The Battle of the Plains of Abraham and the Making of the American Revolution
February 1, 2016
In this detailed military history, MacLeod (The Canadian Iroquois and the Seven Years’ War), curator at the Canadian War Museum, zeroes in on a pivotal battle of the Seven Years’ War to show how the French lost its foothold on North America. From 1754 to 1763, eastern North America was embroiled in a territorial war between France and Britain, with each side cultivating alliances with Native American tribes. The British hoped to take Québec and put an end to France’s ambitions in North America. Drawing on an impressive array of firsthand sources and writing with a keen eye for the dramatic, MacLeod tells this story in a big way, giving equal time to each side. Major figures such as James Wolfe and Louis-Joseph de Montcalm receive careful attention. MacLeod also describes the battle, which took place just outside Québec City on Sept. 13, 1759, through the eyes of ordinary people: nuns, businessmen, soldiers, and sailors. This supports his contention that a loss of morale and willpower caused the French defeat. Yet to include so many perspectives, he had to chop chapters into small subsections, hindering a smooth narrative. Still, the events of the battle are finely rendered, and MacLeod makes a strong case for their importance as a precursor to the American Revolution. Maps & illus.
December 15, 2015
MacLeod (The Canadian Iroquois and the Seven Years' War, 2012, etc.) uses diaries, letters, and other personal accounts to demonstrate the effects of the pivotal battle of the Seven Years' War, showing how it resounded throughout the Western world for years. Thankfully, the author, a curator at the Canadian War Museum, includes an alphabetized, 10-page list of characters at the beginning of the book, which mostly helps readers avoid confusion. The main players were James Wolfe, in charge of the British forces, and Governor General Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil, the French commander. Vaudreuil's nemesis was Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, commander of the troupes de terre in Canada. Montcalm had little use for his superior's orders and often ignored them. On the other side, Wolfe made no secret of his disdain for his generals and never consulted them. MacLeod explores the extent of Quebec's insurmountable natural defenses and Wolfe's inability to overcome them. The English navy, under Charles Saunders, could take Wolfe and his army anywhere on the St. Lawrence River, but a landing place was almost impossible to find. Wolfe felt he wouldn't take Quebec and planned to retire to winter quarters. Weakened by illness, he accepted his brigadiers' advice for an amphibious landing. As the British began to overcome the geographic obstacles and Montcalm deserted his excellent position, the Battle of the Plains of Abraham forever changed history. Both men lost their lives that day. Wolfe's brigadiers got on better without him, and Vaudreuil tried to regroup without food, materiel, or reinforcements. While the geography and the movement of the armies are confusing, the author's strong knowledge of every aspect of the fight prevails to produce an intricate, enlightening account. The witnessing voices of the French, Canadians, and Native Americans fighting and surviving through the siege and battle illuminate the horrors of that war. Students of American history will appreciate the detail and the thoroughness of this account of what Churchill called the "first world war."
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Starred review from February 15, 2016
In 1759, the town of Quebec, situated on bluffs above the St. Lawrence River, was the political and military heart of the French empire on the North American mainland. After five years of varying fortunes, the British victory on the Plains of Abraham just outside the town was the decisive battle leading to the seizure of Quebec, eventual victory in the so-called French and Indian War, and British domination of North America east of the Mississippi River. The battle itself, lasting between 15 to 20 minutes, is often portrayed as an easy rollover preceded by a daring and brilliant scaling of the bluffs by British troops. As MacLeod's masterful survey indicates, however, the British triumph was the product of prolonged and sometimes misguided planning, an extended and frustrating siege, meticulous coordination between land and sea forces, and blind luck. MacLeod, a historian at the Canadian War Museum, relies heavily on original sources from both sides, including dispatches, letters, diaries, and memoirs. We glean a great deal about the major players, including the fatally wounded commanders, Montcalm and Wolfe, as well as lesser participants, including French and New England colonists and even a Huron warrior. This is a superbly researched and written account of a seminal episode in world history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2016
MacLeod (The Canadian Iroquois and the Seven Years' War) chronicles the 1759-60 Quebec Campaign, covering the early maneuvers, the iconic battle and French defeat on the Plains of Abraham, the city's surrender, its winter occupation, and the final French attempt to recapture it in 1760. The author strips the battle of some of its luster by placing it into a broader context of events that led to the end of the French empire in North America. He is critical of both commanders. Britain's James Wolfe, says McLeod, after successfully making it onto the plains, poorly positioned his army, but French commander Louis-Joseph de Montcalm did worse by abandoning high ground and precipitously attacking Wolfe without all of his forces. MacLeod gives credit for the British victory to the empire's overwhelming naval superiority. That victory, he points out, removed the French threat from the American colonies, which in turn accelerated their separation from Britain. As a curator at the Canadian War Museum and author of The Canadian Iroquois and the Seven Years' War, MacLeod is well qualified to author this detailed and insightful account. VERDICT Readers interested in North American colonial history will find this a marvelous resource. [See Prepub Alert, 9/28/15.]--Lawrence Maxted, Gannon Univ. Lib., Erie, PA
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
October 15, 2015
The Seven Years' War (1754-63), fought between the British and its American colonists on one side and the French and the Iroquois Confederacy on the other, not only assured British dominance of the region but set the stage for the American War of Independence and the creation of Canada. Here's an in-depth study, two decades in the making, from Canadian scholar MacLeod. Percer's love amid the earthquake ruins; Brackston's story of an unexpected witch hunt
Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.