General James Wolfe
General James Wolfe (2 January 1727 – 13 September 13 1759) was a British general, remembered mainly for his role in establishing British rule over Canada.
Wolfe was born in Westerham, Kent, England, the son of General Edward Wolfe. From his earliest years he was destined for a military career, entering his father's regiment at the age of 14. Wolfe fought at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743. He served in Scotland under the Duke of Cumberland in the campaign to defeat the Jacobite army of Bonnie Prince Charlie, and took part in the Battle of Culloden in 1746. At the Battle of Culloden he refused to carry out an order of the Duke of Cumberland, to shoot a wounded highlander stating his honour was worth more than his commission. He returned to Germany and in July 1747 was wounded at the Battle of Lauffeld. Wolfe fought as a colonel under Jeffrey Amherst at the siege of Louisbourg on June 12, 1758, during the French and Indian War. The prime minister, William Pitt, chose him to lead the British assault on Quebec the following year.
The British army laid siege to the city for three months. During that time, Wolfe issued a written document, known as Wolfe's Manifesto, to the French-Canadian civilians, as a part of his strategy of psychological intimidation. In March 1759, prior to arriving at Quebec, Wolfe had written to Amherst: "If, by accident in the river, by the enemy’s resistance, by sickness or slaughter in the army, or, from any other cause, we find that Quebec is not likely to fall into our hands (persevering however to the last moment), I propose to set the town on fire with shells, to destroy the harvest, houses and cattle, both above and below, to send off as many Canadians as possible to Europe and to leave famine and desolation behind me; belle résolution & très chrétienne! but we must teach these scoundrels to make war in a more gentlemanlike manner."
After an extensive yet unsuccesful shelling of the city, Wolfe then led an amphibious landing at the base of the cliffs west of Quebec along the St. Lawrence River. His army scaled the cliffs early on the morning of September 13, 1759, surprising the French under the command of the Marquis de Montcalm. The French, faced with the possibility that the British would haul cannon up the cliffs and knock down the city's remaining walls, fought the British on the Plains of Abraham. The French were defeated, but Wolfe was shot in the chest and died just as the battle was won. Wolfe's victory at Quebec enabled an assault on the French at Montreal the following year. With the fall of Montreal, French rule in North America came to an end.
