LdovgiitvJ battle OF THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM 889 



'^ disappeared, was now returning to the field of battle, but hearing the 

 " firing of the irregulars still continue, ordered the 78th to beat them 

 '' off. A hot skirmish ensued in which the Highlanders suffered a 

 " good deal, but being reinforced by some of the 58th and a battalion 

 " of the Eoyal Americans, they drove the irregulars helter skelter into 

 " the suburb of St. Koch's and thence towards the bridge over the 

 " Eiver St. Charles. We lay that night under arms and sent a detach- 

 " ment to take possession of the General Hospital, and such of the 

 " enemy as were wounded that day, and lay there, were made prisoners, 

 " the hospital being considered a part of the field of battle." (For the 

 position of coppice and bakehouse, see plan No. 1). 



From the evidence we have examined so far, the heavy losses ap- 

 pear to have occurred at a short distance from Claire Fontaine, prob- 

 ably on the right and left of the Grande Allée, and on the ground close 

 t:> the borders of Cote Ste. Geneviève. A number of Canadians were 

 killed still nearer to the city, and on the bank descending to the horn- 

 work. 



Yice-Admiral Saunders in comnrand of the fleet before Quebec, in 

 his letter addressed to the Eight Honourable William Pitt, Secretary 

 of State, on the 20th of September, 1759, describes many of the French 

 as having been killed quite close to the walls of the city. " Our 

 " troops received their fire, and reserved their own, advancing till they 

 " were so near as to run in upon them and push them with their 

 "■ bayonets, by which, in a very little time, the French gave way and 

 " fled to the town in the' utmost disorder, and with great loss, for our 

 "troops pursued them quite to the walls, and killed a great many of 

 "them upon the glacis and in the ditch." From these accounts, the 

 whole of the ground east of Wolfe's monument was the battle-field, 

 and as such is sacred. 



The testimony that we have hitherto considered has been that of 

 those who were present, and who took part in the engagement of the 

 13th of September, 1759. The Marquis de Vaudrenil, did not arrive 

 on the field until just after the decisive firing, and therefore he was 

 not an eye-witness of the whole of the battle. In a letter addressed by 

 Vaudrenil to the Minister on the 21st of September, 1759, a brief des- 

 cription of the engagement is given, and although no new facts are 

 presented, it is worth quoting. " J'ai l'honneur de vous rendre compte 

 " que la nuit du 12 au 13 dd ce mois, le Général Wolfe ayant fait le 

 " débarquement de son armée à l'Anse des Mères, s'empara des hauteurs 

 " derrière Québec. M. le Marquis de Montcalm, qui en fut le premier 

 •'informé, jugea, sans doute, que ce n'étoit qu'un détachement. Ce 

 " Général emporté par son zèle et sa grande vivacité, fit marcheT les 



