The Fall Of Quebec

The Fall Of Quebec 

The fall of Quebec was a turning point in Canadian history, changing it from a French colony to a British colony. Had this battle gone the other way, English might be the second language, not French. The battle of Quebec was one of many battles during the 'Seven Year War'. They called it the Maritime War.

 It was officially declared in May 1756. Britain and Prussia were on one side and France, Spain, and Austria on the other. The war moved across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe because the French and the British were fighting over furs and land.

Britain, while subsidizing and aiding Prussia, its only European ally, sought victory in America and sent what was for that century an overwhelming number of regular troops in order to stiffen the military of the American colonies. 

The French Colonists were very angry. The English were slowly moving over the Appalachian Mountains. Thereby invading the French fur trapper's land. 

In September 1758, General Jeffery Amherst attacked Louisburg, the frontier fortress of Canada. Major General James Wolfe was second in command.

There was only two years difference between the too men. The Fort on Cape Breton Island was the key to the gateway of the St Lawrence River. (Britannica vol. 8) Whoever held the fort had the key to the heart of Canada. 

After the British captured the fort, Quebec was the next military target. The following June, Major General James Wolfe led the British up the river. Helping Wolfe were Brigadiers General Robert Monkton, James Murray, and George Townsend. The flotilla had forty-nine men-of-war, fully one-quarter of the entire Royal Navy, two hundred transports, storage vessels and provision ships.

 The fleet was commanded by three admirals, Saunders, Holmes and Durrel. The chief navigator was Captain James Cook. He would later explore the Pacific Ocean. 

Forty miles below Quebec at Isle aux Coudres the river becomes narrow, making it extremely swift and treacherous. Submerged rocks, sandbars and shallows became a hazard for ships. The French navy feared this, so they placed pilots on the island to guide the ships through the cannel safely. 

The colours of France were raised on the British ships as they passed through the dangerous point. When the pilots rowed out to help guide the ships, they were captured. These men were given the choice of helping the British or being hung. They all agreed to help, but the English captions thought it would be best to sail through on their own. 
On Jun 26, the British fleet anchored just off the village of the St. Laurent on the southeast side of the Island of Orleans. The first men to be sent to the unknown land were forty New England Rangers under the command of Lt. Meech. They met Canadians with little resistance. (Sieges Of Quebec 40) The Rangers were soon joined by the restless troops. 

General Wolfe set up his main camp on the Montmorency River, across from Montcalm's trenches. Storms hit the British camp hard. Several ships were severely damaged. The French leader watched as this happened and thought that he could cause even more chaos. 
Late on June 28th, the British spotted dark shapes on the water. As they shouted in alarm, a French captain lighted his fuse. The others followed order. In just a few short minutes the shy was lit up with blazing ships. The English rushed out to the burning ships. They towed them to shore with hooks to burn out without causing any harm. 
"They were certainly the grandest fireworks that can possibly be conceived" Knox, Presbyterian Clergyman (the capture of Quebec 83) 

Wolfe sent Brigadier General Robert Monckton to capture Pointe-Levy (Cap Levy) on June 30th. He did so with much ease. (Digitalhistory) He set up his own camp and moved artillery into position. From the point, they could lay deadly fire upon Quebec, less than a mile away. The British cannon fired every single day. 

Bands of natives haunted the woods surrounding Monckton's camp. Sentries were knifed and scalped, patrols were ambushed and mutilated. In order to blend in the British turned their red jackets inside out and dubbed the linings with clay. They had darkened the ends of their guns and only ventured out in small groups so they would make less noise. General Wolfe issued orders allowing his me to scalp the Indians and any French men who were dressed like the Indians. 

Quebec City is made up of two parts. Upper and Lower Town. It was a natural fortress. The Lower consisted of homes, warehouses and docks along the riverside. On top of the cliffs was Upper. It had the governor's palace, hospital, cathedral and citadel. Steep narrow streets connected these parts of the city. 

Steep cliffs up to two hundred feet high stretch for miles on either side of the city. Rivers enclose Quebec. The Cap Rouge River between the cliffs and the wooded banks until it joined the St. Lawrence River west of the city. The Charles River was to the east. The cliffs overlook a stretch of land called the Beauport Shore. It reaches the Montmorency. It is a swift river that runs through a steep gorge and cascades over an eighty-foot waterfall where it then joins the St. Lawrence River. 

Montcalm had trenches dug along the cliffs from the St. Charles to the Montmorency River. To make the passage upriver impassable he placed cannons at key points along the cliffs and in the city. 

"The reason why Montcalm had now to fight a stubborn defense to protect Quebec instead of advancing on the American colonies was because he could get no assistance from France." (The Capture of Quebec 24) 

Colonel de Bougainville was stationed with a thousand men near Cape Rouge just in case the British managed to slip by the batteries and came ashore. (Digitalhistory) 
Montcalm would not have to fight to win, but by simply waiting it out until winter. Then Wolfe's immense number of fleets would be frozen in he St. Lawrence. Wolfe on the other hand had to trick the French general to come out of his fortress to fight or, scale the cliffs to get up o him. 

Wolfe gave orders to raid the farms to the south of Quebec. Light infantry, Highlanders and Rangers were sent out to both sides of the St. Lawrence, burning houses and barns. Although he ordered the churches to be spared, s few of them were reduced to ash as well. 
Montcalm refused to let the British's unethical tactics to draw them out. He dispatched a few parties, but nothing that would diminish his guard over Quebec. 

On July 20th Wolfe had eight hundred grenadiers, men who specialized in throwing grenades, row over to the Beauport shore to attack the French batteries. Submerged rocks caused them to have to wade ashore under fire form the French troops. Those who made it ashore became temporarily insane. Out if fear and desperation they charged the French Batteries with their bayonets fixed. The artillerymen who failed to run were stabbed. 
Drummers tapped out the charge for the second wave of British troops. They became enraged with what they saw happen to their fellow soldiers. They rushed up and began scaling the cliffs. The French began firing down upon them. When the rain started to fall, the cliff side turned into a mass mudslide. At last the same drummers who sounded out the attack, sounded the retreat. As the English got in their boats to go back across the river, the Indians came down to scalp the dead and wounded. 

This defeat devastated Wolfe to the extreme. He lay sick in bed with a high fever. Several weeks of lack of sleep, worry and nervous strain was the cause. He called a meeting, on his tenth day in bed, of his senior officers. He rose because he didn't think he had much more time to conquer before his health completely failed him. 

Wolf evacuated the camp on Montmerncy River and concentrated his army at Point Levis. Every night a few ships would go up river, past the batteries at Quebec until there was a squadron west of the city. They would slowly drift down river with the tide as if looking for a place to land. This forced Bouganvilles men to follow the British ships from the top of the cliffs. This was to tire the French out and get them used to seeing British that never attacked. 

Wolfe had made a surprising discovery. There was an overgrown path leading up to the top of the cliffs in an islet just a few miles west of Quebec. It was guarded at the top by a small troop of Canadian Militia under Captain Duchambon de Vergor. It was the soft underbelly of the French's defenses that the English had been looking for all this time. 
During the night of September 13,1779, Wolfe led his troops up the secret path to attack. Montcalms officers saw the red coats coming towards them, but didn't do anything. They wouldn't move with out written orders form the General himself. By the time word got to Montcalm, the British were bringing more men up. 

Open space was need for battle. Between the British army and Quebec there was room for deployment. It was part of the Heights, or Plains of Abraham. There were danger zones on either side; the woods could conceal the quickness of the Indians. Montcalm had less than two thousand nine hundred regulars available. He also had Canadian comrades-in-arms and Indians on his side. (With Wolfe to Quebec 165) 

At 10am Montcalm gave the command for the French to attack. He was shocked to see that the British were not in the trenches, but lying down on the field. Only the Officers stood up. This was so Wolfe's men wouldn't be a target, only his officers who wouldn't do much to fight in the battle anyway. By this stage in the battle, Wolfe had been already hit in the wrist. Moments later he was hit again in the stomach, but he ignored the pain. (Sieges of Quebec 66) 

The British waited for the French to be close before the opened fire upon them. When they did so it was in an orderly fashion. There were 3 lines, on would stand up, shoot, drop reloading their muskets while the other two took their turns firing. The French were running a shooting randomly. There was no sense of order. 

Most of the fifty-eight British who died and six hundred wounded were done do by the Canadians and the Indians. (Sieges Of Quebec 69) Wolfe was struck by one of these Canadian bullets in the chest. A surgeon was called for immediately, but it was too late. He lay on the field surrounded by his men. 

"Now, God be praised, I will die in peace" General James Wolfe (Sieges of Quebec 69) 
British soldiers wandered around aimlessly. They looted the dead, looking for souvenirs and helping the wounded. The battle had only lasted thirty minutes. A British cannon had hit Montcalm. He was taken to a house in the Upper Town. The French had lost six hundred men, but 13 000 still remained. (Sieges of Quebec 70) The French officers didn't know what to do. They went to their leader on his deathbed to seek advice. He told them that they could attack, retreat of surrender. Moncalm died on the morning of September 14th. By that time the French had abandoned their guns, baggage, even the food reserves. 
The fall of Quebec insured British domination of North America. Although the French have remained a presence, they remain cloistered in certain geographic areas like Quebec, New Brunswick, Louisiana, Northern Ontario and Northern Manitoba. The strength of their differences has allowed them to retain a separate existence.