Français  Contact Us  Help  Search  Canada Site Volume 1 (1000–1754) Volume 2 (1755-1871) Volume 3 (1872–2000) CHAPTER 1 The Conquest Military Situations at the Start of the War Reinforcements from Europe It's War! The Anglo-American Attack General Braddock's Disaster General Dieskau's Defeat The Acadian Tragedy General Montcalm Takes Oswego Tensions Among the French Staff The British Invasion Strategy The French Take Fort William Henry The British Lay Siege to Louisbourg French Victory at Ticonderoga The Invasion of the Ohio Valley A Change in Tactics General Mobilization in Canada The Siege of Quebec The Battle of the Plains of Abraham Quebec Surrenders Other Fronts The War Continues in Canada The Battle of Sainte-Foy The Arrival of Reinforcements The Final Invasion The Surrender The Fate of the Canadian Officers The Military Regime England Wins the War The Treaty of Paris CHAPTER 2 The Revolt of Pontiac and the American Invasion CHAPTER 3 The Coveted Pacific Coast CHAPTER 4 The Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 CHAPTER 5 Demobilization CHAPTER 6 The Royal Navy, Ruler of the Seas CHAPTER 7 A Decade of Turbulence APPENDIX A The British Armed Forces APPENDIX B Daily Life of Soldiers and Officers APPENDIX C Uniforms and Arms APPENDIX D Reference      CHAPTER 1 The Conquest           The Fate of the Canadian Officers ( 1 page )                     Something surprising and revealing about this period has to do with the officers in the Compagnies franches de la Marine and the canonniers-bombardiers companies.  Among the 63 officers in Montreal at the time of the surrender, 44 chose to return to France.  Others were to leave the following year - some perishing in the wreck of the Auguste. The basic difference between these officers and the other officers in the French regiments is that the Canadians were not "returning" to France - because they had never been there.  Descended from gentry that had settled in New France in the seventeenth century, most had been born in Canada.  Not only did these officers act as defenders of Canadian society, they were also its leaders; because of their family connections they also had a significant impact on the economy of the colony. Under these conditions, one may well ask why they left their native land.  The fact is simply that some of them found it impossible to live in Canada in anything other than military service.  Others could not conceive of withdrawing to their family seigneuries to be governed by the British while awaiting peace between France and England.  And, last but not least, these men were all soldiers in the service of their King, and wished to continue their careers in the armed forces and to fight for France - and war continued elsewhere.        Last Updated: 2004-06-20 Important Notices