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Louis-Joseph de Montcalm
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Louis-Joseph de Montcalm
Lieutenant-General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm-Gozon, Marquis de Montcalm de Saint-Veran (28 February 1712 – 14 September 1759) was a French Royal Army officer best known for his unsuccessful defence of New France during the French and Indian War.
Montcalm was born in Vestric-et-Candiac near Nîmes to an aristocratic family, and joined the French army at a young age. He served in the War of the Polish Succession and the War of the Austrian Succession, where his service resulted in a promotion to brigadier general. In 1756, King Louis XV sent him to New France to lead its defence against the British in the Seven Years' War. Montcalm met with notable successes in 1756, 1757 and 1758, but British mobilisation of large numbers of troops against New France led to military setbacks in 1758 and 1759 (when, in January, he was promoted to lieutenant general), culminating in Montcalm's death at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.
Montcalm's service in New France was marked by conflict between himself and the Governor General of the colony, Pierre de Rigaud, marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnial. These men were the leaders of the war effort in New France during the Seven Years' War. Montcalm has been much memorialized, especially in France, Quebec and parts of New York and Lower Michigan. Military historians have praised and criticized his decisions in defending Quebec.
Louis-Joseph was the son of Marie-Thérèse de Pierre and Louis-Daniel de Montcalm, of the House of Montcalm, a family of the Noblesse de Robe of Nîmes, at the family residence, the Chateau de Candiac, near Nîmes in southern France. He joined the French Royal Army in 1721, 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. His finances improved soon after by his marriage to Angelique Louise Talon du Boulay. Despite their marriage being initially arranged for money and influence, they were a devoted couple. They made their home at Candiac and had a large number of children of whom five survived to adulthood.
His father purchased a captaincy for him in 1729 and he served in the War of the Polish Succession, seeing action at the 1733 Siege of Kehl and the 1734 Siege of Philippsburg. When the War of the Austrian Succession broke out in 1740, his regiment was stationed in France, so Montcalm, seeking action, took a position as an aide-de-camp to Philippe Charles de La Fare. Montcalm and François Gaston de Lévis (who later served under him in New France) were both in the Siege of Prague. He was promoted to colonel of the Régiment d'Auxerrois in 1743. He took part in Marshal de Maillebois' Italian campaigns, where he was awarded the Order of Saint Louis in 1744 and taken prisoner in the 1746 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 1746 campaign. After prisoner exchanges made possible his return to active service, he joined the Italian campaign again in 1747. He was wounded again by a musket ball in the Battle of Assietta, and assisted in raising the Siege of Ventimiglia in October. When Marshal Belle-Isle retired that winter, his army was left under the command of its brigadiers, including Montcalm. The war came to an end in 1748 with the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. In 1749 he was awarded a rare opportunity to raise a new regiment in peacetime; the Regiment de Montcalm was a cavalry regiment that Montcalm occasionally inspected.
When the Seven Years' War spread to New France, King Louis XV sent Brigadier General Montcalm to the colonies as Commander-in-Chief, with Colonel Chevalier de Levis now as his second-in-command and Capitaine Louis Antoine de Bougainville as his new aide-de-camp.
Upon Montcalm's arrival in Montreal, he was immediately apprised of the situation along the border with British North America. Concerned by the number of British troops amassing near the border, Montcalm left to visit Fort Carillon to inspect the defenses while the governor general, Pierre de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnial, began to prepare troops at Fort Frontenac for a potential assault on Oswego, a British fort across Lake Ontario. Montcalm's assemblage of troops at Fort Carillon distracted the attention of the British, and upon receiving positive reports from scouts, Vaudreuil and Montcalm decided to make an approach and try to take the fort. When Montcalm returned to Fort Frontenac, he found a force of 3,500 men assembled, being regular French troops, Canadian militia, and Native Americans. On August 9, the forces crossed the lake and rapidly besieged the British fort. By the morning of August 13, the French had set up nine cannons and began to fire towards the fort while reinforcements surrounded the opposite side. The British commander was killed during the offensive, and the fort was quickly surrendered soon thereafter. 1,700 prisoners were taken, including 80 officers, as well as money, military correspondence, food provisions, guns, and boats, and the fort burnt and razed to the ground. Upwards of 100 prisoners were massacred in the wake of the surrender by Montcalm's Indian allies. Montcalm's first victory in North America came relatively quickly and easily, and signified to the British that the French now had a capable general heading their army. Despite the victory, Montcalm held reservations concerning the offensive strategy employed by Vaudreuil, and questioned the military value of the Canadian militias. This marked the beginning of the increasingly antagonistic relationship between Vaudreuil and Montcalm, which would prove to be crucial later on.
The following year, Montcalm achieved his greatest military success to date with the taking of Fort William Henry. Vaudreuil drew up plans for Montcalm that ordered him to march south and take the British bases south of Lake Champlain, Fort William Henry and Fort Edward a few miles further south. From Fort Carillon, Montcalm and a force of 6,200 regulars and militia, along with 1,800 natives set upon Fort William Henry on 3 August 1757. The fort was besieged for three days before surrender. Under the terms of the surrender, the garrison was to be escorted by French troops back to Fort Edward, where they would be barred from serving against the French for 18 months, and all British prisoners were to be returned to the French, who also kept all the stores and ammunition. As the garrison left Fort William Henry, however, they were attacked by Montcalm's native allies, and around 200 of the 2,000 prisoners were killed, breaching the terms of surrender. Montcalm decided not to advance on to Fort Edward despite the demoralization of the British forces and the proximity of the fort, claiming the road was too bad for his heavy guns and that the garrison would be reinforced before they arrived. This decision infuriated Vaudreuil, furthering the deterioration of their relationship.
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Louis-Joseph de Montcalm
Lieutenant-General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm-Gozon, Marquis de Montcalm de Saint-Veran (28 February 1712 – 14 September 1759) was a French Royal Army officer best known for his unsuccessful defence of New France during the French and Indian War.
Montcalm was born in Vestric-et-Candiac near Nîmes to an aristocratic family, and joined the French army at a young age. He served in the War of the Polish Succession and the War of the Austrian Succession, where his service resulted in a promotion to brigadier general. In 1756, King Louis XV sent him to New France to lead its defence against the British in the Seven Years' War. Montcalm met with notable successes in 1756, 1757 and 1758, but British mobilisation of large numbers of troops against New France led to military setbacks in 1758 and 1759 (when, in January, he was promoted to lieutenant general), culminating in Montcalm's death at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.
Montcalm's service in New France was marked by conflict between himself and the Governor General of the colony, Pierre de Rigaud, marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnial. These men were the leaders of the war effort in New France during the Seven Years' War. Montcalm has been much memorialized, especially in France, Quebec and parts of New York and Lower Michigan. Military historians have praised and criticized his decisions in defending Quebec.
Louis-Joseph was the son of Marie-Thérèse de Pierre and Louis-Daniel de Montcalm, of the House of Montcalm, a family of the Noblesse de Robe of Nîmes, at the family residence, the Chateau de Candiac, near Nîmes in southern France. He joined the French Royal Army in 1721, 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. His finances improved soon after by his marriage to Angelique Louise Talon du Boulay. Despite their marriage being initially arranged for money and influence, they were a devoted couple. They made their home at Candiac and had a large number of children of whom five survived to adulthood.
His father purchased a captaincy for him in 1729 and he served in the War of the Polish Succession, seeing action at the 1733 Siege of Kehl and the 1734 Siege of Philippsburg. When the War of the Austrian Succession broke out in 1740, his regiment was stationed in France, so Montcalm, seeking action, took a position as an aide-de-camp to Philippe Charles de La Fare. Montcalm and François Gaston de Lévis (who later served under him in New France) were both in the Siege of Prague. He was promoted to colonel of the Régiment d'Auxerrois in 1743. He took part in Marshal de Maillebois' Italian campaigns, where he was awarded the Order of Saint Louis in 1744 and taken prisoner in the 1746 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 1746 campaign. After prisoner exchanges made possible his return to active service, he joined the Italian campaign again in 1747. He was wounded again by a musket ball in the Battle of Assietta, and assisted in raising the Siege of Ventimiglia in October. When Marshal Belle-Isle retired that winter, his army was left under the command of its brigadiers, including Montcalm. The war came to an end in 1748 with the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. In 1749 he was awarded a rare opportunity to raise a new regiment in peacetime; the Regiment de Montcalm was a cavalry regiment that Montcalm occasionally inspected.
When the Seven Years' War spread to New France, King Louis XV sent Brigadier General Montcalm to the colonies as Commander-in-Chief, with Colonel Chevalier de Levis now as his second-in-command and Capitaine Louis Antoine de Bougainville as his new aide-de-camp.
Upon Montcalm's arrival in Montreal, he was immediately apprised of the situation along the border with British North America. Concerned by the number of British troops amassing near the border, Montcalm left to visit Fort Carillon to inspect the defenses while the governor general, Pierre de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnial, began to prepare troops at Fort Frontenac for a potential assault on Oswego, a British fort across Lake Ontario. Montcalm's assemblage of troops at Fort Carillon distracted the attention of the British, and upon receiving positive reports from scouts, Vaudreuil and Montcalm decided to make an approach and try to take the fort. When Montcalm returned to Fort Frontenac, he found a force of 3,500 men assembled, being regular French troops, Canadian militia, and Native Americans. On August 9, the forces crossed the lake and rapidly besieged the British fort. By the morning of August 13, the French had set up nine cannons and began to fire towards the fort while reinforcements surrounded the opposite side. The British commander was killed during the offensive, and the fort was quickly surrendered soon thereafter. 1,700 prisoners were taken, including 80 officers, as well as money, military correspondence, food provisions, guns, and boats, and the fort burnt and razed to the ground. Upwards of 100 prisoners were massacred in the wake of the surrender by Montcalm's Indian allies. Montcalm's first victory in North America came relatively quickly and easily, and signified to the British that the French now had a capable general heading their army. Despite the victory, Montcalm held reservations concerning the offensive strategy employed by Vaudreuil, and questioned the military value of the Canadian militias. This marked the beginning of the increasingly antagonistic relationship between Vaudreuil and Montcalm, which would prove to be crucial later on.
The following year, Montcalm achieved his greatest military success to date with the taking of Fort William Henry. Vaudreuil drew up plans for Montcalm that ordered him to march south and take the British bases south of Lake Champlain, Fort William Henry and Fort Edward a few miles further south. From Fort Carillon, Montcalm and a force of 6,200 regulars and militia, along with 1,800 natives set upon Fort William Henry on 3 August 1757. The fort was besieged for three days before surrender. Under the terms of the surrender, the garrison was to be escorted by French troops back to Fort Edward, where they would be barred from serving against the French for 18 months, and all British prisoners were to be returned to the French, who also kept all the stores and ammunition. As the garrison left Fort William Henry, however, they were attacked by Montcalm's native allies, and around 200 of the 2,000 prisoners were killed, breaching the terms of surrender. Montcalm decided not to advance on to Fort Edward despite the demoralization of the British forces and the proximity of the fort, claiming the road was too bad for his heavy guns and that the garrison would be reinforced before they arrived. This decision infuriated Vaudreuil, furthering the deterioration of their relationship.
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