Le Marquis de Montcalm and the Battle for Quebec September 1759: a Re-Assessment (original) (raw)
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Canadian Historical Review, 1989
IN RECENT DECADES tWO historians of Canada during the Seven Years' War, Guy Frdgault and WilliamJ. Eccles, have attacked their predecessors' adulation of Louis-Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm, by portraying him as a poor strategist, a mediocre tactician, and a defeatist. However true this might be, they also portray the French officer corps, including their commander, as contemptuous of Canadians and irregular warfare.' During the course of the Canadian campaign, Montcahn and his officers did demonstrate a general lack of respect for the petty raiding of la petite guerre and an ambiguous attitude towards the Canadian soldier. This, however, was less a rejection of irregular warfare than an expression of their belief that a more structured and This article was adapted from a military-oriented chapter of my •a.a thesis, 'On a Distant Campaign: French Officers and Their Views on Society and the Conduct of War in North America during the Seven Years' War' (Queen's University, •986), which was written under the direction of Dr George A. Rawlyk with the assistance of a SSHRC Special •a^ Scholarship. I wish to thank Dr Rawlyk and Dr James S. Pritchard of Queen's University's Department of History for the valuable comments and advice which they offered during the writing of this paper. For historians who favour Montcalm see Francis Parkman, France and England in North America, part 7: Montcalm and Wo./fe, u vols. (Boston •884); Henri-Raymond Casgrain, G uerre du Canada, • 7 5 6-• 76o: Montcalm et Le'vis, • vols. (Quebec • 89 •); and Lionel-Adolphe Groulx, Histoire du Canada depuis la ddcouverte, • vols. (Montreal •95o). For highly critical perceptions of the French general see Guy Fr•gault, La Gue•w de la conquOte (Montreal • 955); William J. Eccles, 'The French Forces in North America during the Seven Years' War,' Dictionmy of Canadian Biography (ncB), m, xv-xxiii; W.J.
In 1757, Fort William Henry fell to the French under Montcalm. Although in Halifax during the actual Siege, Lord Loudoun played a significant role in setting the stage for the defeat of the British. Loudoun's overall campaign strategy for 1757 is examined including his role in reducing the defensive character of Fort William Henry in favor of increasing the defensive character of Fort Edward, a position never threatened by the French. Clarifications as to the nature of the 35th regiment and the actual artillery inventory and losses are documented. The correspondence between Loudoun, Webb, and Monro relating to the defense of Fort William Henry is reviewed. The Text and Final Appendix includes full transcriptions without edit of important letters between Pitt, Loudoun, Cumberland, Shirley, Eyre, Webb, and Monroe. Full transcriptions of some one hundred letters are presented. The clash between Loudoun and Shirley is explored as it relates to the capture of Oswego (1756). Loudoun's failed Louisbourg 1757 Campaign and his subsequent recall is presented via transcriptions, Holburne and Hardy. Although 1757 Louisbourg is often considered a British fiasco, it was the death knell of the French Navy.
In light of recent scholarship on eighteenth-century French and indigenous martial cultures, this paper uses the journal de campagne of the Marquis de Montcalm to examine cross-cultural conceptions of martial prowess and honour in the Franco-indigenous alliances of the Seven Years’ War. Through the deconstruction and decolonisation of Montcalm’s accounts, both French and indigenous notions and perspectives of these key military values are explored, exposing mutual concerns, ambitions and desires that may have had a considerable influence on the course of the alliances.
Remembering 1759: the conquest of Canada in historical memory
Choice Reviews Online, 2013
This seminar will explore the major themes in the history of French Canada from the British Conquest of 1759 until today. We will pay particular attention to such matters as the development and evolution of nationalism, the Rebellions of 1837, the Quiet Revolution, and the rise of the modern Quebec separatism. Questions related to nationalism, culture, gender, and identity will inform many of our discussions because they have been very much at the heart of the narrative of French Canada's history. We will strive to understand the shifts and continuities that have characterized Canadian, then French-Canadian, and then Quebec nationalism. With a firmer understanding of French Canada's historical development, students will emerge from this course better equipped to follow and contribute to the debates over federalism and national identity that define both Canadian and Quebec life. In this course, then, students will, in addition to learning the history of French Canada, sharpen their ability to read and think critically, develop their analytical skills, learn to organize and present their thoughts and research in the form of academic essays, and practice the art of expressing their ideas in the seminar in such a manner that demonstrates their respect for the opinions of others as well as their own critical engagement with the course readings and the world around them.
"The American conqueror stopped to look up and down the St. Lawrence, then went on to survey the area surrounding Quebec City. The figure was neither a colonial officer accompanying James Wolfe in 1759, nor one of Richard Montgomery’s men at the dawn of the American Revolution. The conqueror was none other than Ulysses S. Grant and the year was 1865. [...]"
Operations at Fort Beauséjour and Grand-Pré in 1755: A Soldier's Diary
2009
Beauséjour as a civilian officer, many historians, particularly Francophone historians, have not been kind to our next eyewitness, Thomas Pichon. 13 Nevertheless, he has left us with a reasonably comprehensive diary, penned from May 15 to June 26, which entirely encompasses the duration of Anglo-American operations against the fort. Pichon (1700-1781) was perhaps better educated than any of the other diarists, French or British. 14 Finally, the priest Jean-Louis Le Loutre (1709-1772), who has received his share of criticism for his manipulation of the Acadians and his encouraging Mi'kmaw attacks against British settlements and fortifications in Nova Scotia, has left a very brief account, though it can hardly be said to be a diary. 15 On the Anglo-American side, apart from the diaries of Winslow and Bancroft, we have those of Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Monckton (1726-1782); Captain Abijah Willard (1724-1789) of Lancaster, Massachusetts; and John Thomas (1724-1776), a lieutenant and surgeon's-mate in the First Battalion. For reasons already mentioned, the diary of Winslow is particularly important in interpreting events relating to the siege and deportation activities at Chignecto. At the same time, Willard's diary is exceedingly comprehensive and detailed, much more so than that of Bancroft. 16 Only Willard's diary records events in the Chignecto region through the late fall of 1755 and into the early part of the following January. The diary of Willard and the briefer one of Thomas are noteworthy for their detailing of attacks against Acadian settlements following the capture of the fort. 17 Monckton's diary is relatively short, but is unique in that it was written by the man who had overall responsibility for Anglo-American operations at Chignecto in 1755. 18 Because of the number of other extant diaries relating to the siege of Fort Beauséjour and the deportation from the Chignecto area, Bancroft's words are not as important here as in the context of Grand-Pré. Yet one may find information in Bancroft relating to Chignecto which is not found elsewhere. These are not earthshattering revelations, to be sure, but are nevertheless unique vignettes relating to occurrences in 1755 at Chignecto, which is where the deportations began. A more specific discussion of the unique revelations and contributions of the Bancroft diary, and interpretation of same, follow the presentation of the diary. Preface to the Bancroft Diary The whereabouts of Bancroft's original diary are unknown; possibly it no longer exists. In 1925 a Judge William B. Stevens of Stoneham, Massachusetts, made a transcript of the diary and subsequently a typed transcript was presented to the Public Archives of Nova Scotia, now known as Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management (NSARM). An amateur historian, Judge Stevens was much interested in military matters. He was an elderly man, 82 years of age, when he transcribed the Bancroft diary, but how, where or from whom he gained access to it are unknown. One may conclude that he was a man of letters since he had two published books to