Montcalm

Montcalm, Louis Joseph, Marquis de (1712-59), a French general, was born near Nimes. He entered the army at fifteen, and in 1746 was wounded and made prisoner at Piacenza. Ten years afterwards he was appointed to the command of the French troops in Canada, and in this capacity he captured Oswego from the British. In 1757 he crossed Lake George, and with a mixed army of his own men and Indian allies he took Fort Henry, allowing the garrison free exit with the honours of war. The massacre of the garrison which followed, at the hands of the Indians, whom he could not control, has been graphically described by Fenimore Cooper. In 1758 Montcalm successfully defended Ticonderoga against General Abercrombie, and after different losses he finally defended Quebec until its surprise by General Wolfe. In the battle which followed upon the Heights of Abraham he, like Wolfe, was mortally wounded, and died next day.