Encouraged by the success at Fort Pitt and at other points, the king and the military leaders of the English had decided on a campaign which should strike at the French in three different places. General Prideaux and Sir William Johnson were to advance on Oswego and Fort Niagara, General Amherst was to push his way northward through the Lake Champlain territory, and General Wolfe was to sail from England with an army of eight thousand troops and move up the St. Lawrence River upon Quebec. As soon as the success of General Prideaux and of General Amherst was assured, these two branches of the English forces were to join Wolfe in his attack on the French stronghold.
As we have already seen, the attack on Fort Niagara was a brilliant success. But the advance of Amherst proved difficult. The French fled slowly before him, doing all they could to hinder his progress, and a succession of storms on the lake caused him a heavy loss of ships and stores. Some of his troops, the New Hampshire Rangers under Major Rogers, went as far as the village of St. Francis, which they destroyed, thus saving that part of New England from further trouble on the frontier, but with the coming of winter Amherst was compelled to go into winter quarters at Crown Point.
In the meantime, General Wolfe, on board the English fleet, reached the Canadian shore in June. News of his coming had already spread among the French, and it was felt that his attack would be directed against Quebec.
“We must save our beloved city, no matter what the cost!” was the cry throughout Canada; and to Quebec flocked both the regular French troops and also the French colonists, to the number of many thousands. All of these soldiers were placed under the command of General Montcalm, a wise and good soldier and one known for his thorough bravery.
As most of my young readers know, Quebec is located on a high bluff, overlooking the St. Lawrence. This bluff, or series of bluffs, extends along the river front for miles, making the task of reaching the city from the water a difficult one. But Montcalm was not to be caught napping, and he lost no time in fortifying the bluffs all the way from Quebec proper down the river to the Falls of Montmorenci, a distance of about five miles.
It was no easy task for the British fleet to sail up the St. Lawrence, which was difficult of navigation because of the many hidden rocks and shoals, but at length they reached the Island of Orleans, just below the city, and after a short brush with the inhabitants, who soon fled, the army took possession.
Early on the following morning General Wolfe went to the edge of the island and took a survey of the situation.
“It will be no easy matter to capture Quebec,” said one of his subordinates. “’Tis a regular Gibraltar.”
“It must be done,” answered Wolfe quietly.
He well understood the difficulty of the task before him. To scale those frowning walls would be hard, especially in the face of the French batteries, and back of the city were the still higher hills of Cape Diamond, also well fortified. All along the rocky shore could be seen the frowning cannon of Montcalm.