WOLFE, JAMES, the most famous English gen. of his time, was b. at Westerliam, in Kent, on Jan. 2, 1727. His father was a lieut.col, afterward gen. Wolfe, an offi cer of merit and distinction, who served under Marlborough and prince Eugene. Along with his brother Edward, who was about a year younger, James received his first edu cation at a small school in that neighborhood. From the first, the boy had resolved to follow his father's profession of arms; and when little more than 13 years old, lie started to accompany the col. as a volunteer in the unfortunate Carthagena expedition. An attack of illness, however, made it necessary to put him ashore at Portsmouth just before the fleet sailed. In 1742 he received his commission as ensign in the 12th, or col. Duroure's regiment of foot, with which lie was soon after embarked for service in Flan ders. In the year following he took part in the famous battle of Dettingen; and it is evidence of the capacity he already began to display, that we find him, though still the merest boy, acting in the responsible capacity of ajt. of his regiment. After the battle of Fontenoy in 1743—at which Wolfe, who had now become a cant. in the 4th, or Barrell's regiment of foot, was, notwithstanding a current tradition to that effect, certainly not present—the British troops were withdrawn from Flanders to assist iu the suppression of the rebellion at home. With the army in Scotland he served iu the capacity of brig ade-maj., and was present at the battles of Falkirk and Culloden. In 1741 he was again abroad on service. At the battle of Laufeldt he was wounded, though not seri ously; and his conduct was so distinguished that he was publicly thanked by his com mander-in-chief, the duke of Cumberland. In the beginning of the year 1749 he was .appointed ma)'. of the 20th foot, then staticned at Stirling, whither lie proceeded. In the absence of the col., the command of the regiment devolved upon him. In this respon sible position, which was rendered much more trying by the disaffection still prevalent, .young as he was, Wolfe conducted himself with admirable tact and discretion. With interruption, nterruption, he remained in Scotland till the end of 1733, when the regiment returned to England. From the tone of his correspondence, it is evident he was not .greatly delighted with Scotland or its inhabitants. In the mismanaged expedition against Rochefort in 1757, Wolfe was appointed to act as quartermaster-gen. of the force. The total failure of the operations brought disgrace to nearly all concerned; but became sufficiently known that, had Wolfe's prompt and daring counsels been fol-' lowed, the result would have almost certainly been different; and his reputation, already a brilliant one, rose considerably in consequence. In particular, it appears that the -attention of Pitt was now first decisively drawn to him as an officer of whom, in any enterprise intrusted to him, great things might be expected. As marking approval of his conduct, the full rank of col. was conferred on him. The high opinion thus formed of him, was signally confirmed the year following, when he was intrusted with the command of a brigade in the expedition against cape Breton, under gen. Amherst. A great success was obtained in the capture of Louisburg; that it was mainly due to Wolfe's skill, boldness, and activity was quite clearly understood, and he became ularly known as `cthe hero of Louisburg." Presently came the opportunity which was to consummate his glory, in the instant of heroic death. Pitt was now organizing his grand scheme for the expulsion of the French from Canada; it was his just boast that he "sought for merit wherever it was to be found;" and the expedition, which had for its object the capture of Quebec, the enemy's capital, he confided to the care of Wolfe, allowing him, as far as possible, a carte blanche for the choice of his subordi nate officers. On Feb. 17, 1759, Wolfe, advanced to the rank of maj.gen., and com manding an army of between 8,000 and 9,000 men, set sail from England. At Louis burg he had news of the death of his father, the state of whose health had for some time been such as to prepare him for the event. On June 26 Wolfe landed his forces on the isle of Orleans, opposite Quebec, and proceeded to concert his plans for the attack upon it. This, of which he had shortly before written as likely to be found "a very
nice operation," proved, on a closer examination, to be one of stupendous, and, indeed, nearly hopeless difficulty. The system of defense adopted by his adversary, the skillful and wary Montcalm, was such as to offer him no point of advantage. In all his attempts, though seconded most ably by admiral Saunders. who commanded the fleet, lie found himself completely foiled. The season wore fast away during which operations could be continued; and an abortive result seemed imminent of the expedition from which so much had been hoped. But at last, at day-dawn of Sept. 13, he found himself at the head of his little army on the heights of Abraham, above the city, where Montcalm, sorely against his will, was forced to risk decision of the struggle by battle in the open field. Resolving to stake all on a final effort, Wolfe had, during the night, succeeded in scaling the cliffs at a point insufficiently guarded—an operation of such-frightful risk and difficulty as in war has scarcely a parallel. Of victory he had no doubt; his little force now—exclusive of detachments necessarily left behind—reduced to something like 5,000 men, was indeed opposed to near 8,000 of the enemy, besides Indian auxiliaries; but of these it was well known that only a part could be depended on as trained and vet eran troops. The result justified his confidence; after a short struggle, the enemy was driven from the field in complete rout; the capitulation of Quebec followed some days after; and its fall decided the fate of Canada. But Wolfe did not live to reap the fruits of his victory; he died in its very hour. In person he led the right; twice wounded, he refused to leave the front; a third bullet prostrated him; and he was carried, plainly dying, to the rear. He lived only long enough to know that the battle was decisively won; then, rallying his last strength to give one final order, and saying: "Now God be praised I I die in peace," lie expired. The gallant Montcalm also fell, paying, with almost his last breath, the tribute of a true soldier to the valor of the troops who bad beaten him: " Since," said he, "it is my misfortune to be discomfited and mortally wounded, it is a great consolation to me to have been vanquished by so brave an enemy. If I could survive, I would engage to beat three times the number of such forces as mine were, with a third of British troops." The news of the victory was received in England with a tumult of exultation, dashed with grief for the loss of the hero to whom the nation owed it. When parliament met in November, the house of commons addressed the king, praying that his majesty would order a monument to be erected to the memory of the dead soldier in Westminster abbey; where, accordingly, an effigies of him may be seen, with allegorical adjuncts as tasteless and absurd as usual. He was buried beside his father, in the family vault under the parish church at Greenwich.
A single military achievement, however brilliant, cannot be made ground of a claim for the successful soldier to take rank as a great capt. But that Wolfe had the true genius for command, which needed only time and further opportunity to win for him a fmne still more splendid, it is scarcely permitted us to doubt. Through the lower regi mental grades he rose rapidly by sheer force of personal merit, at a time when the ser vice was a mere hotbed of corruption; and on attaining to higher commands, he in every instance gave evidence of the higher military qualities which proved him eminently worthy of them. He had only reached the age of 33. when in his last, and properly his one great achievement, he died, seemingly cut off in the mere opening of a brilliant career. He was of warm affections, and frank and generous nature; though his temper was somewhat eager, impulsive, and irascible, few men have ever been more generally beloved; and not many men so famous have left behind them a memory in every way so pure and spotless.
Till lately, no memoir of him in the least adequate existed; but in The Life of Major general James on Original _Documents, and illustrated by his Correspond ence, by Robert Wright (Lond. Chapman and Hall, 1864), the want is now competently supplied.