Officer of
the (French) Regiment de Berry with the Regimental Colour.
(artist: R.J. Marrion
- copyright: Canadian War Museum)
The regular French infantry sent to
Canada in 1757 was the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the Regiment
de Berry.
Originally, they were to be sent to
Louisbourg; however, plans were altered and both battalions landed at
Quebec at the end of July.
Each battalion "'as composed of
only nine companies of three officers and sixty other ranks.
Levis gathered all the regular battalions,
including those of Berry, to form the nucleus of a strike force for a
return to Quebec early in the spring of 1760. Both Berry battalions fought
in the ensuing successful action at Sainte-Foy.
With the arrival of the British fleet, the
siege of Quebec was abandoned, and the French withdrew gradually to the
Montreal area. The British closed in from the east, south, and west; and
by 7 September the combined British force of 17,000 men stood before
Montreal.
Levis ordered his regiments
to burn their colours
to spare them "the hard conditions of handing them over to the
enemy."
Then the troops of these fine
regiments assembled in the Place d'Armes and laid down their weapons after
five years of continuous fighting. |
