Everything about Louis-joseph De Montcalm totally explained
Louis-Joseph de Montcalm-Gozon, Marquis de Saint-Veran (
February 28,
1712 –
September 14,
1759) was the commander of the
French forces in
North America during the
Seven Years' War (the North American phase of which is called the
French and Indian War in the United States). He is most remembered for his role in the
Fall of Quebec, and remains a controversial figure.
Early life
Louis-Joseph was the son of Louis-Daniel de
Montcalm and Marie-Thérèse de Lauris and was born at their
Chateau de Candiac in southern France, near
Nîmes. He joined the
French Army in 1727 as an ensign in the Régiment d'Hainault. On the death of his father in
1735, he became the Marquis de Saint-Veran, inheriting the honours, rights, and debts of that position. But his finances were improved soon after by his marriage to
Angelique Louise Talon du Boulay. Despite a marriage arranged for money and influence, they were a devoted couple. They made their home at Candiac and had 10 children.
His father purchased a
captaincy for him in
1729 and he served in the
War of Polish Succession and the
War of Austrian Succession, reaching the rank of
Colonel of the Régiment d'Auxerrois in
1743. He took part in Marshal de Maillebois' Italian campaign, where he was taken prisoner in the
Battle of Piacenza after receiving five sabre wounds while rallying his men. He was released on parole after several months imprisonment, and promoted to Brigadier for his actions during the campaign. He was wounded again by a musket ball before the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ended the war in 1748.
Colonial Military career
General Montcalm was sent to
Quebec in
1756 as the commander of French troops in North America during the
French and Indian War. His early campaigns against the British were major successes. He expanded the defenses at
Fort Ticonderoga on
Lake Champlain. He
captured and destroyed Fort Oswego on Lake Ontario in 1756. His
victory at Fort William Henry in
1757 was a military and personal victory, but the conduct of his Algonquin allies made this a political loss. These actions were immortalized in
James Fenimore Cooper's novel
The Last of the Mohicans. It should also be noted that during the "massacre" at Fort William Henry, Montcalm was disgusted by the Algonquin slaughter of the English troops and their Iroquis allies, and is said to have ridden out immediately upon hearing of it. He came to the scene and put an abrupt halt to the carnage, at one point even offering his own life for the lives of the prisoners. The "massacre", however is now under question due to new evidence of incorrect numbers that in the past were taken as fact. The event itself is, by some, now considered false, and an early use of propaganda by the British at that time.
Regardless, he led the French forces to victory at the
Battle of Carillon, facing and defeating a British army five times his size. It was considered his greatest victory, but the battle's outcome was due partly to the fact that the British commander,
James Abercrombie, failed to adapt his tactics when the initial frontal attacks proved insufficient to dislodge the defenders. Before and throughout the battle, Montcalm displayed a high level of military competence and leadership in all affairs regarding the fort itself and leading his men. However, Montcalm's feud with the governor of New France, Le marquis de Vaudreuil, severely hamstrung the defense of la Nouvelle-France as King Louis XV had few interests in America.
Later actions at Quebec were less successful and his army was defeated on the
Plains of Abraham (near
Quebec City) by the
British under
James Wolfe, but only after repelling the initial British landing at
Montmorency Falls several days before. Outnumbered and without Lévis' division, the battle lasted only 15 minutes outside the city's fortress. Montcalm was hit in the abdomen by British grape-shot from one of the two six-pounders that the british had in use.
As he was carried into the city supported on his black horse by two loyal soldiers, people started to cry, " O mon dieu, mon deiu, le marques est tues!" (Oh my god, my god, the marques is killed). He is said to have replied, "Don't be troubled for me my good friends." After being told he'd approximately twelve hours to live, settling his affairs and receiving last rites, he died peacefully in a doctor's house at approximately 4:00 AM on the 14th of September. He was buried in the ursuline convent without military honours which were not available. The bishop, some officers and a small crowd of weeping citizens were in attendance. It was said that many were weeping for the burial of Montcalm was the burial of french hopes in North America.
His remains, consisting of a skull and a leg bone, were exhumed in the 1800s and were put on display at the convent in a stone crypt alongside a plaque commemorating him. In a ceremony in September 2001, Montcalm's remains were buried in the cemetery of the Quebec General Hospital, where hundreds of casualties from both sides of the battle had been buried 242 years earlier.
Facts and figures
- Four vessels of the French Navy have been named in his honour:
Honors
Many sites and landmarks were named to honor Montcalm. They include:
The Montcalm Pavilion, a dormitory at the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean;
Montcalm Secondary School in London, Ontario;
Rue Montcalm (Montcalm Street), located in Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada;
Montcalm Street, Detroit, Michigan;
Montcalm County, Michigan;
Montcalm Street, Ticonderoga, New York (Named in 1933);
Montcalm Avenue, Buffalo, NY.
Montcalm Park, Oswego, New York, on the site of the former Fort OswegoFurther Information
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