The Winning of Canada: a Chronicle of Wolfe — John Shaqi
The Winning of Canada: a Chronicle of WolfeWood, William
History
The Winning of Canada: a Chronicle of Wolfe
Wood, William
United States -- History -- French and Indian War, 1754-1763; Wolfe, James, 1727-1759
The next year, 1745, the Young Pretender, 'Bonnie Prince Charlie,'
raised the Highland clans on behalf of his father, won several battles,
and invaded England, in the hope of putting the Hanoverian Georges off
the throne of Great Britain and regaining it for the exiled Stuarts. The
Duke of Cumberland was sent to crush him; and with the duke went Wolfe.
Prince Charlie's army retreated and was at last brought to bay on
Culloden Moor, six miles from Inverness. The Highlanders were not in
good spirits after their long retreat before the duke's army, which
enjoyed an immense advantage in having a fleet following it along the
coast with plenty of provisions, while the prince's wretched army was
half starved. We may be sure the lesson was not lost on Wolfe. Nobody
understood better than he that the fleet is the first thing to consider
in every British war. And nobody saw a better example of this than he
did afterwards in Canada.
At daybreak on April 16, 1746, the Highlanders found the duke's army
marching towards Inverness, and drew up in order to prevent it. Both
armies halted, each hoping the other would make the mistake of charging.
At last, about one o'clock, the Highlanders in the centre and right
could be held back no longer. So eager were they to get at the redcoats
that most of them threw down their muskets without even firing them, and
then rushed on furiously, sword in hand. ''Twas for a time,' said Wolfe,
'a dispute between the swords and bayonets, but the latter was found by
far the most destructable [sic] weapon.' No quarter was given or taken
on either side during an hour of desperate fighting hand to hand. By
that time the steady ranks of the redcoats, aided by the cavalry, had
killed five times as many as they had lost by the wild slashing of the
claymores. The Highlanders turned and fled. The Stuart cause was lost
for ever.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account