The French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Years War, was the last war of the French and Indian Wars, a series of wars between the French and the British (thus, named incorrectly.) Both sides benefited from Indian allies, which were of great assistance (the French having friends among the Hurons and Algonquins, and the British befriended by the Iroquios.)
A battle at Quebec, the capital of new France (the French claims in America), was a major and important victory for the British; the siege began on June 26,1759, when the British fleet anchored off the coast of the Isle de Orleans. General James T. Wolfe commanded the British, and the wise General Montcalm commanded the French. The battle took place on the Plains of Abraham, just above Quebec.
Quebec was not prepared for the great British fleet which sailed up the St. Lawrence; the journey up the mighty river was treacherous and dangerous. Consequently, the St. Lawrence was considered a defense.
Despite the circumstances, however, Admiral Charles Saunders, Admiral Holmes, Admiral Durell, and the chief navigator, Captain James Cook, led the great British armada up the St. Lawrence without any difficulty. The fleet consisted of twenty-two warships, and one hundred nineteen transports and supply vessels, a full quarter of the complete Royal Navy.
This fleet headed towards the Isle aux Coudres, forty miles below Quebec. This point was extremely dangerous to travel through, for the river narrowed, becoming extremely swift and treacherous; due to this, the French Navy had stationed pilots on the island to guide French ships through the dangerous channel. One ship, at a time, could pass through.
Thus, when the pilots saw several ships coming towards them, they rowed out to meet them. The British, who were flying the French flag, captured the unsuspecting pilots. They were told that they could steer the ships through, or be hanged. The pilots agreed to lead the French fleet through the channel; however, bold, daring captains led their own ships without difficulty.
An army of approximately nine thousand men was commanded by General James T. Wolfe. Sailors were aplenty, and sometimes could work on shore. This army anchored off the Isle d'Orleans on June 26, 1763; in the twilight, Lieutenant Meech, and forty rangers, made their way through the forest. A larger Canadian party was discovered, and the small team managed to find shelter in a cabin; there, they waited for landing parties to come ashore and secure the island, which was located three miles below Quebec.
The French were frightened drastically when they saw a large British armada approaching. During the upcoming night, Governor Vaudreuil ordered that French fire ships be sent out towards the British navy. He was confident that they would destroy all the British ships, quickly and effectively.
Certain French ships and large rafts were loaded with pitch, tar, grenades, and explosives; some crafts were linked with chains. Each ship had a crew to light the fire;
the ships were to be set afire and let free to ram the British fleet. The night of June 28 found these fire ships floating down the St. Lawrence, all of which were in command of Captain Delouche, whose ship was in the lead.
As the set of ships drifted closer to the English armada, Delouche lost his nerve; he set his ship on fire more than half and hour before he should have. This had been the signal for everyone following to set their ships afire as well (and they did); they then rowed safely to shore. Many of the fire ships did no damage for they burned down long before reaching the British fleet. Other ships were towed out of the way by daring men in whaleboats. Several ships also drifted ashore.
Soon after, the French built a great raft, with top masts and anchor cables; this was an attempt, which failed, to scare some British ships away. Once again, no harm was done; as well as this, the British benefited for they were in need of spare spars.
The French then built a raft with explosives inside. It floated down with the current, and a midshipman steadied his boat beside it; he jumped onto the the squarish raft. It exploded on impact, and sent the boy flying into the air and down into the river, unhurt. His boat was slightly damaged, and some crew members were injured.
Another attempt, on one warship, was an early form of the submarine. It was the job of three sailors, a submersible boat, so they called it. Permission was given for them to construct it. The craft was nearly nine feet long, with a point at one end; it was divided into three compartments, the middle having the ability to be flooded in order to submerge. The other two were filled with explosives and the crew. It is assumed that one man had his head and shoulders in each of the compartments. This idea is logical, because it indicates that the craft may have been propelled by swimming. A warship was reached, and the craft was attached to it, but the match was slow and wet, going out before the explosives were set off. On the night of June 29, the British fleet crossed to the south bank of the river; the next morning, Brigadier General Robert Monckton, after a slight entanglement, occupied Pointe Levi, were further bits of resistance were met due to a small army of six hundred men.
The construction of batteries was immediately begun, both on Pointe Levi and on the western tip of the Isle de Orleans. Cannon were soon in position on the opposite end of the city, and they were delivering effective fire by July 12. On July 9, most troops previously on the Isle de Orleans had moved to the plateau just east of the Montmorency; a well-defended camp had been established there.
This camp was well within range of the French, but Montcalm decided that the camp would simply move to a different location if he ordered fire upon it. he believed it was quite harmless at its present location. Wolfe's canon and artillery caused great destruction inside of the city. The cathedral and many private houses were burned to the ground.
On Pointe Levi, bands of Indians and Canadians (mostly Anaki) lived throughout the woods, which became a problem. Sentries were knived, scalped, and mutilated, and patrols were ambushed and done the same to.
The redcoats, though, turned their coats inside out, and smeared the linings with clay; gun barrels were darkened, and Wolfe gave permission to scalp any Indians and French men dressed as Indians. Small patrols with this description went into the woods.
Several Indians and French were slaughtered; after a time, Indians complained that the British no longer allowed themselves to be killed.
Montcalm had sent batteries to several different positions on the cliffs from the St. Charles River to the Montmorency, One thousand men were sent near Camp Rouge to prevent landings.
On the moonless night of July 18, however, two warships and five smaller vessels incredibly managed to sail above the river by Quebec; they were shot at, but the canon shots were harmless.
This act, which the French were not prepared for, forced Montcalm to divide his defenses; a strong force was sent to guard against landings.
Farms and villages of the Canadians were burned in an attempt to lure Montcalm out of Quebec; the bait was not taken. Montcalm would not risk Quebec and his army for some dwellings; however, he sent a few small parties to intercede.
At this point in the siege (the sixty-seventh day), Wolfe had lost eight hundred fifty men, which included the dead, wounded, and missing.
French batteries were floated on the river and shot at the British; these feeble attempts did not damage anything, though.
Later in July, the French set out their largest and most dangerous fire raft. A six hundred foot stream of schooners, fire rafts, and shallops, all chained together, was set out to destroy the British fleet, but British sailors, in their ships, towed the frightful conflagration out of the way. The following day, a message from Wolfe arrived, stating that if anything else of the sort was attempted, he would set fire rafts around the two transports containing French prisoners.
More than a month passed since the British had arrived; no progress had been made, besides the fact that several French buildings had been destroyed. Wolfe had been in hope that the French would leave Quebec to attack him, but Montcalm was wise, and waited. The British commander knew Quebec was strongly guarded, and his forces would never get inside. Winter was closing in, and this thought left Wolfe nervous.
Several landing crafts had been constructed, in the meantime, each of which could hold three hundred men, who were supported by empty casks and barrels beneath the deck. Three sides of the large craft consisted of railings, while the fourth carried a hinged landing ramp; this ramp, until set down, protected the menon board from enemy fire. Flatboats were built as well; these vessels were much smaller, and could carry only seventy or more men, along with a crew of twelve sailors. These boats were carried on to Quebec; they were taken apart in order to make space, and were quickly reassembled by means of brass bolts and nuts. These craft proved to be quite useful, for they moved fast with the help of oars, and drew eighteen to twenty-two inches of water when completely full.
Wolfe, who seemed desperate at this time, decided on an attack on the French forces just west of the Montmorency. He hoped to bring the French out of their safety and defenses. By capturing a redoubt on the edge of the mud flats, he believed, Montcalm would want to recapture the strong point. The enemy would come down the bluffs, and a battle would result.
One team of grenadiers, soldiers specialized in throwing grenades, was to row ashore as far east as the redoubts went. A second, though, was to wade across the Montmorency from the main camp.
On the evening of July 31, the plan was put to work, and supported by canon from the vessels and ships. Eight hundred grenadiers, who had been waiting in flatboats for half a day, were finally going to attack. They rowed towards shore, but large rocks prevented the landing, of the boats, on shore; thus, the grenadiers and some of the Royal Americans charged onto the beach after a run through water up to their waists. Several were shot down by canon and musket before they even reached land. The redoubt, with its two canon, was easily captured, but then fired upon heavily by the French at the top of the bluff.
The group did not wait for the other troops, who had just landed, and had a band playing, "the Grenadiers March;" instead, they began climbing the steep bluffs. None of the men made it up, and they suffered musket fire and severe casualties besides. A storm followed, turning sand and soil into a muddy cataract, in which they could no longer climb.
The grenadiers retreated, many of the dead and injured rolling to the flats below. All those within range, mostly the dead and injured, were scalped by the Indians.
Four hundred forty-three men were killed, wounded, or missing in the unsuccessful attack.
The British and French shot canon upon each other, the British causing much more damage than the French. Wolfe, who's mission was to capture Quebec, questioned his three bridagiers for suggestions; these bridagiers bore the names of General Robert Monckton, James Murray, and George Townshend. Together, it was decided that landing upriver, above Quebec, would be the smartest thing to do at the time.
The French depended upon roads, but the British had unlimited use of the great St. Lawrence River due to their navy. By landing above Quebec, the French supplies would be threatened, thus forcing the French to leave the city and fight.
The landing would be two miles above Quebec, at the Anse de Foulon. His men could get up the cliffs by use of a path, which had been well concealed, with bushes, by the French. (It is unknown how Wolfe knew about this path.) Wolfe did not tell of this path until his men were at the Anse de Foulon, awaiting further orders.
Every night, Admiral Saunders sent a few ships above Quebec, managing to slip past the batteries. Eventually, twenty ships were west of the city; these ships drifted downwards with the ebb tide, and upstream, at night, with the flood tide.
Bougainville's force marched back and forth, ready for any signs of attack; eventually, they would get used to the English ships not attacking, become overconfident- which was when Wolfe planned to strike.
In Quebec, General Montcalm was positive that the British would once more attempt to take Beauport, for the night before the landing, the British canons had aimed at that point several times. Governor Vaudreuil, on the other hand, believed that the British would attempt to land above the city.
Far before dawn, at two in the morning, the plan was commenced; Wolfe was in the leading whaleboat, which was commanded by Captain William Delaune.
The British opened fire, with all weapons, on Beauport, so as to direct the attention to that city.
The first wave of British troops landed on the Anse de Foulon, for the second wave carried the artillery, supplies, and more soldiers, including Wolfe. Once the first wave was acrossed, they would cross.
Without delay, the first wave, led by Captain Delaune, began climbing the steep cliff. Wolfe had told of the path, and its location, just before the landing; the pathfinders led the way and silenced the sentries at the top.
Once Delaune's force reached the edge of the cliff, they attacked a French camp guarding against landings. Shots awakened Captain Vergor, who attempted to assemble a defense of thirty men; he had sent most of his men home to gather in the crops.
The few soldiers soon scattered, and, all but one, escaped through the brush; Captain Vergor was shot in the foot while attempting to escape.
At the sound of the gunshots, the battery of Samos began firing upon the British ships. The second wave of soldiers made their way up the cliffs with the use the path, the canon fire raining down upon them.
Colonel Howe was sent, with some light infantry, to intercept the batteries. The men operating the batteries fled to Camp Rouge, for they were outnumbered by far.
Two canon were brought ashore, and at five in the morning, the second wave had made it to the top of the cliff; they assembled into their assigned positions.
The small army moved onto a plateau just west of Quebec, about three-quarters of a mile wide, the Plains of Abraham.
Montcalm had heard the commotion of ships during the night, but when their was no attack, he fell back to sleep. Early in the morning, he had received a note from Governor Vaudreuil that patrols had discovered the English army on the Plains of Abraham.
The French were extremely surprised, at first thinking the force was a simple diversion. When realization hit, Bougainville was contacted for help. However, the force of three thousand men were miles away and would arrive in the afternoon.
At nine thirty, that morning, Wolfe began talking to his army, and giving final orders; Canadians and Indians appeared from the forest, and began shooting towards Wolfe. A captain standing by Wolfe was hit in the chest; Wolfe kneeled by the captain, and told him that he would promoted at the end of the battle.
General Montcalm decided not to wait for the reinforcements. Thus at ten o'clock in the morning, the French crowded outside of Quebec, and were told to attack immediately and without delay.
They advanced, upon the redcoats, as was their custom, in a straight line abreast; officers with drawn swords kept the army moving in perfect step. Long, slow strides were taken , and, at a command, the army would stop, fire its weapons, and renew the steady pace. The British patiently waited, while the French opened fire at one hundred thirty yards, a range that did no harm. As they approached, they were stiff, for crouching and kneeling was forbidden.
Some Canadians in place of soldiers fired too soon, and, moreover, they fell to the ground in order to reload. These acts threw the pace off. The British continued to stand, with the exceptional few who fell.
The French shot two more volleys; when they were within forty yards, the British shot ounce balls, in perfect unison. This first volley caused screams and cries on the side of the French. After a twenty- pace advance, the British fired another volley.
A small party of Canadian militia delivered the only effective fire for the French. The British were slowed enough for many of the French to make it back to Quebec.
Wolfe stood in the front line, to the right; he was clipped in the wrist, but an aid wrapped the wound with a handkerchief. Refusing to retreat, Wolfe continued watching the battle as if nothing had occurred; soon after, a piece of a ball slammed into his abdomen, forcing him to stagger. Finally, he was shot in the chest, puncturing his lungs, and throwing him off his horse. A soldier yelled, "See how they run." Wolfe managed, "Who runs?" Another soldier replied, "The French run, sir." As Wolfe said his last words, "now God be praised, I die in peace." He died soon after, and his body was taken back to England for a hero's funeral.
During the fight, Montcalm, was hit twice, once in the groin, and once in the thigh; when he returned to Quebec, a surgeon warned him that he would die in a matter of hours. Montcalm sadly replied, "So much the better, I shall not see the surrender of Quebec." Montcalm died the following morning, and was buried in a shell hole in the convent of the Urseline nuns.
The final shots occurred while the two armies were only a matter of feet apart; the musket balls destroying the French lines. Those who survived the shots were dazen and shaken. The British bayonet charge forced the French to break their lines and retreat to the safety of Quebec, the enemy following close behind and firing.
Six hundred sixty-four British were injured, compared to the fourteen hundred French causualties.
Bougainville arrived at this point, with two thousand men, but the battle had begun and ended, lasting only about fifteen minutes. Thus, the force moved back to Lorette, which was nine miles from Quebec.
The British were moved back to the Plains of Abraham; but since Wolfe was dead, and the first senior officer, Montckon, was wounded, the next senior officer, Townshend, led the victorious army back.
Governor Vaudreuil departed to Lorette, with the defeated army, which had left its tents, supplies, and provisions at the Beauport camp. The troops remaining in Quebec surrendered a few days later; five days later, the British occupied it.
The Battle of Quebec was the most decisive battle of the French and Indian Wars, for Quebec was the capital of New France; thus, it was the most important city. Though the great city was thought to be invincible, it was captured by the British. The price of overconfidence was Quebec, not to mention much of the French army; two Generals were killed during the siege, Montcalm and Wolfe. Patience proved itself, as well as good strategies.
Indian allies benefited both sides during the battle; the presence of these Indians, for either sides, resulted in a greater number of casualties for the opposing side.
After the Battle of Quebec, Montreal was captured, another important French city. Because, mostly, of these last two defeats, the French lost a great deal. In 1763, the Peace of Paris was passed, which thus concluded the French and Indian War.
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