I am indebted to Alfred Hawkins, Esq., of Quebec, for the following account of the position of the two armies, and the present localities identified therewith: "The battle-ground presents almost a level surface from the brink of the St. Lawrence to the St. Foy Road. The Grand Allée, or road to Cape Rouge, running parallel to that of St. Foy, passes through its center. That road was commanded by a field redoubt, a four-gun battery on the English left, which was captured by the light infantry. The remains of this battery are distinctly seen near the present race-stand. There were also two other redoubts, one upon the rising ground in the rear of Mr. C. Campbell's house—the scene of Wolfe's death—and the other toward the St. Foy Road, which it was intended to command. On the site of the country seat called Marchmont, at present the residence of Major-general Sir James Hope, K.C.B., there was also a small redoubt commanding the intrenched path leading to the cove. This was taken possession of by the advanced guard of the light infantry immediately on ascending the height. At the time of the battle the plains were without fences or inclosures, and extended to the walls oh the St Louis side. The surface was dotted over with bushes, and the roads on either side were more dense than at present, affording shelter to the French and Indian marksmen.
"In order to understand the relative position of the two armies, if a line be drawn to the St. Lawrence from the General Hospital, it will give nearly the front of the French army at ten o'clock, after Montcalm had deployed into line. His right reached beyond the St. Foy Road, where he made dispositions to turn the left of the English. Another parallel line, somewhat in advance of Mr. C. G. Stewart's house on the St. Foy Road, will give the front of the British army before Wolfe charged at the head of the grenadiers of the twenty-second, fortieth, and forty-fifth regiments, who had acquired the honorable title of the Louisburgh Grenadiers, from having been distinguished at the capture of that place, under his own command, in 1758. To meet the attempt of Montcalm to turn the British left, General Townshend formed the fifteenth regiment en potence, or representing a double front. The light infantry were in the rear of the left, and the reserve was placed near the right, formed in eight subdivisions, a good distance apart."
Wolfe placed himself on the right, at the head of the twenty-eighth regiment of Louisburgh Grenadiers, who were burning with a desire to avenge their defeat at the Montmorenci. The English had waited four hours for the approach of the French, and were fully *
* This scene is about half way up the ravine from Wolfe's Cove, looking down the road, which is a steep and winding way from the river to the summit of the Plains of Abraham. It is a cool, shaded nook—a delightful retreat from the din and dust of the city in summer.
Battle on the Plains of Abraham.—Bravery and Death of Wolfe.— Death of Montcalm.—Burial-place of Montcalm.
prepared for action. Montcalm was on the left of the French, at the head of the regiments of Languedoc, Bearne, and Guienne. Wolfe ordered his men to load with two bullets each, and reserve their fire until the French should be within forty yards. These orders were strictly obeyed, and their double-shotted guns did terrible execution. "The hottest of the fight occurred," says Hawkins, "between the right of the race-stand and the martello towers." *
After delivering several rounds in rapid succession, which threw the French into confusion, the English charged furiously with their bayonets. While urging on his battalions in this charge, Wolfe was singled out by some Canadians on the left, and was slightly wounded in the wrist. He wrapped a handkerchief around to stanch the blood, and, while still cheering on his men, received a second wound in the groin; a few minutes afterward another struck him in the breast and brought him to the ground, mortally wounded. At that moment, regardless of self, he thought only of the victory for his troops. "Support me," he said to an officer near him; "let not my brave soldiers see me drop. They day is ours—keep it." He was taken to the rear, while his troops continued to charge. The officer on whose shoulder he was leaning exclaimed,