the beleaguered fort. Johnson was on his guard, and formed a plan for intercepting them on the march. By attacks in front and flank, after an hour's fierce conflict, the enemy were completely beaten, with the loss of hundreds in killed and wounded, and the capture of nine officers, including D'Aubry, the commander. The war-whoop of the Indians had no longer any terrors for the British grenadiers, who stood in firm ranks, steady as on parade, and swept away the foe with successive volleys. The Iroquois gathered by Johnson wrought havoc among the foe scattered by the bayonetcharges of the regular troops, and this last battle for the control of the lakes, the Ohio valley, and the western region brought with it the inevitable fall of Fort Niagara. On July 26th the garrison surrendered with the honours of war, and all the western forts held by the French were speedily captured by Colonel Bouquet, with the single exception of Detroit. Our narrative now turns to the key of French power in North America, the town and fortress of Quebec. Montcalm, in the absence of substantial aid from France, had no hope of maintaining the French position in Canada, but at his sovereign's request he consented to remain and to do his utmost against enormous odds. All possible preparations were made for the defence of the capital. The town of Quebec is so placed on a peninsula in the river St. Lawrence that it directly faces the voyager who ascends the stream. The river is divided, on approaching the town, by the large Ile d'Orléans, lying almost in the centre of the waterway. To the north of the town, the river St. Charles, with a winding course, and with one great loop, enters the St. Lawrence. To the south of Quebec, the mainland projects, west of Point Lévis, so as to approach the town, on its eastern side, within less than a mile. On the northern shore, the Beauport Shoal, left dry at low water, extends for about eight miles, from the mouth of the St. Charles to the little river Montmorency, ending its course with the famous Falls, nearly three hundred feet in depth. The whole of this ground on the north was occupied by the French troops, with intrenchments and batteries facing the river to the south, near to Quebec, and looking landwards lower down to the east, where the river-side, above Beauport Shoal, is protected by lofty and precipitous cliffs. De Vaudreuil, the governor, had charge of the encampment on the west, near to the St. Charles; Montcalm was in the centre, at the little village of Beauport; De Lévis held the east, facing the western end of Ile d'Orléans, and protected, on his left, by the river Montmorency. Fire-ships and rafts were prepared by the French, with a floating battery for heavy guns, as guns were then, from eighteen-pounders to twenty-four. The garrison consisted of thirteen thousand men of every age, by no means all efficient troops, but including five royal regiments. The few French ships of war were sent up the river, the crews being landed to aid the defence, chiefly in the way of working the guns. The preparations made by Pitt for the great enterprise were of the most formidable kind. The chief command of the military force was intrusted, as all the world knows, to Wolfe, who had returned to England, and, by the usage of the time, was again a simple regimental colonel. His health was bad, and it was at Bath, where he was drinking the waters, that the hero, doomed to death and to lasting fame, received the great minister's letter which summoned him to London with the offer of the command, and the local rank of major-general, subordinate to Amherst as commander-in-chief of the forces in America. The young officer had just become engaged for marriage with Katharine Lowther, niece of Sir James Lowther, first Lord Lonsdale. The death of her accepted lover was to leave her to attain the highest rank as Duchess of Bolton. The officers chosen by Wolfe as his brigadiers were the Hon. Robert Monckton, the Hon. George Townshend, and the Hon. James Murray. Monckton had served for some years in America, having taken Fort Beauséjour, in Nova Scotia, and been present as colonel of the second battalion of the 60th Regiment, or Royal Americans, afterwards the Royal Rifle Corps, at the siege of Louisbourg. He was a man of great ability, and gave a hearty support to his chief throughout the campaign. Townshend, afterwards Marquis, was a man of mainly social note, and rendered little service in the siege of Quebec. Murray enjoyed the highest esteem of Wolfe for bravery and skill, and had served with Monckton at the taking of Louisbourg. He was soon to become the first governor-general of Canada. The army consisted of about eight thousand men, including the 15th Regiment, which fought in Marlborough's four battles; the 28th, which had been present on the glorious day of Ramillies; the 35th, the 47th, and the 48th, all bearing "Louisbourg" on VIEW OF THE TOWN AND FORTRESS OF QUEBEC, A.D. 1759. In this illustration there is an accurate presentment of the town and fortress of Quebec in the year 1759, when France and Britain were struggling for supremacy in North America. A bold, rocky peninsula juts out into the river St. Lawrence, on the shore of which lies the town, while the massive citadel crowns the height. Some distance above Quebec is an inlet known as Wolfe's Cove, where a British force, under the general of that name, landed during the early morning, scaled the cliffs, and defeated the French army which sought to oppose its advance upon the fortress. As the result of this success the garrison of Quebec found itself in a helpless position, and surrendered on the 18th September, 1759. In this fashion, therefore, the Gibraltar of North America came into the possession of Great Britain. (7) |