But wars are not fought on paper, they are fought on battlefields with Generals, tactics, iron wills, and agendas.Īnd finding the right General for the Union that must have ranked as one of President Lincoln’s most frustrating problems. Many thought, as they did with World War I, that the war would be a quick one, over in 90 days, some speculated. How did President Lincoln get into this predicament? Many thought the North had the men, the industry, and the weapons to easily win a war against the South. But to lovers of history it was a fun and humorous story, that was well worth passing down.Īnd as you will discover in today's episode, whiskey would find its own humorous anecdote, when a war weary president would be forced to defend an accused drunkard, as his choice for the head of the Union army. Neither of the men involved were alive / when the tale was finally spun three decades later. The story of the conversation between the Duke of Newcastle and King George II isn’t widely mentioned in history books, possibly because it may be more anecdotal that actual fact. And would forever mark the young General Wolfe as a legend. But the victory would help England end France’s reign in Atlantic Canada. But unfortunate for him and the British Empire, General Wolfe would succumb to wounds that he sustained during the battle. The maneuver would rank as one of the greatest military tactics ever undertaken. At the Battle of Quebec, he and his men scaled the impossibly steep cliffs of the Plains of Abraham, completely taking the French by surprise. Major-General Wolfe would go on to become the most revered British military man of his era. before he sets out I wish to my God he would bite some of my (other) Generals, and make them mad too!” John Henderson.” this wasn’t a popular choice for everybody, including William Pitt’s main rival the Duke of Newcastle, who apparently went to King George II, telling him every rumor he’d heard about Wolfe, including his temper, neurosis, and restless energy, finally exclaiming, “the gentleman was by no means eligible for so important a station, being positively mad.”īut King George, hungry to have as many aggressive generals at his disposal as possible, is said to have replied, “Mad, is he?. The Battle of Quebec would be under the leadership of none other than 32 year old, Major-General James Wolfe.Īccording to the 1786 book “Letters and Poems by the Late Mr. Wolfe’s star was rising, and after another up-and-comer General Howe died in a battle at Ticonderoga, Pitt was forced to turn to his next best option for the critical campaign at the narrowing of the St. Pitt’s faith in the young leader was rewarded when now Brigadier-General Wolfe along with Robert Rogers’ Rangers, lead a successful amphibious attack on Louisbourg, in New France, now modern-day Nova Scotia. With the war raging on both sides of the Atlantic, quality commanders in short supply, so Pitt earmarked Colonel Wolfe for leadership in Canada. Wolfe showed he was a man of action and a soldier of distinction, and he caught a very important eye, that of Prime Minister William Pitt (the Elder). Having distinguished himself during the Seven Years’ War, he pushed for aggressive action at the Battle of Rochefort, while his commanding general sat idle. Add to this his hot temper, youthful age and appearance, and apparent lack of interest in hobnobbing with the other officers and the list of Wolfe’s detractors began to grow.īut when it came to the battlefield, there were no doubts. Maybe it was this fear of death that drove him forward, attempting to accomplish all that he could. Having lost his brother to consumption, he became fatalistic, with a fear that he might have contracted the same deadly disease. His thesis on the proper use of the bayonet was adopted as the standard for tactics by the British army and his tactical theories were so well respected, they would be immortalized in the book, “General Wolfe’s Instructions to Young Officers.”īut for all of his successes and promise, at the beginning of the Seven Years War, now Colonel Wolfe had been suffering through several bouts of illness. He had attained the rank of Major and commanded the 20th Regiment, stationed at Stirling. Son of a Lieutenant-General, he would enlist as a professional soldier in the British Army at the age of 14, and by the age of 21 his service included seven campaigns on the continent, in Ireland and in Scotland. The life of young James Wolfe was a whirlwind. Transcript King George II and the Madness of General James Wolfe
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