Battle of the Plains of Abraham (1759)

The battle of the Plains of Abraham was one of the last two major battles of the Seven Years’ War (the other was that of Sainte-Foy). An expedition under James Wolfe besieged Quebec beginning in June 1759 and successfully made a crucial landing at Anse au Foulon early on 13 September. Within hours some 4,500 British soldiers were in formation on the Plains of Abraham and, owing to the superiority of European battlefield techniques, they won the battle. Quebec surrendered on 18 September; the final conquest of Canada would require another year’s campaign, but the fate of New France was sealed.