Peyton now started up, and, although his leg was broken, ran for forty yards toward the river; there he sank exhausted. Presently a crowd of Indians, reeking from their work of butchery, approached him from the extreme left. Peyton reloaded his musket, leaned upon his unwounded limb, and faced the savages; the two foremost hesitated before this resolute attitude, when, to the deep disgrace of the French, they opened a fire of musketry and even cannon from their breast-works upon the maimed and solitary officer. However, at this desperate moment relief was nigh; the Indians, who before had hesitated, now turned and fled like scared vultures from their prey. A detachment of the gallant 78th Highlanders, undismayed by the still murderous fire, chased the marauders from the field, and bore the wounded Englishman in safety to the shore. This extraordinary scene occurred in full view of both armies.
The evening was now far advanced; the tide was beginning to flow; the ammunition of the whole army was damaged by the heavy rains; the waters looked angry beneath a threatening gale; the enemy's strength was concentrated; they had suffered little or no loss, while the British were weakened by 33 officers and 410 men. Wolfe had learned by painful experience the prodigious advantage of the French position, which, although nearly invulnerable to attack, yet afforded admirable facilities for retreat. He was baffled; all that now remained was to conduct the re-embarkation with safety and regularity. Such of the wounded as could be yet saved were carried from the field; the stranded transports were abandoned and burned, and the flotilla rowed away from the fatal shore. Townshend and Murray, whose untouched brigades had covered the embarkation, then recrossed the ford without interruption, and resumed their position on the heights east of the Montmorency.
Wolfe knew that the enterprise of the 31st of July was of such a nature that nothing but success could justify its temerity. By failure his military error had been thrown into strong light, and yet it was probable that he would have succeeded but for a strange adversity of circumstances. The officers of the fleet had remained in unaccountable ignorance of the reef of rocks which delayed and disordered the attack. The storm of rain not only injured the ammunition of his men, but rendered the steep ascent of the enemy's position so slippery that they could not find firm footing, and the ill-timed audacity of the Grenadiers had confounded all his calculations. The leading fault of his plan was undoubtedly the attempt of a combined attack by land and water. Had Monckton's brigade been landed beyond the falls, and the whole army crossed the ford together, the fatal embarrassments of the disembarkation would have been avoided. Wolfe suffered intense mental distress from this mishap; his mind preyed upon his feeble frame; his chronic ailment attacked him with unusual violence; fever supervened, and for some weeks he lay absolutely helpless, to the grief of the whole army. In the mean time, however, he issued the following merited rebuke to the corps whose indiscretion had led to results so disastrous:
"The check which the Grenadiers met with will, it is hoped, be a lesson to them for the time to come. Such impetuous, irregular, and unsoldierlike proceedings destroy all order, and put it out of the general's power to execute his plan. The Grenadiers could not suppose that they alone could beat the French army; therefore it was necessary the corps under Brigadiers Townshend and Monckton should have time to join them, that the attack might be general. The very first fire of the enemy was sufficient to have repulsed men who had lost all sense of order and military discipline. Amherst's (the 15th) and the Highland (the 78th) regiment, by the soldier-like and cool manner in which they formed, would undoubtedly have beaten back the whole Canadian army, if they had ventured to attack them. The loss, however, is very inconsiderable, and may be easily repaired when a favorable opportunity offers, if the men will show a proper attention to their officers."
Immediately after the repulse at Montmorency, Wolfe had dispatched 1200 men, under Brigadier Murray, to assist Admiral Holmes in the Upper River, and with orders to attempt the destruction of the French shipping which had passed up the stream. The brigadier was directed, at the same time, to take every favorable opportunity of engaging the enemy, and to endeavor, by all means in his power, to provoke them to attack him. In obedience to these orders, Murray proceeded up the left bank of the river with his detachment, consisting of the 15th Regiment, three companies of the Royal Americans, two of Marines, and one of Light Infantry. At a convenient place above the Chaudière River, he embarked under Admiral Holmes, and the squadron then made sail up the stream. The French ships easily avoided the danger by sending all their guns and stores ashore, and, when thus lightened, taking refuge in the shallows toward Montreal; one brigantine of 200 tons was, however, abandoned and burned in their retreat.
Murray found every place fortified where a landing might be effected, and the enemy always on the alert. After two vain attempts to disembark, he at length only succeeded by a surprise: he then pushed to the village of Dechambault, which was close at hand, carried it with scarcely any resistance, and burned some stores of provisions, clothing, and ammunition. Several prisoners of some note were taken in the onslaught, and a few important letters fell into the hands of the English. Through these letters Murray first heard of the occupation of Crown Point by Amherst, and of Johnson's victory at Niagara. Finding that he could effect nothing further, he hastened to convey this cheering news to his general.
Meanwhile fruitless damage was inflicted by each party upon the other: the Indians frequently surprised and scalped English stragglers, and the English batteries at Montmorency and Point Levi kept up a continued fire upon the lines and upon the city. On the morning of the 10th of August, at one o'clock, a shell pitched upon the vaulted roof of a cellar in the lower town, broke through, and burst; a large quantity of brandy which was there stored instantly ignited, the flames spread rapidly, and nearly the whole of the quarter, including the Church of Nôtre Dame de la Victoire, was burned to the ground. A fire broke out simultaneously in the Upper Town, but was extinguished without having spread to any great extent.
The intelligence of Amherst and Johnson's progress, although satisfactory in itself, gave Wolfe no hope of their assistance before the close of the campaign: defeat could hardly have been more disastrous to the general interests of the war than their inactivity. Almost the whole force of Canada still mustered behind the formidable defenses of Quebec. Nothing, however, could shake the resolution of the British general; while life remained, he determined to persevere in the enterprise. Far from being disheartened, he was only stimulated by increasing difficulties. The fate of the campaign now hung upon him alone: the disaster at Montmorency had endangered his reputation; it only remained to clear away the cloud by success, or to silence censure by a soldier's death.
While Wolfe lay stricken with fever and unable to bear the presence of his officers, he meditated unceasingly upon plans of attack. At length, when somewhat recovered, but still incapable of leaving his bed, he dictated the following letter to the brigadiers under his command:
"That the public service may not suffer by the general's indisposition, he begs the brigadiers will meet and consult together for the public utility and advantage, and consider of the best method to attack the enemy.