Battle of Pointe-aux-Trembles

After the capture of Quebec in 1759, the defeated French forces collected on the Jacques-Cartier River west of the city. Pack ice had closed the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River, forcing the British Royal Navy to leave shortly after. The Chevalier de Lévis, General Montcalm's successor as French commander, marched his 7,000 troops to Quebec and besieged it. During that harsh winter, James Murray, the British commander, had lost numerous troops to illness, for instance, scurvy had reduced his garrison to only 4,000 men. On 28 April 1760, Lévis's forces met and defeated the British at the Battle of Sainte-Foy, immediately west of the city, but the British were able to withdraw within the walls of Quebec. British improvements to the fortifications combined with the lack of French heavy artillery and ammunition, preventing them from quickly retaking the city. A siege by Lévis began but the success of the French army's offensive against Quebec in the spring of 1760 depended on the arrival of a French armada, with fresh troops and supplies. The British too were anxious to get a war fleet into the Saint Lawrence River in the spring before supplies and reinforcements could arrive from France. ==Battle==

During the night of 15 to 16 May, Lévis was informed of the appearance of two British vessels between Île d'Orléans and Pointe-Lévis. Bad weather caused his orders to the vessels to be delayed. The French vessels immediately cut their cables; in the confusion forced herself too close to shore and ran aground. The two British frigates meanwhile sailed past blasting away at her but instead of stopping, they ignored her and pursued , which joined the French transport vessels at Cap-Rouge. Atalantes commander, seeing that the British frigates were catching up with the French transport vessels, ordered them to beach so that Lévis could salvage the provisions they transported. Atalante then sailed upstream but was forced to run aground at Neuville, then called Pointe-aux-Trembles. Vauquelin had managed to turn Atalante to broadside to fight it out. He nailed his colours to the mast and engaged the two frigates that had pursued him. Vauquelin did not belie his reputation and fought his ship for two hours with persistent bravery until his ammunition was spent. He even refused to strike his flag, and it was only when his ship was a burning, dismasted hulk that he was made prisoner; he was treated by the British with distinguished honour. Meanwhile, Vanguard did not sail farther than Saint-Michel and returned to Anse-au-Foulon and in so doing enfiladed the French trenches with grapeshot, forcing their abandonment. Vanguard then sailed back to Quebec to round up the beached French ships, taking prisoners and their stores. After the engagement, the two British frigates remained at Neuville. ==Aftermath==

in Vauquelin Square, Montreal The destruction of the French vessels was a death blow to the hopes of Lévis, who thus lost his stores of food and ammunition. He also gave orders to throw his artillery down the cliff near Anse-au-Foulon and to distribute provisions to the troops. At 10 p.m., the army marched with the cannon having been sent forward. Deserters from Lévis's camp then told Murray that the French were in full retreat on which all the British batteries opened fire at random through the darkness and sending cannonballs , bowling by scores together, over the Plains of Abraham on the heels of the retreating French army. With Quebec City secure, it became a staging point for the conquest of the remainder of Canada. Montreal, the last major French stronghold of which Lévis's forces had retreated to was now the target. Forces under Jeffery Amherst approached on 8 September 1760. Lévis was ordered by Governor Marquis de Vaudreuil to surrender the city, which he soon did. ==References==