the conquest of new france-第33章
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Quebec for the following year。 Admiral Sir Charles Saunders; who
seems almost old compared with Wolfe; for he was nearly fifty;
was in chief command of the fleet。 Amherst had remained in
America as Commander…in…Chief; and was taking slow; deliberate;
thorough measures for the last steps in the conquest of New
France。
To be too late had been the usual fate of the many British
expeditions against Canada。 No one; however; dared to be late
under Pitt。 On February 17; 1759; the greatest fleet that had
ever put out for America left Portsmouth。 More than two hundred
and fifty ships set their sails for the long voyage。 There were
forty…nine warships; carrying fourteen thousand sailors and
marines; and two hundred other ships manned by perhaps seven
thousand men in the merchant service; but ready to fight if
occasion offered。 Altogether nearly thirty thousand men now left
the shores of England to attack Canada。
There is a touch of doom for France in the fact that its own lost
fortress of Louisbourg was to be the rendezvous of the fleet。
Saunders; however; arrived so early that the entrance to
Louisbourg was still blocked with ice; and he went on to Halifax。
In time he returned to Louisbourg; and from there the great fleet
sailed for Quebec。 The voyage was uneventful。 We can picture the
startled gaze of the Canadian peasants as they saw the stately
array; many miles long; pass up the St。 Lawrence。 On the 26th of
June; Wolfe and Saunders were in the basin before Quebec and the
great siege had begun which was to mark one of the turning…points
in history。
Nature had furnished a noble setting for the drama now to be
enacted。 Quebec stands on a bold semicircular rock on the north
shore of the St。 Lawrence。 At the foot of the rock sweeps the
mighty river; here at the least breadth in its whole course; but
still a flood nearly a mile wide; deep and strong。 Its currents
change ceaselessly with the ebb and flow of the tide which rises
a dozen feet; though the open sea is eight hundred miles away。
Behind the rock of Quebec the small stream of the St。 Charles
furnishes a protection on the landward side。 Below the fortress;
the great river expands into a broad basin with the outflow
divided by the Island of Orleans。 In every direction there are
cliffs and precipices and rising ground。 From the north shore of
the great basin the land slopes gradually into a remote blue of
wooded mountains。 The assailant of Quebec must land on low ground
commanded everywhere from heights for seven or eight miles on the
east and as many on the west。 At both ends of this long front are
further natural defensesat the east the gorge of the
Montmorency River; at the west that of the Cap Rouge River。
Wolfe's desire was to land his army on the Beauport shore at some
point between Quebec and Montmorency。 But Montcalm's fortified
posts; behind which lay his army; stretched along the shore for
six miles; all the way from the Montmorency to the St。 Charles。
Wolfe had a great contempt for Montcalm's army〃five feeble
French battalions mixed with undisciplined peasants。〃 If only he
could get to close quarters with the 〃wily and cautious old fox;〃
as he called Montcalm! Already the British had done what the
French had thought impossible。 Without pilots they had steered
their ships through treacherous channels in the river and through
the dangerous 〃Traverse〃 near Cap Tourmente。 Captain Cook;
destined to be a famous navigator; was there to survey and mark
the difficult places; and British skippers laughed at the
forecasts of disaster made by the pilots whom they had captured
on the river。 The French were confident that the British would
not dare to take their ships farther up the river past the
cannonade of the guns in Quebec; though this the British
accomplished almost without loss。
Wolfe landed a force upon the lower side of the gorge at
Montmorency and another at the head of the Island of Orleans。 He
planted batteries at Point Levis across the river from Quebec;
and from there he battered the city。 The pleasant houses in the
Rue du Parloir which Montcalm knew so well were knocked into
rubbish; and its fascinating ladies were driven desolate from the
capital。 But this bombardment brought Wolfe no nearer his goal。
On the 31st of July he made a frontal attack on the flats at
Beauport and failed disastrously with a loss of four hundred men。
Time was fighting for Montcalm。
By the 1st of September Wolfe's one hope was in a surprise by
which he could land an army above Quebec; the nearer to the
fortress the better。 Its feeble walls on the landward side could
not hold out against artillery。 But Bougainville guarded the high
shore and marched his men incessantly up and down to meet
threatened attacks。 On the heights; the battalion of Guienne was
encamped on the Plains of Abraham to guard the Foulon。 This was a
cove on the river bank from which there was a path; much used by
the French for dragging up provisions; leading to the top of the
cliff at a point little more than a mile from the walls of the
city。 On the 6th of September the battalion of Guienne was sent
back to the Beauport lines by order of Vaudreuil。 Montcalm
countermanded the order; but was not obeyed; and Wolfe saw his
chance。 For days he threatened a landing; above and below Quebec;
now at one point; now at another; until the French were both
mystified and worn out with incessant alarms。 Then; early on the
morning of the 13th of September; came Wolfe's master…stroke。 His
men embarked in boats from the warships lying some miles above
Quebec; dropped silently down the river; close to the north
shore; made sentries believe that they were French boats carrying
provisions to the Foulon; landed at the appointed spot; climbed
up the cliff; and overpowered the sleeping guard。 A little after
daylight Wolfe had nearly five thousand soldiers; a 〃thin red
line;〃 busy preparing a strong position on the Plains of Abraham;
while the fleet was landing cannon; to be dragged up the steep
hill to bombard the fortress on its weakest side。
Montcalm had spent many anxious days。 He had been incessantly on
the move; examining for himself over and over again every point;
Cap Rouge; Beauport; Montmorency; reviewing the militia of which
he felt uncertain; inspecting the artillery; the commissariat;
everything that mattered。 At three o'clock in the morning of one
of these days he wrote to Bourlamaque; at Lake Champlain; noting
the dark night; the rain; his men awake and dressed in their
tents; everyone alert。 〃I am booted and my horses are saddled;
which is in truth my usual way of spending the night。 I have not
undressed since the twenty…third of June。〃 On the evening of the
12th of September the batteries at Point Levis kept up a furious
fire on Quebec。 There was much activity on board the British
war…ships lying below the town。 Boats filled with men rowed
towards Beauport as if to attempt a landing during the night。
Here the danger seemed to lie。 At midnight the British boats were
still hovering off the shore。 The French troops manned the
entrenched lines and Montcalm was continually anxious。 A heavy
convoy of provisions was to come down to the Foulon that night;
and orders had been given to the French posts on the north shore
above Quebec to make no noise。 The arrival of the convoy was
vital; for the army was pressed for food。 Montcalm was therefore
anxious for its fate when at break of day he heard firing from
the French cannon at Samos; above Quebec。 Had the provisions then
been taken by the English? Near his camp all now seemed quiet。 He
gave orders for the troops to rest; drank some cups of tea with
his aide…de…camp Johnstone; a Scotch Jacobite; and at about
half…past six rode towards Quebec to the camp of Vaudreuil to
learn why the artillery was firing at Samos。 Immediately in front
of the Governor's house he learned the momentous news。 The
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