page_title: Montreal Campaign
section_title: Montreal besieged
hierarchical_section_title: Montreal Campaign / Campaign / Montreal besieged
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: 1760 Montréal et ses fortifications , Bennett English: 1760 Montreal and its surrounding walls, Bennett. Title: Plan of the Town &amp; Fortifications of Montreal or Ville Marie in Canada. Map Maker: London Magazine. London / 1760. Hand Colored. Size: 10 x 6.5 inches. Detailed plan of Montreal and inset view of the city, from the London Magazine. The street grid, garden names, and some building names are shown. Includes an inset birdseye view of the city.
context_page_description: The Montreal Campaign, also known as the Fall of Montreal, was a British three-pronged offensive against Montreal which took place from July 2 to 9 September 1760 during the French and Indian War as part of the global Seven Years' War. The campaign, pitted against an outnumbered and outsupplied French army, led to the capitulation and occupation of Montreal, the largest remaining city in French Canada.
  Under the overall direction of Jeffery Amherst, British forces numbering around 18,000 men converged on Montreal starting in July from three separate directions. One under Amherst moved in from Lake Ontario, the other under James Murray moved from Québec and the third under William Haviland moved from Fort Crown Point. After capturing French positions and outposts along the way all three forces met up and surrounded Montreal. Many Canadiens deserted or surrendered their arms to British forces while the native allies of the French began to negotiate peace treaties and alliances with the British.
  The French military commander in the region, Francis de Gaston, Chevalier de Lévis, was resolved to make a last stand in the city despite the overwhelming numerical inferiority of his troops.
context_section_description: On September 6 at 11am Amherst's Army had landed unopposed at Lachine and then marched upon on Montréal - the French army retired within the walls of the town. As Amherst approached nearly all Canadians had deserted and here too nearly all the remaining force of Canada, consisting less than 2,200 regular troops and some 200 men of the Compagnies Franches de la Marine. Of the later many of these men had also deserted; and the rest were so broken in discipline that their officers were forced to use entreaties instead of commands. Some 241 men were also unfit for duty in the garrison being either wounded or sick. The town was a long, narrow assemblage of wooden or stone houses, one or two stories high, had three churches, four convents and at the lower end a high mound of earth, crowned by a redoubt, where a few cannon were mounted. The whole was surrounded by a shallow moat and a bastion stone wall, made for defence against Indians, and incapable of resisting cannon.
  The following day Amherst encamped above the place on the eastern side with the main British army began bringing up his siege guns from Lachine. At 10am Murray's army landed at Pointe-aux-Trembles and marched to Longue-Pointe to encamp below Amherst's force. Vaudreuil, looking across the Saint Lawrence, could see the tents of the British encampment on the southern shore. The inhabitants of Montréal refused to take arms. A battalion of the Compagnies Franches de la Marine was still stationed at Saint Helen's Island while the small French naval presence only consisted of the small frigate Marie as well as the two half-galleys. The rest of the French Army had been posted along the walls of Montréal. Later in the day Haviland arrived on the southern shore against Amherst's camp which completed the junction and effectively closed the ring around the city. The combined army now encamped around the city. All three armies had arrived at Montreal at three different directions nearly within a day of each other.
  The town was also now crowded with non-combatant refugees. Vaudreuil called a council of war the same day – it was resolved that since all the militia and many of the regulars had abandoned the army, and the Indian allies of France had gone over to the British, further resistance was impossible. Lévis' sent his second in command de Bougainville to ask for a suspension of arms for one month. His request was rejected, and Amherst gave the French six hours to make their final decision. Vaudreuil then laid before the assembled officers a long paper that he had been drawn up, containing 55 articles of capitulation to be proposed to the British; and these were unanimously approved.
caption: 1760 Montreal and its surrounding walls
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