The Conquest
The Final Invasion
Caption: Soldier of the Compagnies franches de la Marine of Canada, 1757-1760
Caption: View Multimedia - Conquering New France: The British Invasion Plan
Hoping to give Lévis's small army its coup de grâce, three Anglo-American armies attempted to surround it at Montreal. Murray's army went up the St. Lawrence from Quebec, William Haviland's army went down the Richelieu from Crown Point, and the commanding general's army, that of Jeffery Amherst, went down the St. Lawrence from Oswego on Lake Ontario.
With its 11,000 men and 700 Amerindians, Amherst's army encountered particularly stiff resistance at Fort Lévis (near Prescott, Ontario). From August 20 to 25 it was held at bay by just over 300 soldiers, seamen and militiamen under Commander Pouchot. The French artillerymen even managed to damage two English ships and forced a third to lower its flag. When Pouchot finally surrendered the fort, it was no more than a heap of rubble, and the British had trouble believing that such fierce resistance could have been put up by such a small garrison.
In the south, Haviland's army of 3,500 men remained blocked at Île-aux-Noix for most of August by 1,400 French and Canadians. On August 28 the Anglo-Americans finally took the trenches abandoned the previous night by the French soldiers and Canadian militiamen. Their commander, Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, decided to withdraw because he was afraid that his retreat to Montreal would be stopped by Murray's 3,500 men who had arrived in Sorel on August 27.
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