diff options
Diffstat (limited to '8728-h/8728-h.htm')
| -rw-r--r-- | 8728-h/8728-h.htm | 3507 |
1 files changed, 3507 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/8728-h/8728-h.htm b/8728-h/8728-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d2a3d63 --- /dev/null +++ b/8728-h/8728-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,3507 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + Chronicles of Canada, by William Wood + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Winning of Canada: A Chronicle of Wolf, by +William Wood + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Winning of Canada: A Chronicle of Wolf + Volume 11 (of 32) + +Author: William Wood + +Release Date: August, 2005 [EBook #8728] +Last Updated: February 7, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WINNING OF CANADA *** + + + + +Produced by Gardner Buchanan and David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <div style="height: 8em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHRONICLES OF CANADA + </h2> + <h1> + THE WINNING OF CANADA + </h1> + <h2> + A Chronicle of Wolfe + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By William Wood + </h2> + <h4> + Edited by George M. Wrong and H. H. Langton <br /><br /> In thirty-two + volumes <br /><br /> Volume 11 <br /><br /> TORONTO, 1915 + </h4> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> AUTHOR'S NOTE </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I — THE BOY, 1727-1741 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II — THE YOUNG SOLDIER, 1741-1748 + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III — THE SEVEN YEARS' PEACE, + 1748-1755 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV — THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR, + 1756-1763 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V — LOUISBOURG, 1758 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI — QUEBEC, 1759 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII — THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM, + September 13, 1759 </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII — EPILOGUE—THE LAST + STAND </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + AUTHOR'S NOTE + </h2> + <p> + Any life of Wolfe can be artificially simplified by treating his purely + military work as something complete in itself and not as a part of a + greater whole. But, since such treatment gives a totally false idea of his + achievement, this little sketch, drawn straight from original sources, + tries to show him as he really was, a co-worker with the British fleet in + a war based entirely on naval strategy and inseparably connected with + international affairs of world-wide significance. The only simplification + attempted here is that of arrangement and expression. + </p> + <p> + W.W. + </p> + <p> + Quebec, April 1914. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I — THE BOY, 1727-1741 + </h2> + <p> + Wolfe was a soldier born. Many of his ancestors had stood ready to fight + for king and country at a moment's notice. His father fought under the + great Duke of Marlborough in the war against France at the beginning of + the eighteenth century. His grandfather, his great-grandfather, his only + uncle, and his only brother were soldiers too. Nor has the martial spirit + deserted the descendants of the Wolfes in the generation now alive. They + are soldiers still. The present head of the family, who represented it at + the celebration of the tercentenary of the founding of Quebec, fought in + Egypt for Queen Victoria; and the member of it who represented Wolfe on + that occasion, in the pageant of the Quebec campaign, is an officer in the + Canadian army under George V. + </p> + <p> + The Wolfes are of an old and honourable line. Many hundreds of years ago + their forefathers lived in England and later on in Wales. Later still, in + the fifteenth century, before America was discovered, they were living in + Ireland. Wolfe's father, however, was born in England; and, as there is no + evidence that any of his ancestors in Ireland had married other than + English Protestants, and as Wolfe's mother was also English, we may say + that the victor of Quebec was a pure-bred Englishman. Among his + Anglo-Irish kinsmen were the Goldsmiths and the Seymours. Oliver Goldsmith + himself was always very proud of being a cousin of the man who took + Quebec. + </p> + <p> + Wolfe's mother, to whom he owed a great deal of his genius; was a + descendant of two good families in Yorkshire. She was eighteen years + younger than his father, and was very tall and handsome. Wolfe thought + there was no one like her. When he was a colonel, and had been through the + wars and at court, he still believed she was 'a match for all the + beauties.' He was not lucky enough to take after her in looks, except in + her one weak feature, a cutaway chin. His body, indeed, seems to have been + made up of the bad points of both parents: he had his rheumatism from his + father. But his spirit was made up of all their good points; and no braver + ever lived in any healthy body than in his own sickly, lanky six foot + three. + </p> + <p> + Wolfe's parents went to live at Westerham in Kent shortly after they were + married; and there, on January 2, 1727, in the vicarage—where Mrs + Wolfe was staying while her husband was away on duty with his regiment—the + victor of Quebec was born. Two other houses in the little country town of + Westerham are full of memories of Wolfe. One of these was his father's, a + house more than two hundred years old when he was born. It was built in + the reign of Henry VII, and the loyal subject who built it had the king's + coat of arms carved over the big stone fireplace. Here Wolfe and his + younger brother Edward used to sit in the winter evenings with their + mother, while their veteran father told them the story of his long + campaigns. So, curiously enough, it appears that Wolfe, the soldier who + won Canada for England in 1759, sat under the arms of the king in whose + service the sailor Cabot hoisted the flag of England over Canadian soil in + 1497. This house has been called Quebec House ever since the victory in + 1759. The other house is Squerryes Court, belonging then and now to the + Warde family, the Wolfes' closest friends. Wolfe and George Warde were + chums from the first day they met. Both wished to go into the Army; and + both, of course, 'played soldiers,' like other virile boys. Warde lived to + be an old man and actually did become a famous cavalry leader. Perhaps + when he charged a real enemy, sword in hand, at the head of thundering + squadrons, it may have flashed through his mind how he and Wolfe had waved + their whips and cheered like mad when they galloped their ponies down the + common with nothing but their barking dogs behind them. + </p> + <p> + Wolfe's parents presently moved to Greenwich, where he was sent to school + at Swinden's. Here he worked quietly enough till just before he entered on + his 'teens. Then the long-pent rage of England suddenly burst in war with + Spain. The people went wild when the British fleet took Porto Bello, a + Spanish port in Central America. The news was cried through the streets + all night. The noise of battle seemed to be sounding all round Swinden's + school, where most of the boys belonged to naval and military families. + Ships were fitting out in English harbours. Soldiers were marching into + every English camp. Crowds were singing and cheering. First one boy's + father and then another's was under orders for the front. Among them was + Wolfe's father, who was made adjutant-general to the forces assembling in + the Isle of Wight. What were history and geography and mathematics now, + when a whole nation was afoot to fight! And who would not fight the + Spaniards when they cut off British sailors' ears? That was an old tale by + this time; but the flames of anger threw it into lurid relief once more. + </p> + <p> + Wolfe was determined to go and fight. Nothing could stop him. There was no + commission for him as an officer. Never mind! He would go as a volunteer + and win his commission in the field. So, one hot day in July 1740, the + lanky, red-haired boy of thirteen-and-a-half took his seat on the + Portsmouth coach beside his father, the veteran soldier of fifty-five. His + mother was a woman of much too fine a spirit to grudge anything for the + service of her country; but she could not help being exceptionally anxious + about the dangers of disease for a sickly boy in a far-off land of + pestilence and fever. She had written to him the very day he left. But he, + full of the stir and excitement of a big camp, had carried the letter in + his pocket for two or three days before answering it. Then he wrote her + the first of many letters from different seats of war, the last one of all + being written just before he won the victory that made him famous round + the world. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Newport, Isle of Wight, August 6th, 1740. + + I received my dearest Mamma's letter on Monday last, + but could not answer it then, by reason I was at camp + to see the regiments off to go on board, and was too + late for the post; but am very sorry, dear Mamma, that + you doubt my love, which I'm sure is as sincere as + ever any son's was to his mother. + + Papa and I are just going on board, but I believe + shall not sail this fortnight; in which time, if I + can get ashore at Portsmouth or any other town, I will + certainly write to you, and, when we are gone, by + every ship we meet, because I know it is my duty. + Besides, if it is not, I would do it out of love, with + pleasure. + + I am sorry to hear that your head is so bad, which I + fear is caused by your being so melancholy; but pray, + dear Mamma, if you love me, don't give yourself up to + fears for us. I hope, if it please God, we shall soon + see one another, which will be the happiest day that + ever I shall see. I will, as sure as I live, if it is + possible for me, let you know everything that has + happened, by every ship; therefore pray, dearest Mamma, + don't doubt about it. I am in a very good state of + health, and am likely to continue so. Pray my love to + my brother. Pray my service to Mr Streton and his + family, to Mr and Mrs Weston, and to George Warde when + you see him; and pray believe me to be, my dearest + Mamma, your most dutiful, loving and affectionate son, + + J. Wolfe. + + To Mrs. Wolfe, at her house in Greenwich, Kent. +</pre> + <p> + Wolfe's 'very good state of health' was not 'likely to continue so,' + either in camp or on board ship. A long peace had made the country + indifferent to the welfare of the Army and Navy. Now men were suddenly + being massed together in camps and fleets as if on Purpose to breed + disease. Sanitation on a large scale, never having been practised in + peace, could not be improvised in this hurried, though disastrously slow, + preparation for a war. The ship in which Wolfe was to sail had been lying + idle for years; and her pestilential bilge-water soon began to make the + sailors and soldiers sicken and die. Most fortunately, Wolfe was among the + first to take ill; and so he was sent home in time to save him from the + fevers of Spanish America. + </p> + <p> + Wolfe was happy to see his mother again, to have his pony to ride and his + dogs to play with. But, though he tried his best to stick to his lessons, + his heart was wild for the war. He and George Warde used to go every day + during the Christmas holidays behind the pigeon-house at Squerryes Court + and practise with their swords and pistols. One day they stopped when they + heard the post-horn blowing at the gate; and both of them became very much + excited when George's father came out himself with a big official envelope + marked 'On His Majesty's Service' and addressed to 'James Wolfe, Esquire.' + Inside was a commission as second lieutenant in the Marines, signed by + George II and dated at St James's Palace, November 3, 1741. Eighteen years + later, when the fame of the conquest of Canada was the talk of the + kingdom, the Wardes had a stone monument built to mark the spot where + Wolfe was standing when the squire handed him his first commission. And + there it is to-day; and on it are the verses ending, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + This spot so sacred will forever claim + A proud alliance with its hero's name. +</pre> + <p> + Wolfe was at last an officer. But the Marines were not the corps for him. + Their service companies were five thousand miles away, while war with + France was breaking out much nearer home. So what was his delight at + receiving another commission, on March 25, 1742, as an ensign in the 12th + Regiment of Foot! He was now fifteen, an officer, a soldier born and bred, + eager to serve his country, and just appointed to a regiment ordered to + the front! Within a month an army such as no one had seen since the days + of Marlborough had been assembled at Blackheath. Infantry, cavalry, + artillery, and engineers, they were all there when King George II, the + Prince of Wales, and the Duke of Cumberland came down to review them. + Little did anybody think that the tall, eager ensign carrying the colours + of the 12th past His Majesty was the man who was to play the foremost part + in winning Canada for the British crown. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II — THE YOUNG SOLDIER, 1741-1748 + </h2> + <p> + Wolfe's short life may be divided into four periods, all easy to remember, + because all are connected with the same number-seven. He was fourteen + years a boy at home, with one attempt to be a soldier. This period lasted + from 1727 to 1741. Then he was seven years a young officer in time of war, + from 1741 to 1748. Then he served seven years more in time of peace, from + 1748 to 1755. Lastly, he died in the middle, at the very climax, of the + world-famous Seven Years' War, in 1759. + </p> + <p> + After the royal review at Blackheath in the spring of 1742 the army + marched down to Deptford and embarked for Flanders. Wolfe was now off to + the very places he had heard his father tell about again and again. The + surly Flemings were still the same as when his father knew them. They + hated their British allies almost as much as they hated their enemies. The + long column of redcoats marched through a scowling mob of citizens, who + meanly grudged a night's lodging to the very men coming there to fight for + them. We may be sure that Wolfe thought little enough of such mean people + as he stepped out with the colours flying above his head. The army halted + at Ghent, an ancient city, famous for its trade and wealth, and defended + by walls which had once resisted Marlborough. + </p> + <p> + At first there was a good deal to do and see; and George Warde was there + too, as an officer in a cavalry regiment. But Warde had to march away; and + Wolfe was left without any companion of his own age, to pass his spare + time the best way he could. Like another famous soldier, Frederick the + Great, who first won his fame in this very war, he was fond of music and + took lessons on the flute. He also did his best to improve his French; and + when Warde came back the two friends used to go to the French theatre. + Wolfe put his French to other use as well, and read all the military books + he could find time for. He always kept his kit ready to pack; so that he + could have marched anywhere within two hours of receiving the order. And, + though only a mere boy-officer, he began to learn the duties of an + adjutant, so that he might be fit for promotion whenever the chance should + come. + </p> + <p> + Months wore on and Wolfe was still at Ghent. He had made friends during + his stay, and he tells his mother in September: 'This place is full of + officers, and we never want company. I go to the play once or twice a + week, and talk a little with the ladies, who are very civil and speak + French.' Before Christmas it had been decided at home—where the + war-worn father now was, after a horrible campaign at Cartagena—that + Edward, the younger son, was also to be allowed to join the Army. Wolfe + was delighted. 'My brother is much to be commended for the pains he takes + to improve himself. I hope to see him soon in Flanders, when, in all + probability, before next year is over, we may know something of our + trade.' And so they did! + </p> + <p> + The two brothers marched for the Rhine early in 1743, both in the same + regiment. James was now sixteen, Edward fifteen. The march was a terrible + one for such delicate boys. The roads were ankle-deep in mud; the weather + was vile; both food and water were very bad. Even the dauntless Wolfe had + to confess to his mother that he was 'very much fatigued and out of order. + I never come into quarters without aching hips and knees.' Edward, still + more delicate, was sent off on a foraging party to find something for the + regiment to eat. He wrote home to his father from Bonn on April 7: 'We can + get nothing upon our march but eggs and bacon and sour bread. I have no + bedding, nor can get it anywhere. We had a sad march last Monday in the + morning. I was obliged to walk up to my knees in snow, though my brother + and I have a horse between us. I have often lain upon straw, and should + oftener, had I not known some French, which I find very useful; though I + was obliged the other day to speak <i>Latin</i> for a good dinner. We send + for everything we want to the priest.' + </p> + <p> + That summer, when the king arrived with his son the Duke of Cumberland, + the British and Hanoverian army was reduced to 37,000 half-fed men. Worse + still, the old general, Lord Stair, had led it into a very bad place. + These 37,000 men were cooped up on the narrow side of the valley of the + river Main, while a much larger French army was on the better side, + holding bridges by which to cut them off and attack them while they were + all clumped together. Stair tried to slip away in the night. But the + French, hearing of this attempt, sent 12,000 men across the river to hold + the place the British general was leaving, and 30,000 more, under the Duc + de Gramont, to block the road at the place towards which he was evidently + marching. At daylight the British and Hanoverians found themselves cut + off, both front and rear, while a third French force was waiting to pounce + on whichever end showed weakness first. The King of England, who was also + Elector of Hanover, would be a great prize, and the French were eager to + capture him. This was how the armies faced each other on the morning of + June 27, 1743, at Dettingen, the last battlefield on which any king of + England has fought in person, and the first for Wolfe. + </p> + <p> + The two young brothers were now about to see a big battle, like those of + which their father used to tell them. Strangely enough, Amherst, the + future commander-in-chief in America, under whom Wolfe served at + Louisbourg, and the two men who succeeded Wolfe in command at Quebec—Monckton + and Townshend—were also there. It is an awful moment for a young + soldier, the one before his first great fight. And here were nearly a + hundred thousand men, all in full view of each other, and all waiting for + the word to begin. It was a beautiful day, and the sun shone down on a + splendidly martial sight. There stood the British and Hanoverians, with + wooded hills on their right, the river and the French on their left, the + French in their rear, and the French very strongly posted on the rising + ground straight in their front. The redcoats were in dense columns, their + bayonets flashing and their colours waving defiance. Side by side with + their own red cavalry were the black German cuirassiers, the blue German + lancers, and the gaily dressed green and scarlet Hungarian hussars. The + long white lines of the three French armies, varied with royal blue, + encircled them on three sides. On the fourth were the leafy green hills. + </p> + <p> + Wolfe was acting as adjutant and helping the major. His regiment had + neither colonel nor lieutenant-colonel with it that day; so he had plenty + to do, riding up and down to see that all ranks understood the order that + they were not to fire till they were close to the French and were given + the word for a volley. He cast a glance at his brother, standing straight + and proudly with the regimental colours that he himself had carried past + the king at Blackheath the year before. He was not anxious about 'Ned'; he + knew how all the Wolfes could fight. He was not anxious about himself; he + was only too eager for the fray. A first battle tries every man, and few + have not dry lips, tense nerves, and beating hearts at its approach. But + the great anxiety of an officer going into action for the first time with + untried men is for them and not for himself. The agony of wondering + whether they will do well or not is worse, a thousand times, than what he + fears for his own safety. + </p> + <p> + Presently the French gunners, in the centre of their position across the + Main, lit their matches and, at a given signal, fired a salvo into the + British rear. Most of the baggage wagons were there; and, as the shot and + shell began to knock them over, the drivers were seized with a panic. + Cutting the traces, these men galloped off up the hills and into the woods + as hard as they could go. Now battery after battery began to thunder, and + the fire grew hot all round. The king had been in the rear, as he did not + wish to change the command on the eve of the battle. But, seeing the + panic, he galloped through the whole of his army to show that he was going + to fight beside his men. As he passed, and the men saw what he intended to + do, they cheered and cheered, and took heart so boldly that it was hard + work to keep them from rushing up the heights of Dettingen, where + Gramont's 30,000 Frenchmen were waiting to shoot them down. + </p> + <p> + Across the river Marshal Noailles, the French commander-in-chief, saw the + sudden stir in the British ranks, heard the roaring hurrahs, and supposed + that his enemies were going to be fairly caught against Gramont in front. + In this event he could finish their defeat himself by an overwhelming + attack in flank. Both his own and Gramont's artillery now redoubled their + fire, till the British could hardly stand it. But then, to the rage and + despair of Noailles, Gramont's men, thinking the day was theirs, suddenly + left their strong position and charged down on to the same level as the + British, who were only too pleased to meet them there. The king, seeing + what a happy turn things were taking, galloped along the front of his + army, waving his sword and calling out, 'Now, boys! Now for the honour of + England!' His horse, maddened by the din, plunged and reared, and would + have run away with him, straight in among the French, if a young officer + called Trapaud had not seized the reins. The king then dismounted and put + himself at the head of his troops, where he remained fighting, sword in + hand, till the battle was over. + </p> + <p> + Wolfe and his major rode along the line of their regiment for the last + time. There was not a minute to lose. Down came the Royal Musketeers of + France, full gallop, smash through the Scots Fusiliers and into the line + in rear, where most of them were unhorsed and killed. Next, both sides + advanced their cavalry, but without advantage to either. Then, with a + clear front once more, the main bodies of the French and British infantry + rushed together for a fight to a finish. Nearly all of Wolfe's regiment + were new to war and too excited to hold their fire. When they were within + range, and had halted for a moment to steady the ranks, they brought their + muskets down to the 'present.' The French fell flat on their faces and the + bullets whistled harmlessly over them. Then they sprang to their feet and + poured in a steady volley while the British were reloading. But the second + British volley went home. When the two enemies closed on each other with + the bayonet, like the meeting of two stormy seas, the British fought with + such fury that the French ranks were broken. Soon the long white waves + rolled back and the long red waves rolled forward. Dettingen was reached + and the desperate fight was won. + </p> + <p> + Both the boy-officers wrote home, Edward to his mother; James to his + father. Here is a part of Edward's letter: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + My brother and self escaped in the engagement and, + thank God, are as well as ever we were in our lives, + after not only being cannonaded two hours and + three-quarters, and fighting with small arms [muskets + and bayonets] two hours and one-quarter, but lay the + two following nights upon our arms; whilst it rained + for about twenty hours in the same time, yet are ready + and as capable to do the same again. The Duke of + Cumberland behaved charmingly. Our regiment has got + a great deal of honour, for we were in the middle of + the first line, and in the greatest danger. My brother + has wrote to my father and I believe has given him a + small account of the battle, so I hope you will excuse + it me. +</pre> + <p> + A manly and soldier-like letter for a boy of fifteen! Wolfe's own is much + longer and full of touches that show how cool and observant he was, even + in his first battle and at the age of only sixteen. Here is some of it: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The Gens d'Armes, or Mousquetaires Gris, attacked the + first line, composed of nine regiments of English + foot, and four or five of Austrians, and some + Hanoverians. But before they got to the second line, + out of two hundred there were not forty living. These + unhappy men were of the first families in France. + Nothing, I believe, could be more rash than their + undertaking. The third and last attack was made by + the foot on both sides. We advanced towards one another; + our men in high spirits, and very impatient for + fighting, being elated with beating the French Horse, + part of which advanced towards us; while the rest + attacked our Horse, but were soon driven back by the + great fire we gave them. The major and I (for we had + neither colonel nor lieutenant-colonel), before they + came near, were employed in begging and ordering the + men not to fire at too great a distance, but to keep + it till the enemy should come near us; but to little + purpose. The whole fired when they thought they could + reach them, which had like to have ruined us. However, + we soon rallied again, and attacked them with great + fury, which gained us a complete victory, and forced + the enemy to retire in great haste. We got the sad + news of the death of as good and brave a man as any + amongst us, General Clayton. His death gave us all + sorrow, so great was the opinion we had of him. He + had, 'tis said, orders for pursuing the enemy, and if + we had followed them, they would not have repassed + the Main with half their number. Their loss is computed + to be between six and seven thousand men, and ours + three thousand. His Majesty was in the midst of the + fight; and the duke behaved as bravely as a man could + do. I had several times the honour of speaking with + him just as the battle began and was often afraid of + his being dashed to pieces by the cannon-balls. He + gave his orders with a great deal of calmness and + seemed quite unconcerned. The soldiers were in high + delight to have him so near them. I sometimes thought + I had lost poor Ned when I saw arms, legs, and heads + beat off close by him. A horse I rid of the colonel's, + at the first attack, was shot in one of his hinder + legs and threw me; so I was obliged to do the duty of + an adjutant all that and the next day on foot, in a + pair of heavy boots. Three days after the battle I + got the horse again, and he is almost well. +</pre> + <p> + Shortly after Dettingen Wolfe was appointed adjutant and promoted to a + lieutenancy. In the next year he was made a captain in the 4th Foot while + his brother became a lieutenant in the 12th. After this they had very few + chances of meeting; and Edward, who had caught a deadly chill, died alone + in Flanders, not yet seventeen years old. Wolfe wrote home to his mother: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Poor Ned wanted nothing but the satisfaction of seeing + his dearest friends to leave the world with the greatest + tranquillity. It gives me many uneasy hours when I + reflect on the possibility there was of my being with + him before he died. God knows it was not apprehending + the danger the poor fellow was in; and even that would + not have hindered it had I received the physician's + first letter. I know you won't be able to read this + without shedding tears, as I do writing it. Though it + is the custom of the army to sell the deceased's + effects, I could not suffer it. We none of us want, + and I thought the best way would be to bestow them on + the deserving whom he had an esteem for in his lifetime. + To his servant—the most honest and faithful man I + ever knew—I gave all his clothes. I gave his horse + to his friend Parry. I know he loved Parry; and for + that reason the horse will be taken care of. His other + horse I keep myself. I have his watch, sash, gorget, + books, and maps, which I shall preserve to his memory. + He was an honest and good lad, had lived very well, + and always discharged his duty with the cheerfulness + becoming a good officer. He lived and died as a son + of you two should. There was no part of his life that + makes him dearer to me than what you so often + mentioned—<i>he pined after me</i>. +</pre> + <p> + It was this pining to follow Wolfe to the wars that cost poor Ned his + life. But did not Wolfe himself pine to follow his father? + </p> + <p> + The next year, 1745, the Young Pretender, 'Bonnie Prince Charlie,' raised + the Highland clans on behalf of his father, won several battles, and + invaded England, in the hope of putting the Hanoverian Georges off the + throne of Great Britain and regaining it for the exiled Stuarts. The Duke + of Cumberland was sent to crush him; and with the duke went Wolfe. Prince + Charlie's army retreated and was at last brought to bay on Culloden Moor, + six miles from Inverness. The Highlanders were not in good spirits after + their long retreat before the duke's army, which enjoyed an immense + advantage in having a fleet following it along the coast with plenty of + provisions, while the prince's wretched army was half starved. We may be + sure the lesson was not lost on Wolfe. Nobody understood better than he + that the fleet is the first thing to consider in every British war. And + nobody saw a better example of this than he did afterwards in Canada. + </p> + <p> + At daybreak on April 16, 1746, the Highlanders found the duke's army + marching towards Inverness, and drew up in order to prevent it. Both + armies halted, each hoping the other would make the mistake of charging. + At last, about one o'clock, the Highlanders in the centre and right could + be held back no longer. So eager were they to get at the redcoats that + most of them threw down their muskets without even firing them, and then + rushed on furiously, sword in hand. ''Twas for a time,' said Wolfe, 'a + dispute between the swords and bayonets, but the latter was found by far + the most destructable [sic] weapon.' No quarter was given or taken on + either side during an hour of desperate fighting hand to hand. By that + time the steady ranks of the redcoats, aided by the cavalry, had killed + five times as many as they had lost by the wild slashing of the claymores. + The Highlanders turned and fled. The Stuart cause was lost for ever. + </p> + <p> + Again another year of fighting: this time in Holland, where the British, + Dutch, and Austrians under the Duke of Cumberland met the French at the + village of Laffeldt, on June 21, 1747. Wolfe was now a brigade-major, + which gave him the same sort of position in a brigade of three battalions + as an adjutant has in a single one; that is, he was a smart junior officer + picked out to help the brigadier in command by seeing that orders were + obeyed. The fight was furious. As fast as the British infantry drove back + one French brigade another came forward and drove the British back. The + village was taken and lost, lost and taken, over and over again. Wolfe, + though wounded, kept up the fight. At last a new French brigade charged in + and swept the British out altogether. Then the duke ordered the Dutch and + Austrians to advance: But the Dutch cavalry, right in the centre, were + seized with a sudden panic and galloped back, knocking over their own men + on the way, and making a gap that certainly looked fatal. But the right + man was ready to fill it. This was Sir John Ligonier, afterwards + commander-in-chief of the British Army at the time of Wolfe's campaigns in + Canada. He led the few British and Austrian cavalry, among them the famous + Scots Greys, straight into the gap and on against the dense masses of the + French beyond. These gallant horsemen were doomed; and of course they knew + it when they dashed themselves to death against such overwhelming odds. + But they gained the few precious moments that were needed. The gap closed + up behind them; and the army was saved, though they were lost. + </p> + <p> + During the day Wolfe was several times in great danger. He was thanked by + the duke in person for the splendid way in which he had done his duty. The + royal favour, however, did not make him forget the gallant conduct of his + faithful servant, Roland: 'He came to me at the hazard of his life with + offers of his service, took off my cloak and brought a fresh horse; and + would have continued close by me had I not ordered him to retire. I + believe he was slightly wounded just at that time. Many a time has he + pitched my tent and made the bed ready to receive me, half-dead with + fatigue.' Nor did Wolfe forget his dumb friends: 'I have sold my poor + little gray mare. I lamed her by accident, and thought it better to + dismiss her the service immediately. I grieved at parting with so faithful + a servant, and have the comfort to know she is in good hands, will be very + well fed, and taken care of in her latter days.' + </p> + <p> + After recovering from a slight wound received at Laffeldt Wolfe was + allowed to return to England, where he remained for the winter. On the + morrow of New Year's Day, 1748, he celebrated his coming of age at his + father's town house in Old Burlington Street, London. In the spring, + however, he was ordered to rejoin the army, and was stationed with the + troops who were guarding the Dutch frontier. The war came to an end in the + same year, and Wolfe went home. Though then only twenty-one, he was + already an experienced soldier, a rising officer, and a marked man. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III — THE SEVEN YEARS' PEACE, 1748-1755 + </h2> + <p> + Wolfe was made welcome in England wherever he went. In spite of his youth + his name was well known to the chief men in the Army, and he was already a + hero among the friends of his family. By nature he was fond of the society + of ladies, and of course he fell in love. He had had a few flirtations + before, like most other soldiers; but this time the case was serious. The + difference was the same as between a sham fight and a battle. His choice + fell on Elizabeth Lawson, a maid of honour to the Princess of Wales. The + oftener he saw her the more he fell in love with her. But the course of + true love did not, as we shall presently see, run any more smoothly for + him than it has for many another famous man. + </p> + <p> + In 1749, when Wolfe was only twenty-two, he was promoted major of the 20th + Regiment of Foot. He joined it in Scotland, where he was to serve for the + next few years. At first he was not very happy in Glasgow. He did not like + the people, as they were very different from the friends with whom he had + grown up. Yet his loneliness only added to his zeal for study. He had left + school when still very young, and he now found himself ignorant of much + that he wished to know. As a man of the world he had found plenty of gaps + in his general knowledge. Writing to his friend Captain Rickson, he says: + 'When a man leaves his studies at fifteen, he will never be justly called + a man of letters. I am endeavouring to repair the damages of my education, + and have a person to teach me Latin and mathematics.' From his experience + in his own profession, also, he had learned a good deal. In a letter to + his father he points out what excellent chances soldiers have to see the + vivid side of many things: 'That variety incident to a military life gives + our profession some advantages over those of a more even nature. We have + all our passions and affections aroused and exercised, many of which must + have wanted their proper employment had not suitable occasions obliged us + to exert them. Few men know their own courage till danger proves them, or + how far the love of honour or dread of shame are superior to the love of + life. This is a knowledge to be best acquired in an army; our actions are + there in presence of the world, to be fully censured or approved.' + </p> + <p> + Great commanders are always keen to learn everything really worth while. + It is only the little men who find it a bore. Of course, there are plenty + of little men in a regiment, as there are everywhere else in the world; + and some of the officers were afraid Wolfe would insist on their doing as + he did. But he never preached. He only set the example, and those who had + the sense could follow it. One of his captains wrote home: 'Our acting + colonel here is a paragon. He neither drinks, curses, nor gambles. So we + make him our pattern.' After a year with him the officers found him a + 'jolly good fellow' as well as a pattern; and when he became their + lieutenant-colonel at twenty-three they gave him a dinner that showed he + was a prime favourite among them. He was certainly quite as popular with + the men. Indeed, he soon became known by a name which speaks for itself—'the + soldier's' friend.' + </p> + <p> + By and by Wolfe's regiment marched into the Highlands, where he had fought + against Prince Charlie in the '45. But he kept in touch with what was + going on in the world outside. He wrote to Rickson at Halifax, to find out + for him all he could about the French and British colonies in America. In + the same letter, written in 1751, he said he should like to see some + Highland soldiers raised for the king's army and sent out there to fight. + Eight years later he was to have a Highland regiment among his own army at + Quebec. Other themes filled the letters to his mother. Perhaps he was + thinking of Miss Lawson when he wrote: 'I have a certain turn of mind that + favours matrimony prodigiously. I love children. Two or three manly sons + are a present to the world, and the father that offers them sees with + satisfaction that he is to live in his successors.' He was thinking more + gravely of a still higher thing when he wrote on his twenty-fifth + birthday, January 2, 1752, to reassure his mother about the strength of + his religion. + </p> + <p> + Later on in the year, having secured leave of absence, he wrote to his + mother in the best of spirits. He asked her to look after all the little + things he wished to have done. 'Mr Pattison sends a pointer to Blackheath; + if you will order him to be tied up in your stable, it will oblige me + much. If you hear of a servant who can dress a wig it will be a favour + done me to engage him. I have another favour to beg of you and you'll + think it an odd one: 'tis to order some currant jelly to be made in a + crock for my use. It is the custom in Scotland to eat it in the morning + with bread.' Then he proposed to have a shooting-lodge in the Highlands, + long before any other Englishman seems to have thought of what is now so + common. 'You know what a whimsical sort of person I am. Nothing pleases me + now but hunting, shooting, and fishing. I have distant notions of taking a + very little house, remote upon the edge of the forest, merely for sport.' + </p> + <p> + In July he left the Highlands, which were then, in some ways, as wild as + Labrador is now. About this time there was a map made by a Frenchman in + Paris which gave all the chief places in the Lowlands quite rightly, but + left the north of Scotland blank, with the words 'Unknown land here, + inhabited by the "Iglandaires"!' When his leave began Wolfe went first to + Dublin—'dear, dirty Dublin,' as it used to be called—where his + uncle, Major Walter Wolfe, was living. He wrote to his father: 'The + streets are crowded with people of a large size and well limbed, and the + women very handsome. They have clearer skins, and fairer complexions than + the women in England or Scotland, and are exceeding straight and well + made'; which shows that he had the proper soldier's eye for every pretty + girl. Then he went to London and visited his parents in their new house at + the corner of Greenwich Park, which stands to-day very much the same as it + was then. But, wishing to travel, he succeeded, after a great deal of + trouble, in getting leave to go to Paris. Lord Bury was a friend of his, + and Lord Bury's father, the Earl of Albemarle, was the British ambassador + there. So he had a good chance of seeing the best of everything. Perhaps + it would be almost as true to say that he had as good a chance of seeing + the worst of everything. For there were a great many corrupt and + corrupting men and women at the French court. There was also much misery + in France, and both the corruption and the misery were soon to trouble New + France, as Canada was then called, even more than they troubled Old France + at home. + </p> + <p> + Wolfe wished to travel about freely, to see the French armies at work, and + then to go on to Prussia to see how Frederick the Great managed his + perfectly disciplined army. This would have been an excellent thing to do. + But it was then a very new thing for an officer to ask leave to study + foreign armies. Moreover, the chief men in the British Army did not like + the idea of letting such a good colonel go away from his regiment for a + year, even though he was going with the object of making himself a still + better officer. Perhaps, too, his friends were just a little afraid that + he might join the Prussians or the Austrians; for it was not, in those + days, a very strange thing to join the army of a friendly foreign country. + Whatever the reason, the long leave was refused and he went no farther + than Paris. + </p> + <p> + Louis XV was then at the height of his apparent greatness; and France was + a great country, as it is still. But king and government were both + corrupt. Wolfe saw this well enough and remembered it when the next war + broke out. There was a brilliant society in 'the capital of civilization,' + as the people of Paris proudly called their city; and there was a great + deal to see. Nor was all of it bad. He wrote home two days after his + arrival. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The packet [ferry] did not sail that night, but we + embarked at half-an-hour after six in the morning and + got into Calais at ten. I never suffered so much in + so short a time at sea. The people [in Paris] seem to + be very sprightly. The buildings are very magnificent, + far surpassing any we have in London. Mr Selwin has + recommended a French master to me, and in a few days + I begin to ride in the Academy, but must dance and + fence in my own lodgings. Lord Albemarle [the British + ambassador] is come from Fontainebleau. I have very + good reason to be pleased with the reception I met + with. The best amusement for strangers in Paris is + the Opera, and the next is the playhouse. The theatre + is a school to acquire the French language, for which + reason I frequent it more than the other. +</pre> + <p> + In Paris he met young Philip Stanhope, the boy to whom the Earl of + Chesterfield wrote his celebrated letters; 'but,' says Wolfe, 'I fancy he + is infinitely inferior to his father.' Keeping fit, as we call it + nowadays, seems to have been Wolfe's first object. He took the same care + of himself as the Japanese officers did in the Russo-Japanese War; and for + the same reason, that he might be the better able to serve his country + well the next time she needed him. Writing to his mother he says: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + I am up every morning at or before seven and fully + employed till twelve. Then I dress and visit, and dine + at two. At five most people go to the public + entertainments, which keep you till nine; and at eleven + I am always in bed. This way of living is directly + opposite to the practice of the place. But no + constitution could go through all. Four or five days + in the week I am up six hours before any other fine + gentleman in Paris. I ride, fence, dance, and have a + master to teach me French. I succeed much better in + fencing and riding than in the art of dancing, for + they suit my genius better; and I improve a little in + French. I have no great acquaintance with the French + women, nor am likely to have. It is almost impossible + to introduce one's self among them without losing a + great deal of money, which you know I can't afford; + besides, these entertainments begin at the time I go + to bed, and I have not health enough to sit up all + night and work all day. The people here use umbrellas + to defend them from the sun, and something of the same + kind to secure them from the rain and snow. I wonder + a practice so useful is not introduced into England. +</pre> + <p> + While in Paris Wolfe was asked if he would care to be military tutor to + the Duke of Richmond, or, if not, whether he knew of any good officer whom + he could recommend. On this he named Guy Carleton, who became the young + duke's tutor. Three men afterwards well known in Canada were thus brought + together long before any of them became celebrated. The Duke of Richmond + went into Wolfe's regiment. The next duke became a governor-general of + Canada, as Guy Carleton had been before him. And Wolfe—well, he was + Wolfe! + </p> + <p> + One day he was presented to King Louis, from whom, seven years later; he + was to wrest Quebec. 'They were all very gracious as far as courtesies, + bows, and smiles go, for the Bourbons seldom speak to anybody.' Then he + was presented to the clever Marquise de Pompadour, whom he found having + her hair done up in the way which is still known by her name to every + woman in the world. It was the regular custom of that time for great + ladies to receive their friends while the barbers were at work on their + hair. 'She is extremely handsome and, by her conversation with the + ambassador, I judge she must have a great deal of wit and understanding.' + But it was her court intrigues and her shameless waste of money that + helped to ruin France and Canada. + </p> + <p> + In the midst of all these gaieties Wolfe never forgot the mother whom he + thought 'a match for all the beauties.' He sent her 'two black laced hoods + and a <i>vestale</i> for the neck, such as the Queen of France wears.' Nor + did he forget the much humbler people who looked upon him as 'the + soldier's friend.' He tells his mother that his letters from Scotland have + just arrived, and that 'the women of the regiment take it into their heads + to write to me sometimes.' Here is one of their letters, marked on the + outside, 'The Petition of Anne White': + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Collonnell,—Being a True Noble-hearted Pittyful + gentleman and Officer your Worship will excuse these + few Lines concerning ye husband of ye undersigned, + Sergt. White, who not from his own fault is not behaving + as Hee should towards me and his family, although good + and faithfull till the middle of November last. +</pre> + <p> + We may be sure 'Sergt. White' had to behave 'as Hee should' when Wolfe + returned! + </p> + <p> + In April, to his intense disgust, Wolfe was again in Glasgow. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + We are all sick, officers and soldiers. In two days + we lost the skin off our faces with the sun, and the + third were shivering in great coats. My cousin Goldsmith + has sent me the finest young pointer that ever was + seen; he eclipses Workie, and outdoes all. He sent me + a fishing-rod and wheel at the same time, of his own + workmanship. This, with a salmon-rod from my uncle + Wat, your flies, and my own guns, put me in a condition + to undertake the Highland sport. We have plays, we + have concerts, we have balls, with dinners and suppers + of the most execrable food upon earth, and wine that + approaches to poison. The men of Glasgow drink till + they are excessively drunk. The ladies are cold to + everything but a bagpipe—I wrong them—there is not + one that does not melt away at the sound of money.' +</pre> + <p> + By the end of this year, however, he had left Scotland for good. He did + not like the country as he saw it. But the times were greatly against his + doing so. Glasgow was not at all a pleasant place in those narrowly + provincial days for any one who had seen much of the world. The Highlands + were as bad. They were full of angry Jacobites, who could never forgive + the redcoats for defeating Prince Charlie. Yet Wolfe was not against the + Scots as a whole; and we must never forget that he was the first to + recommend the raising of those Highland regiments which have fought so + nobly in every British war since the mighty one in which he fell. + </p> + <p> + During the next year and part of the year following, 1754-55, Wolfe was at + Exeter, where the entertainments seem to have been more to his taste than + those at Glasgow. A lady who knew him well at this time wrote: 'He was + generally ambitious to gain a tall, graceful woman to be his partner, as + well as a good dancer. He seemed emulous to display every kind of virtue + and gallantry that would render him amiable.' + </p> + <p> + In 1755 the Seven Years' Peace was coming to an end in Europe. The shadow + of the Seven Years' War was already falling darkly across the prospect in + America. Though Wolfe did not leave for the front till 1757, he was + constantly receiving orders to be ready, first for one place and then for + another. So early as February 18, 1755, he wrote to his mother what he + then thought might be a farewell letter. It is full of the great war; but + personal affairs of the deeper kind were by no means forgotten. 'The + success of our fleet in the beginning of the war is of the utmost + importance.' 'It will be sufficient comfort to you both to reflect that + the Power which has hitherto preserved me may, if it be His pleasure, + continue to do so. If not, it is but a few days more or less, and those + who perish in their duty and the service of their country die honourably.' + </p> + <p> + The end of this letter is in a lighter vein. But it is no less + characteristic: it is all about his dogs. 'You are to have Flurry instead + of Romp. The two puppies I must desire you to keep a little longer. I + can't part with either of them, but must find good and secure quarters for + them as well as for my friend Caesar, who has great merit and much good + humour. I have given Sancho to Lord Howe, so that I am reduced to two + spaniels and one pointer.' It is strange that in the many books about dogs + which mention the great men who have been fond of them—and most + great men are fond of dogs—not one says a word about Wolfe. Yet 'my + friend Caesar, who has great merit and much good humour,' deserves to be + remembered with his kind master just as much, in his way, as that other + Caesar, the friend of Edward VII, who followed his master to the grave + among the kings and princes of a mourning world. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV — THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR, 1756-1763 + </h2> + <p> + Wolfe's Quebec campaign marked the supreme crisis of the greatest war the + British Empire ever waged: the war, indeed, that made the Empire. To get a + good, clear view of anything so vast, so complex, and so glorious, we must + first look at the whole course of British history to see how it was that + France and England ever became such deadly rivals. It is quite wrong to + suppose that the French and British were always enemies, though they have + often been called 'historic' and 'hereditary' foes, as if they never could + make friends at all. As a matter of fact, they have had many more + centuries of peace than of war; and ever since the battle of Waterloo, in + 1815, they have been growing friendlier year by year. But this happy state + of affairs is chiefly because, as we now say, their 'vital interests no + longer clash'; that is, they do not both desire the same thing so keenly + that they have to fight for it. + </p> + <p> + Their vital interests do not clash now. But they did clash twice in the + course of their history. The first time was when both governments wished + to rule the same parts of the land of France. The second time was when + they both wished to rule the same parts of the oversea world. Each time + there was a long series of wars, which went on inevitably until one side + had completely driven its rival from the field. + </p> + <p> + The first long series of wars took place chiefly in the fourteenth century + and is known to history as the Hundred Years' War. England held, and was + determined to hold, certain parts of France. France was determined never + to rest till she had won them for herself. Whatever other things the two + nations were supposed to be fighting about, this was always the one cause + of strife that never changed and never could change till one side or other + had definitely triumphed. France won. There were glorious English + victories at Cressy and Agincourt. Edward III and Henry V were two of the + greatest soldiers of any age. But, though the English often won the + battles, the French won the war. The French had many more men, they fought + near their own homes, and, most important of all, the war was waged + chiefly on land. The English had fewer men, they fought far away from + their homes, and their ships could not help them much in the middle of the + land, except by bringing over soldiers and food to the nearest coast. The + end of it all was that the English armies were worn out; and the French + armies, always able to raise more and more fresh men, drove them, step by + step, out of the land completely. + </p> + <p> + The second long series of wars took place chiefly in the eighteenth + century. These wars have never been given one general name; but they + should be called the Second Hundred Years' War, because that is what they + really were. They were very different from the wars that made up the first + Hundred Years' War, because this time the fight was for oversea dominions, + not for land in Europe. Of course navies had a good deal to do with the + first Hundred Years' War and armies with the second. But the navies were + even more important in the second than the armies in the first. The Second + Hundred Years' War, the one in which Wolfe did such a mighty deed, began + with the fall of the Stuart kings of England in 1688 and went on till the + battle of Waterloo in 1815. But the beginning and end that meant most to + the Empire were the naval battles of La Hogue in 1692 and Trafalgar in + 1805. Since Trafalgar the Empire has been able to keep what it had won + before, and to go on growing as well, because all its different parts are + joined together by the sea, and because the British Navy has been, from + that day to this, stronger than any other navy in the world. + </p> + <p> + How the French and British armies and navies fought on opposite sides, + either alone or with allies, all over the world, from time to time, for + these hundred and twenty-seven years; how all the eight wars with + different names formed one long Second Hundred Years' War; and how the + British Navy was the principal force that won the whole of this war, made + the Empire, and gave Canada safety then, as it gives her safety now—all + this is much too long a story to tell here. But the gist of it may be told + in a very few words, at least in so far as it concerns the winning of + Canada and the deeds of Wolfe. + </p> + <p> + The name 'Greater Britain' is often used to describe all the parts of the + British Empire which lie outside of the old mother country. This 'Greater + Britain' is now so vast and well established that we are apt to forget + those other empires beyond the seas which, each in its own day, surpassed + the British Empire of the same period. There was a Greater Portugal, a + Greater Spain, a Greater Holland, and a Greater France. France and Holland + still have large oversea possessions; and a whole new-world continent + still speaks the languages of Spain and Portugal. But none of them has + kept a growing empire oversea as their British rival has. What made the + difference? The two things that made all the difference in the world were + freedom and sea-power. We cannot stop to discuss freedom, because that is + more the affair of statesmen; but, at the same time, we must not forget + that the side on which Wolfe fought was the side of freedom. The point for + us to notice here is that all the freedom and all the statesmen and all + the soldiers put together could never have made a Greater Britain, + especially against all those other rivals, unless Wolfe's side had also + been the side of sea-power. + </p> + <p> + Now, sea-power means more than fighting power at sea; it means trading + power as well. But a nation cannot trade across the sea against its rivals + if its own ships are captured and theirs are not. And long before the + Second Hundred Years' War with France the other sea-trading empires had + been gradually giving way, because in time of war their ships were always + in greater danger than those of the British were. After the English Navy + had defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588 the Spaniards began, slowly but + surely, to lose their chance of making a permanent Greater Spain. After + the great Dutch War, when Blake defeated Van Tromp in 1653, there was no + further chance of a permanent Greater Holland. And, even before the Dutch + War and the Armada, the Portuguese, who had once ruled the Indian Ocean + and who had conquered Brazil, were themselves conquered by Spain and shut + out from all chance of establishing a Greater Portugal. + </p> + <p> + So the one supreme point to be decided by the Second Hundred Years' War + lay between only two rivals, France and Britain. Was there to be a Greater + France or a Greater Britain across the seas? The answer depended on the + rival navies. Of course, it involved many other elements of national and + Imperial power on both sides. But no other elements of power could have + possibly prevailed against a hostile and triumphant navy. + </p> + <p> + Everything that went to make a Greater France or a Greater Britain had to + cross the sea—men, women, and children, horses and cattle, all the + various appliances a civilized people must take with them when they settle + in a new country. Every time there was war there were battles at sea, and + these battles were nearly always won by the British. Every British victory + at sea made it harder for French trade, because every ship between France + and Greater France ran more risk o being taken, while every ship between + Britain and Greater Britain stood a better chance of getting safely + through. This affected everything on both competing sides in America. + British business went on. French business almost stopped dead. Even the + trade with the Indians living a thousand miles inland was changed in + favour of the British and against the French, as all the guns and knives + and beads and everything else that the white man offered to the Indian in + exchange for his furs had to come across the sea, which was just like an + enemy's country to every French ship, but just like her own to every + British one. Thus the victors at sea grew continually stronger in America, + while the losers grew correspondingly weaker. When peace came, the French + only had time enough to build new ships and start their trade again before + the next war set them back once more; while the British had nearly all + their old ships, all those they had taken from the French, and many new + ones. + </p> + <p> + But where did Wolfe come in? He came in at the most important time and + place of all, and he did the most important single deed of all. This + brings us to the consideration of how the whole of the Second Hundred + Years' War was won, not by the British Navy alone, much less by the Army + alone, but by the united service of both, fighting like the two arms of + one body, the Navy being the right arm and the Army the left. The heart of + this whole Second Hundred Years' War was the Seven Years' War; the British + part of the Seven Years' War was then called the 'Maritime War'; and the + heart of the 'Maritime War' was the winning of Canada, in which the + decisive blow was dealt by Wolfe. + </p> + <p> + We shall see presently how Navy and Army worked together as a united + service in 'joint expeditions' by sea and land, how Wolfe took part in two + other joint expeditions before he commanded the land force of the one at + Quebec, and how the mighty empire-making statesman, William Pitt, won the + day for Britain and for Greater Britain, with Lord Anson at the head of + the Navy to help him, and Saunders in command at the front. It was thus + that the age-long vexed question of a Greater France or a Greater Britain + in America was finally decided by the sword. The conquering sword was that + of the British Empire as a whole. But the hand that wielded it was Pitt; + the hilt was Anson, the blade was Saunders, and the point was Wolfe. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V — LOUISBOURG, 1758 + </h2> + <p> + In 1755 Wolfe was already writing what he thought were farewell letters + before going off to the war. And that very year the war, though not + formally declared till the next, actually did break out in America, where + a British army under Braddock, with Washington as his aide-de-camp, was + beaten in Ohio by the French and Indians. Next year the French, owing to + the failure of Admiral Byng and the British fleet to assist the garrison, + were able to capture Minorca in the Mediterranean; while their new general + in Canada, Montcalm, Wolfe's great opponent, took Oswego. The triumph of + the French fleet at Minorca made the British people furious. Byng was + court-martialled, found guilty of failure to do his utmost to save + Minorca, and condemned to death. In spite of Pitt's efforts to save him, + the sentence was carried out and he was shot on the quarter-deck of his + own flagship. Two other admirals, Hawke and Saunders, both of whom were + soon to see service with Wolfe, were then sent out as a 'cargo of courage' + to retrieve the British position at sea. By this time preparations were + being hurried forward on every hand. Fleets were fitting out. Armies were + mustering. And, best of all, Pitt was just beginning to make his influence + felt. + </p> + <p> + In 1757, the third year of war, things still went badly for the British at + the front. In America Montcalm took Fort William Henry, and a British + fleet and army failed to accomplish anything against Louisbourg. In Europe + another British fleet and army were fitted out to go on another joint + expedition, this time against Rochefort, a great seaport in the west of + France. The senior staff officer, next to the three generals in command, + was Wolfe, now thirty years of age. The admiral in charge of the fleet was + Hawke, as famous a fighter as Wolfe himself. A little later, when both + these great men were known throughout the whole United Service, as well as + among the millions in Britain and in Greater Britain, their names were + coupled in countless punning toasts, and patriots from Canada to Calcutta + would stand up to drink a health to 'the eye of a Hawke and the heart of a + Wolfe.' But Wolfe was not a general yet; and the three pottering old men + who were generals at Rochefort could not make up their minds to do + anything but talk. These generals had been ordered to take Rochefort by + complete surprise. But after spending five days in front of it, so that + every Frenchman could see what they had come for, they decided to + countermand the attack and sail home. + </p> + <p> + Wolfe was a very angry and disgusted man. Yet, though this joint + expedition was a disgraceful failure, he had learned some useful lessons, + which he was presently to turn to good account. He saw, at least, what + such expeditions should not attempt; and that a general should act boldly, + though wisely, with the fleet. More than this, he had himself made a plan + which his generals were too timid to carry out; and this plan was so good + that Pitt, now in supreme control for the next four years, made a note of + it and marked him down for promotion and command. + </p> + <p> + Both came sooner than any one could have expected. Pitt was sick of fleets + and armies that did nothing but hold councils of war and then come back to + say that the enemy could not be safely attacked. He made up his mind to + send out real fighters with the next joint expedition. So in 1758 he + appointed Wolfe as the junior of the three brigadier-generals under + Amherst, who was to join Admiral Boscawen—nicknamed 'Old + Dreadnought'—in a great expedition meant to take Louisbourg for good + and all. + </p> + <p> + Louisbourg was the greatest fortress in America. It was in the extreme + east of Canada, on the island of Cape Breton, near the best + fishing-grounds, and on the flank of the ship channel into the St + Lawrence. A fortress there, in which French fleets could shelter safely, + was like a shield for New France and a sword against New England. In 1745, + just before the outbreak of the Jacobite rebellion in Scotland, an army of + New Englanders under Sir William Pepperrell, with the assistance of + Commodore Warren's fleet, had taken this fortress. But at the peace of + Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, when Wolfe had just come of age, it was given + back to France. + </p> + <p> + Ten years later, when Wolfe went out to join the second army that was sent + against it, the situation was extremely critical. Both French and British + strained every nerve, the one to hold, the other to take, the greatest + fortress in America. A French fleet sailed from Brest in the spring and + arrived safely. But it was not nearly strong enough to attempt a sea-fight + off Louisbourg, and three smaller fleets that were meant to join it were + all smashed up off the coast of France by the British, who thus knew, + before beginning the siege, that Louisbourg could hardly expect any help + from outside. Hawke was one of the British smashers this year. The next + year he smashed up a much greater force in Quiberon Bay, and so made 'the + eye of a Hawke and the heart of a Wolfe' work together again, though they + were thousands of miles apart and one directed a fleet while the other + inspired an army. + </p> + <p> + The fortress of Louisbourg was built beside a fine harbour with an + entrance still further defended by a fortified island. It was garrisoned + by about four thousand four hundred soldiers. Some of these were hired + Germans, who cared nothing for the French; and the French-Canadian and + Indian irregulars were not of much use at a regular siege. The British + admiral Boscawen had a large fleet, and General Amherst an army twelve + thousand strong. Taking everything into account, by land and sea, the + British united service at the siege was quite three times as strong as the + French united service. But the French ships, manned by three thousand + sailors, were in a good harbour, and they and the soldiers were defended + by thick walls with many guns. Besides, the whole defence was conducted by + Drucour, as gallant a leader as ever drew sword. + </p> + <p> + Boscawen was chosen by Pitt for the same reason as Wolfe had been, because + he was a fighter. He earned his nickname of 'Old Dreadnought' from the + answer he made one night in the English Channel when the officer of the + watch called him to say that two big French ships were bearing down on his + single British one. 'What are we to do, sir?' asked the officer. 'Do?' + shouted Boscawen, springing out of his berth, 'Do?—Why, damn 'em, + fight 'em, of course!' And they did. Amherst was the slow-and-sure kind of + general; but he had the sense to know a good man when he saw one, and to + give Wolfe the chance of trying his own quick-and-sure way instead. + </p> + <p> + A portion of the British fleet under Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Hardy had + been cruising off Louisbourg for some time before Boscawen's squadron hove + in sight on June 2. This squadron was followed by more than twice its own + number of ships carrying the army. All together, there were a hundred and + fifty-seven British vessels, besides Hardy's covering squadron. Of course, + the men could not be landed under the fire of the fortress. But two miles + south of it, and running westward from it for many miles more, was Gabarus + Bay with an open beach. For several days the Atlantic waves dashed against + the shore so furiously that no boat could live through their breakers. But + on the eighth the three brigades of infantry made for three different + points, [Footnote: White Point, Flat Point, and Kennington Cove. See the + accompanying Map of the siege.] respectively two, three, and four miles + from the fortress. The French sent out half the garrison to shoot down the + first boatloads that came in on the rollers. To cover the landing, some of + Boscawen's ships moved in as close as they could and threw shells inshore: + but without dislodging the enemy. + </p> + <p> + Each of the three brigades had its own flag—one red, another blue, + and the third white. Wolfe's brigade was the red, the one farthest west + from Louisbourg, and Wolfe's did the fighting. While the boats rose and + fell on the gigantic rollers and the enemy's cannon roared and the waves + broke in thunder on the beach, Wolfe was standing up in the stern-sheets, + scanning every inch of the ground to see if there was no place where a few + men could get a footing and keep it till the rest had landed. He had + first-rate soldiers with him: grenadiers, Highlanders, and light infantry. + </p> + <p> + The boats were now close in, and the French were firing cannon and muskets + into them right and left. One cannon-ball whizzed across Wolfe's own boat + and smashed his flagstaff to splinters. Just then three young light + infantry officers saw a high ledge of rocks, under shelter of which a few + men could form up. Wolfe, directing every movement with his cane, like + Gordon in China a century later, shouted to the others to follow them; and + then, amid the crash of artillery and the wild welter of the surf, though + many boats were smashed and others upset, though some men were shot and + others drowned, the landing was securely made. 'Who were the first + ashore?' asked Wolfe, as the men were forming up under the ledge. Two + Highlanders were pointed out. 'Good fellows!' he said, as he went up to + them and handed each a guinea. + </p> + <p> + While the ranks were forming on the beach, the French were firing into + them and men were dropping fast. But every gap was closed as soon as it + was made. Directly Wolfe saw he had enough men he sprang to the front; + whereupon they all charged after him, straight at the batteries on the + crest of the rising shore. Here there was some wild work for a minute or + two, with swords, bayonets, and muskets all hard at it. But the French now + saw, to their dismay, that thousands of other redcoats were clambering + ashore, nearer in to Louisbourg, and that these men would cut them off if + they waited a moment longer. So they turned and ran, hotly pursued, till + they were safe in under the guns of the fortress. A deluge of shot and + shell immediately belched forth against the pursuing British, who wisely + halted just out of range. + </p> + <p> + After this exciting commencement Amherst's guns, shot, shell, powder, + stores, food, tents, and a thousand other things had all to be landed on + the surf-lashed, open beach. It was the sailors' stupendous task to haul + the whole of this cumbrous material up to the camp. The bluejackets, + however, were not the only ones to take part in the work, for the ships' + women also turned to, with the best of a gallant goodwill. In a few days + all the material was landed; and Amherst, having formed his camp, sat down + to conduct the siege. + </p> + <p> + Louisbourg harbour faces east, runs in westward nearly a mile, and is over + two miles from north to south. The north and south points, however, on + either side of its entrance, are only a mile apart. On the south point + stood the fortress; on the north the lighthouse; and between were several + islands, rocks, and bars that narrowed the entrance for ships to only + three cables, or a little more than six hundred yards. Wolfe saw that the + north point, where the lighthouse stood, was undefended, and might be + seized and used as a British battery to smash up the French batteries on + Goat Island at the harbour mouth. Acting on this idea, he marched with + twelve hundred men across the stretch of country between the British camp + and the lighthouse. The fleet brought round his guns and stores and all + other necessaries by sea. A tremendous bombardment then silenced every + French gun on Goat Island. This left the French nothing for their defence + but the walls of Louisbourg itself. + </p> + <p> + Both French and British soon realized that the fall of Louisbourg was only + a question of time. But time was everything to both. The British were + anxious to take Louisbourg and then sail up to Quebec and take it by a + sudden attack while Montcalm was engaged in fighting Abercromby's army on + Lake Champlain. The French, of course, were anxious to hold out long + enough to prevent this; and Drucour, their commandant at Louisbourg, was + just the man for their purpose. His wife, too, was as brave as he. She + used to go round the batteries cheering up the gunners, and paying no more + attention to the British shot and shell than if they had been only + fireworks. On June 18, just before Wolfe's lighthouse batteries were ready + to open fire, Madame Drucour set sail in the venturesome <i>Echo</i>, a + little French man-of-war that was making a dash for it, in the hope of + carrying the news to Quebec. But after a gallant fight the <i>Echo</i> had + to haul down her colours to the <i>Juno</i> and the <i>Sutherland</i>. We + shall hear more of the <i>Sutherland</i> at the supreme moment of Wolfe's + career. + </p> + <p> + Nothing French, not even a single man, could now get into or out of + Louisbourg. But Drucour still kept the flag up, and sent out parties at + night to harass his assailants. One of these surprised a British post, + killed Lord Dundonald who commanded it, and retired safely after being + almost cut off by British reinforcements. Though Wolfe had silenced the + island batteries and left the entrance open enough for Boscawen to sail + in, the admiral hesitated because he thought he might lose too many ships + by risking it. Then the French promptly sank some of their own ships at + the entrance to keep him out. But six hundred British sailors rowed in at + night and boarded and took the only two ships remaining afloat. The others + had been blown up a month before by British shells fired by naval gunners + from Amherst's batteries. Drucour was now in a terrible, plight. Not a + ship was left. He was completely cut off by land and sea. Many of his + garrison were dead, many more were lying sick or wounded. His foreigners + were ready for desertion. His French Canadians had grown down-hearted. All + the non-combatants wished him to surrender at once. What else could he do + but give in? On July 27 he hauled down the fleurs-de-lis from the great + fortress. But he had gained his secondary object; for it was now much too + late in the year for the same British force to begin a new campaign + against Quebec. + </p> + <p> + Wolfe, like Nelson and Napoleon, was never content to 'let well enough + alone,' if anything better could possibly be done. When the news came of + Montcalm's great victory over Abercromby at Ticonderoga, he told Amherst + he was ready to march inland at once with reinforcements. And after + Louisbourg had surrendered and Boscawen had said it was too late to start + for Quebec, he again volunteered to do any further service that Amherst + required. The service he was sent on was the soldier's most disgusting + duty; but he did it thoroughly, though he would have preferred anything + else. He went with Hardy's squadron to destroy the French settlements + along the Gulf of St Lawrence, so as to cut off their supplies from the + French in Quebec before the next campaign. + </p> + <p> + After Rochefort Wolfe had become a marked man. After Louisbourg he became + an Imperial hero. The only other the Army had yet produced in this war was + Lord Howe, who had been killed in a skirmish just before Ticonderoga. + Wolfe knew Howe well, admired him exceedingly, and called him 'the noblest + Englishman that has appeared in my time, and the best soldier in the + army.' He would have served under him gladly. But Howe—young, + ardent, gallant, yet profound—was dead; and the hopes of discerning + judges were centred on Wolfe. The war had not been going well, and this + victory at Louisbourg was the first that the British people could really + rejoice over with all their heart. + </p> + <p> + The British colonies went wild with delight. Halifax had a state ball, at + which Wolfe danced to his heart's content; while his unofficial partners + thought themselves the luckiest girls in all America to be asked by the + hero of Louisbourg. Boston and Philadelphia had large bonfires and many + fireworks. The chief people of New York attended a gala dinner. Every + church had special thanksgivings. + </p> + <p> + In England the excitement was just as great, and Wolfe's name and fame + flew from lip to lip all over the country. Parliament passed special votes + of thanks. Medals were struck to celebrate the event. The king stood on + his palace steps to receive the captured colours, which were carried + through London in triumph by the Guards and the Household Brigade. And + Pitt, the greatest—and, in a certain sense, the only—British + statesman who has ever managed people, parliament, government, navy, and + army, all together, in a world-wide Imperial war—Pitt, the + eagle-eyed and lion-hearted, at once marked Wolfe down again for higher + promotion and, this time, for the command of an army of his own. And ever + since the Empire Year of 1759 the world has known that Pitt was right. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI — QUEBEC, 1759 + </h2> + <p> + In October 1758 Wolfe sailed from Halifax for England with Boscawen and + very nearly saw a naval battle off Land's End with the French fleet + returning to France from Quebec. The enemy, however, slipped away in the + dark. On November 1 he landed at Portsmouth. He had been made full colonel + of a new regiment, the 67th Foot (Hampshires), and before going home to + London he set off to see it at Salisbury. [Footnote: Ten years later a + Russian general saw this regiment at Minorca and was loud in his praise of + its all-round excellence, when Wolfe's successor in the colonelcy, Sir + James Campbell, at once said: 'The only merit due to me is the strictness + with which I have followed the system introduced by the hero of Quebec.'] + Wolfe's old regiment, the 20th (Lancashire Fusiliers), was now in Germany, + fighting under the command of Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, and was soon + to win more laurels at Minden, the first of the three great British + victories of 1759—Minden, Quebec, and Quiberon. + </p> + <p> + Though far from well, Wolfe was as keen as ever about anything that could + possibly make him fit for command. He picked out the best officers with a + sure eye: generals and colonels, like Carleton; captains; like Delaune, a + man made for the campaigns in Canada, who, as we shall see later, led the + 'Forlorn Hope' up the Heights of Abraham. Wolfe had also noted in a third + member of the great Howe family a born leader of light infantry for + Quebec. Wolfe was very strong on light infantry, and trained them to make + sudden dashes with a very short but sharp surprise attack followed by a + quick retreat under cover. One day at Louisbourg an officer said this + reminded him of what Xenophon wrote about the Carduchians who harassed the + rear of the world-famous 'Ten Thousand.' 'I had it from Xenophon' was + Wolfe's reply. Like all great commanders, Wolfe knew what other great + commanders had done and thought, no matter to what age or nation they + belonged: Greek, Roman, German, French, British, or any other. Years + before this he had recommended a young officer to study the Prussian Army + Regulations and Vauban's book on Sieges. Nor did he forget to read the + lives of men like Scanderbeg and Ziska, who could teach him many unusual + lessons. He kept his eyes open everywhere, all his life long, on men and + things and books. He recommended his friend. Captain Rickson, who was then + in Halifax, to read Montesquieu's not yet famous book <i>The Spirit of + Laws</i>, because it would be useful for a government official in a new + country. Writing home to his mother from Louisbourg about this new + country, that is, before Canada had become British, before there was much + more than a single million of English-speaking people in the whole New + World, and before most people on either side of the Atlantic understood + what a great oversea empire meant at all, he said: 'This will sometime + hence, be a vast empire, the seat of power and learning. Nature has + refused them nothing, and there will grow a people out of our little spot, + England, that will fill this vast space, and divide this great portion of + the globe with the Spaniards, who are possessed of the other half of it.' + </p> + <p> + On arriving in England Wolfe had reported his presence to the + commander-in-chief, Lord Ligonier, requesting leave of absence in order + that he might visit his relatives. This was granted, and the Wolfe family + met together once more and for the last time. + </p> + <p> + Though he said little about it, Wolfe must have snatched some time for + Katherine Lowther, his second love, to whom he was now engaged. What had + happened between him and his first love, Miss Lawson, will probably never + be known. We know that his parents were opposed to his marrying her. + Perhaps, too, she may not have been as much in love as he was. But, for + whatever reason, they parted. Then he fell in love with beautiful + Katherine Lowther, a sister to the Earl of Lonsdale and afterwards Duchess + of Bolton. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile Pitt was planning for his Empire Year of 1759, the year of + Ferdinand at Minden, Wolfe at Quebec, and Hawke in Quiberon Bay. Before + Pitt had taken the war in hand nearly everything had gone against the + British. Though Clive had become the British hero of India in 1757, and + Wolfe of Louisbourg in 1758, there had hitherto been more defeats than + victories. Minorca had been lost in 1756; in America Braddock's army had + been destroyed in 1755; and Montcalm had won victories at Oswego in 1756, + at Fort William Henry in 1757, and at Ticonderoga in 1758. More than this, + in 1759 the French were preparing fleets and armies to invade England, + Ireland, and Scotland; and the British people were thinking rather of + their own defence at home than of attacking the French abroad. + </p> + <p> + Pitt, however, rightly thought that vigorous attacks from the sea were the + best means of defence at home. From London he looked out over the whole + world: at France and her allies in the centre, at French India on his far + left, and at French Canada on his far right; with the sea dividing his + enemies and uniting his friends, if only he could hold its highways with + the British Navy. + </p> + <p> + To carry out his plans Pitt sent a small army and a great deal of money to + Frederick the Great, to help him in the middle of Europe against the + Russians, Austrians, and French. At the same time he let Anson station + fleets round the coast of France, so that no strong French force could get + at Britain or Greater Britain, or go to help Greater France, without a + fight at sea. Then, having cut off Canada from France and taken her + outpost at Louisbourg, he aimed a death-blow at her very heart by sending + Saunders, with a quarter of the whole British Navy, against Quebec, the + stronghold of New France, where the land attack was to be made by a little + army of 9,000 men under Wolfe. Even this was not the whole of Pitt's plan + for the conquest of Canada. A smaller army was to be sent against the + French on the Great Lakes, and a larger one, under Amherst, along the line + of Lake Champlain, towards Montreal. + </p> + <p> + Pitt did a very bold thing when he took a young colonel and asked the king + to make him a general and allow him to choose his own brigadiers and staff + officers. It was a bold thing, because, whenever there is a position of + honour to be given, the older men do not like being passed over and all + the politicians who think of themselves first and their country afterwards + wish to put in their own favourites. Wolfe, of course, had enemies. + Dullards often think that men of genius are crazy, and some one had told + the king that Wolfe was mad. 'Mad, is he?' said the king, remembering all + the recent British defeats on land 'then I hope he'll bite some of my + other generals!' Wolfe was not able to give any of his seniors his own and + Lord Howe's kind of divine 'madness' during that war. But he did give a + touch of it to many of his juniors; with the result that his Quebec army + was better officered than any other British land force of the time. + </p> + <p> + The three brigadiers next in command to Wolfe—Monckton, Townshend, + and Murray—were not chosen simply because they were all sons of + peers, but because, like Howe and Boscawen, they were first-rate officers + as well. Barre and Carleton were the two chief men on the staff. Each + became celebrated in later days, Barre in parliament, and Carleton as both + the saviour of Canada from the American attack in 1775 and the first + British governor-general. Williamson, the best gunnery expert in the whole + Army, commanded the artillery. The only troublesome officer was Townshend, + who thought himself, and whose family and political friends thought him, + at least as good a general as Wolfe, if not a better one. But even + Townshend did his duty well. The army at Halifax was supposed to be twelve + thousand, but its real strength was only nine thousand. The difference was + mostly due to the ravages of scurvy and camp fever, both of which, in + their turn, were due to the bad food supplied by rascally contractors. The + action of the officers alone saved the situation from becoming desperate. + Indeed, if it had not been for what the officers did for their men in the + way of buying better food, at great cost, out of their own not well-filled + pockets, there might have been no army at all to greet Wolfe on his + arrival in America. + </p> + <p> + The fleet was the greatest that had ever sailed across the seas. It + included one-quarter of the whole Royal Navy. There were 49 men-of-war + manned by 14,000 sailors and marines. There were also more than 200 + vessels—transports, store ships, provision ships, etc.—manned + by about 7,000 merchant seamen. Thus there were at least twice as many + sailors as soldiers at the taking of Quebec. Saunders was a most capable + admiral. He had been flag-lieutenant during Anson's famous voyage round + the world; then Hawke's best fighting captain during the war in which + Wolfe was learning his work at Dettingen and Laffeldt; and then Hawke's + second-in-command of the 'cargo of courage' sent out after Byng's disgrace + at Minorca. After Quebec he crowned his fine career by being one of the + best first lords of the Admiralty that ever ruled the Navy. Durell, his + next in command, was slower than Amherst; and Amherst never made a short + cut in his life, even to certain success. Holmes, the third admiral, was + thoroughly efficient. Hood, a still better admiral than any of those at + Quebec, afterwards served under Holmes, and Nelson under Hood; which links + Trafalgar with Quebec. But a still closer link with 'mighty Nelson' was + Jervis, who took charge of Wolfe's personal belongings at Quebec the night + before the battle and many years later became Nelson's commander-in-chief. + Another Quebec captain who afterwards became a great admiral was Hughes, + famous for his fights in India. But the man whose subsequent fame in the + world at large eclipsed that of any other in this fleet was Captain Cook, + who made the first good charts of Canadian waters some years before he + became a great explorer in the far Pacific. + </p> + <p> + There was a busy scene at Portsmouth on February 17, when Saunders and + Wolfe sailed in the flagship H.M.S. Neptune, of 90 guns and a crew of 750 + men. She was one of the well-known old 'three-deckers,' those 'wooden + walls of England' that kept the Empire safe while it was growing up. The + guard of red-coated marines presented arms, and the hundreds of + bluejackets were all in their places as the two commanders stepped on + board. The naval officers on the quarter-deck were very spick and span in + their black three-cornered hats, white wigs, long, bright blue, gold-laced + coats, white waistcoats and breeches and stockings, and gold-buckled + shoes. The idea of having naval uniforms of blue and white and gold—the + same colours that are worn to-day—came from the king's seeing the + pretty Duchess of Bedford in a blue-and-white riding-habit, which so + charmed him that he swore he would make the officers wear the same colours + for the uniforms just then being newly tried. This was when the Duke of + Bedford was first lord of the Admiralty, some years before Pitt's great + expedition against Quebec. + </p> + <p> + The sailors were also in blue and white; but they were not so spick and + span as the officers. They were a very rough-and-ready-looking lot. They + wore small, soft, three-cornered black hats, bright blue jackets, open + enough to show their coarse white shirts, and coarse white duck trousers. + They had shoes without stockings on shore, and only bare feet on board. + They carried cutlasses and pistols, and wore their hair in pigtails. They + would be a surprising sight to modern eyes. But not so much so as the + women! Ships and regiments in those days always had a certain number of + women for washing and mending the clothes. There was one woman to about + every twenty men. They drew pay and were under regular orders just like + the soldiers and sailors. Sometimes they gave a willing hand in action, + helping the 'powder-monkeys'—boys who had to pass the powder from + the barrels to the gunners—or even taking part in a siege, as at + Louisbourg. + </p> + <p> + The voyage to Halifax was long, rough, and cold, and Wolfe was sea-sick as + ever. Strangely enough, these ships coming out to the conquest of Canada + under St George's cross made land on St George's Day near the place where + Cabot had raised St George's cross over Canadian soil before Columbus had + set foot on the mainland of America. But though April 23 might be a day of + good omen, it was a very bleak one that year off Cape Breton, where ice + was packed for miles and miles along the coast. On the 30th the fleet + entered Halifax. Slow old Durell was hurried off on May 5 with eight + men-of-war and seven hundred soldiers under Carleton to try to stop any + French ships from getting up to Quebec. Carleton was to go ashore at + Isle-aux-Coudres, an island commanding the channel sixty miles below + Quebec, and mark out a passage for the fleet through the 'Traverse' at the + lower end of the island of Orleans, thirty miles higher up. + </p> + <p> + On the 13th Saunders sailed for Louisbourg, where the whole expedition was + to meet and get ready. Here Wolfe spent the rest of Map, working every day + and all day. His army, with the exception of nine hundred American + rangers, consisted of seasoned British regulars, with all the weaklings + left behind; and it did his heart good to see them on parade. There was + the 15th, whose officers still wear a line of black braid on their + uniforms in mourning for his death. The 15th and five other regiments—the + 28th, 43rd, 47th, 48th, and 58th—were English. But the 35th had been + forty years in Ireland, and was Irish to a man. The whole seven regiments + were dressed very much alike: three-cornered, stiff black hats with black + cockades, white wigs, long-tailed red coats turned back with blue or white + in front, where they were fastened only at the neck, white breeches, and + long white gaiters coming over the knee. A very different corps was the + 78th, or 'Fraser's,' Highlanders, one of the regiments Wolfe first + recommended and Pitt first raised. Only fourteen years before the Quebec + campaign these same Highlanders had joined Prince Charlie, the Young + Pretender, in the famous ''45.' They were mostly Roman Catholics, which + accounts for the way they intermarried with the French Canadians after the + conquest. They had been fighting for the Stuarts against King George, and + Wolfe, as we have seen, had himself fought against them at Culloden. Yet + here they were now, under Wolfe, serving King George. They knew that the + Stuart cause was lost for ever; and all of them, chiefs and followers + alike, loved the noble profession of arms. The Highlanders then wore + 'bonnets' like a high tam-o'-shanter, with one white curly feather on the + left side. Their red coats were faced with yellow, and they wore the + Fraser plaid hung from the shoulders and caught up, loopwise, on both + hips. Their kilts were very short and not pleated. Badger sporrans, + showing the head in the middle, red-and-white-diced hose, and buckled + brogues completed their wild but martial dress, which was well set off by + the dirks and claymores that swung to the stride of the mountaineer. + </p> + <p> + Each regiment had one company of grenadiers, picked out for their size, + strength, and steadiness, and one company of light infantry, picked out + for their quickness and good marksmanship. Sometimes all the grenadier + companies would be put together in a separate battalion. The same thing + was often done with the light infantry companies, which were then led by + Colonel Howe. Wolfe had also made up a small three-company battalion of + picked grenadiers from the five regiments that were being left behind at + Louisbourg to guard the Maritime Provinces. This little battalion became + famous at Quebec as the 'Louisbourg Grenadiers.' The grenadiers all wore + red and white, like the rest, except that their coats were buttoned up the + whole way, and instead of the three-cornered hats they wore high ones like + a bishop's mitre. The artillery wore blue-grey coats turned back with red, + yellow braid, and half-moon-shaped black hats, with the points down + towards their shoulders. + </p> + <p> + The only remaining regiment is of much greater interest in connection with + a Canadian campaign. It was the 60th Foot, then called the Royal + Americans, afterwards the Sixtieth Rifles or 'Old Sixtieth,' and now the + King's Royal Rifle Corps. It was the first regiment of regulars ever + raised in Greater Britain, and the first to introduce the rifle-green + uniform now known all over the Empire, especially in Canada, where all + rifle regiments still follow 'the 60th's' lead so far as that is possible. + Many of its officers and men who returned from the conquest of Canada to + their homes in the British colonies were destined to move on to Canada + with their families as United Empire Loyalists. This was their first war; + and they did so well in it that Wolfe gave them the rifleman's motto they + still bear in token of their smartness and dash—<i>Celer et Audax</i>. + Unfortunately they did not then wear the famous 'rifle green' but the + ordinary red. Unfortunately, too, the rifleman's green has no connection + with the 'green jackets of American backwoodsmen in the middle of the + eighteenth century.' The backwoodsmen were not dressed in green as a rule, + and they never formed any considerable part of the regiment at any time. + The first green uniform came in with the new 5th battalion in 1797; and + the old 2nd and 3rd battalions, which fought under Wolfe, did not adopt it + till 1815. It was not even of British origin, but an imitation of a German + hussar uniform which was itself an imitation of one worn by the + Hungarians, who have the senior hussars of the world. But though Wolfe's + Royal Americans did not wear the rifle green, and though their coats and + waistcoats were of common red, their uniforms differed from those of all + other regiments at Quebec in several particulars. The most remarkable + difference was the absence of lace, an absence specially authorized only + for this corps, and then only in view of special service and many bush + fights in America. The double-breasted coats were made to button across, + except at the top, where the lapels turned back, like the cuffs and + coat-tails. All these 'turnbacks' and the breeches were blue. The very + long gaiters, the waist and cross belts, the neckerchief and hat piping + were white. Wearing this distinctively plain uniform, and led by their + buglers and drummers in scarlet and gold, like state trumpeters, the Royal + Americans could not, even at a distance, be mistaken for any other + regiment. + </p> + <p> + On June 6 Saunders and Wolfe sailed for Quebec with a hundred and + forty-one ships. Wolfe's work in getting his army safely off being over, + he sat down alone in his cabin to make his will. His first thought was for + Katherine Lowther, his <i>fiancee</i>, who was to have her own miniature + portrait, which he carried with him, set in jewels and given back to her. + Warde, Howe, and Carleton were each remembered. He left all the residue of + his estate to 'my good mother,' his father having just died. More than a + third of the whole will was taken up with providing for his servants. No + wonder he was called 'the soldier's friend.' + </p> + <p> + There was a thrilling scene at Louisbourg as regiment after regiment + marched down to the shore, with drums beating, bugles sounding, and + colours flying. Each night, after drinking the king's health, they had + drunk another toast—'British colours on every French fort, port, and + garrison in North America.' Now here they were, the pick of the Army and + Navy, off with Wolfe to raise those colours over Quebec, the most + important military point on the whole continent. On they sailed, all + together, till they reached the Saguenay, a hundred and twenty miles below + Quebec. Here, on the afternoon of June 20, the sun shone down on a sight + such as the New World had never seen before, and has never seen again. The + river narrows opposite the Saguenay and is full of shoals and islands; so + this was the last day the whole one hundred and forty-one vessels sailed + together, in their three divisions, under those three ensigns—'The + Red, White, and Blue'—which have made the British Navy loved, + feared, and famous round the seven seas. What a sight it was! Thousands + and thousands of soldiers and sailors crowded those scores and scores of + high-decked ships; while hundreds and hundreds of swelling sails gleamed + white against the sun, across the twenty miles of blue St Lawrence. + </p> + <p> + Wolfe, however, was not there to see it. He had gone forward the day + before. A dispatch-boat had come down from Durell to say that, in spite of + his advanced squadron, Bougainville, Montcalm's ablest brigadier, had + slipped through with twenty-three ships from France, bringing out a few + men and a good deal of ammunition, stores, and food. This gave Quebec some + sorely needed help. Besides, Montcalm had found out Pitt's plan; and + nobody knew where the only free French fleet was now. It had wintered in + the West Indies. But had it sailed for France or the St Lawrence? At the + first streak of dawn on the 23rd Durell's look-out off Isle-aux-Coudres + reported many ships coming up the river under a press of sail. Could the + French West Indian fleet have slipped in ahead of Saunders, as + Bougainville had slipped in ahead of Durell himself? There was a tense + moment on board of Durell's squadron and in Carleton's camp, in the pale, + grey light of early morning, as the bugles sounded, the boatswains blew + their whistles and roared their orders, and all hands came tumbling up + from below and ran to battle quarters with a rush of swift bare feet. But + the incoming vanship made the private British signal, and both sides knew + that all was well. + </p> + <p> + For a whole week the great fleet of one hundred and forty-one ships worked + their way through the narrow channel between Isle-aux-Coudres and the + north shore, and then dared the dangers of the Traverse, below the island + of Orleans, where the French had never passed more than one ship at a + time, and that only with the greatest caution. The British went through + quite easily, without a single accident. In two days the great Captain + Cook had sounded and marked out the channel better than the French had in + a hundred and fifty years; and so thoroughly was his work done that the + British officers could handle their vessels in these French waters better + without than with the French pilots. Old Captain Killick took the <i>Goodwill</i> + through himself, just next ahead of the <i>Richmond</i>, on board of which + was Wolfe. The captured French pilot in the <i>Goodwill</i> was sure she + would be lost if she did not go slow and take more care. But Killick + laughed at him and said: 'Damn me, but I'll convince you an Englishman can + go where a Frenchman daren't show his nose!' And he did. + </p> + <p> + On June 26 Wolfe arrived at the west end of the island of Orleans, in full + view of Quebec. The twenty days' voyage from Louisbourg had ended and the + twelve weeks' siege had begun. At this point we must take the map and + never put it aside till the final battle is over. A whole book could not + possibly make Wolfe's work plain to any one without the map. But with the + map we can easily follow every move in this, the greatest crisis in both + Wolfe's career and Canada's history. + </p> + <p> + What Wolfe saw and found out was enough to daunt any general. He had a + very good army, but it was small. He could count upon the help of a mighty + fleet, but even British fleets cannot climb hills or make an enemy come + down and fight. Montcalm, however, was weakened by many things. The + governor, Vaudreuil, was a vain, fussy, and spiteful fool, with power + enough to thwart Montcalm at every turn. The intendant, Bigot, was the + greatest knave ever seen in Canada, and the head of a gang of official + thieves who robbed the country and the wretched French Canadians right and + left. The French army, all together, numbered nearly seventeen thousand, + almost twice Wolfe's own; but the bulk of it was militia, half starved and + badly armed. Both Vaudreuil and Bigot could and did interfere disastrously + with the five different forces that should have been made into one army + under Montcalm alone—the French regulars, the Canadian regulars, the + Canadian militia, the French sailors ashore, and the Indians. Montcalm had + one great advantage over Wolfe. He was not expected to fight or manoeuvre + in the open field. His duty was not to drive Wolfe away, or even to keep + Amherst out of Canada. All he had to do was to hold Quebec throughout the + summer. The autumn would force the British fleet to leave for ice-free + waters. Then, if Quebec could only be held, a change in the fortunes of + war, or a treaty of peace, might still keep Canada in French hands. Wolfe + had either to tempt Montcalm out of Quebec or get into it himself; and he + soon realized that he would have to do this with the help of Saunders + alone; for Amherst in the south was crawling forward towards Montreal so + slowly that no aid from him could be expected. + </p> + <p> + Montcalm's position certainly looked secure for the summer. His left flank + was guarded by the Montmorency, a swift river that could be forded only by + a few men at a time in a narrow place, some miles up, where the dense bush + would give every chance to his Indians and Canadians. His centre was + guarded by entrenchments running from the Montmorency to the St Charles, + six miles of ground, rising higher and higher towards Montmorency, all of + it defended by the best troops and the bulk of the army, and none of it + having an inch of cover for an enemy in front. The mouth of the St Charles + was blocked by booms and batteries. Quebec is a natural fortress; and + above Quebec the high, steep cliffs stretched for miles and miles. These + cliffs could be climbed by a few men in several places; but nowhere by a + whole army, if any defenders were there in force; and the British fleet + could not land an army without being seen soon enough to draw plenty of + defenders to the same spot. Forty miles above Quebec the St Lawrence + channel narrows to only a quarter of a mile, and the down current becomes + very swift indeed. Above this channel was the small French fleet, which + could stop a much larger one trying to get up, or could even block most of + the fairway by sinking some of its own ships. Besides all these defences + of man and nature the French had floating batteries along the north shore. + They also held the Levis Heights on the south shore, opposite Quebec, so + that ships crowded with helpless infantry could not, without terrible + risk, run through the intervening narrows, barely a thousand yards wide. + </p> + <p> + A gale blowing down-stream was the first trouble for the British fleet. + Many of the transports broke loose and a good deal of damage was done to + small vessels and boats. Next night a greater danger threatened, when the + ebb-tide, running five miles an hour, brought down seven French fireships, + which suddenly burst into flame as they rounded the Point of Levy. There + was a display of devil's fireworks such as few men have ever seen or could + imagine. Sizzling, crackling, and roaring, the blinding flames leaped into + the jet-black sky, lighting up the camps of both armies, where thousands + of soldiers watched these engines of death sweep down on the fleet. Each + of the seven ships was full of mines, blowing up and hurling shot and + shell in all directions. The crowded mass of British vessels seemed doomed + to destruction. But the first spurt of fire had hardly been noticed before + the men in the guard boats began to row to the rescue. Swinging the + grappling-hooks round at arm's length, as if they were heaving the lead, + the bluejackets made the fireships fast, the officers shouted, 'Give way!' + and presently the whole infernal flotilla was safely stranded. But it was + a close thing and very hot work, as one of the happy-go-lucky Jack tars + said with more force than grace, when he called out to the boat beside + him: 'Hullo, mate! Did you ever take hell in tow before?' + </p> + <p> + Vaudreuil now made Montcalm, who was under his orders, withdraw the men + from the Levis Heights, and thus abandon the whole of the south shore in + front of Quebec. Wolfe, delighted, at once occupied the same place, with + half his army and most of his guns. Then he seized the far side of the + Montmorency and made his main camp there, without, however, removing his + hospitals and stores from his camp on the island of Orleans. So he now had + three camps, not divided, but joined together, by the St Lawrence, where + the fleet could move about between them in spite of anything the French + could do. He then marched up the Montmorency to the fords, to try the + French strength there, and to find out if he could cross the river, march + down the open ground behind Montcalm, and attack him from the rear. But he + was repulsed at the first attempt, and saw that he could do no better at a + second. Meanwhile his Levis batteries began a bombardment which lasted two + months and reduced Quebec to ruins. + </p> + <p> + Yet he seemed as far off as ever from capturing the city. Battering down + the houses of Quebec brought him no nearer to his object, while Montcalm's + main body still stood securely in its entrenchments down at Beauport. + Wolfe now felt he must try something decisive, even if desperate; and he + planned an attack by land and water on the French left. Both French and + British were hard at work on July 31. In the morning Wolfe sent one + regiment marching up the Montmorency, as if to try the fords again, and + another, also in full view of the French, up along the St Lawrence from + the Levis batteries, as if it was to be taken over by the ships to the + north shore above Quebec. Meanwhile Monckton's brigade was starting from + the Point of Levy in row-boats, the <i>Centurion</i> was sailing down to + the mouth of the Montmorency, two armed transports were being purposely + run ashore on the beach at the top of the tide, and the <i>Pembroke</i>, + <i>Trent</i>, <i>Lowestoff</i>, and <i>Racehorse</i> were taking up + positions to cover the boats. The men-of-war and Wolfe's batteries at + Montmorency then opened fire on the point he wished to attack; and both of + them kept it up for eight hours, from ten till six. All this time the + Levis batteries were doing their utmost against Quebec. But Montcalm was + not to be deceived. He saw that Wolfe intended to storm the entrenchments + at the point at which the cannon were firing, and he kept the best of his + army ready to defend it. + </p> + <p> + Wolfe and the Louisbourg Grenadiers were in the two armed transports when + they grounded at ten o'clock. To his disgust and to Captain Cook's + surprise both vessels stuck fast in the mud nearly half a mile from shore. + This made the grenadiers' muskets useless against the advanced French + redoubt, which stood at high-water mark, and which overmatched the + transports, because both of these had grounded in such a way that they + could not bring their guns to bear in reply. The stranded vessels soon + became a death-trap. Wolfe's cane was knocked out of his hand by a cannon + ball. Shells were bursting over the deck, smashing the masts to pieces and + sending splinters of wood and iron flying about among the helpless + grenadiers and gunners. There was nothing to do but order the men back to + the boats and wait. The tide was not low till four. The weather was + scorchingly hot. A thunderstorm was brewing. The redoubt could not be + taken. The transports were a failure. And every move had to be made in + full view of the watchful Montcalm, whose entrenchments at this point were + on the top of a grassy hill nearly two hundred feet above the muddy beach. + But Wolfe still thought he might succeed with the main attack at low tide, + although he had not been able to prepare it at high tide. His Montmorency + batteries seemed to be pitching their shells very thickly into the French, + and his three brigades of infantry were all ready to act together at the + right time. Accordingly, for the hottest hours of that scorching day, + Monckton's men grilled in the boats while Townshend's and Murray's waited + in camp. At four the tide was low and Wolfe ordered the landing to begin. + </p> + <p> + The tidal flats ran out much farther than any one had supposed. The + heavily laden boats stuck on an outer ledge and had to be cleared, shoved + off, refilled with soldiers, and brought round to another place. It was + now nearly six o'clock; and both sides were eager for the fray. + Townshend's and Murray's brigades had forded the mouth of the Montmorency + and were marching along to support the attack, when, suddenly and + unexpectedly, the grenadiers spoiled it all! Wolfe had ordered the + Louisbourg Grenadiers and the ten other grenadier companies of the army to + form up and rush the redoubt. But, what with the cheering of the sailors + as they landed the rest of Monckton's men, and their own eagerness to come + to close quarters at once, the Louisbourg men suddenly lost their heads + and charged before everything was ready. The rest followed them pell-mell; + and in less than five minutes the redoubt was swarming with excited + grenadiers, while the French who had held it were clambering up the grassy + hill into the safer entrenchments. + </p> + <p> + The redoubt was certainly no place to stay in. It had no shelter towards + its rear; and dozens of French cannon and thousands of French muskets were + firing into it from the heights. An immediate retirement was the only + proper course. But there was no holding the men now. They broke into + another mad charge, straight at the hill. As they reached it, amid a storm + of musket balls and grape-shot, the heavens joined in with a terrific + storm of their own. The rain burst in a perfect deluge; and the hill + became almost impossible to climb, even if there had been no enemy pouring + death-showers of fire from the top. When Wolfe saw what was happening he + immediately sent officers running after the grenadiers to make them come + back from the redoubt, and these officers now passed the word to retire at + once. This time the grenadiers, all that were left of them, obeyed. Their + two mad rushes had not lasted a quarter of an hour. Yet nearly half of the + thousand men they started with were lying dead or wounded on that fatal + ground. + </p> + <p> + Wolfe now saw that he was hopelessly beaten and that there was not a + minute to lose in getting away. The boats could take only Monckton's men; + and the rising tide would soon cut off Townshend's and Murray's from their + camp beyond the mouth of the Montmorency. The two stranded transports, + from which he had hoped so much that morning, were set on fire; and, under + cover of their smoke and of the curtain of torrential rain, Monckton's + crestfallen men got into their boats once more. Townshend's and Murray's + brigades, enraged at not being brought into action, turned to march back + by the way they had come so eagerly only an hour before. They moved off in + perfect order; but, as they left the battlefield, they waved their hats in + defiance at the jeering Frenchmen, challenging them to come down and fight + it out with bayonets hand to hand. + </p> + <p> + Many gallant deeds were done that afternoon; but none more gallant than + those of Captain Ochterloney and Lieutenant Peyton, both grenadier + officers in the Royal Americans. Ochterloney had just been wounded in a + duel; but he said his country's honour came before his own, and, sick and + wounded as he was, he spent those panting hours in the boats without a + murmur and did all he could to form his men up under fire. In the second + charge he fell, shot through the lungs, with Peyton beside him, shot + through the leg. When Wolfe called the grenadiers back a rescue party + wanted to carry off both officers, to save them from the scalping-knife. + But Ochterloney said he would never leave the field after such a defeat; + and Peyton said he would never leave his captain. Presently a Canadian + regular came up with two Indians, grabbed Ochterloney's watch, sword and + money, and left the Indians to finish him. One of these savages clubbed + him with a musket, while the other shot him in the chest and dashed in + with a scalping-knife. In the meantime, Peyton crawled on his hands and + knees to a double-barrelled musket and shot one Indian dead, but missed + the other. This savage now left Ochterloney, picked up a bayonet and + rushed at Peyton, who drew his dagger. A terrible life-and-death fight + followed; but Peyton at last got a good point well driven home, straight + through the Indian's heart. A whole scalping party now appeared. + Ochterloney was apparently dead, and Peyton was too exhausted to fight any + more. But, at this very moment, another British party came back for the + rest of the wounded and carried Peyton off to the boats. + </p> + <p> + Then the Indians came back to scalp Ochterloney. By this time, however, + some French regulars had come down, and one of them, finding Ochterloney + still alive, drove off the Indians at the point of the bayonet, secured + help, and carried him up the hill. Montcalm had him carefully taken into + the General Hospital, where he was tenderly nursed by the nuns. Two days + after he had been rescued, a French officer came out for his clothes and + other effects. Wolfe then sent in twenty guineas for his rescuer, with a + promise that, in return for the kindness shown to Ochterloney, the General + Hospital would be specially protected if the British took Quebec. Towards + the end of August Ochterloney died; and both sides ceased firing while a + French captain came out to report his death and return his effects. + </p> + <p> + This was by no means the only time the two enemies treated each other like + friends. A party of French ladies were among the prisoners brought in to + Wolfe one day; and they certainly had no cause to complain of him. He gave + them a dinner, at which he charmed them all by telling them about his + visit to Paris. The next morning he sent them into Quebec with his + aide-de-camp under a flag of truce. Another time the French officers sent + him a kind of wine which was not to be had in the British camp, and he + sent them some not to be had in their own. + </p> + <p> + But the stern work of war went on and on, though the weary month of August + did not seem to bring victory any closer than disastrous July. Wolfe knew + that September was to be the end of the campaign, the now-or-never of his + whole career. And, knowing this, he set to work—head and heart and + soul—on making the plan that brought him victory, death, and + everlasting fame. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII — THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM, September 13, 1759 + </h2> + <p> + On August 19 an aide-de-camp came out of the farmhouse at Montmorency + which served as the headquarters of the British army to say that Wolfe was + too ill to rise from his bed. The bad news spread like wildfire through + the camp and fleet, and soon became known among the French. A week passed; + but Wolfe was no better. Tossing about on his bed in a fever, he thought + bitterly of his double defeat, of the critical month of September, of the + grim strength of Quebec, formed by nature for a stronghold, and then—worse + still—of his own weak body, which made him most helpless just when + he should have been most fit for his duty. + </p> + <p> + Feeling that he could no longer lead in person, he dictated a letter to + the brigadiers, sent them the secret instructions he had received from + Pitt and the king, and asked them to think over his three new plans for + attacking Montcalm at Beauport. They wrote back to say they thought the + defeats at the upper fords of the Montmorency and at the heights facing + the St Lawrence showed that the French could not be beaten by attacking + the Beauport lines again, no matter from what side the attack was made. + They then gave him a plan of their own, which was, to convey the army up + the St Lawrence and fight their way ashore somewhere between Cap Rouge, + nine miles above Quebec, and Pointe-aux-Trembles, twenty-two miles above. + They argued that, by making a landing there, the British could cut off + Montcalm's communications with Three Rivers and Montreal, from which his + army drew its supplies. Wolfe's letter was dictated from his bed of + sickness on the 26th. The brigadiers answered him on the 29th. Saunders + talked it all over with him on the 31st. Before this the fate of Canada + had been an affair of weeks. Now it was a matter of days; for the morrow + would dawn on the very last possible month of the siege—September. + </p> + <p> + After his talk with Saunders Wolfe wrote his last letter home to his + mother, telling her of his desperate plight: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The enemy puts nothing to risk, and I can't in conscience + put the whole army to risk. My antagonist has wisely + shut himself up in inaccessible entrenchments, so that + I can't get at him without spilling a torrent of blood, + and that perhaps to little purpose. The Marquis de + Montcalm is at the head of a great number of bad + soldiers and I am at the head of a small number of + good ones, that wish for nothing so much as to fight + him; but the wary old fellow avoids an action, doubtful + of the behaviour of his army. People must be of the + profession to understand the disadvantages and + difficulties we labour under, arising from the uncommon + natural strength of the country. +</pre> + <p> + On September 2 he wrote his last letter to Pitt. He had asked the doctors + to 'patch him up,' saying that if they could make him fit for duty for + only the next few days they need not trouble about what might happen to + him afterwards. Their 'patching up' certainly cleared his fevered brain, + for this letter was a masterly account of the whole siege and the plans + just laid to bring it to an end. The style was so good, indeed, that + Charles Townshend said his brother George must have been the real author, + and that Wolfe, whom he dubbed 'a fiery-headed fellow, only fit for + fighting,' could not have done any more than sign his name. But when + George Townshend's own official letter about the battle in which Wolfe + fell was also published, and was found to be much less effective than + Wolfe's, Selwyn went up to Charles Townshend and said: 'Look here, + Charles, if your brother wrote Wolfe's letter, who the devil wrote your + brother's?' + </p> + <p> + Wolfe did not try to hide anything from Pitt. He told him plainly about + the two defeats and the terrible difficulties in the way of winning any + victory. The whole letter is too long for quotation, and odd scraps from + it give no idea of Wolfe's lucid style. But here are a few which tell the + gist of the story: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + I found myself so ill, and am still so weak, that I + begged the generals to consult together. They are all + of opinion, that, as more ships and provisions are + now got above the town, they should try, by conveying + up five thousand men, to draw the enemy from his + present position and bring him to an action. I have + acquiesced in their proposal, and we are preparing to + put it into execution. The admiral will readily join + in any measure for the public service. There is such + a choice of difficulties that I own myself at a loss + how to determine. The affairs of Great Britain I know + require the most vigorous measures. You may be sure + that the small part of the campaign which remains + shall be employed, as far as I am able, for the honour + of His Majesty and the interest of the nation. I am + sure of being well seconded by the admirals and + generals; happy if our efforts here can contribute to + the success of His Majesty's arms in any other part + of America. +</pre> + <p> + On the 31st, the day he wrote to his mother and had his long talk with + Saunders, Wolfe began to send his guns and stores away from the + Montmorency camp. Carleton managed the removal very cleverly; and on + September 3 only the five thousand infantry who were to go up the St + Lawrence were left there. Wolfe tried to tempt Montcalm to attack him. But + Montcalm knew better; and half suspected that Wolfe himself might make + another attack on the Beauport lines. When everything was ready, all the + men at the Point of Levy who could be spared put off in boats and rowed + over towards Beauport, just as Monckton's men had done on the disastrous + last day of July. At the same time the main division of the fleet, under + Saunders, made as if to support these boats, while the Levis batteries + thundered against Quebec. Carleton gave the signal from the beach at + Montmorency when the tide was high; and the whole five thousand infantry + marched down the hill, got into their boats, and rowed over to where the + other boats were waiting. The French now prepared to defend themselves at + once. But as the two divisions of boats came together, they both rowed off + through the gaps between the men-of-war. Wolfe's army had broken camp and + got safely away, right under the noses of the French, without the loss of + a single man. + </p> + <p> + A whole week, from September 3 to 10, was then taken up with trying to see + how the brigadiers' plan could be carried out. + </p> + <p> + This plan was good, as far as it went. An army is even harder to supply + than a town would be if the town was taken up bodily and moved about the + country. An army makes no supplies itself, but uses up a great deal. It + must have food, clothing, arms, ammunition, stores of all kinds, and + everything else it needs to keep it fit for action. So it must always keep + what are called 'communications' with the places from which it gets these + supplies. Now, Wolfe's and Montcalm's armies were both supplied along the + St Lawrence, Wolfe's from below Quebec and Montcalm's from above. But + Wolfe had no trouble about the safety of his own 'communications,' since + they were managed and protected by the fleet. Even before he first saw + Quebec, a convoy of supply ships had sailed from the Maritime Provinces + for his army under the charge of a man-of-war. And so it went on all + through the siege. Including forty-nine men-of-war, no less than 277 + British vessels sailed up to Quebec during this campaign; and not one of + them was lost on the way, though the St Lawrence had then no lighthouses, + buoys, or other aids to navigation, as it has now, and though the British + officers themselves were compelled to take the ships through the worst + places in these foreign and little-known waters. The result was that there + were abundant supplies for the British army the whole time, thanks to the + fleet. + </p> + <p> + But Montcalm was in a very different plight. Since the previous autumn, + when Wolfe and Hardy had laid waste the coast of Gaspe, the supply of + sea-fish had almost failed. Now the whole country below Quebec had been + cut off by the fleet, while most of the country round Quebec was being + laid waste by the army. Wolfe's orders were that no man, woman, or child + was to be touched, nor any house or other buildings burnt, if his own men + were not attacked. But if the men of the country fired at his soldiers + they were to be shot down, and everything they had was to be destroyed. Of + course, women and children were strictly protected, under all + circumstances, and no just complaint was ever made against the British for + hurting a single one. But as the men persisted in firing, the British + fired back and destroyed the farms where the firing took place, on the + fair-play principle that it is right to destroy whatever is used to + destroy you. + </p> + <p> + It thus happened that, except at a few little villages where the men had + not fired on the soldiers, the country all round Quebec was like a desert, + as far as supplies for the French were concerned. The only way to obtain + anything for their camp was by bringing it down the St Lawrence from + Montreal, Sorel, and Three Rivers. French vessels would come down as far + as they dared and then send the supplies on in barges, which kept close in + under the north shore above Quebec, where the French outposts and + batteries protected them from the British men-of-war that were pushing + higher and higher up the river. Some supplies were brought in by land + after they were put ashore above the highest British vessels. But as a + hundred tons came far more easily by water than one ton by land, it is not + hard to see that Montcalm's men could not hold out long if the St Lawrence + near Quebec was closed to supplies. + </p> + <p> + Wolfe, Montcalm, the brigadiers, and every one else on both sides knew + this perfectly well. But, as it was now September, the fleet could not go + far up the much more difficult channel towards Montreal. If it did, and + took Wolfe's army with it, the few French men-of-war might dispute the + passage, and some sunken ships might block the way, at all events for a + time. Besides, the French were preparing to repulse any landing up the + river, between Cap Rouge, nine miles above Quebec, and Deschambault, forty + miles above; and with good prospect of success, because the country + favoured their irregulars. Moreover, if Wolfe should land many miles up, + Montcalm might still hold out far down in Quebec for the few days + remaining till October. If, on the other hand, the fleet went up and left + Wolfe's men behind, Montcalm would be safer than ever at Beauport and + Quebec; because, how could Wolfe reach him without a fleet when he had + failed to reach him with one? + </p> + <p> + The life-and-death question for Wolfe was how to land close enough above + Quebec and soon enough in September to make Montcalm fight it out on even + terms and in the open field. + </p> + <p> + The brigadiers' plan of landing high up seemed all right till they tried + to work it out. Then they found troubles in plenty. There were several + places for them to land between Cap Rouge, nine miles above Quebec, and + Pointe-aux-Trembles, thirteen miles higher still. Ever since July 18 + British vessels had been passing to and fro above Quebec; and in August, + Murray, under the guard of Holmes's squadron, had tried his brigade + against Pointe-aux-Trembles, where he was beaten back, and at + Deschambault, twenty miles farther up, where he took some prisoners and + burnt some supplies. To ward off further and perhaps more serious attacks + from this quarter, Montcalm had been keeping Bougainville on the lookout, + especially round Pointe-aux-Trembles, for several weeks before the + brigadiers arranged their plan. Bougainville now had 2,000 infantry, all + the mounted men—nearly 300—and all the best Indian and + Canadian scouts, along the thirteen miles of shore between Cap Rouge and + Pointe-aux-Trembles. His land and water batteries had also been made much + stronger. He and Montcalm were in close touch and could send messages to + each other and get an answer back within four hours. + </p> + <p> + On the 7th Wolfe and the brigadiers had a good look at every spot round + Pointe-aux-Trembles. On the 8th and 9th the brigadiers were still there; + while five transports sailed past Quebec on the 8th to join Holmes, who + commanded the up-river squadron. Two of Wolfe's brigades were now on board + the transports with Holmes. But the whole three were needed; and this need + at once entailed another difficulty. A successful landing on the north + shore above Quebec could only be made under cover of the dark; and Wolfe + could not bring the third brigade, under cover of night, from the island + of Orleans and the Point of Levy, and land it with the other two twenty + miles up the river before daylight. The tidal stream runs up barely five + hours, while it runs down more than seven; and winds are mostly down. + Next, if, instead of sailing, the third brigade marched twenty miles at + night across very rough country on the south shore, it would arrive later + than ever. Then, only one brigade could be put ashore in boats at one time + in one place, and Bougainville could collect enough men to hold it in + check while he called in reinforcements at least as fast on the French + side as the British could on theirs. Another thing was that the wooded + country favoured the French defence and hindered the British attack. + Lastly, if Wolfe and Saunders collected the whole five thousand soldiers + and a still larger squadron and convoy up the river, Montcalm would see + the men and ships being moved from their positions in front of his + Beauport entrenchments, and would hurry to the threatened shore between + Cap Rouge and Pointe-aux-Trembles almost as soon as the British, and + certainly in time to reinforce Bougainville and repulse Wolfe. + </p> + <p> + The 9th was Wolfe's last Sunday. It was a cheerless, rainy day; and he + almost confessed himself beaten for good, as he sat writing his last + official letter to one of Pitt's friends, the Earl of Holderness. He dated + it, 'On board the <i>Sutherland</i> at anchor off Cap Rouge, September 9, + 1759.' He ended it with gloomy news: 'I am so far recovered as to be able + to do business, but my constitution is entirely ruined, without the + consolation of having done any considerable service to the state, or + without any prospect of it.' + </p> + <p> + The very next day, however, he saw his chance. He stood at Etchemin, on + the south shore, two miles above Quebec, and looked long and earnestly + through his telescope at the Foulon road, a mile and a half away, running + up to the Plains of Abraham from the Anse au Foulon, which has ever since + been called Wolfe's Cove. Then he looked at the Plains themselves, + especially at a spot only one mile from Quebec, where the flat and open + ground formed a perfect field of battle for his well-drilled regulars. He + knew the Foulon road must be fairly good, because it was the French line + of communication between the Anse au Foulon and the Beauport camp. The + Cove and the nearest point of the camp were only two miles and a quarter + apart, as the crow flies. But between them rose the tableland of the + Plains, 300 feet above the river. Thus they were screened from each other, + and a surprise at the Cove might not be found out too soon at the camp. + </p> + <p> + Now, Wolfe knew that the French expected to be attacked either above Cap + Rouge (up towards Pointe-aux-Trembles) or below Quebec (down in their + Beauport entrenchments). He also knew that his own army thought the attack + would be made above Cap Rouge. Thus the French were still very anxious + about the six miles at Beauport, while both sides were keenly watching + each other all over the thirteen miles above Cap Rouge. Nobody seemed to + be thinking about the nine miles between Cap Rouge and Quebec, and least + of all about the part nearest Quebec. + </p> + <p> + Yes, one man was thinking about it, and he never stopped thinking about it + till he died. That man was Montcalm. On the 5th, when Wolfe began moving + up-stream, Montcalm had sent a whole battalion to the Plains. But on the + 7th, when the British generals were all at Pointe-aux-Trembles, Vaudreuil, + always ready to spite Montcalm, ordered this battalion back to camp, + saying, 'The British haven't got wings; they can't fly up to the Plains!' + Wolfe, of course, saw that the battalion had been taken away; and he soon + found out why. Vaudreuil was a great talker and could never keep a secret. + Wolfe knew perfectly well that Vaudreuil and Bigot were constantly + spoiling whatever Montcalm was doing, so he counted on this trouble in the + French camp as he did on other facts and chances. + </p> + <p> + He now gave up all idea of his old plans against Beauport, as well as the + new plan of the brigadiers, and decided on another plan of his own. It was + new in one way, because he had never seen a chance of carrying it out + before. But it was old in another way, because he had written to his uncle + from Louisbourg on May 19, and spoken of getting up the heights four or + five miles above Quebec if he could do so by surprise. Again, even so + early in the siege as July 18 he had been chafing at what he called the + 'coldness' of the fleet about pushing up beyond Quebec. The entry in his + private diary for that day is: 'The <i>Sutherland</i> and <i>Squirrell</i>, + two transports, and two armed sloops passed the narrow passage between + Quebec and Levy <i>without losing a man</i>.' Next day, his entry is more + scathing still: 'Reconnoitred the country immediately above Quebec and + found that <i>if we had ventured the stroke that was first intended we + should infallibly have succeeded</i>.' This shows how long he had kept the + plan waiting for the chance. But it does not prove that he had missed any + earlier chances through the 'coldness' of the fleet. For it is significant + that he afterwards struck out '<i>infallibly</i>' and substituted '<i>probably</i>'; + while it must be remembered that the <i>Sutherland</i> and her consorts + formed only a very small flotilla, that they passed Quebec in the middle + of a very dark night, that the St Lawrence above the town was intricate + and little known, that the loss of several men-of-war might have been + fatal, that the enemy's attention had not become distracted in July to + anything like the same bewildering extent as it had in September, and that + the intervening course of events—however disappointing in itself—certainly + helped to make his plan suit the occasion far better late than soon. + Moreover, in a note to Saunders in August, he had spoken about a + 'desperate' plan which he could not trust his brigadiers to carry out, and + which he was then too sick to carry out himself. + </p> + <p> + Now that he was 'patched up' enough for a few days, and that the chance + seemed to be within his grasp, he made up his mind to strike at once. He + knew that the little French post above the Anse au Foulon was commanded by + one of Bigot's blackguards; Vergor, whose Canadian militiamen were as + slack as their commander. He knew that the Samos battery, a little farther + from Quebec, had too small a garrison, with only five guns and no means of + firing them on the landward side; so that any of his men, once up the + heights, could rush it from the rear. He knew the French had only a few + weak posts the whole way down from Cap Rouge, and that these posts often + let convoys of provision boats pass quietly at night into the Anse au + Foulon. He knew that some of Montcalm's best regulars had gone to Montreal + with Levis, the excellent French second-in-command, to strengthen the + defence against Amherst's slow advance from Lake Champlain. He knew that + Montcalm still had a total of 10,000 men between Montmorency and Quebec, + as against his own attacking force of 5,000; yet he also knew that the + odds of two to one were reversed in his favour so far as European regulars + were concerned; for Montcalm could not now bring 3,000 French regulars + into immediate action at any one spot. Finally, he knew that all the + French were only half-fed, and that those with Bougainville were getting + worn out by having to march across country, in a fruitless effort to keep + pace with the ships of Holmes's squadron and convoy, which floated up and + down with the tide. + </p> + <p> + Wolfe's plan was to keep the French alarmed more than ever at the two + extreme ends of their line—Beauport below Quebec and + Pointe-aux-Trembles above—and then to strike home at their + undefended centre, by a surprise landing at the Anse au Foulon. Once + landed, well before daylight, he could rush Vergor's post and the Samos + battery, march across the Plains, and form his line of battle a mile from + Quebec before Montcalm could come up in force from Beauport. Probably he + could also defeat him before Bougainville could march down from some point + well above Cap Rouge. + </p> + <p> + There were chances to reckon with in this plan. But so there are in all + plans; and to say Wolfe took Quebec by mere luck is utter nonsense. He was + one of the deepest thinkers on war who ever lived, especially on the + British kind of war, by land and sea together; and he had had the + preparation of a lifetime to help him in using a fleet and army that + worked together like the two arms of one body. He simply made a plan which + took proper account of all the facts and all the chances. Fools make lucky + hits, now and then, by the merest chance. But no one except a genius can + make and carry out a plan like Wolfe's, which meant at least a hundred + hits running, all in the selfsame spot. + </p> + <p> + No sooner had Wolfe made his admirable plan that Monday morning, September + 10, than he set all the principal officers to work out the different parts + of it. But he kept the whole a secret. Nobody except himself knew more + than one part, and how that one part was to be worked in at the proper + time and place. Even the fact that the Anse au Foulon was to be the + landing-place was kept secret till the last moment from everybody except + Admiral Holmes, who made all the arrangements, and Captain Chads, the + naval officer who was to lead the first boats down. The great plot + thickened fast. The siege that had been an affair of weeks, and the + brigadiers' plan that had been an affair of days, both gave way to a plan + in which every hour was made to tell. Wolfe's seventy hours of consummate + manoeuvres, by land and water, over a front of thirty miles, were followed + by a battle in which the fighting of only a few minutes settled the fate + of Canada for centuries. + </p> + <p> + During the whole of those momentous three days—Monday, Tuesday, and + Wednesday, September 10, 11, and 12, 1759—Wolfe, Saunders, and + Holmes kept the French in constant alarm about the thirteen miles <i>above</i> + Cap Rouge and the six miles <i>below</i> Quebec; but gave no sign by which + any immediate danger could be suspected along the nine miles between Cap + Rouge and Quebec. + </p> + <p> + Saunders stayed below Quebec. On the 12th he never gave the French a + minute's rest all day and night. He sent Cook and others close in towards + Beauport to lay buoys, as if to mark out a landing-place for another + attack like the one on July 31. It is a singular coincidence that while + Cook, the great British circumnavigator of the globe, was trying to get + Wolfe into Quebec, Bougainville, the great French circumnavigator, was + trying to keep him out. Towards evening Saunders formed up his boats and + filled them with marines, whose own red coats, seen at a distance, made + them look like soldiers. He moved his fleet in at high tide and fired + furiously at the entrenchments. All night long his boatloads of men rowed + up and down and kept the French on the alert. This feint against Beauport + was much helped by the men of Wolfe's third brigade, who remained at the + island of Orleans and the Point of Levy till after dark, by a whole + battalion of marines guarding the Levis batteries, and by these batteries + themselves, which, meanwhile, were bombarding Quebec—again like the + 31st of July. The bombardment was kept up all night and became most + intense just before dawn, when Wolfe was landing two miles above. + </p> + <p> + At the other end of the French line, above Cap Rouge, Holmes had kept + threatening Bougainville more and more towards Pointe-aux-Trembles, twenty + miles above the Foulon. Wolfe's soldiers had kept landing on the south + shore day after day; then drifting up with the tide on board the + transports past Pointe-aux-Trembles; then drifting down towards Cap Rouge; + and then coming back the next day to do the same thing over again. This + had been going on, more or less, even before Wolfe had made his plan, and + it proved very useful to him. He knew that Bougainville's men were getting + quite worn out by scrambling across country, day after day, to keep up + with Holmes's restless squadron and transports. He also knew that men who + threw themselves down, tired out, late at night could not be collected + from different places, all over their thirteen-mile beat, and brought down + in the morning, fit to fight on a battlefield eight miles from the nearest + of them and twenty-one from the farthest. + </p> + <p> + Montcalm was greatly troubled. He saw redcoats with Saunders opposite + Beauport, redcoats at the island, redcoats at the Point of Levy, and + redcoats guarding the Levis batteries. He had no means of finding out at + once that the redcoats with Saunders and at the batteries were marines, + and that the redcoats who really did belong to Wolfe were under orders to + march off after dark that very night and join the other two brigades which + were coming down the river from the squadron above Cap Rouge. He had no + boats that could get through the perfect screen of the British fleet. But + all that the skill of mortal man could do against these odds he did on + that fatal eve of battle, as he had done for three years past, with foes + in front and false friends behind. He ordered the battalion which he had + sent to the Plains on the 5th, and which Vaudreuil had brought back on the + 7th, 'now to go and camp at the Foulon'; that is, at the top of the road + coming up from Wolfe's landing-place at the Anse au Foulon. But Vaudreuil + immediately gave a counter-order and said: 'We'll see about that + to-morrow.' Vaudreuil's 'to-morrow' never came. + </p> + <p> + That afternoon of the 12th, while Montcalm and Vaudreuil were at + cross-purposes near the mouth of the St Charles, Wolfe was only four miles + away, on the other side of the Plains, in a boat on the St Lawrence, where + he was taking his last look at what he then called the Foulon and what the + world now calls Wolfe's Cove. His boat was just turning to drift up in + midstream, off Sillery Point, which is only half a mile above the Foulon. + He wanted to examine the Cove well through his telescope at dead low tide, + as he intended to land his army there at the next low tide. Close beside + him sat young Robison, who was not an officer in either the Army or Navy, + but who had come out to Canada as tutor to an admiral's son, and who had + been found so good at maps that he was employed with Wolfe's engineers in + making surveys and sketches of the ground about Quebec. Shutting up his + telescope, Wolfe sat silent a while. Then, as afterwards recorded by + Robison, he turned towards his officers and repeated several stanzas of + Gray's <i>Elegy</i>. 'Gentlemen,' he said as he ended, 'I would sooner + have written that poem than beat the French to-morrow.' He did not know + then that his own fame would far surpass the poet's, and that he should + win it in the very way described in one of the lines he had just been + quoting— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The paths of glory lead but to the grave. +</pre> + <p> + At half-past eight in the evening he was sitting in his cabin on board + Holmes's flagship, the <i>Sutherland</i>, above Cap Rouge, with 'Jacky + Jervis'—the future Earl St Vincent, but now the youngest captain in + the fleet, only twenty-four. Wolfe and Jervis had both been at the same + school at Greenwich, Swinden's, though at different times, and they were + great friends. Wolfe had made up a sealed parcel of his notebook, his + will, and the portrait of Katherine Lowther, and he now handed it over to + Jervis for safe keeping. + </p> + <p> + But he had no chance of talking about old times at home, for just then a + letter from the three brigadiers was handed in. It asked him if he would + not give them 'distinct orders' about 'the place or places we are to + attack.' He wrote back to the senior, Monckton, telling him what he had + arranged for the first and second brigades, and then, separately, to + Townshend about the third, which was not with Holmes but on the south + shore. After dark the men from the island and the Point of Levy had + marched up to join this brigade at Etchemin, the very place where Wolfe + had made his plan on the 10th, as he stood and looked at the Foulon + opposite. + </p> + <p> + His last general orders to his army had been read out some hours before; + but, of course, the Foulon was not mentioned. These orders show that he + well understood the great issues he was fighting for, and what men he had + to count upon. Here are only three sentences; but how much they mean! 'The + enemy's force is now divided. A vigorous blow struck by the army at this + juncture may determine the fate of Canada. The officers and men will + remember what their country expects of them.' The watchword was + 'Coventry,' which, being probably suggested by the saying, 'Sent to + Coventry,' that is, condemned to silence, was as apt a word for this + expectant night as 'Gibraltar,' the symbol of strength, was for the one on + which Quebec surrendered. + </p> + <p> + Just before dark Holmes sent every vessel he could spare to make a show of + force opposite Pointe-aux-Trembles, in order to hold Bougainville there + overnight. But after dark the main body of Holmes's squadron and all the + boats and small transports came together opposite Cap Rouge. Just before + ten a single lantern appeared in the <i>Sutherland's</i> main topmast + shrouds. On seeing this, Chads formed up the boats between the ships and + the south shore, the side away from the French. In three hours every man + was in his place. Not a sound was to be heard except the murmur of the + strong ebb-tide setting down towards Quebec and a gentle south-west breeze + blowing in the same direction. 'All ready, sir!' and Wolfe took his own + place in the first boat with his friend Captain Delaune, the leader of the + twenty-four men of the 'Forlorn Hope,' who were to be the first to scale + the cliff. Then a second lantern appeared above the first; and the whole + brigade of boats began to move off in succession. They had about eight + miles to go. But the current ran the distance in two hours. As they + advanced they could see the flashes from the Levis batteries growing + brighter and more frequent; for both the land gunners there and the seamen + gunners with Saunders farther down were increasing their fire as the hour + for Wolfe's landing drew near. + </p> + <p> + A couple of miles above the Foulon the <i>Hunter</i> was anchored in + midstream. As arranged, Chads left the south shore and steered straight + for her. To his surprise he saw her crew training their guns on him. But + they held their fire. Then Wolfe came alongside and found that she had two + French deserters on board who had mistaken his boats for the French + provision convoy that was expected to creep down the north shore that very + night and land at the Foulon. He had already planned to pass his boats off + as this convoy; for he knew that the farthest up of Holmes's men-of-war + had stopped it above Pointe-aux-Trembles. But he was glad to know that the + French posts below Cap Rouge had not yet heard of the stoppage. + </p> + <p> + From the <i>Hunter</i> his boat led the way to Sillery Point, half a mile + above the Foulon. 'Halt! Who comes there!'—a French sentry's voice + rang out in the silence of the night. 'France!' answered young Fraser, who + had been taken into Wolfe's boat because he spoke French like a native. + 'What's your regiment?' asked the sentry. 'The Queen's,' answered Fraser, + who knew that this was the one supplying the escort for the provision + boats the British had held up. 'But why don't you speak out?' asked the + sentry again. 'Hush!' said Fraser, 'the British will hear us if you make a + noise.' And there, sure enough, was the <i>Hunter</i>, drifting down, as + arranged, not far outside the column of boats. Then the sentry let them + all pass; and, in ten minutes more, exactly at four o'clock, the leading + boat grounded in the Anse au Foulon and Wolfe jumped ashore. + </p> + <p> + He at once took the 'Forlorn Hope' and 200 light infantry to the side of + the Cove towards Quebec, saying as he went, 'I don't know if we shall all + get up, but we must make the attempt.' Then, while these men were + scrambling up, he went back to the middle of the Cove, where Howe had + already formed the remaining 500 light infantry. Captain Macdonald, a very + active climber, passed the 'Forlorn Hope' and was the first man to reach + the top and feel his way through the trees to the left, towards Vergor's + tents. Presently he almost ran into the sleepy French-Canadian sentry, who + heard only a voice speaking perfect French and telling him it was all + right—nothing but the reinforcements from the Beauport camp; for + Wolfe knew that Montcalm had been trying to get a French regular officer + to replace Vergor, who was as good a thief as Bigot and as bad a soldier + as Vaudreuil. While this little parley was going on the 'Forlorn Hope' + came up; when Macdonald promptly hit the sentry between the eyes with the + hilt of his claymore and knocked him flat. The light infantry pressed on + close behind. The dumbfounded French colonial troops coming out of their + tents found themselves face to face with a whole woodful of fixed + bayonets. They fired a few shots. The British charged with a loud cheer. + The Canadians scurried away through the trees. And Vergor ran for dear + life in his nightshirt. + </p> + <p> + The ringing cheer with which Delaune charged home told Wolfe at the foot + of the road that the actual top was clear. Then Howe went up; and in + fifteen minutes all the light infantry had joined their comrades above. + Another battalion followed quickly, and Wolfe himself followed them. By + this time it was five o'clock and quite light. The boats that had landed + the first brigade had already rowed through the gaps between the small + transports which were landing the second brigade, and had reached the + south shore, a mile and a half away, where the third brigade was waiting + for them. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile the suddenly roused gunners of the Samos battery were firing + wildly at the British vessels. But the men-of-war fired back with better + aim, and Howe's light infantry, coming up at a run from behind, dashed in + among the astonished gunners with the bayonet, cleared them all out, and + spiked every gun. Howe left three companies there to hold the battery + against Bougainville later in the day, and returned with the other seven + to Wolfe. It was now six o'clock. The third brigade had landed, the whole + of the ground at the top was clear; and Wolfe set off with 1,000 men to + see what Montcalm was doing. + </p> + <p> + Quebec stands on the eastern end of a sort of promontory, or narrow + tableland, between the St Lawrence and the valley of the St Charles. This + tableland is less than a mile wide and narrows still more as it approaches + Quebec. Its top is tilted over towards the St Charles and Beauport, the + cliffs being only 100 feet high there, instead of 300, as they are beside + the St Lawrence; so Wolfe, as he turned in towards Quebec, after marching + straight across the tableland, could look out over the French camp. + Everything seemed quiet; so he made his left secure and sent for his main + body to follow him at once. It was now seven. In another hour his line of + battle was formed, his reserves had taken post in his rear, and a brigade + of seamen from Saunders's fleet were landing guns, stores, blankets, + tents, entrenching tools, and whatever else he would need for besieging + the city after defeating Montcalm. The 3,000 sailors on the beach were + anything but pleased with the tame work of waiting there while the + soldiers were fighting up above. One of their officers, in a letter home, + said they could hardly stand still, and were perpetually swearing because + they were not allowed to get into the heat of action. + </p> + <p> + The whole of the complicated manoeuvres, in face of an active enemy, for + three days and three nights, by land and water, over a front of thirty + miles, had now been crowned by complete success. The army of 5,000 men had + been put ashore at the right time and in the right way; and it was now + ready to fight one of the great immortal battles of the world. + </p> + <p> + 'The thin red line.' The phrase was invented long after Wolfe's day. But + Wolfe invented the fact. The six battalions which formed his front, that + thirteenth morning of September 1759, were drawn up in the first two-deep + line that ever stood on any field of battle in the world since war began. + And it was Wolfe alone who made this 'thin red line,' as surely as it was + Wolfe alone who made the plan that conquered Canada. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile Montcalm had not been idle; though he was perplexed to the last, + because one of the stupid rules in the French camp was that all news was + to be told first to Vaudreuil, who, as governor-general, could pass it on + or not, and interfere with the army as much as he liked. When it was light + enough to see Saunders's fleet, the island of Orleans, and the Point of + Levy, Montcalm at once noticed that Wolfe's men had gone. He galloped down + to the bridge of boats, where he found that Vaudreuil had already heard of + Wolfe's landing. At first the French thought the firing round the Foulon + was caused by an exchange of shots between the Samos battery and some + British men-of-war that were trying to stop the French provision boats + from getting in there. But Vergor's fugitives and the French patrols near + Quebec soon told the real story. And then, just before seven, Montcalm + himself caught sight of Wolfe's first redcoats marching in along the Ste + Foy road. Well might he exclaim, after all he had done and Vaudreuil had + undone: 'There they are, where they have no right to be!' + </p> + <p> + He at once sent orders, all along his six miles of entrenchments, to bring + up every French regular and all the rest except 2,000 militia. But + Vaudreuil again interfered; and Montcalm got only the French and Canadian + regulars, 2,500, and the same number of Canadian militia with a few + Indians. The French and British totals, actually present on the field of + battle, were, therefore, almost exactly equal, 5,000 each. Vaudreuil also + forgot to order out the field guns, the horses for which the vile and + corrupt Bigot had been using for himself. At nine Montcalm had formed up + his French and colonial regulars between Quebec and the crest of rising + ground across the Plains beyond which lay Wolfe. Riding forward till he + could see the redcoats, he noticed how thin their line was on its left and + in its centre, and that its right, near the St Lawrence, had apparently + not formed at all. But his eye deceived him about the British right, as + the men were lying down there, out of sight, behind a swell of ground. He + galloped back and asked if any one had further news. Several officers + declared they had heard that Wolfe was entrenching, but that his right + brigade had not yet had time to march on to the field. There was no + possible way of finding out anything else at once. The chance seemed + favourable. Montcalm knew he had to fight or starve, as he was completely + cut off by land and water, except for one bad, swampy road in the valley + of the St Charles; and he ordered his line to advance. + </p> + <p> + At half-past nine the French reached the crest and halted. The two armies + were now in full view of each other on the Plains and only a quarter of a + mile apart. The French line of battle had eight small battalions, about + 2,500 men, formed six deep. The colonial regulars, in three battalions, + were on the flanks. The five battalions of French regulars were in the + centre. Montcalm, wearing a green and gold uniform, with the brilliant + cross of St Louis over his cuirass, and mounted on a splendid black + charger, rode the whole length of his line, to see if all were ready to + attack. The French regulars—half-fed, sorely harassed, interfered + with by Vaudreuil—were still the victors of Ticonderoga, against the + British odds of four to one. Perhaps they might snatch one last desperate + victory from the fortunes of war? Certainly all would follow wherever they + were led by their beloved Montcalm, the greatest Frenchman of the whole + New World. He said a few stirring words to each of his well-known + regiments as he rode by; and when he laughingly asked the best of all, the + Royal Roussillon, if they were not tired enough to take a little rest + before the battle, they shouted back that they were never too tired to + fight—'Forward, forward!' And their steady blue ranks, and those of + the four white regiments beside them, with bayonets fixed and colours + flying, did indeed look fit and ready for the fray. + </p> + <p> + Wolfe also had gone along his line of battle, the first of all two-deep + thin red lines, to make sure that every officer understood the order that + there was to be no firing until the French came close up, to within only + forty paces. As soon as he saw Montcalm's line on the crest he had moved + his own a hundred paces forward, according to previous arrangement; so + that the two enemies were now only a long musket-shot apart. The Canadians + and Indians were pressing round the British flanks, under cover of the + bushes, and firing hard. But they were easily held in check by the light + infantry on the left rear of the line and by the 35th on the right rear. + The few French and British skirmishers in the centre now ran back to their + own lines; and before ten the field was quite clear between the two + opposing fronts. + </p> + <p> + Wolfe had been wounded twice when going along his line; first in the wrist + and then in the groin. Yet he stood up so straight and looked so cool that + when he came back to take post on the right the men there did not know he + had been hit at all. His spirit already soared in triumph over the + weakness of the flesh. Here he was, a sick and doubly wounded man; but a + soldier, a hero, and a conqueror, with the key to half a continent almost + within his eager grasp. + </p> + <p> + At a signal from Montcalm in the centre the French line advanced about a + hundred yards in perfect formation. Then the Canadian regulars suddenly + began firing without orders, and threw themselves flat on the ground to + reload. By the time they had got up the French regulars had halted some + distance in front of them, fired a volley, and begun advancing again. This + was too much for the Canadians. Though they were regulars they were not + used to fighting in the open, not trained for it, and not armed for it + with bayonets. In a couple of minutes they had all slunk off to the flanks + and joined the Indians and militia, who were attacking the British from + under cover. + </p> + <p> + This left the French regulars face to face with Wolfe's front: five French + battalions against the British six. These two fronts were now to decide + the fate of Canada between them. The French still came bravely on; but + their six-deep line was much shorter than the British two-deep line, and + they saw that both their flanks were about to be over-lapped by fire and + steel. They inclined outwards to save themselves from this fatal overlap + on both right and left. But that made just as fatal a gap in their centre. + Their whole line wavered, halted oftener to fire, and fired more wildly at + each halt. + </p> + <p> + In the meantime Wolfe's front stood firm as a rock and silent as the + grave, one long, straight, living wall of red, with the double line of + deadly keen bayonets glittering above it. Nothing stirred along its whole + length, except the Union Jacks, waving defiance at the fleurs-de-lis, and + those patient men who fell before a fire to which they could not yet + reply. Bayonet after bayonet would suddenly flash out of line and fall + forward, as the stricken redcoat, standing there with shouldered arms, + quivered and sank to the ground. + </p> + <p> + Captain York had brought up a single gun in time for the battle, the + sailors having dragged it up the cliff and run it the whole way across the + Plains. He had been handling it most gallantly during the French advance, + firing showers of grape-shot into their ranks from a position right out in + the open in front of Wolfe's line. But now that the French were closing he + had to retire. The sailors then picked up the drag-ropes and romped in + with this most effective six-pounder at full speed, as if they were having + the greatest fun of their lives. + </p> + <p> + Wolfe was standing next to the Louisbourg Grenadiers, who, this time, were + determined not to begin before they were told. He was to give their + colonel the signal to fire the first volley; which then was itself to be + the signal for a volley from each of the other five battalions, one after + another, all down the line. Every musket was loaded with two bullets, and + the moment a battalion had fired it was to advance twenty paces, loading + as it went, and then fire a 'general,' that is, each man for himself, as + hard as he could, till the bugles sounded the charge. + </p> + <p> + Wolfe now watched every step the French line made. Nearer and nearer it + came. A hundred paces!—seventy-five!—fifty!—forty!!—<i>Fire!!!</i> + Crash! came the volley from the grenadiers. Five volleys more rang out in + quick succession, all so perfectly delivered that they sounded more like + six great guns than six battalions with hundreds of muskets in each. Under + cover of the smoke Wolfe's men advanced their twenty paces and halted to + fire the 'general.' The dense, six-deep lines of Frenchmen reeled, + staggered, and seemed to melt away under this awful deluge of lead. In + five minutes their right was shaken out of all formation. All that + remained of it turned and fled, a wild, mad mob of panic-stricken + fugitives. The centre followed at once. But the Royal Roussillon stood + fast a little longer; and when it also turned it had only three unwounded + officers left, and they were trying to rally it. + </p> + <p> + Montcalm, who had led the centre and had been wounded in the advance, + galloped over to the Royal Roussillon as it was making this last stand. + But even he could not stem the rush that followed and that carried him + along with it. Over the crest and down to the valley of the St Charles his + army fled, the Canadians and Indians scurrying away through the bushes as + hard as they could run. While making one more effort to rally enough men + to cover the retreat he was struck again, this time by a dozen grape-shot + from York's gun. He reeled in the saddle. But two of his grenadiers caught + him and held him up while he rode into Quebec. As he passed through St + Louis Gate a terrified woman called out, 'Oh! look at the marquis, he's + killed, he's killed!' But Montcalm, by a supreme effort, sat up straight + for a moment and said: 'It is nothing at all, my kind friend; you must not + be so much alarmed!' and, saying this, passed on to die, a hero to the + very last. + </p> + <p> + In the thick of the short, fierce fire-fight the bagpipes began to skirl, + the Highlanders dashed down their muskets, drew their claymores, and gave + a yell that might have been heard across the river. In a moment every + British bugle was sounding the 'Charge' and the whole red, living wall was + rushing forward with a roaring cheer. + </p> + <p> + But it charged without Wolfe. He had been mortally wounded just after + giving the signal for those famous volleys. Two officers sprang to his + side. 'Hold me up!' he implored them, 'don't let my gallant fellows see me + fall!' With the help of a couple of men he was carried back to the far + side of a little knoll and seated on a grenadier's folded coat, while the + grenadier who had taken it off ran over to a spring to get some water. + Wolfe knew at once that he was dying. But he did not yet know how the + battle had gone. His head had sunk on his breast, and his eyes were + already glazing, when an officer on the knoll called out, 'They run! They + run! 'Egad, they give way everywhere!' Rousing himself, as if from sleep, + Wolfe asked, 'Who run?'—'The French, sir!'—'Then I die + content!'—and, almost as he said it, he breathed his last. + </p> + <p> + He was not buried on the field he won, nor even in the country that he + conquered. All that was mortal of him—his poor, sick, wounded body—was + borne back across the sea, and carried in mourning triumph through his + native land. And there, in the family vault at Greenwich, near the school + he had left for his first war, half his short life ago, he was laid to + rest on November 20—at the very time when his own great victory + before Quebec was being confirmed by Hawke's magnificently daring attack + on the French fleet amid all the dangers of that wild night in Quiberon + Bay. + </p> + <p> + Canada has none of his mortality. But could she have anything more sacred + than the spot from which his soaring spirit took its flight into immortal + fame? And could this sacred spot be marked by any words more winged than + these: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + HERE DIED + WOLFE + VICTORIOUS +</pre> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII — EPILOGUE—THE LAST STAND + </h2> + <p> + Wolfe's victory on the Plains of Abraham proved decisive in the end; but + it was not the last of the great struggle for the Key of Canada. + </p> + <p> + After Wolfe had died on the field of battle, and Monckton had been + disabled by his wounds, Townshend took command, received the surrender of + Quebec on the 18th, and waited till the French field army had retired + towards Montreal. Then he sailed home with Saunders, leaving Murray to + hold what Wolfe had won. Saunders left Lord Colville in charge of a strong + squadron, with orders to wait at Halifax till the spring. + </p> + <p> + Both French and British spent a terrible winter. The French had better + shelter in Montreal than the British had among the ruins of Quebec; and, + being more accustomed to the rigours of the climate, they would have + suffered less from cold in any case. But their lot was, on the whole, the + harder of the two; for food was particularly bad and scarce in Montreal, + where even horseflesh was thought a luxury. Both armies were ravaged by + disease to a most alarming extent. Of the eight thousand men with whom + Murray began that deadly winter not one-half were able to bear arms in the + spring; and not one-half of those who did bear arms then were really fit + for duty. + </p> + <p> + Montcalm's successor, Levis, now made a skilful, bold, and gallant attempt + to retake Quebec before navigation opened. Calling the whole remaining + strength of New France to his aid, he took his army down in April, mostly + by way of the St Lawrence. The weather was stormy. The banks of the river + were lined with rotting ice. The roads were almost impassable. Yet, after + a journey of less than ten days, the whole French army appeared before + Quebec. Murray was at once confronted by a dire dilemma. The landward + defences had never been strong; and he had not been able to do more than + patch them up. If he remained behind them Levis would close in, batter + them down, and probably carry them by assault against a sickly garrison + depressed by being kept within the walls. If, on the other hand, he + marched out, he would have to meet more than double numbers at the least; + for some men would have to be left to cover a retreat; and he knew the + French grand total was nearly thrice his own. But he chose this bolder + course; and at the chill dawn of April 28, he paraded his little attacking + force of a bare three thousand men on the freezing snow and mud of the + Esplanade and then marched out. + </p> + <p> + The two armies met at Ste Foy, a mile and a half beyond the walls; and a + desperate battle ensued. The French had twice as many men in action, but + only half of these were regulars; the others had no bayonets; and there + was no effective artillery to keep down the fire of Murray's commanding + guns. The terrific fight went on for hours, while victory inclined neither + to one side nor the other. It was a far more stubborn and much bloodier + contest than Wolfe's of the year before. At last a British battalion was + fairly caught in flank by overwhelming numbers and driven across the front + of Murray's guns, whose protecting fire it thus completely masked at a + most critical time. Murray thereupon ordered up his last reserve. But even + so he could no longer stand his ground. Slowly and sullenly his exhausted + men fell back before the French, who put the very last ounce of their own + failing strength into a charge that took the guns. Then the beaten British + staggered in behind their walls, while the victorious French stood fast, + worn out by the hardships of their march and fought to a standstill in the + battle. + </p> + <p> + Levis rallied his army for one more effort and pressed the siege to the + uttermost of his power. Murray had lost a thousand men and could now + muster less than three thousand. Each side prepared to fight the other to + the death. But both knew that the result would depend on the fleets. There + had been no news from Europe since navigation closed; and hopes ran high + among the besiegers that perhaps some friendly men-of-war might still be + first; when of course Quebec would have to surrender at discretion, and + Canada would certainly be saved for France if the half-expected peace + would only follow soon. + </p> + <p> + Day after day all eyes, both French and British, looked seaward from the + heights and walls; though fleets had never yet been known to come up the + St Lawrence so early in the season. At last, on May 9, the tops of a + man-of-war were sighted just beyond the Point of Levy. Either she or + Quebec, or both, might have false colours flying. So neither besiegers nor + besieged knew to which side she belonged. Nor did she know herself whether + Quebec was French or British. Slowly she rounded into the harbour, her + crew at quarters, her decks all cleared for action. She saluted with + twenty-one guns and swung out her captain's barge. Then, for the first + time, every one watching knew what she was; for the barge was heading + straight in towards the town, and redcoats and bluejackets could see each + other plainly. In a moment every British soldier who could stand had + climbed the nearest wall and was cheering her to the echo; while the + gunners showed their delight by loading and firing as fast as possible and + making all the noise they could. + </p> + <p> + But one ship was not enough to turn the scale; and Levis redoubled his + efforts. On the night of the 15th French hopes suddenly flared up all + through the camp when the word flew round that three strange men-of-war + just reported down off Beauport were the vanguard of a great French fleet. + But daylight showed them to be British, and British bent on immediate and + vigorous attack. Two of these frigates made straight for the French + flotilla, which fled in wild confusion, covered by the undaunted Vauquelin + in the <i>Atalante</i>, which fought a gallant rearguard action all the + twenty miles to Pointe-aux-Trembles, where she was driven ashore and + forced to strike her colours, after another, and still more desperate, + resistance of over two hours. That night Levis raised the siege in despair + and retired on Montreal. Next morning Lord Colville arrived with the main + body of the fleet, having made the earliest ascent of the St Lawrence ever + known to naval history, before that time or since. + </p> + <p> + Then came the final scene of all this moving drama. Step by step + overpowering British forces closed in on the doomed and dwindling army of + New France. They closed in from east and west and south, each one of their + converging columns more than a match for all that was left of the French. + Whichever way he looked, Levis could see no loophole of escape. There was + nothing but certain defeat in front and on both flanks, and starvation in + the rear. So when the advancing British met, all together, at the island + of Montreal, he and his faithful regulars laid down their arms without + dishonour, in the fully justifiable belief that no further use of them + could possibly retrieve the great lost cause of France in Canada. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + </h2> + <p> + Wolfe is one of the great heroes in countless books of modern British + history, by far the greatest hero in the many books about the fight for + Canada, and the single hero of four biographies. It was more than a + century after his triumphant death before the first of these appeared: <i>The + Life of Major-General James Wolfe</i> by Robert Wright. A second Life of + Wolfe appeared a generation later, this time in the form of a small volume + by A. G. Bradley in the 'English Men of Action' series. The third and + fourth biographies were both published in 1909, the year which marked the + third jubilee of the Battle of the Plains. One of them, Edward Salmon's <i>General + Wolfe</i>, devotes more than the usual perfunctory attention to the + important influence of sea-power; but it is a sketch rather than a + complete biography, and it is by no means free from error. The other is <i>The + Life and Letters of James Wolfe</i> by Beckles Willson. + </p> + <p> + The histories written with the best knowledge of Wolfe's career in Canada + are: the contemporary <i>Journal of the Campaigns In North America</i> by + Captain John Knox, Parkman's <i>Montcalm and Wolfe</i>, and <i>The Siege + of Quebec and the Battle of the Plains of Abraham</i> by A. G. Doughty and + G. W. Parmelee. Knox's two very scarce quarto volumes have been edited by + A. G. Doughty for the Champlain Society for republication in 1914. + Parkman's work is always excellent. But he wrote before seeing some of the + evidence so admirably revealed in Dr Doughty's six volumes, and, like the + rest, he failed to understand the real value of the fleet. + </p> + <p> + END + </p> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Winning of Canada: A Chronicle of +Wolf, by William Wood + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WINNING OF CANADA *** + +***** This file should be named 8728-h.htm or 8728-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/8/7/2/8728/ + +Produced by Gardner Buchanan and David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at + www.gutenberg.org/license. + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 +North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email +contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the +Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + + + +</pre> + </body> +</html> |