Editing Battle of the Plains of Abraham (section)

==Overview==
[[Image:General-james-wolfe.jpg|thumb|A portrait of Wolfe printed ''circa'' 1776]]

As the [[Seven Years' War]] entered its later stages through 1758 and 1759, French forces and colonies in northeastern North America came under renewed attack from British armies. In 1758 after their defeat in July at the [[Battle of Carillon]], the British took [[Siege of Louisbourg (1758)|Louisbourg]] in August, causing Atlantic Canada to fall into their hands, and opening the sea route to attack Quebec. The British also captured [[Fort Frontenac]] in the same month, costing the French supplies for the [[Ohio Valley]] campaign. When some of the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indian]] supporters of the French made peace with the British, France was forced to draw its troops back. The French leaders, specifically Governor [[Pierre François de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal|de Vaudreuil]] and General [[Louis-Joseph de Montcalm|Montcalm]], were unsettled by the British successes. However, Quebec was still able to protect itself as the British prepared a three-pronged attack for 1759.<ref>{{Harvnb|Eccles|1969|pp=178–179}}.</ref>

[[James Wolfe]] expected to lead 12,000 men, but was greeted by only approximately 7,000 regular troops, 400 [[Officer (armed forces)|officers]], and 300 gunners.<ref>{{Harvnb|Reid|2003|p=25}}.</ref> He was supported by a fleet of 49 ships and 140 smaller craft led by Admiral [[Charles Saunders (admiral)|Charles Saunders]].<ref name="x034">{{cite book | last=Humphreys | first=E. | title=Great Canadian Battles: Heroism and Courage Through the Years | publisher=Arcturus Publishing | year=2013 | isbn=978-1-78404-098-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z-SsBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT32 | access-date=26 February 2025 | page=32}}</ref>

[[File: The Defeat of the French Fireships attacking the British Fleet at Anchor before Quebec.jpg|thumbnail|French [[fire ships]] sent downriver to block the British advance, as shown in a copy of a painting by [[Dominic Serres]]]]
In preparation for the fleet's approach to Quebec, [[James Cook]] surveyed a large portion of the river, including a dangerous channel known as The Traverse. Cook's ship was one of the first ships up the river, sounding the channel and guiding the fleet as it moved up; Wolfe and his men landed on the [[Île d'Orléans]] on 28 June.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hayes|2002|p=106}}.</ref> The French attempted to attack the fleet by sending seven [[fire ships]] downriver to disrupt the landing, but the ships were set afire too early and British sailors in longboats were able to pull the flaming craft clear of the fleet.<ref>{{Harvnb|Eccles|1972|p=199}}.</ref>
The following day, Wolfe's troops landed on the south bank of the river at [[Lévis, Quebec|Point Levis]], nearly directly across the river from Quebec; an [[artillery]] battery was established there in early July that nearly levelled the lower town by [[bombardment]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Chartrand|1999|p=69}}.</ref>

Despite an air of [[defeatism]] among the leadership,<ref name="Eccles, pp. 197">{{Harvnb|Eccles|1972|p=197}}.</ref> the French troops and New French militia defenders focused their preparations for British attacks on the [[Beauport Shore]]. Montcalm and his staff, Major-General [[François de Gaston, Chevalier de Lévis]], Colonel [[Louis Antoine de Bougainville]], and Lieutenant-Colonel de Sennezergue,<ref>{{Harvnb|Chartrand|1999|p=16}}.</ref> distributed some 12,000 troops in a nine-kilometre-long collection of fortified [[redoubt]]s and batteries from the [[Saint-Charles River (Quebec City)|Saint-Charles River]] to the [[Montmorency Falls]], along the shallows of the river in areas that had previously been targeted by British attempts to land.<ref>{{Harvnb|Chartrand|1999|pp=10–11}}.</ref> Before the British, a small fleet of supply ships had arrived in Quebec with much-needed supplies.<ref name="Eccles, pp. 197" /> Those supplies, along with 500 reinforcements, likely aided French resistance during the lengthy siege.<ref>{{Harvnb|Anderson|2000|p=345}}.</ref>

[[File:Siege of Quebec.svg|thumb|right|Initial British landing, claiming the [[Lévis, Quebec|Point Levis]] and the unsuccessful attack on 31 August]]
Wolfe, on surveying the town of Beauport, found that the houses there had been barricaded and organized to allow for musket fire from within; they were built in an unbroken line along the road, providing a formidable barrier. In addition, a screen of trees along the Montmorency River made an approach on that route dangerous.<ref>{{Harvnb|Casgrain|1905|p=109}}.</ref> On 31 July, the first serious attempt by Wolfe's troops to land on the northern shore led to the [[Battle of Beauport]], also known as the Battle of Montmorency. Approximately 3,500 troops, supported by a heavy bombardment, attempted to land but were fired upon in the river shallows. Members of the [[Louisbourg Grenadiers]], who reached the beach, attempted a generally undisciplined charge on the French positions, but came under heavy fire; a thunderstorm ended the fight and allowed Wolfe to pull his troops back after taking some 450 casualties to Montcalm's 60.<ref>{{Harvnb|Reid|2003|pp=35–42}}.</ref>

Some French officers felt the Montmorency defeat would be the last British attack; Vaudreuil wrote afterwards that "I have no more anxiety about Quebec. Wolfe, I assure you, will make no progress... He contented himself with losing about five hundred of his best soldiers." He predicted another attack would come within days.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hibbert|1959|p=98}}.</ref> Others in the French camp felt the campaign was over.<ref name="Lloyd 1959 103">{{Harvnb|Lloyd|1959|p=103}}.</ref>

For the remainder of the summer, Wolfe's focus changed, possibly due to frustration with Montcalm's tactics. Wolfe's troops, along with [[United States Army Rangers#Early Rangers|American Rangers]], attacked and destroyed small French settlements along the St. Lawrence. An estimated 1,400 stone houses and manors were destroyed, and many colonists killed. The effort was likely an attempt to force Montcalm's army out of its fortifications, but was unsuccessful.<ref>{{Harvnb|Eccles|1969|p=180}}.</ref> However, the attacks did reduce the number of suppliers available to the French, especially as the British navy, unable to control the St. Lawrence entirely, was successful in blockading the ports in France.<ref>{{Harvnb|Reid|2003|p=44}}.</ref>