Capture of Louisbourg

It was near midnight, June 1, 1758, when the lookouts on Cape Breton Island noticed something odd. The fog that had covered the island for weeks, now cleared enough to show lights off shore. Dawn revealed a large fleet laying outside Gabarous Bay, six miles west of Louisbourg. Worse yet, the ships flew a white banner with a red cross, the colors of Briton's Royal Navy.

The fleet had sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, the previous day, consisting of thirty nine warships, escorting ten transports, storage vessels, and supply ships. Half the warships were "ships-of-the-line", some with as many as a hundred cannons on three gun decks. Twelve thousand sailors and marines manned the ships, ten thousand soldiers were crowded aboard the transports. Redcoats formed the army's backbone, supported by Highlanders, light infantry, rangers, and about 500 colonial militia.

The commander-in-chief of the expedition was Major General Jeffery Amherst. Amherst's naval commander was Vice Admiral Edward Boscawen. Amherst's field commander, was recently promoted Brigadier General James Wolfe. A slender, sickly man who suffered from several maladies, but a shortage of courage was not one of them. He was an officer highly respected by his troops.

The British commanders expected a hard fight for Louisbourg. The Chevier de Drucour, it's governor, was an experienced professional skilled in fortress warfare. His troops numbered thirty-one hundred regulars, plus a thousand Canadians and five hundred Indians. The citadel mounted two hundred and seventy-seven guns on it's walls, not to mention those in the Grand and Island batteries and a new battery at Lighthouse Point. There were also ten warships in the harbor, ships-of-the-line and frigates, with over five hundred guns and three thousand seamen. Drucour had cannons aimed on likely landing sites. Trenches topped with sandbags overlooked the beaches from the cliffs

Louisburg's defenders were ready and eager to meet any invaders. But no sooner did Amherst's fleet arrive than fog rolled in and covered it. Each morning soldiers peered into the grayness, but nothing could be seen but fog. Finally, the fog lifted and at dawn, June 8, 1758, Amherst gave the order to attack.

Slowly the warships lined up broadside to the citadel and the shore batteries. Troops climbed down rope ladders hung over the sides of the transports, and into waiting longboats. Their orders were to land quickly and clear off the beach to allow the artillery to be brought ashore.

The longboats had gone only a short distance when the warships opened fire. The boom of cannon rolled across the water to the crowded boats. The men heard the roar and felt the vibrations in their guts, drifting gun smoke stung their eyes.

Twelve hundred Frenchmen watched Wolfe's approach from their trenches. They held their fire until the possible moment, then opened up with everything they had. Boats flew apart in showers of splinters. Boats overturned, dumping men into the sea, to be dragged down by their backpacks.

Wolfe watched as weeks of planning were shot to pieces. As he was about to call a retreat, he saw three boats enter a rocky cove on the left of the French works. Realizing that this was the opening he needed, he led his men into the cove. The sea claimed many boats and lives. Many made it to shore, soaked to the bone, their weapons and powder flasks wet and almost useless. This reduced the assault to close quarter fixed bayonets and drawn swords. The French, shocked at the tenacity of Wolfe's troops, scattered and ran. Wolfe persued them almost to the gates of the town, with the light infantry, rangers, Fraser's Highlanders, and the grenadiers of the first, fifteenth, seventeenth, and twenty-second regiments.

Once the British secured the beachhead, the French deserted their entrenchment's around the cove. They left behind many pieces of cannon still mounted, from twenty-four pounders on down, including some mortars. Within a week, Wolfe had the citadel surrounded by big guns. Before the circle closed, Governor Drucour abandoned his outlying fortifications at Grand Battery and Lighthouse Point. Wolfe then took over the French positions and employed his heavy artillery, which included forty-two pounders. Before long the Island Battery, harbor and eastern walls of Louisbourg were wracked by cannon fire.

Wolfe received orders to march with a large detachment, and take possession of the Light-House Point, which, with the Island battery, form the entrance of the harbor. About 2 A.M. on 12, June, Major Scott marched with 500 Light Infantry and Rangers, making a sweep through the woods, in order to take the Light-House battery. Near 5 A.M., he was followed by General Wolfe, with four companies of Grenadiers, and twelve-hundred men detached from the line. They found the battery destroyed by the enemy. Once this area was secured, Wolfe had artillery moved in by sea. From here Wolfe opened fire on the Island battery on the night of the 19th, but it took until the 25th to silence the battery.

With one lucky shot, the entire French water force was reduced to floating fire balls. The exploding shell landed on the deck of the Célébre, setting off the barrels of gunpowder stored there. The fire jumped from ship to ship, destroying all but two warships, the Prudent and Bienfaisant. At midnight on July 25th, Amherst sent 25 boatloads of Marines into the harbor. Splitting into two units they made for their objective, the last two warships. Now Louisbourg was bombarded from three sides.

The next morning, Drucour asked for the terms of surrender. Amherst promised the French regulars their lives, but no honors of war. No terms were offered to the Canadians or the Indians; if captured they would be treated the same as the garrison at Ft William Henry. Drucour refused these terms, but after he was presented with a request for surrender from the civilians, he accepted the conditions. As the British prepared to occupy the town, the Canadians and Indians fled in their canoes. The French troops were sent to England as Prisoners of War and remained there for five years. The civilian population was deported to France.

To 1758 The Battles