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THE SIEGE COMMENCED.

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artillery and stores. A contemporary writer tells us that de Lévis issued a proclamation calling upon the habitants of the district of Quebec to join him. Many represented that it was unjust in the position in which they were placed to exact that they should take arms, for forced by the conditions of conquest they had taken an oath of fidelity to England, and that they would be punished if they ceased to remember that they had done so. De Lévis left to each person, to act as he saw fit in joining the ranks as a combatant, but he forced all to work in unloading the ships and in forming the intrench

ments.

The duty of conducting the siege had been assigned to de Bourlamaque. He had been in command of the advance guard, and was seriously wounded by a cannon shot in the leg; he directed the operations from his tent, but the want of his presence was much felt. The works were commenced, and on the 29th the first parallel was formed within six hundred yards of the town. Murray made his preparations for defence. He had previously broken up the roads leading to the town. He closed the gates; cut embrasures in the curtains; the sick were placed in the convents; the women were ordered to cook the food and attend the sick; so that every fighting man could be on duty. As cases of drunkenness became apparent, he ordered the liquor to be spilled; and as some of the men commenced acts of outrage and robbery, two soldiers caught in the act of crime were hanged: one of those examples often so painfully

of the government of Quebec will join, when the place is invested. He gives the list of the killed and wounded, including the militia, as 193 killed, 640 wounded, being a total of 833. No account is rendered of any other division of the force.

The writer of the campaign of 1760 in Canada, generally supposed to be chevalier Johnstone, describes the loss as 2,000 killed and wounded, so that the French might say with Pyrrhus, the day of his victory over the Romans, "again such another victory and I would be undone.” [p. 14.]

Mémoire sur la Guerre, p. 182.

The form of oath has been preserved. [Can. Arch., A. & W. I., 91.2, p. 539.] Holding up right hand: "Je promets et je jure devant Dieu solemnellement que je serai fidèle à sa Majesté Brittanique le roi George second, que je ne prendrai point les armes contre lui et que je ne donnerai aucune avertissement à ses ennemies qui lui puisse en aucune manière nuire."

necessary to enforce discipline. Fresh guns were mounted, and small parties were organized to make nightly sorties to harass the French works.

On the 1st of May, Murray determined to send the "Racehorse," captain Macartney, with a letter to Amherst, acquainting him with his situation. Owing to the continual north west wind, the vessel made a rapid passage, reaching Halifax in ten days. The despatch was addressed to Amherst, as commanding-in-chief, but on hearing from Macartney the situation of Murray, Lawrence, who was in command in Nova Scotia, after consulting with Gough, commanding the fleet, determined to open the letter, and while sending on the original to Amherst, he forwarded a copy to Pitt, with which captain Elphinstone was immediately despatched.

Colville had left Halifax on the 22nd of April. The weather had continued against him, for the favourable wind which had brought Macartney so rapidly to Halifax was directly in the teeth of the ships proceeding in the opposite direction. A vessel had lately arrived at Halifax, which had seen Colville's squadron to the west of cape Race, endeavouring to get clear of the ice, and it was hoped that he had reached Anticosti, and from that spot he would be able to prevent provisions and reinforcements reaching the besiegers.

Murray's letter to Amherst explains the reason of his leaving the city to meet de Lévis in the field. His garrison had melted down to 3,000 men from inveterate scurvy, and were daily mouldering away. Owing to the season, he had been unable to construct fortifications on the heights of Abraham. He could not hesitate a moment about giving the enemy battle, as everyone knew that the place was not tenable against an army in possession of the heights. While Murray was thus vindicating himself, he was also defending the memory of Montcalm. Some writers have taken upon themselves to blame Murray for his conduct, arguing that he recklessly and unnecessarily ran great risks from the personal desire of distinction. Those who study these events can form no such opinion. Murray deliberately accepted the duty of

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ARRIVAL OF THE "VANGUARD."

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meeting the enemy in the field, from the conviction that it was the true and wise policy to accept. The most important part of his communication was that when he wrote he had only 4,000 men fit for duty.

Murray resolved to hold the place as long as possible, looking forward to the arrival of the fleet to give him relief. On the 2nd of May he caused an examination of the shot and shell to be made. During the few days of the siege 1,473 shot and 962 shells had been fired; with this expenditure, the ammunition would last only fifteen days. He therefore recommended great economy in its use.

For the next seven days the French pushed on their works with vigour, but no impression had been made upon the town. During this period a French schooner sailed down the river, and again returned to the other ships. The fire from the town, perseveringly continued, interfered greatly with the French works; many of them were destroyed by it. On the 9th of May, between ten and eleven, a vessel appeared, which in answer to the British colours, which were kept on the citadel, showed the Union Jack. She was the "Lowestoff" frigate, captain Dean, which had left England with commodore Swanton's squadron on the 9th of March. A schooner was accordingly got ready, and sent under command of a midshipman, to communicate with Colville. The arrival of this one vessel did not change the operations of de Lévis. Murray even heard that an attempt would be made to take the city by storm. One half of the men were kept on the ramparts, the other ready to turn out. So matters continued until the 15th, when, at nine o'clock at night, the "Vanguard," with commodore Swanton, the "Diana,"captain Schomberg, the schooner "Lawrence," lieutenant Fortye, which had been sent to meet Colville, anchored before the town. The ships of Colville arrived of the night of the 15th

two days later. About ten o'clock

* Lord Colville wrote to Pitt from Quebec, 24th May, 1760 [Can. Arch., Series A. & W. I., 99, p. 144], that he was ready to sail from Halifax on the 20th March, but as that date was too early to ascend the Saint Lawrence, he had appointed the 14th of April for leaving. A south west wind with "dirty weather"

a courier was intercepted from the officer in command of the French detachment, at Beauport, informing de Lévis of the arrival of the vessels, which he believed were French. It was agreed between Murray and Swanton that Murray should beat to arms at one in the morning, as if alarmed at their arrival, and that the French ships should be attacked at the early dawn. On the night of the 15th and 16th the French in force broke in upon the advance line of sentries; one man was killed, another was carried off, and from him de Lévis learned that the ships were British. De Lévis immediately gave orders that the vessels containing stores, ammunition, and artillery should retire; the two frigates were directed to be in readiness to follow them. He caused the artillery to be brought from the trenches, and gave orders for the retreat of the whole force.*

The night was very stormy, and the orders were not delivered as de Lévis had directed. At five in the morning he heard that the French frigates were getting under weigh, and that the British ships were approaching them. As early as it was light, Swanton in the " Vanguard," with the "Lowestoff" and "Diana," ascended the river. Upon their approach the French vessels cut their cables. "La Pomone" went aground on the north shore. "L'Atalante" got away, followed by the English frigates. At cap Rouge she was joined by the transports. Seeing that they ran a risk of being taken, she signalled to them to run aground: she herself was forced to take the same course opposite to Pointe aux Trembles. The commander, de Vauclain, for two hours sustained the attack, until he had fired away all his ammunition. As he ceased to fire, the British sent a boat with a summons to surrender; he had not lowered his flag, and it was left for his captors to haul it down. There were many killed; the wounded had remained on board, and were taken with the vessel. Such as

had kept the ships in the harbour until the 22nd. He arrived at Bic on the 16th instant, when he received Murray's message. He anchored at Quebec on the morning of the 18th. By that time all was over.

"le déblaiement de l'armée." [Journal, p. 281.]

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RETREAT OF THE FRENCH.

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were fit for service had been landed and ordered to join the main body of the army. The two frigates remained moored at Pointe aux Trembles. The ship of war did not proceed further than Saint Michel: she returned to the anse au Foulon, from which position she endeavoured to shell the French army. Unfortunately, "the 'Lowestoff' was irrecoverably lost on some unknown rocks in the middle of the river, ten leagues above the town."*

On the departure of the British ships on the morning of the 17th, Murray assembled under arms the greater part of his garrison, with intention to make a sortie. Preliminary to the movement, he sent lieutenant McAlpin to threaten some sallies to amuse the enemy." This officer shortly returned with the information that the trenches were abandoned. Murray marched out in the hope of intercepting the retreat at cap Rouge, but before his arrival the rear guard had crossed the stream. He, however, succeeded in intercepting a few prisoners, and took some baggage which otherwise would have been carried off. The French camp was left standing, with the greater part of their stores, ammunition, and thirtyfour pieces of cannon; four of them were brass 12-prs., three were six-inch mortars, with a large quantity of intrenching tools, with scaling ladders. The six British field-pieces left on the field on the 28th of April were not to be found; on coming into the possession of the French, they had been sent to Montreal as a trophy of the victory of de Lévis.

De Lévis had retreated the night of the 16th and 17th. Rations were served out, and the march commenced at ten at night; at daybreak the army crossed the cap Rouge. He managed to embark in some boats whatever he had been able to save, with the stores he could obtain from the sunken ships and bateaux; by night, keeping close to the bank, he passed unnoticed the British frigates. The French were fortunate in getting afloat the flute "la Marie." What they could not remove they burned.

The troops bivouacked at Pointe aux Trembles. They Colville to Pitt, 24th May. Can. Arch., A. & W. I., 99, p. 144.