Canada not far from twenty thousand men, regulars, militia, and
Indians--one-fifth only being French regiments. At Detroit there was a
very insignificant garrison, as it was of minor importance compared
with Niagara, which was the key to the Lakes and West. Here Pouchot,
an able officer, who has given us an interesting memoir of the war, was
stationed, with authority to call to his assistance the French forces
at Presqu'ile, Le Boeuf, and Venango--some three thousand men
altogether, made up mostly of colonial forces and Indian auxiliaries.
At Fort Rouillé (Toronto) there was no force worth mentioning, as it
was a mere dependency of Niagara. Fort Frontenac had been destroyed by
the English, and the French had no posts from that point as far as
Montreal except at {248} Point-au-Baril (near Ogdensburgh), and Île
Galops, by the side of the well-known rapids of that name. The
security of Montreal depended mainly on the French continuing to hold
control of Lake Champlain, and Île-aux-Noix which they now set to work
to fortify. Bourlamaque, an able officer, was in command at the French
forts of the lake with a force of over two thousand men, of whom
one-half were Canadian, and had orders to abandon Carillon and Crown
Point, if necessary, and advance to Île-aux-Noix. At Quebec, probably
fourteen thousand men, of whom four thousand were the pick of the
French regiments in Canada, were under command of Montcalm, Lévis, and
Vaudreuil, and were entrenched on a height of land stretching for
nearly six miles from the St. Charles River, to the southeast of the
fortress, as far as Montmorency River, where its current rushes wildly
forward for its tremendous leap of over two hundred and fifty feet into
a deep and rocky abyss, and forms that glistening sheet of billowy foam
which, seen from a distance, resembles a snowdrift suspended in air.
The fortifications of Quebec had been strengthened for some years back,
and its defences were entrusted to Ramesay, who had led a force to Nova
Scotia in the year of the Duke d'Anville's disastrous expedition. The
city was ill-provided with provisions for any sustained siege, despite
the opportune arrival of some relief from France in the spring. The
whole country had been impoverished by the continuous drain on the
agricultural and labouring population during the war, and the Canadians
themselves began {249} to lose courage, and assembled at the call of
the authorities with less spirit than they had hitherto shown. Canada
was literally on the brink of ruin, after so many years of war and
privation. Corruption had eaten into the very body of Canadian life
and government. The Intendant Bigot had been for years amassing riches
at the expense of the country, and had, in imitation of his lord and
master at Versailles, his fair Canadian Pompadour to bedeck with jewels
and favours from the proceeds {250} of his ill-gotten gains. The names
of Péan, Varin, Cadet, Estèbe, and Clavery are the most conspicuous
amongst those officials who became rich on Canadian misery and
misfortune, and are dishonourably associated with the darkest hours of
Canadian history. "What a country," said Montcalm, "where all the
knaves grow rich, and honest men are ruined." Not the least
discouraging feature of matters in Canada at this critical time, when
unity and harmony were so necessary, was the jealousy that Governor de
Vaudreuil, a weak, vain man, but honest and attached to his native
province, entertained of Montcalm, who was himself imbued by the
loftiest spirit that could animate a brave soldier and loyal Frenchman.
[Illustration: Major-General James Wolfe.]
It was decided that the army under General Wolfe, less than nine
thousand men, and the fleet under Admiral Saunders, should attack
Quebec; that the Commander-in-Chief, Amherst, should advance against
Montreal by way of Lake Champlain, and that Brigadier Prideaux and Sir
William Johnson should lead a considerable force against Niagara. The
English fleet arrived before Quebec on the 20th June, and no time was
lost in commencing operations against the fortress. Wolfe was well
supported by such able soldiers as Monckton, Murray, and Carleton, the
latter of whom became famous in later Canadian history as Lord
Dorchester. Brigadier Townsend, however capable, was irritable and
egotistic. The soldiers admired Wolfe for his soldierly qualities, and
loved him for his thoughtfulness for everyone above or below him.
Admiral Saunders {252} was well aided by Holmes and Durell, and gave a
loyal and ready response to the plans of Wolfe. The regiments had seen
service at Louisbourg, and were fully animated by the courage and
spirit of their general. The siege lasted for eleven weeks, and was
then only ended by an act of boldness on the part of Wolfe, which took
the French entirely by surprise.
[Illustration: Siege of Quebec, 1759.]
The principal events between the 26th June and the 12th September, when
the last act in this great international drama was played, can be
described in a few pages. One of the most important incidents was the
occupation by the English of the heights of Lévis, whence the fortress
was bombarded with an effectiveness that surprised the French, who,
under the advice of Vaudreuil, and in opposition to that of Montcalm,
had not taken adequate measures for the protection of so valuable a
position. So destructive was the bombardment that, when the English
took possession of Quebec, they found all the churches and buildings of
importance in ruins, and the Ursuline Convent alone was saved from
complete destruction.
The English sustained a severe repulse near the Montmorency end of the
French lines. They had made an attack on an outwork at that point, and
the grenadiers had been carried away by excitement and dashed up the
slope of the heights, where from twelve to fourteen thousand French
soldiers were strongly intrenched. A furious storm of bullets assailed
the reckless and brave grenadiers, who could not even gain a firm
footing on the slippery slope, {253} while the rain came down in
torrents, and their blood reddened the rivulets of water. This was,
however, the only serious disaster that the English suffered throughout
the siege. The fire ships of the French had been ill-managed, and
failed to do any damage as they were sent down against the fleet.
Montcalm, sure of his impregnable position, refused to be drawn from
his intrenchments and to offer battle to Wolfe. He knew that delay was
everything to him, for the autumn was drawing near. In a few weeks
storm and frost would drive the Englishmen from the river. Wherever
Montcalm looked, his position seemed unassailable. The high cliffs
that stretched for miles above Quebec offered a guaranty of security in
that direction, and to prevent any doubt, Bougainville, a capable
officer--in later years famous as a navigator--was on the alert with a
force of upwards of two thousand soldiers. He had double work to do,
to guard these apparently impregnable cliffs, and to assure the arrival
of provisions from the country by river and land. It was the expected
arrival of a convoy of provisions that proved an important factor in
the successful accomplishment of a plan that Wolfe had devised for the
capture of the city.
While the siege was in progress, the news from the west and from Lake
Champlain was discouraging for the French. Niagara had been
surrendered by Pouchot to Sir William Johnson, who had taken command on
the death of Prideaux--killed at the beginning of operations--and a
large force that was brought up by Ligneris from the Ohio valley to
{254} succour the post had been severely defeated. Crown Point and
Ticonderoga had been abandoned by Bourlamaque, and there was for a time
some expectation of the advance of Amherst to the St. Lawrence;
Montcalm was obliged to weaken his army by sending his ablest general,
Lévis, with a force of fifteen hundred men, to look after the defences
of Montreal, but the sluggish English general wasted his time on the
banks of Lake Champlain.
It was quite clear to Wolfe and Saunders that Amherst was not to give
them any assistance in the difficult work before them. It was on the
night of the 12th of September that Wolfe carried out the project which
had been for some time forming in his mind. He had managed to
concentrate a force of four thousand men above the fortress without
awakening the suspicions of the French, who were confident that
Bougainville was fully able to prevent any force from attempting so
impossible and foolhardy an exploit as the ascent of the high cliffs.
The visitor to the historic places around Quebec will be deeply
interested in a cove, just above Sillery, now known as Wolfe's Cove,
but in old times as the Anse-au-Foulon. A zig-zag and difficult path
led from this cove to the top of the height, and Wolfe conceived the
hope that it was possible to gain access in this way to the table-land
where he could best give battle to Montcalm. He saw that the cliff at
this point was defended by only a small guard, under the command, as it
afterwards appeared, of Vergor, who had been tried and acquitted for
his questionable surrender of Beauséjour. When the {255} English boats
dropped down the river with the tide at midnight, on the 12th of
September, there was no moon, and the stars alone gave a faint light.
Montcalm had no conception of the importance of the movement of troops
which, it had been reported to him, was going on for some days above
Quebec, and his attention was diverted by the constant bombardment on
the town from Lévis, and a fierce cannonading that was kept up against
Beauport by Saunders. Wolfe's thoughts on that memorable night as his
boat passed under the shadow of the dark cliff, we can imagine from an
incident that is related by one who was present. Hardly a dip of an
oar was heard from the flotilla as it was borne down the river, but
from Beauport and Lévis came the constant roar of cannon. Every moment
was carrying him to fame and death, and perhaps it was some foreboding
of his fate that led him to repeat the words of Gray's Elegy, which
from that hour has become more famous in English literature:
"The boast of heraldy, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Await alike th' inevitable hour;
The paths of glory lead but to the grave."
As the boats came close to a point on the bank a sentinel challenged,
"_Qui vive?_" "_La France!_" replied an officer of Fraser's
Highlanders who spoke French well. "_À quel regiment?_" again
challenged the suspicious soldier. "_De la Reine_," answered the same
officer, who happily remembered that some companies of this regiment
were with Bougainville. {256} Fate that eventful night was on the side
of the bold Englishman. The French were expecting a convoy of
provisions, and the sentinel called out, "_Passe!_" Another sentry,
more suspicious, ran down to the water's edge, and asked, "_Pourquoi
est-ce que vous ne parlez plus haut?_" The captain replied with
wonderful coolness, "_Tais-toi, nous serons entendus!_"--an answer
which satisfied the guard. In this way the English boats were able to
steal into the cove without being stopped. A few minutes later the
heights were gained, the guard was overpowered, and the British
regiments were climbing to the level land without hindrance. By six
o'clock Wolfe was able to form his army of nearly four thousand men in
line of battle on the Plains of Abraham.[1] "This is a serious
business," exclaimed Montcalm, as he saw the red line of the English
regiments on the table-land behind Quebec. He appears to have almost
immediately come to the conclusion that it was necessary to fight the
English before they received any accessions of strength, and not to
wait for Bougainville, who would probably come up in time with his
force of two thousand men. By ten o'clock the two armies--that of
Montcalm outnumbering the English probably by fifteen hundred--were
advancing on each other. The French as they drew near poured a volley
into the ranks of the British regiments, but the latter reserved their
fire until they were within forty yards of their enemy, when they
discharged their guns with most deadly effect. The {257} French fell
in heaps, and as the bullets crashed amongst their faltering ranks,
they broke and retreated. The battle was literally won in a few
minutes. Wolfe, who had been wounded in the wrist at the beginning of
the fight, was leading a charge of the grenadiers, who had shown such
fateful precipitancy at Montmorency, when he was fatally wounded. He
was removed to a redoubt in the rear and laid on the ground, where he
remained for a few minutes in a swoon or stupour. "They run! See how
they run!" exclaimed one of the men watching their wounded chief. "Who
run?" he called, as he attempted to rise for an instant. "The enemy,
sir; 'egad, they give place everywhere!" "Go, one of you, my lads,"
ordered the dying General, whose brain was still clear and active,
"with all speed to Colonel Burton, and tell him to march Webb's
regiment down to the St. Charles River, and cut off the fugitives to
the bridge." He turned on his side and said: "God be praised, I now
die in peace." Then, in a moment later, he passed into the great
silent land. Montcalm also received his death blow while he was
endeavouring to give some order to his beaten army. He was borne along
by the crowd of retreating soldiers through the St. Louis gate into the
town. A few hours later, on the 14th September, he breathed his last.
His last words were in commendation of Chevalier de Lévis--a soldier in
no way inferior to himself in military genius.
Monckton, who was next to Wolfe in rank, had been also severely wounded
in the battle, and {258} consequently by a strange irony of fate,
Townshend, who had been unfriendly to Wolfe, and had doubted his
military capacity, was called upon to take command. Lévis was absent
at Montreal, unfortunately for French interests at this very critical
juncture, and Vaudreuil's opinion prevailed for a retreat to Jacques
Cartier. When Lévis arrived and Vaudreuil consented to march to the
support of Quebec it was too late. Ramesay had decided to capitulate,
in view of the ruined condition of the city and walls, the scarcity of
rations, and the unwillingness of the Canadian troops and citizens to
continue the defence, when they found that the English were about to
resume the attack. When the French army was moving towards Quebec, the
English were in possession, and the _fleur-de-lis_ had given place to
the red cross of England on the old fort of St. Louis. By the terms of
capitulation the troops were to be allowed to march out with the
honours of war, and to be landed in France; the inhabitants were not to
be disturbed; the free exercise of the Roman Catholic religion was
allowed, and safeguards granted to houses of clergy and communities.
All conditions were provisional until a treaty was arranged between the
Powers.
The body of Montcalm was buried beneath the floor of the Ursuline
Convent, in a grave which had been already partly hollowed out by a
bursting shell. Many years later an English governor-general, Lord
Aylmer, placed in the chapel of the convent a plain marble slab, with
the following graceful tribute to the memory of a great soldier of whom
English and French Canadians are equally proud.
{259}
HONNEUR
À
MONTCALM
LE DESTIN EN LUI DÉROBANT
LA VICTOIRE
L'A RÉCOMPENSÉ PAR
UNE MORT GLORIEUSE!
Wolfe's remains were taken to England, where they were received with
every demonstration of respect that a grateful nation could give. In
Europe and America the news of this victory had made the people wild
with joy. "With a handful of men," said Pitt, in the House of Commons,
"he has added an empire to English rule." A monument in that Walhalla
of great Englishmen, Westminster Abbey, records that he "was slain in a
moment of victory." On the heights of Quebec, in the rear of its noble
terrace, still stands the stately obelisk which was erected in 1828
under the inspiration of the Earl of Dalhousie in honour of Montcalm
and Wolfe, and above all others attracts the interest of the historical
student since it pays a just tribute to the virtue and valour of the
two great commanders in the following simple but well conceived
language:
MORTEM. VIRTUS. COMMUNEM.
FAMAM. HISTORIA.
MONUMENTUM. POSTERITAS.
DEDIT.
{260}
[Illustration: Montcalm and Wolfe monument at Quebec.]
Wolfe was only in his thirty-third year when he died on the field of
Abraham. Montcalm was still in the prime of life, having just passed
forty-seven years. Both were equally animated by the purest dictates
of honour and truth, by a love for the noble profession of arms, and by
an ardent desire to add to the glory of their respective countries.
Montcalm was a member of the French nobility, and a man of high
culture. His love for his mother, wife, and children is shown in his
published letters, written while in Canada, and he was ever looking
forward to the time when he could rejoin them in his beloved château of
Candiac, and resume the studies he liked so well. Some Canadian
writers have endeavoured to belittle Montcalm, that they may more
easily explain away the failings of Vaudreuil, a native Canadian, who
thwarted constantly the plans of a greater man; but an impartial
historian can never place these two men on the same high level.
Wolfe's family was of respectable origin, and he inherited his military
tastes from his father, who became a general in the English army. He
had few advantages of education in his youth, though in later life he
became studious, and had much love for mathematics. A soldier's life
was his ambition, and fame was his dominating impulse. His indomitable
spirit governed his physical weakness. The natural kindness of his
nature rose superior to the irritability sometimes caused by his
ill-health, and made him always sympathise with the joys, sorrows, and
feelings of all classes among whom he lived. He had that magnetic
power of {262} inspiring his soldiers and companions with his own
confidence and courage which must sooner or later give them victory.
He was a good son and made a confidant of his mother. He was fond of
female companionship, and was looking forward hopefully to a woman's
love, and to a home of his own, when Fate ruthlessly struck him down
before the walls of Quebec at the moment of victory.
It is impossible within the limited space of this story to dwell at any
length on the events that followed from the taking of the Canadian
capital until the cession of Canada three years later. General Murray,
who was afterwards the first governor-general of Canada, had charge of
the fortress during the winter of 1759-60, when the garrison and people
suffered much from cold and disease--firewood being scarce, and the
greater number of the buildings in ruins.
[Illustration: View of Quebec in 1760.]
Lévis had decided to attack the town in the spring, as soon as the
French ships were able to come down from near Sorel, where they had
been laid up all the winter. Towards the last of April, Murray marched
out of the fortress and gave battle at St. Foy to the French army,
which largely outnumbered his force. His object was to attack the
French before they were able to place themselves thoroughly in position
before Quebec, but he suffered a considerable loss, and was obliged to
retire hurriedly within the walls of the town, which was then regularly
invested by Lévis and the French ships. The opportune arrival of the
English fleet dashed the rising hopes of the French to the ground,
{264} and Lévis was obliged to retreat to Montreal. In the month of
September of the same year General Amherst descended the St. Lawrence,
after having captured the fort at Île Galops--afterwards Fort William
Augustus. Brigadier Haviland left Lake Champlain, captured
Île-aux-Noix, and then marched on Montreal; Brigadier Murray came up
from Quebec. All these forces concentrated on the same day on the
island of Montreal, and Vaudreuil had no alternative except to
capitulate. By the terms of capitulation, which were drawn up, like
those of Quebec, in French, Great Britain bound herself to allow the
French Canadians the free exercise of their religion, and certain
specified fraternities, and all communities of _religieuses_ were
guaranteed the possession of their goods, constitutions, and
privileges, but a similar favour was denied to the Jesuits, the
Franciscans, or Recollets, and the Sulpicians, until the King should be
consulted on the subject. The same reservation was made with respect
to the parochial clergy's tithes. On the 10th of February, 1763, by
the Treaty of Paris, France ceded to Great Britain Canada, with all its
dependencies, the island of Cape Breton, and the Laurentian Isles. By
this treaty the King pledged himself "to give the most effectual
orders, that his new Roman Catholic subjects may profess the worship of
their religion, according to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church, as
far as the laws of Great Britain permit." All the pretensions of
France to Acadia were at last formally renounced. England also
received all the country east of the River Mississippi, except the city
of New {266} Orleans and the neighbouring district, as well as Florida
from Spain in return for Havana. Subsequently France gave up New
Orleans to Spain, as well as the great region of Louisiana westward of
the Mississippi. France was allowed to retain the barren islands of
St. Pierre and Miquelon, and certain fishing rights on the coasts of
Newfoundland, which she had previously given by the Treaty of Utrecht.
George II. had died during 1760, and George III. was now King of
England. Pitt was forced to resign, and the King's favourite, the
incapable Bute, who became premier, made peace without delay. Pitt
opposed the fishery concessions to France, but Bute attached relatively
little importance to them, and they have ever since remained to torment
the people of Newfoundland, and create complications in case that
island consents to enter the Canadian Dominion. Still, despite these
concessions, England gained great advantages from the peace, and became
the greatest colonial and maritime power of the world.
[Illustration: View of Montreal in 1760.]
Freedom won on the Plains of Abraham, and a great Frenchman and a great
Englishman consecrated by their deaths on the same battlefield the
future political union of two races on the northern half of the
continent, now known as the Dominion of Canada.
[1] Named after Abraham Martin, a royal pilot, who, in early times,
owned this now historic tract.
{267}
XIX.
A PERIOD OF TRANSITION--PONTIAC'S WAR--THE QUEBEC ACT.
(1760-1774.)
The Canadian people, long harassed and impoverished by war, had at last
a period of rest. They were allowed the ministrations of their
religion without hindrance, and all that was required of the parochial
clergy was that they should not take part in civil affairs, but should
attend exclusively to their clerical duties. The seigniors and
priests, no doubt, did not give up for some time the hope that Canada
would be restored to France, but they, too, soon bowed to the necessity
of things, and saw that their material and spiritual interests were
quite secure under the new government. None of the _habitants_ ever
left Canada after the war. A few members of the seigniorial nobility,
the officials and some merchants--perhaps three hundred in all--may
have gone back to France. Men like Bigot and Varin on their return
were severely punished, and forced to give up as much as possible of
their ill-gotten {268} gains. Governor de Vaudreuil himself was cast
into the Bastile, but it was ascertained after investigation that he
had no connection with the crimes of the worthless parasites that had
so long fattened on the necessities of the unhappy province. He died
soon after his imprisonment; the iron of humiliation had probably eaten
into the heart of a man who, whatever his faults, had many estimable
qualities, and loved his native country.
For several years Canada was under what has been generally called the
military régime; that is to say, the province was divided into the
three districts of Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal, of which the
government was administered by military chiefs; in the first place by
General Murray, Colonel Burton, and General Gage respectively. These
military authorities--notably General Murray--endeavoured to win the
confidence of the people by an impartial and considerate conduct of
affairs. Civil matters in the parishes were left practically under the
control of the captains of militia, who had to receive new commissions
from the British Crown. Appeal could be always made to the military
chief at the headquarters of the district, but, as a matter of fact,
the people generally managed their affairs among themselves, in
accordance with their old usages and laws. Military councils tried
criminal cases according to English law.
While the French Canadians were in the enjoyment of rest on the banks
of the St. Lawrence and its tributary rivers, the Western Indians, who
had been the allies of France during the war, suddenly arose and seized
nearly all the forts and posts which {269} had been formerly built by
the French on the Great Lakes, in the valley of the Ohio, and in the
Illinois country. After the taking of Montreal, Captain Robert Rogers,
the famous commander of the Colonial Rangers, whose name occurs
frequently in the records of the war, was sent by General Amherst to
take possession of the forts at Presqu'ile, Detroit, Michillimackinac,
Green Bay, and other places in the West. In the course of a few months
there were in all these western posts small garrisons of English
soldiers. In the neighbourhood of Detroit and Michillimackinac there
were French Canadian villages, conspicuous for their white cottages
with overhanging bark roofs and little gardens, orchards, and meadows.
Forts Chartres and Vincennes were still in the possession of the
French, and there was a population of nearly two thousand French
Canadians or Louisiana French living in the Illinois country, chiefly
at Cahokia and Kaskaskia on the Mississippi. The Indian tribes that
took part in the rising of 1763 were the Ottawas, Pottawattomies,
Ojibways (Chippeways), Wyandots (Hurons), and Kickapoos, who lived in
the vicinity of the upper lakes; the Delawares (Loups or Lenapes) and
the Shawanoes, who had their villages on the Ohio and its tributary
rivers, especially on the Muskingkum and the Scioto; the Sauks or Saks,
who encamped on the Wisconsin; the Senecas, who lived not far from the
Niagara. All these Indians, except the Wyandots and Senecas, were
members of the Algonquin family. The Senecas were the only tribe of
the Six Nations that took part in the alliance against {270} England;
the other tribes were, happily for English interests, under the
influence of Sir William Johnson.