393 KOYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



"expected, was at liaiul — lie was determined that day to decide the 

 "supremacy of England or France, in America, before the walls of her 

 '' most important fortress : 



" Conspicit in pianos hostom dcsocndcro campos, 



" Ohlatuniqne videt votis sibi mille pctitum 



" Tempns, in extremos quo mitteret omnia casus." 



" The first caref of General Wolfe was to capture a four-gun b-at- 

 "tery on the left of the British, which was accomplished by Colonel 

 " Howe — the next, to draw up his little army to the best advantage, as 

 "the regiments landed, in order to meet General Montcalm, who was 

 " observed to be on the march from Beauport. Montcalm could 

 "scarcely give credit to the first messenger who brought him the news 

 " of thef successful landing of the English. Wolfe's extraordinary 

 " achievement had indeed baffled all his plans, and astonished to the 

 "utmost by this unexpected event, he yet prepared for the crisis with 

 "promptness and courage. He immediately adopted the resolution of 

 "meeting Wolfe in the field and of deciding the fate of Oanada in a 

 "' pitched battle. In his determination he is said to have acted against 

 "the opinion of the Gorernor-General, the Marquis de Vaudreuil, who 

 " had come down from IMontrcïil. 



" About nine o'clock the enemy advanced in three columns, having 

 " crossed the bridge of boats on the St. Charles. Their force consisted 

 " of two thousand regular troops, five thousand disciplined militia, and 

 " five hundred savages. At ten, Montcalm's line of battle was formed, 

 " at least six deep, having their flanks covered by a thick wood on each 

 " side — along the bushes in front he had thro^\•n about fifteen hundred 

 " Canadians and Indians, whose firing was as galling as it was incessant, 

 " until the battle became general. The official despatches of General 

 " Townshend give full details of this memorable conflict, and of the 

 " subsequent surrender of Quebec." 



Mr. Hawkins then gives the letters of General Monckton, Gen. 

 Townshend, Admiral Saunders, and the articles of capitulation. As we 

 have quoted from the despatches of Townshend and Saunders, it is not 

 necessary to repeat them here. It should be observed that Mr. Haw- 

 kins speaks of the four-gun Ijattery "on the left of the British." 



Later on Mr. Hawkins seems to place this battery on the right of 

 the English. 



On page 354, Mr. Hawkins proceeds: "Any one who visits the 

 " celebrated Plains of Abraham, the scene of this glorious fight — equally 

 " rich in natural beauty and historic recollections — ^will admit that no 

 " site could be found better adapted for displaying the evolutions of 



