The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1871-05-05
GENERAL WOLFE.
BY JAMES PARTON.

k6u uuuuT6u anu JW6lf6 ears dSO3
when the fall Of that hero, at the
moment of triumph, had invested
his name with electric interest. The
old SIGN has been painted over two
or three times during the century,
but the portrait has been preserved
with little change; though the name
Of the tavern has been altered from
''The Wolfe" to one of more mod
ern significance.
What an impression his death
made upon the world! Without
looking long, have found six poet
ical tributes to his memory, one Of
the most enthusiastic of which was
written by Thomas Paine when he
was a young man of twenty-six, just
and recently settled in an
English town as a stay-maker. It
is, 1 believe, the earliest production
of his pen which has come down to
us; and a very poor production it is,
though better than most OF the mag
azine poetry Of the day.
James Wolfe, born in England in
1927, the only son of distinguish
ed soldier who died lieutenant-gen-
eral, was one Of those ardent, gener-
Gus, sympathetic natures. who dis
dain ordinary considerations of pol
icy, and rejoice in sacrificing them
selves to great, congenial objects.
He was a soldier while he was still q
boy. His father, who was colonel of
of marines then, obtained for him a
commission in his own corps, from
which, however, he was soon trans
ferred to the infantry. Before he
was twenty years of age, he had
served, and with distinction too, in
five battles; so that when the seven
years war broke out, in 1856, he was
a lieutenant-colonel, twenty-nine
years of age. He had won every
grade by distinguished service, and
soon after the beginning Of the wal
obtained his colonelcy.
Now occurred the event which
drew upon him the eyes Of William
Pitt, the great Minister who then
governed the British empire with the
sway of an absolute monarch. In
the expedition against Rocheforte,
on the western coast Of France, Col.
Wolfe conducted a night reconnois-
sance, in which he advanced two
miles into the country, and discov-
e.ed sure way, as he thought, of
taking the town by assault.
"Give me five hundred men and
three ships,' said Wolfe to the CON-
manding General, sand the place is
ours"
The General rejected his offer, and
so lost his only chance Of taking the
place. The facts became known tC
Pitt, who resolved to keep the young
officer in his eye for promotion ant
employment when next there shoult
be difficult enterprise in hand.
The very next year, therefore, W
find him present as a brigadier-gen
eral at the siege of Louisburg, tt,
famous old stronghold on the islam,
of Cape Breton, the reduction o
which New England had so much a
heart. Before reaching the place
Wolfe had made himself felt thorugh
out the army. He was one Of thos
oficers who know how to preserv
the exactest discipline, while secuI
ling the affection and confidence o
every soldier.
1t is hardly too much to say tina
the capture of Louisburg was CHIEF
1Iy owing to his daring courage ant
| his suggestive mind. At the hea(
of a division, he was the first L
Hand upon the island. The surf wa
running high at the moment, and ;
considerable body of the enem,
were so posted as to command thu
llanding-place; but the impetuou
l valor Of Wolf and the troops dis
lodged the foe, and secured a fOOtin
on the soil. The surrender Of tn
town, which occurred soon after, wa
great event of the campaign, and
was celebrated throughout the Col
onies with bonfires and ilumin;
tions.
| General Wolfe received a reWar
for his services much dearer to a
ardent young soldier in the prime
his years-nOt yet thirty-thre,
William Pitt sent for him to retuI
to London. Upon his arrival, tn
Minister laid before him his darlin
plan for the conquest of Canada, b
the capture of Quebec, the key to th
whole Province. Wolfe was made
IMaior-general, and assigned to tn
command of the expedition, over tn
heads of a dozen officers superior t
Ihimselfin rank and age. When Ma
lior-general Wolfe left the presenc,
of the great Minister, on the day be
fore he embarked for Canada, he wa
resolved to justify the confdenc
reposed in him or perish. He wen
forth fully determined to take Que
bee, if it was possible for a fleet o
forty-four men-of-war and an arm,
lof eight thousand men to accomplish
lit. One of the young officers of hi
feet was Cook, afterward so famou
as a navigator. Another was Jervi
who won the great victory Of Portu
gal which made him Admiral tn
Earl of st. Vincent.
1t was powerful force, but ms
ture had placed obstacles almost in
surmountable in the way of its sue
cess, and the post had been greatel
strengthened by the vigilance an
skill of the great soldies who defen(
ed it, the Marquis of Montcalm.
Beautiful Quebec! A promontO1
three hundred feet high, thrusts i
self out into the broad st. Lawrence
three quarters of a mile; the side
almost preclplJOus; the sulllniiH
table land a quarter of a mile Wld
near the extremely, and broadenln
out into the wide Plains OF Abra
ham. Nothing more striking can D
seen on the Continent of Nort
America than the present city Q
Quebec, glittering in the atternoo
SIM as YOU ride towards it from tn
Falls oc Montmorenci. At such
distance from the ocean there is n
salt in the air, and consequently tn
tin roofs and Uncovered steeple
gather no rust, even after a centur
Of exposure; and for this reaso
Quebec is such a bright and shinin
iOhiect when the sun is reflected frOl