Events from the year
1759 in Canada
.
Incumbents
[
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]
Governors
[
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]
Events
[
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]
- Tuesday May 22 - A British fleet approaches
Quebec
.
- Thursday June 28 - French
fire ships
, intended to burn the British fleet, at Quebec, are taken ashore by British sailors.
- Thursday July 26 - Carillon (
Fort Ticonderoga
) is abandoned by the French.
- Saturday July 28 - Another French fireship attack fails against the British.
- Tuesday July 31 - British forces attempt to take French fortifications at Montmorency and fail bitterly.
- August 8 to August 9 - British guns, on Pointe Levis, fire the lower town of Quebec.
- Thursday September 13 -
James Wolfe
lands a force at Fuller's Cove, between 1 and 2 in the morning. They climb to the
Plains of Abraham
. At 6 a.m.,
Marquis de Montcalm
is informed that the British have accomplished what he deemed impossible; but discredits the report. With 4,500, he fights about an equal number; but his men cannot resist bayonets. Each leader receives a mortal wound. Wolfe asks an officer to support him so that his followers may not be discouraged by his fall.
- Friday September 14 - Montcalm dies in the Chateau St-Louis.
- Monday September 17 - Capitulation of Quebec.
- Tuesday September 18 - The British take possession of Quebec.
- Proclamation issued by Governor of Nova Scotia invites
New Englanders
to settle there.
Births
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March 2013
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Deaths
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Historical documents
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Canada
must be preserved to check
New England
, which has forces to otherwise take all French colonies in America
[4]
From London,
James Wolfe
writes his mother "I shall carry this business thro' with my best abilities," but its outcome is in
Providence
's hands
[5]
"Let the wisdom of the people[...]show itself" - To avoid harm, Wolfe advises
Quebec-area
residents not to
resist
his forces
[6]
British landing on
Ile d'Orleans
are pleased by polite note left by parish
curate
and "the beauties and situation of this island"
[7]
"The General strictly forbids the inhuman practice of
scalping
, except when the enemy are Indians, or
Canadians
dressed like Indians."
[8]
Wolfe's long account of his
mixed success
attacking French positions downriver from Quebec, and his qualms (Note: "savages" used)
[9]
"General Wolfe is endeavouring to draw the flower of the
French Army
[...]to an engagement on his own ground, before he abandons it."
[10]
After briefly describing "
metropolis of the French dominions in America
" before
bombardment
, eyewitness depicts its destruction
[11]
"General discontent prevail'd [among the French, and] now was the time to strike" - Troops are ordered into boats for
landing upriver from Quebec
[12]
Landed
at 4 a.m. on September 13, British troops are impatiently eager to attack and determined not to be captured and scalped
[13]
Advancing, holding their fire and then firing "close and heavy discharge" is described by
Lt. John Knox
at centre of
British front line
[14]
"He died and conquered" - Wolfe dies contented at
French rout
after they fire from too far away (sometimes only bruising British)
[15]
Capitulation
,
surrender
and
occupation
of Quebec City, despite brief attack by French artillery outside its walls
[16]
Continuing resistance downriver from Quebec City leads to burning of 1,100 houses and hundreds of acres of grain, plus
plundering
[17]
"Humane and tender" -
Hospital
run by "reserved and very respectful"
nuns
treat wounded and ill British soldiers as properly as other patients
[18]
Quebec City priest consoles himself about its fall by "rendering spiritual services to the
German
and
Scotch Catholics
" among British occupiers
[19]
For victory at Quebec,
sermon
credits
Providence
for "a Combination of minute Circumstances" and for pointing to "the critical Moment" in
battle
[20]
Murray
warns Canadians to shift favour from
Vaudreuil
"to a free people, wise, generous, ready to embrace you, to free you from a severe despotism"
[21]
"A most grotesque appearance" - Guarding against
frostbite
makes Quebec garrison "rather resemble a
masquerade
than a body of regular troops"
[22]
Benjamin Franklin's
ironic
list of reasons Canada should be returned to French, in reply to serious opinion that way
[23]
Wendat
seem so "satisfied with the change of Masters" that they don't join French resistance to British (Note: "savages" used)
[24]
John Knox
obtains list of words in local Indigenous language, including "
quitchimanitoo
" (Note:
racial stereotypes
)
[25]
Sir William Johnson
describes
defeat of French force
attempting to lift his
siege of Fort Niagara
, and its fall
[26]
Robert Rogers
writes to "King Uncus, head
Sachem
of the
Mohegan Indians
," about recruiting company of 50 men (Note: "savages" used)
[27]
Capt. Jacob Nawnawampeteoonk, of "a company of
Stockbridge Indians
," is among Indigenous fighters and officers on British side
[28]
Summary of
Gen. Amherst
's
taking of Ticonderoga (Fort Carillon)
and
Crown Point
, plus comment on significance of these events
[29]
Rogers' Rangers
destroy Missisquoi village
Odanak
after British men under flag of truce are captured by "
St. Francis Indians
"
[30]
Guerilla warfare
in Nova Scotia includes ambushes followed by torture killings and bodies left on road (Note: gruesome details)
[31]
No
suit
will be allowed in any Nova Scotia court for recovery of land based on
title
claimed by "
former French inhabitants
"
[32]
No trade to be allowed (temporarily) with various Indigenous peoples, with exception of traders authorized by Nova Scotia government
[33]
Halifax may send to
workhouse
"idle persons," beggars, fortune tellers, runaways etc., while unsupported children are to be
apprenticed
out
[34]
British officer
says
muskrat
's fine fur "is equal in perfume to the genuine
musk
," but too strong and thus unhealthful to use lining
waistcoats
[35]
Knox describes seeing
crossbills
(and capturing one) and
belugas
(that
musket
balls bounce off of)
in St. Lawrence River
[36]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Gueganic (2008), p. 13.
- ^
"George I"
.
Official web site of the British monarchy
. 30 December 2015
. Retrieved
18 April
2016
.
- ^
Scott, Douglas D.; Bleed, Peter; Masich, Andrew E.; Pitsch, Jason (August 1997).
"An Inscribed Native American Battle Image From The Little Bighorn Battlefield"
.
Plains Anthropologist
.
42
(161): 287?302.
doi
:
10.1080/2052546.1997.11931824
.
ISSN
0032-0447
.
- ^
Etienne de Silhouette,
"Memoir of Silhouette on Inexpediency of Abandoning Canada"
(translation; February 1759), in
Anglo-French Boundary Disputes in the West, 1749-1763, French Series, Volume II
, Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library, Volume XXVII (1936), pgs. 252-3. Accessed 16 February 2022
- ^
Letter of James Wolfe (Spring 1759), General Wolfe's Letters to His Parents. Accessed 3 March 2022
https://collections.library.utoronto.ca/view/wolfe:F7025
(swipe to F7025_0947_B137_01; see also following letter, where he mentions plan to quit military service; and
Wolfe's 1759 journal
which occasionally displays his criticism of army and navy colleagues)
- ^
"By his Excellency James Wolfe"
(June 28, 1759),
The Life of Major-General James Wolfe
(1864), pgs. 517-18. (See July
order to out-parties
to burn all but churches, and entry for
"15th (August)"
when capture of British marines is avenged by destruction of buildings and grain, and execution and scalping of captured priest and others; see also
murder of two children
for being too noisy) Accessed 16 February 2022
- ^
John Knox,
Note from curate
(June 27, 1759),
An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North-America, for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760
;
Vol. I
, pgs. 294(bottom)-295. (See also that
"A gentleman at Quebec"
known for his politeness to British prisoners is granted request that his country seat be spared) Accessed 21 February 2022
- ^
John Knox,
"Orders; 24th (July 1759)"
,
An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North-America, for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760
;
Vol. I
, pg. 345. Accessed 22 February 2022
- ^
Letter of James Wolfe
(September 2, 1759),
An Authentic Register of the British Successes
;
The Second Edition
(1760), pgs. 127-36. (See different account of battle when
"The General Ordered the Grenadiers"
and
"a chain of concurrent circumstances that defeated the General's plan"
; see also
officer's conclusion
that Quebec will not be stormed and fortress for over-wintering British forces will not be built) Accessed 17 February 2022
- ^
John Knox,
"General Wolfe is endeavouring"
(September 2, 1759),
An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North-America, for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760
;
Vol. II
, pg. 40. (See also
comparison
of "absurd" French style of noisy infantry attack vs. British waiting "in perfect silence" to fire at close range) Accessed 23 February 2022
- ^
"This city"
(September 2, 1759), Genuine Letters from a Volunteer, in the British Service, at Quebec, pgs. 5-6. (See
"Vue de l'eglise de Notre-Dame-de-la-Victoire,(...)demolie en 1759"
and also nun's
account of fear and privation
at general hospital) Accessed 16 February 2022
- ^
"12th (September 1759)"
An Accurate and Authentic Journal of the Siege of Quebec (1759), pgs. 32-4. Accessed 16 February 2022 (See
report of disunity
on French side as early as July, and
evidence of despair
, and
word
that Canadians want to rebel and give up Quebec to stop war; see also
footnote
with praise for Canadian troops' steadiness under fire)
- ^
"An attack is resolv'd on"
An Accurate and Authentic Journal of the Siege of Quebec (1759), pgs. 35-6. (See also two more detailed accounts of battle
here
(Note: "savages" used) and
here
, and accounts of
generals
and
admiral
commanding, and also detailed narratives from French side
here
and
here
) Accessed 16 February 2022
- ^
John Knox,
"This grand enterprise"
(September 13, 1759),
An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North-America, for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760
;
Vol. II
, pgs. 68-71. (See also
more details of battle
(some gruesome)) Accessed 24 February 2022
- ^
"If the General should attempt to ascend the rock"
An Accurate and Authentic Journal of the Siege of Quebec (1759), pgs. 39-41. Accessed 16 February 2022 (See
more likely version of Wolfe's death
, and also
Montcalm dying happy not to see surrender of Quebec
)
- ^
John Knox,
"18th (September 1759)"
An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North-America, for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760
;
Vol. II
, pgs. 84-91. Accessed 25 February 2022
- ^
John Knox,
"The detachments of regulars and rangers"
(September 20, 1759),
An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North-America, for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760
;
Vol. II
, pgs. 94-5. (See also on subsequent pages mention both of marauding and generous British soldiers) Accessed 1 March 2022
- ^
John Knox,
"The general hospital"
(October 1, 1759),
An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North-America, for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760
;
Vol. II
, pgs. 153-5. (See also author
dining with local gentry
at hospital) Accessed 2 March 2022
- ^
Letter of Bernard Well (October 17, 1759),
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents
;
Vol. LXXI
(1901). Accessed 19 February 2022
http://moses.creighton.edu/kripke/jesuitrelations/relations_71.html
(scroll down to Page 23; see also British
standing order
that when religious processions pass, officers are to salute them)
- ^
Amos Adams,
"In the whole Conduct of that Enterprize"
"[...]A Sermon Delivered at Roxbury, October 25, 1759, on the general Thanksgiving [for] the Reduction of Quebec[....]" (Boston, 1759), pg. 25. (See also
commentary
on all that went well) 16 February 2022
- ^
John Knox,
"The following spirited manifesto"
(in French and English; November 2, 1759),
An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North-America, for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760
;
Vol. II
, pgs. 183-6. (See also
rage of locals, "particularly the females,"
toward former governor general) Accessed 2 March 2022
- ^
John Knox,
"Our guards, on the grand parade"
(December 16, 1759),
An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North-America, for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760
;
Vol. II
, pgs. 231-2. (See also
praise
for locally manufactured cast iron stoves) Accessed 2 March 2022
- ^
(Benjamin Franklin),
"Humourous [
sic
] Reasons for Restoring Canada"
The London Chronicle: or, Universal Evening Post (December 25-27, 1759), U.S. National Archives. Accessed 3 March 2022
- ^
"General Murray's Report of the State of the Government of Quebec in Canada" (June 5, 1762),
Documents Relating to the Constitutional History of Canada, 1759-1791
(1907), pg. 55. Accessed 3 March 2022
- ^
John Knox,
"a curious Indian manuscript grammar"
(October 8, 1759),
An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North-America, for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760
;
Vol. II
, pgs. 169-71. Accessed 2 March 2022
- ^
Letter of William Johnson
(July 25, 1759),
An Authentic Register of the British Successes
;
The Second Edition
(1760), pgs. 80-1. (See how
"the conquest of this fort was of infinite consequence"
) Accessed 17 February 2022 (See also that
"Sir William Johnson's corp of savages"
convince Indigenous opponents to "bury the hatchet and follow their example")
- ^
Letter of Robert Rogers
(early 1759),
Journals of Major Robert Rogers
(1765), pgs. 125-7. Accessed 17 February 2022
- ^
Letter of Jeffery Amherst to Robert Rogers
(February 13, 1759),
Journals of Major Robert Rogers
(1765), pg. 136. Accessed 18 February 2022
- ^
"General Amherst himself commanded"
A Complete History of the Present War
[....] (1761), pgs. 381-4 (See also
Rogers' Rangers in action
, and
brief notes
of French officer regarding retreat from Fort Carillon)
- ^
Letter of Jeffery Amherst to Robert Rogers
(September 13, 1759),
Journals of Major Robert Rogers
(1765), pgs. 144-54. Accessed 18 February 2022
- ^
John Knox,
"The rolls of the companies"
(January 20, 1759),
An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North-America, for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760
;
Vol. I
, pgs. 223-4 (see also pg. 230). Accessed 21 February 2022
- ^
"An Act for the Quieting of Possessions to the Protestant Grantees of the Lands formerly occuppied by the French Inhabitants(....)"
(1759), 33 George II - Chapter 3 (Session 1), British North American Legislative Database, 1758-1867. Accessed 16 February 2022
- ^
"An Act to prevent any private Trade or Commerce with the Indians"
(1759), 33 George II - Chapter 13 (Session 2), British North American Legislative Database, 1758-1867. Accessed 16 February 2022
- ^
"An Act For regulating and maintaining an House of Correction or Work-House(....)"
(1759), 33 George II - Chapter 1 (Session 1), British North American Legislative Database, 1758-1867. (See also
"An Act for the Relief of the Poor in the Town of Halifax"
and
"An Act to prevent the importing disabled, infirm, and other useless Persons into this Province"
) Accessed 16 February 2022
- ^
John Knox,
Description of muskrat
(May 1759),
An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North-America, for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760
;
Vol. I
, pg. 244. (See Knox'
extensive description
of Nova Scotia's trees, mammals, birds, insects, fish and fogs (yes, fogs) on pgs. 241-9) Accessed 21 February 2022
- ^
John Knox,
"A parcel of small birds"
(June 19, 1759),
An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North-America, for the Years 1757, 1758, 1759, and 1760
;
Vol. I
, pgs. 283-5. Accessed 21 February 2022
1759 in North America
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Dependencies and
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