French and Indian Wars-Seven Years War
Major General Murray
Francois-Gaston, the Cavalier Lévis
Francois-Gaston, the Cavalier Lévis, took advantage of the winter 1759-60 to regroup all the troops of the New France colony and the ones dispersed after the retreat from Quebec. As soon as the spring thaw allowed, he embarked 9.000 troops, the 20th April, at Montreal to retake Quebec from Murray. Lévis took up a position to the west of the city and as Montcalm, a year ago, the city defenders came out to attack the besiegers first.
Prelude
The British garrison left in Quebec City spent the winter months in a virtual state of siege. They were holed up in the city and a few surrounding positions in the countryside, closed off from the outside world by the frozen St. Lawrence River. During the winter the British suffered due to the lack of proper winter housing. As a British observer noted: ‘during the whole siege from first to last, 535 houses were burnt down, among [them] the whole eastern part of the lower town’ (Sergeant-Major, p. 24). It was estimated that by March 1760, half of the garrison force was on the sick list due to scurvy and illnesses aggravated by the weather conditions. The British, under the command of Major General Murray, were also forced to send forage parties outside the city walls to supplement their supplies. These parties were regularly attacked by rear guards of the French forces. During the winter of 1759-60, the British constantly anticipated the arrival of a large French force from Montreal. Rumors circulated for months that the French, under the command of Marquis de Levis, were about to march on Quebec, creating a sense of urgency to prepare for the worst.
The French, meanwhile, had quartered some of their regulars in Montreal, as well as in outposts near Quebec. The militia had been dismissed, ready to be called up again for duty in the spring of 1760. The French decided to attack Quebec before the ice on the St. Lawrence had broken up and the British could get reinforcements. By mid-March, orders were received to gather supplies and prepare for the march to the north, and the militia was called out once again. On 20 April, the French forces began to march. The column numbered more than 6,000 men, comprising eight regular battalions, 20 Marine companies, 3,000 militia, and 400 Indians. As the force marched north, various detachments were called in and the number rose to over 8,000 effectives.
The British received reports of a French column approaching from Montreal. One British observer recalled that ‘during ye night of the 26th and 27th [a soldier] brought certain intelligence that the French were in motion to come by ye way of Lorette and St. Foy to cut off our Camp Rouge posts’ (Northcliffe, p. 427). Bougainville also commented that ‘the speed of [Levis'] march surprised the enemy’ (Bougainville, p. 325). The French drove off any British light troops they encountered and began to build a camp at Sainte-Foy, at the western edge of the Plains of Abraham. General Murray made a critical mistake at this point; instead of assessing the situation and numbers of French forces, he decided to advance out of the city and prepare an entrenchment. He could have waited behind the walls of the city until the ice broke up and a reliving force had arrived. Instead, as one British officer, Captain Knox recalled, ‘about seven o’clock our army marched out to the Heights of Abraham with a respectable artillery’ (Knox Journal, p. 246). A French observer, J. Desbruyeres, described ‘[Murray's] garrison consisting of 3,000 men … the numbers of French appearing but small their brigades being then sheltered by the woods’ (Northcliffe, p. 427).
The Battle
The 10 British battalions were drawn up on the heights and as the French army was in disorder they moved to attack. The French began to deploy from column into line as the British approached. The first volleys occurred on the British right and French left flank between forward units. British light infantry engaged and defeated a large group of French grenadiers. British rangers engaged French advanced troops on the French right and again the French were defeated. However, the main French force arrived at this stage and overwhelmed the British light infantry, forcing them to withdraw. They then turned their attention to the British right wing, followed by an attack on the British left flank. The French began to outflank the British line, in an attempt to get between them and the city.
The British artillery was of little use because the main battle line had shifted forward. A British officer lamented that ‘our cannon were of no service to us as we could not draw them through the soft ground and gulleys of snow 3 feet deep’ (7204-6-2). It was during this heavy fighting that Murray realized at last how much danger his troops were in, and ordered a withdrawal to the city. The British, supported by heavy fire into the French lines, were able to retreat in good order.
Knox reported that ‘this discomfirt [withdrawal] was however so regularly conducted that the enemy did not pursue with the spirit which the vast importance of their victory required’ (Knox, Journal, p. 248).
Aftermath
The battle had lasted just over two hours. One-third of the British force had been killed, wounded, or captured, while the French had lost 2,000 men. By 29 April, the French were within 600 yards of the city and began to build trenches and siege batteries to pound the city into submission. The British responded by further reinforcing their own batteries and positions. As Bougainville noted, the deciding factor during the siege was not Levis’ troops and artillery; ‘the arrival of an English squadron decided the matter, it was necessary to raise the siege’ (Bougainville, p. 325). On 15 May, the Royal Navy arrived to lift the siege of Quebec. The French withdrew, except for a small force ordered to shadow the British movements from Quebec to Montreal.
Wargame
Vae Victis issue #44. This game covers four battles of the French and Indian War: Fort Carillon (1758), Québec (aka The Plains of Abraham) (1759) and Sainte-Foy (1760). The game scale is very large (i.e., small maps, each smaller than the magazine opened up) but the game itself is reasonably detailed for a “magazine game.” This issue also includes a pair of errata counters for issue 43.
As with all Vae Victis games, the counters need to be cut out and mounted. The rules are entirely in French, although translations are available online.
References:
Batailles pour la Nouvella France, Vae Victis Magazine # 44.
Crucible of War, Fred Anderson, Vintage
