THE SIXTY-SEVENTH,
OR
THE SOUTH HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT.
James Wolfe.
Appointed 21st April, 1758.
Major-General James Wolfe, son of Lieut.-General Edward Wolfe, was born at Westerham, in Kent, on the 11th of January, 1726, and entered the army as a second lieutenant in Colonel Edward Wolfe's First regiment of Marines, on the 3rd of November, 1741. On the 27th of March, 1742, he was removed to the Twelfth foot, in which regiment he was promoted lieutenant on the 14th of July, 1743. He was appointed to a company in the Fourth foot on the 23rd of June, 1744, and obtained his majority in the Thirty-third regiment on the 5th of February, 1747. The war of the Austrian Succession afforded him many occasions to show the bravery and decision of his character; and at the battle of Val, or Laffeld, on the 2nd of July, 1747, when only twenty-one years of age, his masterly exertions, at a critical juncture, procured his appointment as a major of brigade, and the highest encomiums from His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, then at the head of the army. He was removed to the Twentieth regiment on the 5th of January, 1749, in which he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-colonel on the 20th of March, 1750. After the peace he cultivated the arts of war, and introduced such exactness of discipline into his corps, that as long as the six British battalions[20] on the plains of Minden are recorded in the annals of Europe, so long will Kingsley's (Twentieth) stand amongst the foremost of that day. He received the brevet rank of colonel on the 21st of October, 1757, and in January, 1758, was appointed brigadier-general in America. He was appointed colonel of the SIXTY-SEVENTH on the 21st of April, 1758, on the second battalion of the Twentieth being constituted the SIXTY-SEVENTH regiment. In July following he distinguished himself at the capture of the island of Cape Breton. On his return to England he was appointed to command the important expedition against Quebec, with the local rank of major-general. This was an expedition of considerable difficulty and danger. He was to sail up the St. Lawrence and capture Quebec, which is situated on its shores. The place was, by its natural formation, very strong, and succours of all kinds had been thrown into the town; and the garrison, consisting of French, Canadians, and Indians, was prepared at all points for the attack. Major-General Wolfe on landing at the Isle of Orleans found it necessary to seize and to fortify Point Levi, and the western parts of the isle, as the Canadians might otherwise prevent a ship approaching Quebec. These points having been attained, he ordered works to be constructed there for the bombardment of the town. The French endeavoured to prevent the construction of these works, and crossed the river for that purpose, but in vain. Finding, however, that an attack on the city from the river side would be of small effect, Major-General Wolfe resolved to carry on the attack on the land side. To effect this, he first attempted to land his troops some miles below the town near the falls of Montmorenci; here he was repulsed by a large division of the French forces, with loss. Undismayed by his repulse near the falls of Montmorenci, on the 31st of July, 1759, he saw, in this reverse, the necessity of greater efforts, and conceived the bold design of drawing the French from their unassailable position by scaling the heights of Abraham. The soldiers clambered up the heights with great difficulty, and the guns were hauled up by means of ropes and pulleys fixed round the trees, which covered the banks from top to bottom. At the top the plain commences, and extends close under the walls of the city. By this arrangement he forced the French to come out of the city. The Marquis de Montcalm was thus compelled to abandon his camp, and risk a battle for the protection of Quebec. While bravely animating his troops on the 13th of September, 1759, and at the moment when victory was almost within his grasp, he received a wound in the wrist, and another in the breast, which rendered it necessary to bear him to the rear. There, roused from fainting, in the agonies of death, by the cry of "They run! they run!" he eagerly, asked "Who run?" and being told the French, and that they were defeated, he exclaimed, "Then I thank God, and die contented;" and almost immediately expired.[21] He was in the thirty-fourth year of his age. Brigadier-Generals Monckton and Townshend, after the loss of their commander, completed the victory. On the 18th of September Quebec surrendered; and, like Gibraltar, conquered by a similar bold exploit, has, to the present time, continued an appendage to the crown of Great Britain. The remains of Major-General Wolfe were conveyed to Portsmouth, and at night on the 20th of November were deposited in the family vault at Greenwich. A handsome monument was also erected, by order of Government, to his memory in Westminster Abbey. The Major-General is represented as endeavouring to close, with his hand, the wound made in his breast, and is supported by a grenadier. An angel is seen in the clouds, holding a wreath ready to crown the expiring hero. On the pyramid is represented, in relief, the faithful Highland serjeant who attended him; and his sorrow at witnessing the agonies of his dying master is so pathetically expressed, that a spectator can scarcely view the sculpture unmoved. In the front, in alto-relief, is depicted the landing at Quebec, with a view of the precipices the troops had to ascend before the enemy could be attacked. The inscription is as follows:—
"To the memory of James Wolfe, Major-General and Commander-in-Chief of the British Land Forces on an expedition against Quebec, who, after surmounting, by ability and valour, all obstacles of art and nature, was slain in the moment of victory, on the 13th of September, 1759, the King and the Parliament of Great Britain dedicate this monument."
Lord Frederick Cavendish.
Appointed 24th August, 1759.