240 J. G. BOUEINOT 



A fourth redoubt was built ou a little acclivity called Green Hill in the vicinity of 

 the extremity of the epaulement to the first parallel 



A fifth redoubt was built by Wolfe on the north side of the harbour at the head of 

 the barachois on a little rising ground, and did very effective work against the Dauphin 

 bastion. 



A sixth redoubt and entrenchment were constructed from six to seven hundred yards 

 of the Queen's and Princess's bastions to divert the attention of the besieged as far as pos- 

 sible from the Dauphin's and King's bastions, the chief points of attack. 



The work of constructing the trenches in front of the foregoing bastions was greatly 

 facilitated by the fact that "Wolfe on the 16th day of July obtained possession of a rising 

 ground, known as hauleur de la potence or G-allow's Hill, not far from the curtain between 

 the west gate and the King's bastion. Here the English were able to entrench them- 

 selves scarcely three hundred yards from the Dauphin bastion, and approach eventually 

 within two hundred yards of the ramparts. 



At the very commencement of the operations roads were constructed from Flat Point 

 Cove to the headquarters and to the redoubts on Green Hill, in the direction of the 

 first parallel. 



All these works took several weeks to construct amid all the difficulties arising from 

 bad weather and the nature of the ground, which made the construction of roads and the 

 hauling of the heavy guns and materials very laborious. Indeed the last trench was not 

 really finished until the day before the town itself capitulated. In the mean time, how- 

 ever, the besieging force drew nearer every day, and the town was practically condemned 

 before the construction of the last parallel, as it will be easily seen when we review the 

 main features of the siege, which lasted in all forty-eight days from the landing on the 

 shores of Gabarus Bay. * 



The cannon on Wolfe's batteries on the rockv hills at the entrance of the harbour 

 soon silenced the island battery and forced the French ships to draw closer under the 

 guns of the fortifications. When the island battery was destroyed. Governor Drucour 

 recognized the danger of the English ships coming up the harbour, and sank four ships 

 across the entrance, with their masts fastened together by a strong chain. Subsequently, 

 considering this protection insufficient, he ordered two other ships to be added to the 

 number. By this time there were only four ships of the line and one frigate in the har- 

 bour.^ Two ships, the Bizarre and the Comète, had succeeded in getting out of the port 

 soon after the commencement of the siege, and another, the Echo, also escaped the guns of 

 the lighthouse battery but only to fall into the hands of the blockading squadron. The 

 Aréthuse, a frigate of thirty-six guns, commanded by a gallant officer named Vauquelain, 

 was for some time anchored close to the barachois at the southwest end of the harbour, 

 and greatly harassed the besiegers engaged in the trenches and other works. If the 

 Marquis Desgouttes, who commanded the fleet, had shown the same courage and resolu- 

 tion which Vauquelain displayed, the English would haA''e found their progress greatly 

 retarded, but he notoriously exhibited either great pusillanimity or remarkable incapacity. 

 At the very beginning he wished to make an effort to return to France, and when Mon- 



' The " British EncycIopEcdia" (9ih ed.) commits a blunder in .saying tliat " ilie siege operations were brought 

 to a successful issue after an investment of six months." 



'' For a list of the fleat in the port in the first week of June, and the fate of the vessels, see next page. 



