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Louis-Joseph de Montcalm-Gozon, Marquis de Saint-Veran
February 28, 1712 – September 14, 1759 The unpopular command of the French army in north America had been given to an obscure brigadier, who had been six times wounded in the late wars in Bohemia and Italy. Promoted to Major–General, Montcalm was given the North American command in February 1756. He was to be one of those rare generals whose men loved him as well as respecting him. His early campaigns against the British were major successes. He captured and destroyed Fort Oswego on Lake Ontario in 1756. His victory at Fort William Henry in 1757 was a military and personal victory. He led the French forces to victory at the Battle of Carillon, facing and defeating a British army five times the size. It was considered his greatest victory. Major General the marquis of Montcalm was mortally wounded on the Plains of Abraham. He had been shot in the abdomen. The Royal Artillery later claimed it was a grape shot from one of the two cannon present at the battle. It is said Montcalm entered the city of Quebec through the St. Louis Gate, held in his saddle by a soldier on either side. Some women of the city saw his wound and cried out,
“Mon Dieu, le Marquis est tue!”
He replied
“Ce n’est rien, ce n’est rien: ne vous affligez pas pour moi, mes bonnes amies.” He was taken to the house of Surgeon Arnoux and was told he had no more than twelve hours to live. Montcalm’s reply was that he was happy he would not live to see the surrender of Quebec.He was to die in the early hours of the day after the battle, the 14th September 1759, 4 days before the British were to enter the city He died and was buried in the convent of the Ursuline nuns in Quebec, later the same day (supposedly in a hole caused by the British shelling). His remains, consisting of a skull and a leg bone, were exhumed in the 1800s and were put on display at the convent in a stone crypt alongside a plaque commemorating him. In a ceremony in September 2001, Montcalm's remains were buried in the cemetery of the Quebec General Hospital, where hundreds of casualties from both sides of the battle had been buried 242 years earlier. Please note this set comes in two boxes, with one certificate.
QF-01a horse holder, horse and Montcalm, and the QF-01 Certificate.
QF-01b 2 x La Sarre Infantry. Limited edition of 750 sets.
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