By the time James Wolfe was headed back to London after the French surrender at Louisbourg, Louis-Joseph the Marquis de Montcalm's battles were just beginning, about a thousand miles away.
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| Louis-Joseph, the Marquis de Montcalm was a career soldier from a distinguished French family. (As portrayed by Guy Nadon in Canada: A People's History)
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Early in the summer of 1758, as the British began bombarding Louisbourg, Montcalm had managed a stunning victory at Fort Carillon.
Sixteen thousand British troops led by General James Abercromby moved steadily north along Lake Champlain – converging on Montcalm at the fort. Montcalm was outnumbered three to one.
"I have to deal with a formidable army. Nevertheless I don't despair. My troops are good. From the enemy's movements I can see that he wavers; if, thanks to his slowness, he gives me time to establish myself... I shall beat them."
Montcalm's confidence was well-founded. Within minutes, before the British soldiers and colonial forces could reach the fort, French muskets pinned them down with a withering rain of fire.
"A man could not stand erect without being hit, any more than he could stand in a shower without having rain fall upon him," wrote David Perry, a 17-year old militiaman from Massachusetts.
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| David Perry, a 17-year-old soldier from Massachusetts, wrote of the French defense of Fort Carillon, "A man could not stand erect without being hit..." (As portrayed in Canada: A People's History) |
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