Marquis de montcalm death records

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Marquis de montcalm death records

Search the Wayback Machine Search icon An illustration of a magnifying glass. Sign up for free Log in. But the Indians were left out of the settlement and refused to accept it. What followed has been called "the massacre of Fort William Henry. Horrified by what happened, Montcalm became reluctant to allow Indian allies to take part in his future campaigns.

About four thousand French defenders held off fifteen thousand British troops under General James Abercromby Montcalm anticipated the location of the British attack and ordered his forces to build a huge wall of logs and an abatis a defensive barrier made from felled trees with sharpened branches to block their approach. Abercromby sent wave after wave of British soldiers toward the fort, where they either became tangled in the abatis or were shot by the French.

By the time Abercromby finally ordered a retreat, two thousand of his men were dead or wounded. Montcalm was considered a hero for his unlikely victory. Although Montcalm had managed to defeat the British in several important battles, by , he was concerned about a number of problems with the French war effort in North America. For example, the French Canadian population was simply too small to provide enough food, supplies, and soldiers to defend Canada against the British.

In fact, the British population in North America was ten times larger than the French population. Montcalm tried to convince the French government to send more troops and supplies to Canada. His pleas fell on deaf ears, as the French leaders chose to concentrate on fighting the war in Europe. In addition, the British had won several important naval battles and taken control of shipping on the Atlantic, which made it very difficult to send supplies from France to Canada.

The two men did not like one another and disagreed over strategies for conducting the war, especially regarding the use of Indian allies. In addition, Montcalm was disgusted by the corruption he saw in the government of New France. He believed that Vaudreuil and his cabinet stole money and supplies from France that should have gone to the army.

In the early years of the war, Montcalm used his skill as a general to overcome these problems. His honesty, fairness, and bravery earned the respect and loyalty of his troops. At the same time, his careful planning and clever military strategies allowed him to win several important battles. But in , the British government decided to concentrate its military strength in North America.

The British sent thousands of troops and tons of supplies to its colonies and began planning a full-scale invasion of Canada. They won several important battles that year and pushed Montcalm's army back to the important Canadian cities of Montreal and Quebec. In , the British decided to attack Quebec, the capital of New France. Quebec was a difficult target for the British to attack.

It sat atop high cliffs overlooking the St. Lawrence River and was surrounded by a large stone wall. As Montcalm prepared to defend the city, he left two thousand soldiers within the walls of Quebec and arranged his remaining twelve thousand troops along the bank of the St. The French defensive line stretched along the cliffs east of the city for seven miles, between the St.

Charles River and the Montmorency River. Montcalm understood that he did not have to defeat the British in battle in order to claim victory. He only needed to hold Quebec until October, when the arrival of winter would force the British to leave the area before the St. Lawrence River froze. Montcalm believed that if he defended Quebec successfully, the British would have to negotiate a peace treaty with France.

Lawrence River, just a few miles from the city. Over the next two months, the British forces made several attempts to break through the French defensive line. But Montcalm's forces held off the attacks and refused to be drawn out of their strategic positions. Finally, on the night of September 12, some of Wolfe's forces used an overgrown footpath to climb the cliffs just upstream from Quebec.

The five thousand British soldiers then arranged themselves in battle formation on the Plains of Abraham , a broad field that stretched behind the city and provided an ideal spot to set up a siege a military strategy that involves surrounding a target, cutting it off from outside help and supplies, and using artillery to break down its defenses.

On September 13, Montcalm decided to face the enemy on the field of battle rather than allow the British to set up a siege. Riding on horseback and waving his sword, he led forty-five hundred French troops onto the Plains of Abraham. But the highly trained British soldiers held their ground and soon forced the French to retreat back to the city.

Both Mont-calm and Wolfe received mortal wounds during the fighting. Montcalm was shot in the leg and abdomen. He ordered two of his soldiers to hold him upright in the saddle as he rode off the battlefield so that the rest of his army would not know that his wounds were serious. When the general finally got inside the city walls, a doctor told him that he only had a few hours to live.

He was buried in the courtyard of a convent, in a hole that had been created by a British artillery shell, but was reburied years later see box. But the final act was drawing nigh, which was to seal the fate of New France. On 13 Sept. Montcalm, thunderstruck by the unexpected tidings, hurried from Beauport and arrayed his troops. Though about equal in numbers, they were doomed to defeat for several reasons, including surprise, hardship, privation, fatigue, and a disadvantageous position.

Both generals fell, Wolfe dying on the battle-field, and Montcalm the next morning. This battle, considered in its results, was one of the greatest events of the eighteenth century. Montcalm was a brave and generous commander, a high-minded and disinterested patriot; a faithful Christian giving to God the glory of his victories. His memory is cherished in the Old and the New World.

In Canada he shares the honours awarded to his victor, as the following inscription on their joint monument testifies:. Page Discussion. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. In other projects.