... is the name given to an area of high ground on the banks of the St. Lawrence river, now an urban park within the city of Quebec. The name was in turn given to a battle that took place there on 13 September 1759, during the French and Indian War – part of the Seven Years' War. On that date, British soldiers, under the command of General James Wolfe, climbed the steep cliff under the city in darkness. The French were surprised, and defeated through a single deadly volley of musket fire, causing the battle to be over within 30 minutes. Both Wolfe and the French commander, the Marquis de Montcalm, died of wounds sustained in the battle, but it left the British in control of Quebec City, and this eventually enabled them to take control of Canada the following year.
© Haydn Thompson 2019