Thomas Handfield

We know a fair amount about the third son of John, Thomas, who is at the origin of the French-Canadian (Québec) descendants. He is my direct ancestor.

Thomas was born January 6th 1741. He joined the 40th Regiment in 1752 and was only 14 years old during the deportation of the Acadians. Without any doubt, he witnessed some gruesome and inhumane scenes during that period. The belief in the family is that it was the reason why he abandoned his parents. We can easily suppose that those memories greatly influenced his decisions immediately after the end of the Seven Years War.

In 1757, the 47th Regiment was located in Halifax preparing an expedition against Louisbourg. The expedition was abandoned that year but was resumed the following year. Hence, in 1758, the 47th Regiment was part of the brigade led by Wolfe that disembarked at Corromandiere Cove, since renamed Kennington Cove. Kennington was the name of the frigate that, together with the frigate Halifax, was protecting the soldiers prior to disembarkation. The cove was located approximately six miles from the fortress, near where the French retrenchments ended.

After the capture of Louisbourg, the 40th Regiment, including Thomas, stayed in garrison for the winter while the 47th returned to Boston. The following spring, troops from New York, Boston and Annapolis-Royal assembled in Halifax and travelled together to Louisbourg. There they met with a convoy from England on their way to the siege of Québec City. It is at this occasion, on May 23rd, 1759, in Louisbourg, that Thomas was promoted to the rank of Ensign with the 47th Regiment by General James Wolfe, Commander of the English Fleet, requested by the General Thomas Bell.

See manuscript

Ensign Thomas Handfield, 47th Regiment of Foot at Québec in 1759 would have worn the uniform illustrated. The hat is royal blue trimmed with white. The uniform and sash are red trimmed with white. The pants and leggings are white with black trim and buttons. The boots are black. The illustration is based upon an original drawing by Alan H. Archambault in the Public Record Office, Chancery Lane, London, England. Only the uniform is authenticated.

On June 6th 1759, the English armed forces departed for the mouth of the St-Lawrence River under the orders of General James Wolfe, born at Westerham, Kent, January 2nd 1727, son of Lieutenant-General Edward Wolfe and of Henrietta Thompson. On their way to Québec City, they took prisoner a pilot from the island of Ile-aux-Coudres in the St-Lawrence. Jean Denys de Vitray was constrained to pilot the English warships to Quebec City under the threat of death. The convoy reached Ile d'Orléans on June 26th where the troops disembarked and established camp. The artillery was located on the heights of Pointe-Levy from where the canons could reach the City of Québec.

The French Forces were commanded by the General Louis-Joseph Marquis of Montcalm assisted by the Colonel Louis-Antoine Count of Bougainville. This later was responsible for the communications between Quebec and Montreal.

A first attempt at disembarkation, somewhere between Québec and Montmorency was foiled by the well-established French army. An attempt by the latter to burn the English warships using inflamed rafts also failed.

Between the end of June and the beginning of September, both armies tempted attacks in vain. The good season was coming to a close and the English were considering abandoning the siege to return only the following year. Three brigadiers: Monckton, Townsend and Murray submitted a new plan to Wolfe. The plan, which consisted of disembarkation on the high side of the city, was readily accepted. Wolfe himself chose the location of the 'Anse-au-Foulon', the only possible access point. M. de Bougainville had stationed at that location Commandant Louis du Pont Duchaubon de Vergor and one hundred soldiers. During the night of September 12th 1759, 1800 English soldiers left their warships and climbed the cliff to take by surprise the soldiers of the Vergor camp. It happened that there were only thirty of them present that night.( The others had permission to leave the camp because it was harvest time.)After taking them prisoners, the English had free access to the Plains of Abraham.

By 5am the next day, Wolfe had assembled 4800 troops opposite the French army under the command of Montcalm (See the engagement plan). The 47th Regiment was on the front line, facing the Languedoc and La Sarre Regiments only 1500 feet away. Their location was on the North side of the Sillery Road, near a road called today "Grande-Allée", approximately three-quarter of a mile away from the Gate St-Louis of the city.

The engagement started around 10am. Wolfe had ordered his men not to fire and to put two bullets in their rifle. They received the order to fire only when they closed in within fifty yards of the French. A large number of French soldiers died at once. Wolfe then ordered the Louisbourg Grenadiers and the Bragg Regiment to charge with their bayonet. In fifteen minutes the battle was won, the French army routed.

At the beginning of the engagement, Wolfe was injured to his wrist, then a few moments later to the groin. Finally, during the charge, a bullet went through his lung. He died on the battlefield surrounded by several of his Officers. His embalmed body was sent to England on the ship "Royal William" for burial in the family's lot in Greenwich where his father was buried a few years before.

For his part, Montcalm was hit to the tight and entrails while trying to regroup his soldiers. He managed to return, fatally wounded, to the City sitting on his black horse and supported by three of his Officers. He had sufficient time to put his affairs in order before dying at 5am on the next day, September 14th. His funeral was held that same day at 9pm followed by his burial at the convent of the Ursulines.

Our ancestor, Thomas, lived through all the events of September 13th, 1759 without being injured. He was not so lucky on April 26th of the following year during the battle of Ste-Foy when Duke de Levis attempted to regain the City of Québec. Murray's report. Corporal François Duke of Levis was second Commander of the French army. When Montcalm died he replaced him commanding the 7000 soldiers. The English were defeated and retreated inside the city waiting for reenforcements. The French army left siege and returned to Montreal.

Thomas injuries were not fatal however and he remained in garrison in Québec City until the Treaty of Paris in 1763.See document He was only 19 years old when he was injured and, while he had to live in a ravaged city, he was still in the company of nice Québec ladies.

Common miseries perhaps foster lifelong friendships. During the war, it was not possible for an English Officer to marry an "enemy" but together they could always wish for an early end to the war. They wished very hard and on May 8th 1761, Thomas, born the previous day, was christened. The registry of the parish of Notre-Dame of Québec quotes "… du légitime mariage de Thomas…" (of the legitimate marriage of Thomas), which was crossed out and continued by "…de parents inconnus…" (of unknown parents). Louis Marchand and Marie-Joseph Lozé were Godfather and Godmother respectively. Here is another reason in favour of Thomas' choice for his future life.