James Wolfe

Lore & Background

James Wolfe was the only son of Lieutenant General Edward Wolfe, a veteran soldier of Anglo-Irish origin, and Henrietta Thompson. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in his father's 1st Marine regiment at age fourteen. Illness prevented him from taking part in the 1740 expedition against Cartagena. He received his first commission as a second lieutenant in 1741 and transferred to the 12th Regiment of Foot in 1742, serving in Flanders during the War of the Austrian Succession. He fought at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743, where his horse was shot from under him, and later served in Scotland during the Jacobite Rising, fighting at Culloden in April under the Duke of Cumberland. He returned to the Continent in 1747 and was badly wounded at the Battle of Lauffeld.

Reader's Guide

Wolfe's significance rests on his role in the capture of Quebec in 1759, which led directly to the capture of Montreal and ended French control of the colony. He was appointed second-in-command of the expedition to capture Louisbourg after his part in the aborted raid on Rochefort in 1757. Following the success of the siege of Louisbourg, he commanded a force that sailed up the Saint Lawrence River to besiege Quebec. After a long siege, he defeated the French under the Marquis de Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham, dying from three musket-ball wounds at the height of the battle. Montcalm died the next day. Wolfe was posthumously dubbed 'The Hero of Quebec', 'The Conqueror of Quebec', and 'The Conqueror of Canada'. His depiction in the painting The Death of General Wolfe became famous worldwide.

Did You Know?

• Wolfe was already a brigade major at age 18 and a lieutenant-colonel by 23.
• His childhood home in Westerham, known as Spiers, is preserved as Quebec House by the National Trust.
• He was killed by three musket balls at the height of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.
• The French commander the Marquis de Montcalm died the day after Wolfe.