and swamps, in spite of
accidents, the desertion of one-third of their number, difficulties and
privations so great as on one occasion to compel them to kill their dogs
for sustenance;" after thirty-two days of the perils of this wilderness
march they came in sight of the first settlement near Quebec.
About a week later, when darkness had fallen along the river shores and
lights twinkled from the little dwellings of the lower town on the
opposite bank, they embarked in canoes for a silent passage across, and
arrived early in the morning at Wolfe's Cove, where, sixteen years
before, a similar landing had been effected, with the same purpose in
view of assaulting the garrison in the seemingly impregnable fortress.
For weeks the blockade was maintained, the American troops being
established in every house near the walls, more especially in the
vicinity of the Intendant's Palace, which once had been gorgeous with
the prodigal luxury and magnificence for which this old Chateau had been
notorious. The roughly-shod New England soldiers tramped through the
rooms and up the noble staircases on which ladies of fashion had glided
when the infamous Intendant Bigot had disgraced his King and office by
his profligacies. These men, establishing themselves in the cupola,
found it an excellent vantage point to fire upon and annoy the sentries
on guard.
On the 5th of December General Montgomery arrived with his troops from
Montreal and joined Arnold. "They sent a flag of truce to General
Carleton, who utterly disregarded it, declaring that he would not have
any communication with rebels unless they came to claim the King's
mercy."
General Montgomery, realizing that it was impossible to carry on a
regular siege, with neither the engineers nor artillery requisite for
the purpose, determined upon a night attack. This intention became known
to the garrison, and the most careful precautions were taken against
surprise. For several days those on duty and in responsible positions
observed the strictest vigilance, even sleeping in their clothes, with
their arms within reach, to be ready for the slightest alarm. The report
reached the garrison that Montgomery had said that he would dine within
the walls on Christmas Day, and he certainly seemed to consider himself
sure of victory.
Arnold's communications to Carleton has been treated with contempt, no
parley being entered into nor conditions considered. Montgomery tried
various expedients to have his messages received, but without success,
until an old woman was found willing to carry them in. On her errand
becoming known, she was arrested, imprisoned for a few hours and then
drummed out of the city, thus receiving the most disgraceful dismissal
possible in military discipline. The two letters of which she was the
bearer were directed, one to Carleton and the other to the citizens.
That to the Governor read:--
"I am at the head of troops accustomed to success, confident of the
righteousness of the cause they are engaged in and inured to danger."
To the people his words were:--
"My friends and fellow subjects, 'tis with the utmost compunction I find
myself reduced to measures which may overwhelm you with distress. The
city in flames at this severe season, a general attack on your wretched
works, defended by a more wretched garrison, the confusion, carnage and
plunder which must be the consequence of such an attack, fill me with
horror! Let me entreat you to use your endeavours to procure my
peaceable admission. I have not the reproach to make my own conscience
that I have not warned you of your danger."
Montgomery, waiting for a night of unusual darkness, during which he
hoped to place his ladders against the barriers unnoticed by the guards,
found the 31st of December suited to his purpose. On the last day of the
year, when in Boston, New York and other American towns, family
re-unions and festive gatherings were taking place, as far as the
disturbed state of the country permitted, in a blinding snow-storm,
poorly-clad, but resolute, these troops stood in line of battle, waiting
for the word of command through the dreary hours of that night, in which
every belfry in New England was chiming out the dawn of the New Year,
which was to be the greatest in the Republic's history--1776--the birth
year of the nation.
At four o'clock in the morning two rockets glared redly to the sky, and
were immediately responded to by answering signals, which were observed
from the ramparts. The solitary sentinel on St. John's Bastion reported
an armed body of men approaching. It was a feint to distract attention
from the point where Montgomery was to make the attack.
The tidings spread that the riflemen of New England were at the gates;
the peaceable denizens of the town were startled with the cry of "To
arms! To arms!" from officers hastening through the streets. The pickets
in the Recollet Convent hurriedly gathered--the church bells clanged out
the alarm for the troops to march at once to their posts, while drums
beat and muskets rattled.
"Ah! then and there was hurrying to and fro,
And gathering tears and tremblings of distress,
And cheeks all pale--and whispering with white lips,
'The foe! They come, they come!'"
Lights glimmered from the frost-covered casements as fearful mothers
tried to still the cries of their children, frightened with the unusual
clamour. Hands were rung and tearful farewells taken of those whose duty
called them out, with no certainty of return, for
"Who could guess if ever more should meet those mutual eyes?"
Arnold's men rushed at the barricades in Sault-au-Matelot st., with the
words "Victory or Death" stuck in their hats, while Montgomery
approached by a path known as "Pres-de-Ville." It was extremely narrow,
and obstructed with blocks of ice and snow-drifts. It was in the
neighbourhood of where now are the wharves of the Allan Line Steamship
Co.
In the narrowest part the Americans marched slowly and cautiously. They
passed the outer barrier without resistance and approached the inner,
commanded by Dambourges. All was apparently unwarned and silent, but it
was not deserted. Within was a masked battery of only a few
three-pounders, with a little band of Canadians, eight British Militia
and nine seamen to work the guns. The force advanced to within thirty
yards, with Montgomery in front. Beside a gun, which pointed directly
down their path, Sergeant Hugh McQuarters stood ready, the match in his
hand lighted to send the deadly missile at the advancing column.
A quick movement--a flash--a dull boom--and the fearless leader of the
assault fell dead, with twelve others, including his secretary and
aide-de-camp--Arnold, his lieutenant, being wounded, and thus ended the
fifth and last siege of Quebec.
It was well for Quebec that her gates that night were not thrown open to
the sack of troops, among which was Aaron Burr, who had accompanied
Arnold's command. These two men were possessed of less moral character
than any who were connected with the Revolutionary struggle. Arnold was
a strange mixture of bravery and treachery, generosity and rapacity,
courage and petty spite. This arch-traitor subsequently offered to sell
West Point to the British for $30,000, then took service among his
country's foes, and returned to pillage and ravage his former comrades.
Aaron Burr, though descended from generations of clergymen, among whom
was the saintly and learned Jonathan Edwards, was guilty of murder,
treason, and every other vice by which a man could become notorious, his
whole career leaving dishonour, blasting, misery and death, like the
trail of a venomous serpent, behind him.