James Wolfe

Portrait of Wolfe

James Wolfe (2 January 1727 - 13 September 1759) was an English general who fought at Culloden against the Jacobites. He was promoted to general after his part in the capture of Louisberg in 1758. Wolfe commanded the British force that took Quebec in 1759, dying in the battle from three shots to the body.

Quotes

• "Gentlemen, I would rather have written those lines than take Quebec tomorrow."
  • To his troops, 12 September 1759, after reciting Thomas Gray's Elegy, Written in a Country Churchyard the evening before storming Quebec City. Quoted in Francis Parkman's Montcalm and Wolfe

• "Now God be praised, I die contented."
  • Last words, on hearing of the defeat of the French at Quebec. Quoted in Francis Parkman's Montcalm and Wolfe