Battle of the Plains of Abraham
Sealing the Fate of North America
The battle of the Plains of Abraham was fought on the 13th of September 1759. It was the result of a three-month British siege of the French North American capital of Quebec City. Although the battle lasted for a short period of time, involved comparatively few troops, and caused few casualties, the effects of the battle were far reaching. The British victory at the battle resulted both in the death of the French general – the Marquis de Montcalm – and the British major general James Wolf. More importantly, the battle resulted in the capture of Quebec, which in turn, led to the capture of the remaining French territories of North America. In the previous years of French and Indian war – the North American colonial theatre of the 7 years war – France had originally been successful. As the war entered its latter stages however, poor harvests, a brutal winter, outbreaks of smallpox among France’s aboriginal allies, no reinforcements from France and finally, enormous number of men sent from England turned the tide. By 1759, the French had suffered a series of defeats and were pushed into Canada. The main cities or towns along the St. Lawrence were Quebec City and Montreal. James Wolf was selected to lead an army to conquer the city of Quebec.
Major General James Wolf commanded a total of about 8,000 men in a flotilla, which originally disembarked him on the Isle D’Orléans (28th of June) then on Point Levis (29th of June), directly across from Quebec where the British could commence a bombardment of the city. In response, Montcalm positioned his 12,000 men along the East side of Quebec, from the city to the Montmorency river in a series of earthworks (the line was about 9 kilometers long). The defenses proved to be effective, a forced Wolf to probe unsuccessfully and ravage the nearby settlements until September. By then, Montcalm had sent 3,000 men to Cap Rouge to observe British ship activities. On the 12th of September,
The battle of the Plains of Abraham was fought on the 13th of September 1759. It was the result of a three-month British siege of the French North American capital of Quebec City. Although the battle lasted for a short period of time, involved comparatively few troops, and caused few casualties, the effects of the battle were far reaching. The British victory at the battle resulted both in the death of the French general – the Marquis de Montcalm – and the British major general James Wolf. More importantly, the battle resulted in the capture of Quebec, which in turn, led to the capture of the remaining French territories of North America. In the previous years of French and Indian war – the North American colonial theatre of the 7 years war – France had originally been successful. As the war entered its latter stages however, poor harvests, a brutal winter, outbreaks of smallpox among France’s aboriginal allies, no reinforcements from France and finally, enormous number of men sent from England turned the tide. By 1759, the French had suffered a series of defeats and were pushed into Canada. The main cities or towns along the St. Lawrence were Quebec City and Montreal. James Wolf was selected to lead an army to conquer the city of Quebec.
Major General James Wolf commanded a total of about 8,000 men in a flotilla, which originally disembarked him on the Isle D’Orléans (28th of June) then on Point Levis (29th of June), directly across from Quebec where the British could commence a bombardment of the city. In response, Montcalm positioned his 12,000 men along the East side of Quebec, from the city to the Montmorency river in a series of earthworks (the line was about 9 kilometers long). The defenses proved to be effective, a forced Wolf to probe unsuccessfully and ravage the nearby settlements until September. By then, Montcalm had sent 3,000 men to Cap Rouge to observe British ship activities. On the 12th of September,
Bibliography: Anderson, Fred. Crucible of War – The Seven Years War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766. New York: Vintage Books, 2000. Borneman, Walter. The French and Indian War – Deciding the Fate of North America. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2006. Bradley, A. G. The Fight With France For North America. New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1902. Connell, Brian. The Plains of Abraham. London: Hodder and Staughton, 1959. LaPierre, Laurier. 1759 – The Battle for Canada. Toronto, Ontario: McClelland & Stewart Inc., 1990. Finally, the British under James Abercrombie attacked the French at Fort Carillon with 18,000 men, but met disaster. He was replaced with Amherst due to his defeat. 1759