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Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Remembering Montcalm and Wolfe


On this day in 1759, British General James Wolfe and French General the Marquis de Montcalm met outside Quebec City in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.  Both commanders died in the ensuing battle; Wolfe before the battle had even ended, Montcalm early the next morning.  These two pictures (with quotes) are a tribute to them.

On Wolfe's picture, his men are ascending to the plains of Abraham.  The quote "The Paths of glory lead but to the grave" is from Gray's Elegy in a Country Churchyard.  Wolfe reportedly claimed he would rather have written those lines than capture Quebec.  Wolfe's last words were "Now, God be praised, I will die in peace."

Montcalm's picture shows the wounded general replying to the concerned inquiries of Quebec's citizens: "The Marquis is killed!"  "It is nothing, do not weep for me, my good friends."  Montcalm spent his last hours writing to Brigadier-General Townshend asking him to treat the Canadians kindly, and praying.
 

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