CHAPTER V.

BEFORE QUEBEC

Tow OWARDS the evening of the twenty sixth of June, the last of the British transports passed safely through the Traverse, slowly approached Quebec, and came to anchor without damage of any sort.

The view that met the gaze of the British invaders was one of rare beauty, and drew words of surprise and delight from several chroniclers. "It is a bountiful Island," says Sergeant Johnson, "and well cultivated, and produces all kinds of grain, pasture and vegetables; is full of villages, plantations, and abounding in people."

Knox says "Here we are entertained with a most agreeable prospect of a delightful country on every side; windmills, water-mills, churches, chapels, compact farm-houses all built with stone, and covered, some with wood, and others with straw."

The church near them was the parish church of St. Laurent, from which the city could not be seen. From the western point of the Island, a few miles distant, the city of Quebec with its cathedral, its college, its public and private buildings, rose against the horizon, in reality a city set

upon a hill. Its walls were guarded by batteries (which swept the river towards the sea, and which themselves were so high as to be beyond the elevation of cannon upon vessels in the river below.

The lower town of the city was a narrow strip upon the water's edge some three hundred feet beneath, from which the cliff rose almost sheer. As the British looked upon this naturally fortified city it seemed to stand on an immense rocky plateau jutting into the river which disappeared from view around the Southern side. Could they have looked beyond they would have seen the same high forbidding cliffs turning towards the west from the city, and continuing for miles to form a barrier to the plateau above a barrier they could hardly pass when unmolested and could not hope to pass at all with opposition. Between them and the city on their right was a broad sweeping bay whose muddy banks were bared by the receding tide. Here landing, even from shallow boats, would at any time be laborious and slow, and with fair defence impossible. But now earthworks had been thrown up from the river Montmorency, almost opposite the British vessels, to the river St. Charles near the city; and encamped within was the French army under the command of a skilful, experienced, and frequently victorious general, whose reputation was greater than that of the young commander of the British forces.

Besides, he knew every foot of the ground, could be expected to guard every vulnerable point, to make use of

(1) See the first pages of the Foligné journal in the appendix, Vol. IV.

every advantage of nature and art and finally to fight to the death. The British soldier has always considered himself superior to any other, and perhaps it is well that he should, but in this case he did not despise the enemy.

Wolfe had said significantly to Pitt "the Marshal must know that every man in Canada is a soldier "; and writing many years after, Quartermaster Sergeant Johnson, who was one of the army before Quebec, spoke of the inhabitants of Canada as "brave and resolute even to a proverb." The fate of Braddock and of Abercrombie had not gone from the memory of the British soldiery, nor were they ignorant of the fact that to assault an entrenched position with hope of success three to one should be the odds in favor of the attack, under conditions which then prevailed.

When for the first time Wolfe looked out upon the works and the position of his enemy he must have been perplexed. He had told his uncle a few weeks before (1) that " to invest the place, (Quebec) and cut off all communication with the colony, it will be necessary to encamp with our right (2) to the river St. Lawrence, and our left to the river St. Charles. From the river St. Charles to Beauport the communication must be kept open by strong entrenched posts and redoubts."

This plan was very good, but Wolfe now saw that it was impossible for him to occupy his chosen ground, and

(1) Major Walter Wolfe. Letter of May 19, 1759, from Louisbourg.

(2) Those who are familiar with the city of Quebec and its vicinity will readily recognize the position chosen by Wolfe in advance; others may consult any of the plans contained in this work. This letter is more fully quoted on page 53 of this volume.

was soon to see the difficulties presented by the shore line above the city. He already had in his possession an admirable description of the city of Quebec, drawn up by Major Mackellar and accompanied by a plan with numerous references to the various fortifications of the French. (1) The fleet arrived so late that it was impossible to disembark the troops on the evening of the twenty-sixth. However, a lieutenant and forty rangers effected a landing and occupied a farm house till day-break. On the following morning the British force began to land without opposition of any sort.

On the previous day 1200 Canadians and Indians had crossed over from the Island of Orleans to Beauport by the order of Vaudreuil who expected that an attack would be made there. Thus another opportunity to harass the enemy and to check their progress was lost, the first being the failure to set up batteries to rake the Traverse.

However, de Bougainville and the Engineer de Pontleroy had made an examination of the Island and had reported that it was not susceptible of defense, while Montcalm is credited with a desire, overruled by de Vaudreuil, to erect batteries at Cap Tourmente.

Before noon the greater part of the army had formed upon the Island at St. Laurent, whose church was visited by Captain Knox and a few other officers.

The parish priest had gone, but before his departure he had found time to write a letter which he affixed to the church door. The letter was addressed "To the worthy

(1) This description is printed in extenso at the end of this volume.