Note 25 — LIVRE X.

Note 25:

(retour)

Louisbourg, 19 mai 1759.--«We are ordered to attack Québec, a very nice operation. The fleet consists of 22 sails of the line and many frigates. The army is 9,000 men (in England it is called 12,000). We have 10 battalions, 3 companies of grenadiers, some mariners (if the admiral can spare them), and six new-raised companies of north american rangers not complete and the worse soldiers in the universe; a great train of artillery, plenty of provisions, tools and implements of all sorts 5; the brigadiers under one all men of great spirit, some colonels of reputation. Carleton for a Qr.-Mr.-General, and upon whom I chiefly rely; for the engineering part, engineers very indifferent and of little experience, but we have none better. The regular troops in Canada consist of 8 battalions of old foot, about a battalion or 40 companies of mariners or colony troops, 40 men a company. They can gather together 8 or 10 thousand Canadians, and perhaps a thousand Indians. As they are attacked on the side of Montreal, by an army of 12 thousand fighting men, they must necessarily divide their force, but as the loss of the capital implies the loss of the colony, their chief attention will naturally be there, and therefore I reckon we may find at Québec 6 battalions, some companies of mariners, 4 or 5,000 Canadians and some Indians all together not much inferior to their enemy. The town of Québec is poorly, but the ground round about it is rocky. To invest the place and cut off all communications with the colony it will be necessary to encamp with our right to the river St. Lawrence and our left to the river St. Charles.»

Note.--Le général Wolfe dit ici que son armée était de 9,000 hommes, chiffres ronds; mais les ordonnances de paiement des troupes prouvent qu'elle était d'au moins 10,000 hommes, y compris les officiers, outre les soldats de marine.