Montcalm drew up his men, and the two armies, French and English, stood face to face on the narrow battlefield. The French advanced and began to push the English back; but Wolfe rallied his men. He held back his fire until the French came within close range, and then at his order one volley decided the battle. With great gaps in their lines, the French halted, and Wolfe led on his men to complete the victory.
But the brave English general, wounded twice already, now received a shot through the breast that was fatal. Montcalm too was mortally wounded, and died the next day.
Quebec surrendered on September 18, 1759.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 35, SERIAL No. 35 COPYRIGHT, 1913. BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
[Illustration: BRADDOCK’S FIELD--FROM AN OLD PAINTING]
The defeat of General Edward Braddock by the French and Indians was not due to any lack of courage on the part of the English commander and his men, but to the fact that they knew nothing about colonial warfare and would not take advice from the colonial troops. Had Braddock followed the advice of George Washington the French would have been routed, and Fort Duquesne, which is now Pittsburgh, would have been captured.
Edward Braddock was born in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1695. He was the son of Major General Edward Braddock. In 1710 he joined the Coldstream Guards. As a lieutenant colonel in 1747 he served under the Prince of Orange during the siege of Bergen-op-Zoom. Six years later he was made colonel of the 14th Foot, and the following year became a major general.
This was at the time of the Seven Years’ War between the French and English. England had a poor opinion of the colonial officers and soldiers,--these same officers and soldiers who were to defeat their trained troops on every hand a few years later in the Revolution,--and at the beginning of the war sent General Braddock with two regiments of regulars to Virginia. Braddock landed on American soil in 1755, and, appointing George Washington one of his aides, set off with his regulars and some colonial troops from Fort Cumberland in Maryland for Fort Duquesne.
The country to be traversed was a wilderness. No road led through the woods; so the troops were forced to cut one as they slowly went westward. Braddock was brave and honest, but harsh and brutal in manners. He could not understand the nature of a war in the woods. Like other English officers of the time, he despised American militia and their half-Indian way of fighting. Washington and the other American officers advised him to send scouts ahead to look for the enemy; but Braddock would have none of this. He marched his army through the forest in perfect alignment, with the band playing and banners flying.