Quebec: The Story of Three Sieges; A Military History (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Quebec: The Story of Three Sieges; A Military History John R. Grodzinski Quebec: The Story of Three Sieges; A Military History. Stephen Manning. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2009. Pp. 194, $34.95 The many battles fought at Quebec have been a source of endless fascination to historians and the subject of many books and articles. This entry is one of several titles that appeared during the 250th anniversary of the Battle of the Heights of Abraham and was prepared [End Page 765] by British author Stephen Manning, an honorary visiting professor at the University of Exeter, who specializes in Victorian military history. His fascination with military events at Quebec comes from the fact that on three occasions in the eighteenth century, Quebec was at the heart of two different colonial conflicts that had significant continental and transatlantic implications and now form a shared history with Canada, America, Britain, and France. Manning's aim was to examine two battles from the Seven Years' War between Wolfe and Montcalm in 1759 and Lévis and Murray in 1760, along with the siege of 1775 and 1776 during the American War of Independence. Manning also chose to make this a populist history and so avoided the use of endnotes, which he feared would limit the book's appeal to a broader readership. This decision is unfortunate, as it would be interesting to learn how the author used several stimulating primary source materials from the National Army Museum dealing with the 1759 battle and the American siege. The narrative decidedly takes the Anglo, or rather, English-speaking perspective, as the text and bibliography reveal. There is cursory discussion of French commanders, strategy, and plans, just enough to set the stage or provide some colour from the opponent's side without really providing a solid contextual understanding of the challenges France faced. Nevertheless, the author has produced an engaging overview of the three sieges that serves as a useful introduction to the wars he examines. The author offers the usual praise of Wolfe, who 'verged on the brilliant' (49), but also gives some credit to the efforts of the Royal Navy during the campaign. Indeed, the Royal Navy's role in what was essentially an amphibious operation with elements of an assault rivercrossing has not been well explored by historians. Thus, it is probable that it was officers of the navy and not Wolfe who had 'awareness of the tide and moon' (49) in order to set the assault date. Manning makes particular mention of Rear Admiral Charles Holmes and Captain James Shads who commanded the landing force and it would have been useful to learn more about them. However, it is the land battles, not joint operations that are central to this account of the Battle of Quebec. The author also tackles several myths, including Wolfe's courting death the day of the battle or the delivery of the first British volleys, which the author explains was not a volley by the entire British line in unison; rather the fire commenced on the British right and then progressed leftwards, unit by unit. Unfortunately, without notes it is [End Page 766] difficult to determine how the author balanced the various accounts to reach his conclusions. Sainte Foy is very much a dénouement to this story. Despite the loss of Quebec, the French under Lévis could upset British plans, revealing that while the fall of Quebec was important to British war aims, Montreal would have to be taken and the remaining French field army defeated. Unfortunately for Lévis, he could not resist the reinforced and resupplied forces at Quebec and two other armies that all soon converged on Montreal. Fifteen years after Sainte Foy, Quebec was again under siege, with the British now cast in the role of the besieged when rebelling American colonists sought to eliminate Quebec as a base from which the British could crush the rebellion. Manning states that had Washington ordered General Benedict Arnold and his army to march with General Richard Montgomery, Saint Jean would have fallen earlier than it did and the rebels would have reached Quebec before the onset of...