The capture of Quebec from the French by the English in 1759 is one
of the epics of modern military history. Quebec was supposed to be
absolutely impregnable, and was the stronghold of France in America.
If the English had not been able to capture Quebec, Canada might have
been French today. And this brilliant military feat was accomplished by
a young major general only thirty-two years old. The leaders on both
sides of the battle were killed; but the glory of their heroism has
lived to this day.
After General Amherst had captured Louisburg in 1758 he took charge
of the American campaigns of the Seven Years’ War between England and
France. Under him was Major General James Wolfe, who was but thirty-one
years old. Amherst ordered him to attack Quebec, while that general
himself led a force to capture Montreal.
Wolfe’s command consisted of seven thousand men; while Montcalm, the
French commanded of Quebec, had under him a considerably larger army.
The British sailed up the St. Lawrence River and camped on the Isle of
Orleans, facing the city.
There were three ways of attacking Quebec,--from the St. Lawrence
River, from the St. Charles River, and up the steep cliffs to the
Plains of Abraham. On the St. Lawrence side it was impossible to get
near enough to the city to damage it, and to climb the steep rock
to the Plains of Abraham seemed unworthy of consideration. So Wolfe
decided to cross the St. Lawrence seven miles below Quebec, and to
fight his way to the city by the St. Charles side. But this attack
failed, with great loss to the English.
However, although he was discouraged, the stout heart of General Wolfe
never failed. He began immediately to plan another way of getting into
Quebec. He learned that the impossible could be accomplished, the
heights to the Plains of Abraham could be scaled. From a little cove
in the river, Wolfe’s Cove, a steep path led up the cliffs. It was a
desperate chance; but it was worth taking.
He only had thirty-six hundred men that could be spared for the
attempt, and on the evening of September 12, 1759, these embarked on
the warships and sailed upstream. Montcalm was a wary warrior, and sent
some troops to watch the movements of the English. The British troops
landed some distance above Wolfe’s Cove; but at one o’clock in the
morning Wolfe and half his force dropped downstream in boats and landed
at the cove.
Then came the scramble up the cliff-side in the inky darkness. Slowly
they worked their way to the top. At the summit the French had a weak
redoubt guarded by a handful of men. This was the last place at which
Montcalm had expected an attack. The garrison was easily driven from
the redoubt, and by daylight the entire English force was upon the
Plains of Abraham.
Montcalm drew up his men, and the two armies, French and English, stood
face to face on the narrow battlefield. The French advanced and began
to push the English back; but Wolfe rallied his men. He held back his
fire until the French came within close range, and then at his order
one volley decided the battle. With great gaps in their lines, the
French halted, and Wolfe led on his men to complete the victory.
But the brave English general, wounded twice already, now received
a shot through the breast that was fatal. Montcalm too was mortally
wounded, and died the next day.
Quebec surrendered on September 18, 1759.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 35, SERIAL No. 35
COPYRIGHT, 1913. BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
[Illustration: BRADDOCK’S FIELD--FROM AN OLD PAINTING]
_THE CONTEST FOR NORTH AMERICA_
_Braddock’s Defeat_