1710.
On the 23d of October 1710, Colonel Henry Desaulnais (afterwards spelt Desney) from the Coldstream foot guards, was appointed to the colonelcy of the Thirty-sixth regiment, in succession to Colonel the Earl of Ilay, resigned.
During the nine years which this war had been raging in Europe, British blood and treasure had been expended in making conquests for the house of Austria. The only advantage which had accrued to Great Britain was, that the power of the House of Bourbon had been diminished, and that of Austria augmented; the new Ministry chosen by Queen Anne, in 1710, resolved to act upon a different principle. Colonel Nicholson having made a successful attack on Port Royal, in Nova Scotia, on his return to England he submitted to the Government a plan for the reduction of Placentia and Quebec, as a preparatory measure for acquiring Canada for the British crown, and for expelling the French from Newfoundland, in order to regain the fishery.
Canada is stated to have been discovered by the famous Italian adventurer, Sebastian Cabot, who sailed under a commission from Henry VII.; and as the English monarch did not make any use of the discovery, the French soon attempted to derive advantage from it. Several small settlements were established, and in the early part of the seventeenth century the city of Quebec was founded for the capital of the French possessions in this part of the world. Although the colony continued in a very depressed state for some time, and the settlers were frequently in danger of being exterminated by the Indians, yet, in the beginning of the eighteenth century, it had become of such importance that its capture was considered one of the best means of weakening the power of Louis XIV.
1711.
An expedition, consisting of about five thousand men, was accordingly ordered to proceed to North America under Brigadier-General Hill, for the purpose of making an attempt on Quebec. A large fleet formed part of the armament under Commodore Sir Hovenden Walker, and the force was to be further strengthened by troops from the North American colonies. The following regiments were employed on the expedition:—
Kirke’s regiment, now Second foot.
The Queen’s, now Fourth foot.
Hill’s, now Eleventh foot.
Desney’s, now Thirty-sixth foot.
Windress’s, now Thirty-seventh foot.
Clayton’s, disbanded in 1712.
Kane’s, disbanded in 1713.
Churchill’s Marines, disbanded in 1713.
Walton’s and Vetch’s, North American Militia, joined
the expedition at Boston.
On arriving at North America the fleet called at Boston for a supply of provisions, and the troops landed and encamped a short time on Rhode Island; but on the 20th of July they re-embarked, and having been joined by two regiments of provincial troops commanded by Colonels Walton and Vetch, sailed on the 30th of July from Boston for the river St. Lawrence. The expedition did not reach the river St. Lawrence until the 21st of August, when it encountered storms, and being furnished with bad pilots, eight transports, a store-ship, and a sloop were lost by shipwreck, and twenty-nine officers, six hundred and seventy-six soldiers, and thirty-five women of the Fourth, Thirty-seventh, Colonel Kane’s, and Colonel Clayton’s regiments, perished. There was also a scarcity of provisions. It was, therefore, determined in a council of war, that further operations should be abandoned. Some of the regiments engaged in the expedition proceeded to Annapolis Royal, in Nova Scotia, but the Thirty-sixth returned to England, and arrived at Portsmouth on the 9th of October.
On the 12th of October 1711, Charles III., the claimant to the throne of Spain, was elected Emperor of Germany by the title of Charles VI., his brother Joseph having died at Vienna in the preceding April. This circumstance materially affected the war, and inclined Great Britain to agree to peace; for the consolidation of Spain with the Empire of Germany would have perilled the balance of power in Europe as much as the anticipated union of the crowns of France and Spain. The course of events had also shown, that a French and not an Austrian Prince was the choice of the Spanish nation.
Louis XIV. finding his armies defeated and dispirited, by the victorious troops under the celebrated Duke of Marlborough, at length sued for peace, negociations for which were shortly afterwards commenced.