Louisbourg, 1758: Wolfe's First Siege

Louisbourg represented a major threat to Anglo-American plans to invade Canada. As by-passing it would leave an immensely powerful enemy base astride the Anglo-American lines of communication, Louisbourg had to be taken. The siege itself was a tremendous pounding match. Faced with strong beach defenses and rough weather, it took six days to land the troops and was only achieved by a stroke of daring on the part of a young Brigadier named James Wolfe who managed to turn the French beach position. The story is largely based on first-hand accounts from the journals of several participants including Lord Jeffrey Amherst and of French Governor Drucour, whose excellent account has never been published.

The 1758 siege of Louisbourg was the most extensive siege operation ever attempted by the British forces in North America up to that time. Louisbourg represented a major threat to Anglo-American plans to invade Canada. By-passing it would leave an immensely powerful enemy base astride the Anglo-American lines of communication - Louisbourg had to be taken. The capture of Louisbourg would eliminate France's most important naval base in North America and clear the route to Quebec. The British army that besieged Fortress Louisbourg was larger than the one that was to lay siege to Quebec the following year. The land forces were led by Maj Gen Jeffery Amherst with skill and competence. Amherst also saw the extraordinary talents of youngJames Wolfe as a Brigade Commander and he gave him every opportunity to shine. Wolfe repaid him by performing brilliantly from the day of the landing. Rene Chartrand's text explains the background to the siege including the earlier naval operations, and the expulsion of the Acadian French populace from Nova Scotia in 1755 which resulted in unprecedented levels of partisan warfare on the western borders of Nova Scotia. The siege itself was a tremendous pounding match. Faced with strong beach defences and rough weather, it took six days to land the troops and was only achieved by a stroke of daring on the part of a young Brigadier named James Wolfe who managed to turn the French beach position.