The
French and Indian War campaigns of 1758 were mostly successful for the
British, who had sent more than 40,000 men against
New France and made key gains by
capturing Louisbourg and
destroying Fort Frontenac, although their primary thrust was stopped by French general
Louis-Joseph de Montcalm in the
Battle of Carillon.
William Pitt continued the aggressive policy in 1759, again organizing large campaigns aimed at the heartland of New France, the
Canadien communities of
Quebec and
Montreal on the
St. Lawrence River. For the campaign against Quebec, General
James Wolfe was given command of an army of about 7,000 men.
Beauport When he arrived before Quebec on 26 June, Wolfe observed that the northern shore of the
St. Lawrence River around
Beauport (the
Beauport shore), the most favourable site for the landing of troops, was strongly defended by the French, who had built entrenchments on high ground,
redoubts and
floating batteries. Wolfe consequently had to devise a plan involving a landing on some other location of the shore. The search for the best site kept him busy for weeks.
Montmorency camp On the night of the 8th or 9th of July, British forces landed on the north shore, some east of the
Montmorency Falls, east of where the French west-east defence line ended, at the mouth of the
Montmorency River. Wolfe landed first, leading the Louisbourg grenadiers, who were followed by the brigade commanded by
George Townshend. The landing met no opposition from the French.
James Murray, at the head of a part of his brigade, joined Wolfe and Townshend on 10 July. A camp was set up near the landing site. Wolfe ordered the construction of a battery to defend the camp, as well as rafts and floating batteries in anticipation of an attack on the French line.
Plan of attack After establishing the Montmorency camp, Wolfe explored various plans of attack and chose his plan on 28 July. He had two main plans. The first plan which Wolfe mentioned in his journal and the correspondence with his officers is that of 16 July. In a letter to Brigadier
Robert Monckton, Wolfe wrote that he had hoped to capture one of the French redoubts, the second one counting from the east end of the Beauport line, in order to force the enemy out of their entrenchments. The plan involved an attack by the Navy, an important landing force transported from
Île d'Orléans, as well as a body of troops crossing the river Montmorency on rafts and marching westward to the battle site. At the same time, the brigade commanded by Monckton was to land on the French right, between the
Saint-Charles River and Beauport. This plan was put on hold on 20 July, when an event of great import to the British occurred: the
Royal Navy succeeded, on the night of 18–19 July, in passing seven ships, including the
ship of the line and two frigates (HMS
Diana and HMS
Squirrel), through the narrow passage between Quebec and
Pointe-Lévy, thus opening the possibility of a landing west of Quebec. Batteries firing at the British flotilla from the
Lower Town of Quebec, as well as the floating batteries pursuing it, were unable to prevent the crossing. The ''Sutherland's'' log records that the French cannonballs flew too high to cause serious damage. On 19 July Wolfe was at the Pointe-Lévy camp to reconnoiter the north shore west of Quebec. He moved further west the next day, near the mouth of the
Chaudière River, to study the opposite shore between
Sillery and
Cap Rouge. Wolfe wrote to Monckton with orders for a plan of attack involving a landing near the village of
Saint-Michel, something he had already considered in June. However, at 13:00, Wolfe countermanded his orders to Monckton, ordering him instead to wait a few days and remain ready to act quickly, because of some "particular circumstances". It is possible that the circumstance he alluded to was a French counteroffensive in which a newly built battery at Samos (near Sillery) damaged the
Squirrel. Wolfe returned to the Montmorency camp on 26 July. Escorted by two battalions, he walked up the Montmorency river to reconnoiter the French lines. At about from the river's mouth, he observed a
ford allowing the easy crossing from the west shore to the east shore. This discovery was followed by a solid skirmish between British soldiers, attempting to cross, and French soldiers entrenched on the other side. The British reported 45 killed and wounded. On 28 July, Wolfe wrote of an attack on the Beauport line to be executed on 30 July. However, poor winds did not allow for naval movements that day and the operations were postponed to the next day. The plan of attack then contemplated by Wolfe was a variation of the plan he had described to Monckton in his letter of 16 July. Unlike the earlier plan, there was no mention of a parallel landing on the French right (west of Beauport). == Order of Battle ==