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reason of their distance, made small impression upon the works, though they destroyed many houses, and greatly incommoded the inhabitants. The fleet could be of little use, as the elevation of the principal fortifications placed them beyond its reach, and even gave them a degree of command over it. The English general, therefore, became sensible of the impossibility of reducing the place, unless he could erect his batteries on the northern side of the river. But as this seemed a matter of infinite difficulty, his grand dilemma was, how to effect it?-Nor could all his penetration resolve the question.

The northern shore of the river St. Lawrence, for a considerable way above Quebec, is so bold and rocky, as to make it impracticable to land in the face of an enemy. Below the town, the French army was strongly encamped, between the river Montmorency and St. Charles. If the first river should be passed, and the French driven from their intrenchments, the second would present a new and almost insuperable barrier against the victors. With all these obstacles Wolfe was well acquainted; but he also knew, to use his own heroic language, “that a victorious army finds no difficulties!" He therefore resolved to pass the river Montmorency, and bring Montealm to an engagement. In consequence of this resolution, part of the British army was landed at the mouth of that river, and the main body was ready to ford it higher up, when certain unpropitious circumstances made it necessary to withdraw the troops, and relinquish the design. General Wolfe's original plan was, to attack first a detached redoubt close to the water's edge, and apparently situated beyond reach of the fire from the enemy's intrenchments. Should they attempt to support that fortification, he doubted not of being able to bring on a general action; and if they remained tame spectators of its fall, he could afterward coolly examine their situation, and regulate accordingly his future operations. But observing the enemy in some confusion, he rashly changed his purpose; and listening only to the ardour of his courage, determined immediately to attack the French camp.

With that view, orders were sent to the generals Townshend and Murray, to keep their divisions in readiness for fording the river. Meantime, thirteen companies of English grenadiers, and part of the second battalion of royal Americans, which had been first landed, and directed to form upon the beach, until they could be properly sustained, rushed impetuously towards the enemy's intrenchments; as if, in their ungovernable fury, they could have borne down every thing before them. But they were met by so strong and steady a fire from the French musketry, that they were instantly thrown into disorder, and obliged to seek shelter in or behind the detached redoubt, which the enemy had abandoned on their approach. (1) There they continued for some time, before they could repass the river, exposed to a dreadful thunderstorm, and a more terrible storm of bullets, which proved fatal to many gallant officers, who fearlessly exposed their persons, in attempting to form the troops. And instead of lamenting this early failure, though occasioned by inexcusable precipitancy, and attended with the loss of near five hundred brave men, we ought rather to consider it as a fortunate event; for if the whole British army had been led on to the attack, there is reason to believe, from the strength of the French intrenchments, that the consequences would have been more fatal.(2)

Made sensible by this mortifying check, and the information connected with it, of the impracticability of approaching Quebec, on the side of Montmorency, while the marquis de Montcalm chose to maintain his station, Wolfe detached general Murray, with twelve hundred men in transports, to co-operate with admiral Holmes above the town, in endeavouring to destroy the French shipping, and otherwise to distress and distract the enemy, by descents upon the banks of the river. In pursuance of these obstructions, Murray made two vigorous attempts to land on the northern shore, but without success in the third, he was more fortunate. By a sudden descent at

(1) Letter from general Wolfe to Mr. secretary Pitt, in London Gazette, Oct. 6, 1795.

(2) This is in some measure admitted by Wolfe himself. Id. ibid.

Chambaud, he burned a valuable magazine, filled with clothing, arms, ammunition, and provisions. That was a service of considerable importance, though by no means adequate to his wishes. The French ships were secured in such a manner as not to be approached either by the fleet or army. He therefore returned to the British camp at the request of the commander-inchief, in some measure disappointed, but with the consolatory intelligence (received from his prisoners)," That Niagara was taken; that Ticonderoga and Crown Point were abandoned; and that general Amherst was employed in making preparations for attacking the enemy at isle Aux Noix."

This intelligence, however, though agreeable in itself, afforded no prospect of any immediate assistance. The season wasted apace; and the fervid spirit of general Wolfe, which could not brook the most distant prospect of censure or disgrace, began to prey upon his naturally delicate constitution. Conscious that the conduct of no leader can ever be honoured with true applause, unless gilded with success, he dreaded alike to become the object of the pity or the scorn of his capricious countrymen. His own high notions of military glory, the public hope, the good fortune of other commanders, all turned inward upon him, and converted disappointment, and the fear of miscarriage, into a disease that threatened the dissolution of his tender frame. Though determined, as he declared in his disquiet, never to return to England without accomplishing his enterprise, he sent to the ministry a pathetic and even desponding account of his situation, in order seemingly to prepare the minds of the people for the worst.(1)

Having thus unburdened his mind, and found, no doubt, the consequent relief, he called a council of his principal officers, in which it was resolved, that the future operations should be above the town, in order to draw the French general, if possible, from his impregnable position, and bring on an engagement. The camp at Montmorency was accordingly abandoned; and the whole British army being embarked on board the fleet, part of it was landed at point Levi, and part carried higher up the river. The good effects of this new scheme were soon visible.

The marquis de Montcalm, apprehensive that the invaders might make a distant descent, and come on the back of the city of Quebec, detached M. de Bougainville, with fifteen hundred men, in order to watch their motions; and by that means weakened his own army. Meantime, a daring plan was formed by the three English brigadier-generals, and presented to the commander-in-chief; namely, a proposal for landing the troops in the night under the heights of Abraham, a little above the town, in hopes of conquering the rugged ascent before morning,

The very boldness of this plan, which was conceived while Wolfe was confined by sickness, recommended it to his generous and intrepid spirit. The stream was rapid, the shore shelving, the intended landing-place so narrow as to be easily missed in the dark, and the steep so difficult as hardly to be ascended in the daytime, even without opposition. The French general could not think that a descent would be attempted in defiance of so many obstacles. It was effected, however, with equal judgment and vigour. Wolfe himself was one of the first who leaped ashore. Colonel Howe, with the Highlanders and light infantry, led the way up the dangerous precipice. All the troops vied with each other in emulating the gallant example; and the whole British army had reached the summit, and was ranged under its proper officers, by break of day.

Montcalm, as Wolfe had foreseen, when informed that the invaders had gained the heights of Abraham, which in a manner command Quebec, could not at first credit the alarming intelligence. The ascent of an army by such a precipice, exceeded all his ideas of military enterprise. He believed it to be only a feint, magnified by report, in order to induce him to abandon his strong post. But when convinced of its reality, he no longer hesitated what

(1) "The affairs of Great Britain, I know," says he, "require the most vigorous measures; but then the courage of a handful of brave men should be exerted only where there is some probability of success!" Letter to Mr. Pitt, ubi sup.

course to pursue; when he found that a battle could not prudently be avoided, he bravely resolved to hazard one, and immediately put his troops in motion for that purpose.

No sooner did general Wolfe perceive the enemy crossing the river St. Charles, than he began to form his own line, which consisted of six battalions and the Louisburg grenadiers. The right wing was commanded by general Monckton, and the left by general Murray. Colonel Howe with the light infantry, secured the rear; and as the marquis de Montcalm advanced in such a manner as to show his intention was to out-flank the left of the English army, general Townshend was sent thither with the regiment of Amherst, which he formed en potence, so as to present a double front to the enemy. The body of reserve consisted of one regiment, drawn up in eight subdivisions, with large intervals.

The disposition of the French army was no less masterly. The right wing was composed of half the colony troops, two battalions of European soldiers, and a body of Indians. The centre consisted of a column formed of two other battalions of regulars; and one battalion of regulars, with the remainder of the colony-troops, secured the left wing. The bushes and corn-fields in the enemy's front were filled with fifteen hundred of their best marksmen, who kept up an irregular galling fire, which proved fatal to many brave British officers.

That fire was the more severely felt, as the British troops were ordered to keep up theirs. This they did with great patience and fortitude, until the French main body advanced within forty yards of their line. Then they poured in, at a general discharge, a thick shower of bullets, which took full effect, and made terrible havoc among the enemy's ranks. Nor did any relaxation of vigour take place. The British fire was supported with the same power it had been begun; and the enemy every where yielded to it. But in the moment when the fortune of the field began to declare itself, general Wolfe, who was pressing on at the head of the grenadiers, received a rifle bullet in his breast, and fell in the arms of victory.

Instead of being disconcerted by the loss of their commander, every separate regiment of the British army seemed to exert itself for the honour of its own particular character, as well as the glory of the whole. While the grenadiers took vengeance with their bayonets, general Murray briskly advanced with the troops under his direction, and broke the centre of the French army. Then it was that the Highlanders, drawing their broadswords, completed the confusion of the enemy; and falling upon them with resistless fury, drove the fugitives with great slaughter towards the city of Quebec, or under certain fortifications which the Canadians had raised on the banks of the river St. Charles.

The other divisions of the British army did not behave with less gallantry. Colonel Howe, with part of the light infantry, having taken post behind a small copse, sallied out frequently upon the flanks of the enemy, during their spirited attack on the other part of his division, and often drove them into heaps, while brigadier-general Townshend advanced against their front; so that the French general's design of turning the left flank of the English army was totally defeated. But the gallant officer, who had so remarkably contributed to this service, was suddenly called to a more important station, in consequence of a new disaster. General Monckton, who had succeeded general Wolfe, according to the order of military precedency, being dangerously wounded, the chief command devolved upon Townshend, as next in seniority. On receiving the melancholy news, he hastened to the centre; and finding the troops somewhat disordered in the ardour of pursuit, he formed them again with all possible celerity. This act of generalship, however, was scarce completed, when M. de Bougainville, with a body of two thousand fresh troops, appeared in the rear of the victorious army. He had begun his march from Cape Rouge, a considerable way up the river, as soon as he received intelligence that the British forces had gained the heights of Abraham. But fortunately the main body of the French army was, by this

time, so much broken and dispersed, that Bougainville did not think it advísable to hazard a new attack.(1)

The victory was indeed decisive. The brave marquis de Montcalm, and his second in command, were both mortally wounded. About a thousand of the enemy were made prisoners, and near an equal number fell in the battle or pursuit. The remainder of their army, unable to keep the field, retired first to Point au Tremble, and afterward to Trois Rivieres and Montreal. The loss of the English, with respect to numbers, was very inconsiderable : both the killed and wounded did not exceed five hundred men. But the death of general Wolfe was a national misfortune, and accompanied with circumstances sufficiently interesting to merit a particular detail. He first received a shot in the wrist; but wrapped a handkerchief round his arm, and encouraged his men to advance, without discovering the least discomposure. He next received a shot in the groin, which he also concealed. Even after the mortal bullet had pierced his breast, he suffered himself unwillingly to be carried behind the ranks. Under all the agonies of approaching dissolution, his anxiety for the fortune of the field continued; and when told that the French army was totally routed, and fled on all sides, "Then," said he, "I am happy!"-and instantly expired, in a kind of patriotic transport, which seemed to diffuse over his darkening countenance an air of exultation and triumph.

Wolfe, at the age of thirty-five, to all the fervour of spirit, the liberality of sentiment, the humanity, generosity, and enlarged views of the hero, united no inconsiderable share of the presence of mind and military skill that constitute the great commander. He needed only years and opportunity of action, to place him on a level with the most celebrated generals of any age or nation; to moderate his ardour, expand his faculties, and give to his intuitive perception and scientific knowledge, the correctness of judgment perfected by experience.

Montcalm, the French general, was not inferior to his antagonist in military talents. Though less fortunate in the last scene of his life, he had often been victorious; and he made the most judicious dispositions that human prudence could suggest, both before the battle of Quebec, and during the engagement. Nor were his dying words less remarkable than those of Wolfe. "I am glad of it!" said he, when informed that his wound was mortal; and on being told he could survive only a few hours, he gallantly replied, "So much the better!-I shall not then live to see the surrender of Quebec."(2)

That event, as the illustrious Montcalm foresaw, was not distant. Five days after the victory gained in its neighbourhood, the city of Quebec surrendered to the English fleet and army, which were preparing for a grand attack. By the articles of capitulation, the inhabitants were to be protected in the free exercise of their religion, and in the full enjoyment of their civil rights, until a general peace should decide their future condition.(3) Thus was the capital of New France reduced under the dominion of Great Britain, after an arduous campaign of about three months; and, all circumstances considered, perhaps there never was a naval and military enterprise conducted with more steady perseverance, or distinguished by more vigour and ability.

While the British generals were thus making rapid strides towards the final conquest of the French empire in America, M. de Lally, the French governor-general in the East Indies, threatened with utter subjection the English settlements in the Carnatic. Having reduced fort St. David, and Cudalore, as already related, his next attempt was against Madras, the principal English settlement on the coast of Coromandel. This place was regularly invested by two thousand European troops, and a large body of sepoys, after its brave but slender garrison had made every possible effort to keep

(1) Letter from brigadier-general Townshend to Mr. secretary Pitt, in London Gazette, Oct. 17 1759 Knox's Campaigns, vol. ii. (3) London Gazette, ubi sup.

2) Knox's Campaigns, vol. ii.

the enemy at a distance. And by the resolution of governor Pigot, and the persevering courage of colonel Draper, colonel Lawrence, and other gallant officers, it was enabled to hold out till the arrival of succours. On the appearance of captain Kempenfelt in the Queenborough man-of-war, and the company's ship Revenge, with a reinforcement of six hundred men from England, the French general found himself under the necessity of raising the siege; greatly mortified and enraged at a disappointment which blasted all his sanguine hopes of expelling the English from the peninsula of Hindostan.

The British forces in the Carnatic, though still inferior to those of the enemy in numbers, now took the field in different divisions, and reduced successively the French settlements of Masulipatam and Conjeveram. Major Brereton, however, unhappily failed in a rash but vigorous attack upon Wandiwash. He was repulsed with the loss of two hundred men. But Wandiwash was afterward reduced, and also Carnagolly, by colonel Coote, who had superseded Brereton in the command of the British forces. This able officer bravely maintained his conquest, and defeated a strong army under general Lally, who made a bold attempt to regain possession of the disputed settlement.

The battle of Wandiwash was accompanied with several circumstances sufficiently interesting to merit a description. General Lally, being early deserted by his whole body of cavalry, in consequence of a brisk cannonade, put himself at the head of his line of infantry, and impetuously rushed into action. Colonel Coote coolly received the enemy at the head of his own regiment, which he had formed in a line, opposed obliquely to theirs. Nor did he alter his disposition, although they did. After two discharges, the regiment of Lorraine vigorously pressed on, in the form of a column, through a heavy fire, and threatened to bear down all resistance. In an instant, the two regiments were engaged at the push of the bayonet. The front of the French column at first broke the English line, and a momentary confusion ensued. But no sooner did man encounter man in single opposition, than the superiority of British prowess was conspicuous. The field was suddenly strewed with killed and wounded Frenchmen. The regiment of Lorraine was broken, routed, and hotly pursued.

This conflict was followed by another, no less bloody, which finally decided the fortune of the day. As soon as colonel Coote could restrain the ardour of his own victorious battalion, he rode along the line, and ordered major Brereton to advance with Draper's regiment (the colonel having returned to England for the recovery of his health) and take possession of a fortified post, which the enemy seemed to have abandoned. In making this effort, the major was mortally wounded, but not before he saw that the post was gained. "Follow your blow!" said he, greatly, to some of the soldiers who offered to assist him; "and leave me to my fate!"

That service was gallantly performed by major Monson, who now succeeded to the command of Draper's regiment. In vain did M. de Bussy attempt to recover the dear-earned post, at the head of the regiment of Lally; in vain, to maintain the combat on the plain. His horse being shot under him, he was made prisoner, in leading on to the push of the bayonet the few troops that preserved any countenance. Major Monson received his sword. The regiment of Lally was utterly broken; and the French general, having lost six hundred men, was happy to save the wreck of his army by abandoning his camp to the victors.(1) The routed infantry formed behind the cavalry, which had recovered from their panic, and the flight was conducted with some degree of order.

Nor were these the only achievements of the British forces in the East Indies, in the course of this memorable year. During the progress of colonel Coote on the coast of Coromandel, admiral Pocock, with an inferior force, defeated the French fleet, under M. d'Aché, in a third and desperate

(1) Orme, Hist. Hindost., book xii.

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