Battle of Beauport - Montmorency, QC
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N 46° 53.401 W 071° 08.681
19T E 336616 N 5195174
The Battle of Beauport, also known as the Battle of Montmorency, fought on 31 July 1759, was an important confrontation between the British and French Armed Forces during the Seven Years' War.
Waymark Code: WMT50F
Location: Québec, Canada
Date Posted: 09/27/2016
Views: 17
The French and Indian War campaigns of 1758 were 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.
On the night of 8th or 9th July, British forces landed on the north shore, some 1.2 km (1 mi) east of the Montmorency Falls, east of where the French west-east defence line ended, at the mouth of the Montmorency River. After establishing the Montmorency camp, Wolfe explored various plans of attack, and chose his plan on 28 July. On 28 July, Wolfe wrote of an attack on the Beauport line to be executed on 30 July. On the morning of 31 July the war vessel Centurion positioned itself by the Montmorency Falls to attack the easternmost French batteries.
The first troops advancing toward French lines were the thirteen companies of grenadiers and some 200 soldiers of the Royal Americans. Shortly after the firing began, a summer storm broke out, causing gunpowder to become wet and rendering firearms unusable. When General Wolfe ordered the retreat, the troops marching from the Montmorency camp had not yet met up with the main force transported from the Île d'Orléans camp.
The French were victorious. General Wolfe recorded 443 losses (210 killed and 233 wounded), while the French counted 60 killed and wounded on their side; losses which were attributed to the fire coming from the great battery of the Montmorency camp. The day after the battle, Wolfe wrote Monckton that the losses incurred in the battle were not great and that the defeat was no cause of discouragement.
While the news of the victory was celebrated in the French camp, General Montcalm remained lucid, writing to Bourlamaque that in his opinion this attack was only a prelude to a more important one, which they could do nothing but patiently wait for. The attack did eventually arrive, when on 13 September the British landed west of Quebec and defeated the French on the Plains of Abraham in a battle that claimed the lives of both Montcalm and Wolfe.
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