Here died Wolfe, victorious. That Vandalism under the specious guise of reverence for the great, of which I have already had occasion to speak, has sadly mutilated this monument, as may be seen in the engraving. The pedestal has lost many a pound of relic, and the iron railing around the monument has been broken down.
Wolfe and Montcalm were both able commanders, and were idolized by their respective troops. The former, though so young, was almost reverenced by his officers, for to bravery and great military skill he united all the virtues and graces of the perfect gentleman. The expressions of attachment made by General (afterward Marquis) Townshend illustrate the sentiment of his officers and men. In a letter written just after the battle, he says, "I am not ashamed to own to you that my heart does not exult in the midst of this success. I have lost but a friend in General Wolfe. Our country has lost a sure support and a perpetual honor. If the world were sensible at how dear a price we have purchased Quebec in his death, it would damp the public joy. Our best consolation is, that Providence seemed not to promise that he should remain long among us. He was himself sensible of the weakness of his constitution, and determined to crowd into a few years actions that would have adorned length of life."
Five days after the battle the city of Quebec capitulated and passed into the September 18, 1759 possession of the English, and the remnant of the grand army of the French, under M. Levi, who succeeded Montcalm, retired to Montreal. General Murray was left to defend battered and half-ruined Quebec, and the British fleet, fearful of frost, retreated down the St. Lawrence to the ocean. Levi determined on attempting to regain all that the French had lost, and in the spring of 1760 he marched upon Quebec with a motley army of ten thousand men, composed of French, Canadians, and Indians. Murray, with seven thousand men, went out and attacked him, but was sorely defeated, lost all April 28, 1760 his guns, and was nearly cut off in his retreat back to the city. Levi followed up his success vigorously, and as soon as the ice left the St. Lawrence he brought up six French frigates and prepared to beleaguer the city by land and by water. He encamped upon the heights above Point Levi, and felt sure of his prey. Fortunately for the English, Lord Colville arrived at this juncture with two good frigates, and destroyed the French vessels under the eyes of Levi. Thoroughly frightened by the suddenness of the event, and May 16 learning that these two fast sailers were only the van of a powerful fleet, the French commander retreated precipitately to Montreal, leaving his artillery and stores behind him. Vaudreuil, the governor general of the province, was at Montreal, and Amherst, Murray, and Haviland proceeded to invest that city. Despairing of succor from abroad, Vaudreuil capitulated on the 8th of September, and on that memorable day French power in Canada expired and hostilities in America ceased. Peace ensued between the two governments by the conclusion and signing of a treaty at Paris, on the 10th of February, 1763, and thus ended the famous "Seven Years' War." From that time the two races have not been arrayed in battle against each other in the Western world, except while the French were here as allies in 1780—81, and assisted in the battle at Yorktown and the capture of Cornwallis. *
* Since my visit to Quebee (August, 1848) the remains of this monument have been removed, and a column forty feet high, surmounted by a bronze helmet and sword, has been erected. The monument is from the design of Sir James Alexander
Collection of an Army near Boston.—Washington's Appointment.—His Generals.—Expedition under Arnold planned
Quebec enjoyed tranquillity until the Americans, under Montgomery and Arnold, invaded Canada in the autumn and winter of 1775. We left the former pressing forward toward the city, with the rigors of a Canadian winter gathering around him. Let us return and watch the progress of that little army of patriots, and also consider the wonderful expedition of the brave Arnold through the wilderness of the east.
We mentioned incidentally, in a previous chapter, that when the tidings of the capture of the forts on Lake Champlain reached the Continental Congress, that body promptly took action to defend the liberties of the people, and secure their rights by force of arms, if necessary. The skirmishes at Lexington and Concord, the menaces against Massachusetts, and Boston in particular, fulminated by the home government, and the arrival of several regiments of British troops, for the avowed purpose of crushing the anticipated rebellion, aroused a spirit of resistance in the colonies hitherto unknown, even when the Stamp Act, ten years before, had awakened a terrible storm of indignation throughout the land. From all directions men flew to arms, and in a few weeks a large patriot army invested Boston, and threatened Governor Gage and his mercenary troops with destruction. The incongruous material which composed the army was partially organized by appointing Artemas Ward * commander-in-chief until the general Congress should act in the premises. That action was not long delayed, and on the 15th of June Congress adopted a resolution to appoint a general "to command all the Continental forces raised for the defense of American liberty." George Washington was unanimously chosen to fill the important office, ** July 12, 1775 he repaired to Cambridge, near Boston, and took command of the army. He-set about organizing and disciplining the troops, and making preparations for an active campaign.