CHAPTER XLIII
1760
THE FALL OF MONTREAL
THE CAPITULATION
THE LAST STAND AT MONTREAL—THE APPROACH OF THE BRITISH ARMIES—SURRENDER OF ARMS BY FRENCH ON THE ROUTE—PAPER MONEY VALUELESS—MURRAY'S ADVANCE FROM QUEBEC—HAVILAND'S PROGRESS FROM LAKE CHAMPLAIN—AMHERST'S DESCENT FROM OSWEGO—MONTREAL WITHIN AND WITHOUT—THE COUNCIL OF WAR IN THE CHATEAU VAUDREUIL—THE TERMS OF CAPITULATION—THE NEGOTIATIONS WITH AMHERST—HONOURS OF WAR REFUSED—DE LEVIS' CHAGRIN—THE CAPITULATION SIGNED—THE CONDITIONS—FORMAL POSSESSION OF TOWN BY THE BRITISH—THE END OF THE FRENCH REGIME.
After the retreat from Quebec, de Lévis made preparations for the last stand at Montreal. Along the trail, posts were stationed: Rochebeaucour with 300 men at Pointe aux Trembles; Repentigny with 200 at Jacques Cartier; Dumas with 1,200 at Deschambault; Bougainville at Ile aux Noix to bar the approach from Lake Champlain, and La Corne to defend the rapids above Montreal. Each of these points was important, as the plan of campaign of the English, organized by Amherst, was to descend to Montreal, the remaining stronghold of the French, by three routes simultaneously—east, west and south—and uniting there at the same time, to invest it with an army of 16,000 and to take it as an easy prey, for its weaknesses were known. Maps were not wanting of it. It was known that its fortifications, made for defence against the Indians alone, could not resist English cannon.
From three widely separated points, three armies were surely and with deadly certainty moving on Montreal. Murray was to ascend the St. Lawrence from Quebec, Brigadier Haviland to force his entrance by way of Lake Champlain, while Amherst was to lead the main army to Montreal, down the St. Lawrence from Lake Ontario. The latter, though the more difficult journey to execute, the rapids being numerous, was undertaken to prevent the French from attempting to escape up-country, and so defer the inevitable day of their humiliation.
At Montreal the governor general, Vaudreuil, waited for the inevitable, but with dogged resistance and hope till the last. "At this time," he wrote to the minister, "I am taking the most just measure to unite our forces, and if our situation permits, fight a battle or several battles. It is to be feared that we shall go down before an enemy so numerous and strong; but whatever may be the event, we shall save the honour of the king's arms. I have the honour to repeat to you, Monseigneur, that if any resource were left me, whatever progress the English might make, I would maintain myself in some part of the colony with my remaining troops, after having fought with the greatest obstinacy; but I am absolutely without the least remnant of the necessary means. In these unhappy circumstances I shall continue to use every manœuvre and device to keep the enemy in check; but if we succumb in the battles we shall fight, I shall apply myself to obtaining a capitulation which may avert the total ruin of a people who will remain forever French, and who could not survive their misfortunes but for the hope of being restored by the treaty of peace to the rule of His Most Christian Majesty."
If we follow the route of each of the armies whose objective was Montreal, we shall find them making easy progress, for the country was ripe for the change of government. The militia, seeing the colony was lost to France, gave up their arms, as did the regulars, famished and despairing. The greatest cause of despair in the old régime now passing away was the news that not only the home government could not send military succour, but that the royal treasury could not meet colonial bills, the payment of which was now suspended for a time. The people had advanced much money to the government and now they found their paper money almost valueless and discredited.
Vaudreuil and Bigot at Montreal were informed of this deferred payment by an official circular, in which "they were assured, however, that the exchequer bills (letters de change), drawn in 1757 and 1758, would be paid in three months after the anticipated peace, with interest; that those drawn in 1759 would be discharged in like manner, eighteen months after peace; and as for the intendant's promissory notes (ordonnances), they would be liquidated as soon as convenient. This news startled those concerned like a thunderbolt; there was owing by France to the colonials more than forty million francs (say 1,600,000 pounds sterling), and there was scarcely any one of them who was not a creditor of the state." (Bell's translation of Garneau's "History of Canada," Vol. II, p. 201.)