something more spectacular than effective-involving an expenditure which might have been spent more judiciously, considering Montcalm's necessities. In the morning all that was left of the fireships comprised a number of charred and smoking hulks, some of which were towed ashore by the British fleetsmen to be out of their way. No harm befell any of the invader's ships from the ill-considered strategy. 11. "And long he scans the outlet-ford." So shallow are the waters of the Montmorency as it enters the St. Lawrence that some people have maintained that there must be an underground current by which the unfathomable pit at the base of the cataract empties its contents. As has been said, Wolfe was confident of success from the very first, if he could only force his adversary into the open field, the army of Montcalm with its many incoherences being no match against the trained troops of his own army. The space on which the Montmorency Mills now stand, as may be seen by any one, is altogether too narrow for a general engagement between two armies of the size of the armies in question; and, if the impetuosity of the Grenadiers had to share largely the blame for the subsequent result, the military advice, which led to the assault, can hardly miss being called in question. 12. “From upper-ford to strand." There is no more interesting trip for one to take while studying the historical topography of Montmorency than a walk through the woods along its eastern bank from its "outlet-ford" to the "upper-ford" near the lakelike expansion of the river known as DeSable. Every foot of the ground must have been known to Townshend and his subalterns, though where the British redoubts were located it is now impossible to say. There must have been one near where the pillars of the old Suspension Bridge still stand, as if to guard the highway that runs to Ange Gardien; another near the rapids about a mile further up; and a fourth at DeSable. 13. "And Townshend in command." A late attempt has been made by a descendant of the Marquis of Townshend to give him the very highest measure of praise for the share he took in the Siege of 1759. No word of praise can be considered too high for the co-operation of this distinguished soldier in the general plan of the campaign. He was wise to suggest and faithful to obey, assuming the command as if it were his own, while his superior officer was wrestling with disease and despondency in a peasant's cot beyond his military camping ground. The brilliancy of General Townshend's soldiership should never, however, be advanced as a discounting of General Wolfe's skill or courage as a commander. The bravery of both cannot be disputed, no more than can be the bravery of Brigadier-Generals Monckton and Murray, who were Townshend's military co-adjutors. 14. "To the channel or Ange Gardien." Some claim that Townshend's division had a reserve at Ange Gardien, the nearest village to the east of the Montmorency, but there is no reliable corroboration of the statement. It is natural to think, however, that had he been driven from his vantage-ground on the Montmorency heights, he would have retreated eastward along the highway which then led, as it does now, to Ange Gardien and Chateau Richer. 15. "The singing of the centuries." The approaches to the Montmorency Falls have been, in these later years, greatly improved in behalf of the sight-seer-improvements which in no way mar the natural beauty and grandeur of the picturesque, as is so often the case when modernism gets hold of a bit of the beautiful to make money out of it. Standing by the brink of one of the side precipices, from which can be viewed the "milk-giver" in the fullest majesty of its proportions, the picture is true of it as: The rhyming rhythm of the river's mouth, A feathery, flaking fleece, That fans the landscape's face The rainbowed chasm underneath. 16. "Repentigny daring Townshend." Chevalier De Lévis was in charge of operations at the left extremity of Montcalm's line of defence, and Repentigny seems to have had divisional charge of Montcalm's outposts along the western bank of the Montmorency, subject, of course, to De Lévis' orders. 17. "The Centurion issuing challenge." The Centurion was one of the most noted of Admiral Saunders's ships, having been the flagship of Commodore Anson, who had sailed round the world in her, before he retired from active service to become First Lord of the Admiralty. Its armament comprised sixty guns, its position during the onset at Montmorency being in mid-channel, between the Island of Orleans and the mouth of that river. It was accompanied by two smaller vessels to cover the immediate landing of the British troops in their barges. 18. "The Grenadiers advance." The Grenadiers received their name from being armed with grenades, or hand-shells, to be thrown among the enemy. They were usually expected to be in readiness to take up their position in the van of the attacking army. The men who made the mistake at Montmorency were restored to favour when they were called upon to follow Wolfe in person, as he marched in advance of his right wing on the Plains of Abraham. 19. "Even under Monckton's eye." Monckton's troops were being landed with Murray's in perfect order, when the Grenadiers and the Royal Americans were making their advance upon the nearest redoubts of the French army, only to be driven back in disorder. 20. "The rain weaves shredded pall." A young officer in the Canadian army, during the North-West Rebellion, undertook one morning to reconnoitre with an umbrella over his head. The derisive shouts of his comrades he is said never to have forgotten. On this occasion at Montmorency, the rain came down in slanting torrents, making the footing dangerously slippery and drenching arms and ammunition till they were all but worthless for the moment. The General in his report says: "A storm came on, and the tide began to make, so that I thought it most advisable not to persevere in so difficult a task." 21. "The Royals and the Grenadiers." The former were known as the Royal Americans after they had won renown in many of the contests during the colonial wars, much as had the Royal Rousillons on the French side. of the campaign. He was wise to suggest and faithful to obey, assuming the command as if it were his own, while his superior officer was wrestling with disease and despondency in a peasant's cot beyond his military camping ground. The brilliancy of General Townshend's soldiership should never, however, be advanced as a discounting of General Wolfe's skill or courage as a commander. The bravery of both cannot be disputed, no more than can be the bravery of Brigadier-Generals Monckton and Murray, who were Townshend's military co-adjutors. 14. "To the channel or Ange Gardien." Some claim that Townshend's division had a reserve at Ange Gardien, the nearest village to the east of the Montmorency, but there is no reliable corroboration of the statement. It is natural to think, however, that had he been driven from his vantage-ground on the Montmorency heights, he would have retreated eastward along the highway which then led, as it does now, to Ange Gardien and Chateau Richer. 15. "The singing of the centuries." The approaches to the Montmorency Falls have been, in these later years, greatly improved in behalf of the sight-seer-improvements which in no way mar the natural beauty and grandeur of the picturesque, as is so often the case when modernism gets hold of a bit of the beautiful to make money out of it. Standing by the brink of one of the side precipices, from which can be viewed the "milk-giver" in the fullest majesty of its proportions, the picture is true of it as: The rhyming rhythm of the river's mouth, A feathery, flaking fleece, That fans the landscape's face The rainbowed chasm underneath. 16. "Repentigny daring Townshend." Chevalier De Lévis was in charge of operations at the left extremity of Montcalm's line of defence, and Repentigny seems to have had divisional charge of Montcalm's outposts along the western bank of the Montmorency, subject, of course, to De Lévis' orders. 17. "The Centurion issuing challenge." The Centurion was one of the most noted of Admiral Saunders's ships, having been the flagship of Commodore Anson, who had sailed round the world in her, before he retired from active service to become First Lord of the Admiralty. Its armament comprised sixty guns, its position during the onset at Montmorency being in mid-channel, between the Island of Orleans and the mouth of that river. It was accompanied by two smaller vessels to cover the immediate landing of the British troops in their barges. 18. "The Grenadiers advance." The Grenadiers received their name from being armed with grenades, or hand-shells, to be thrown among the enemy. They were usually expected to be in readiness to take up their position in the van of the attacking army. The men who made the mistake at Montmorency were restored to favour when they were called upon to follow Wolfe in person, as he marched in advance of his right wing on the Plains of Abraham. 19. "Even under Monckton's eye." Monckton's troops were being landed with Murray's in perfect order, when the Grenadiers and the Royal Americans were making their advance upon the nearest redoubts of the French army, only to be driven back in disorder. 20. "The rain weaves shredded pall." A young officer in the Canadian army, during the North-West Rebellion, undertook one morning to reconnoitre with an umbrella over his head. The derisive shouts of his comrades he is said never to have forgotten. On this occasion at Montmorency, the rain came down in slanting torrents, making the footing dangerously slippery and drenching arms and ammunition till they were all but worthless for the moment. The General in his report says: “A storm came on, and the tide began to make, so that I thought it most advisable not to persevere in so difficult a task." 21. "The Royals and the Grenadiers." The former were known as the Royal Americans after they had won renown in many of the contests during the colonial wars, much as had the Royal Rousillons on the French side. |