The archaeologist Paul-Gaston L’Anglais gently places his hand on an 18th century bombe century stored in the archaeological reserve of Quebec. “It’s a scoop,” gets carried away by the specialist, speaking of this projectile which was found last year under rue Caron, in the heart of the Saint-Roch district. “In my opinion, his base was the General Hospital! »
The device weighing nearly 200 pounds testifies to the violence of the British bombardment of Quebec in 1759. That summer, General James Wolfe’s gunners launched up to 50,000 cannonballs, bombs and incendiary carcasses on the capital of New -France. The city then had fewer than 8,000 inhabitants, the majority of whom had been evacuated to refugee camps.
It is the most besieged city in all of America. It’s fabulous and it should be known worldwide!
The “British” bomb on the rue Caron is of French manufacture, as indicated by its characteristic neck which was surrounded by a rope to lift it. It was probably recovered from the ammunition stores of the Fortress of Louisbourg, which fell into British hands in 1758. Mr. English.
Powder fire
The propulsion of projectiles is an art, as the mathematician Belidor explains in the Bombardier François, or a new method of throwing bombs with precision, published in 1731. The gun crews had to alternately light the wick of the bomb and that of the mortar, whose angle of fire made it possible to launch its contents above the fortifications, unlike the cannon. Time was running out, the wick of a bomb 13 inches in diameter was consumed in 35 seconds, top time.
Night bombing made it easier to track the trajectory of these spherical projectiles. “The chief gunner could see the bomb go off with the fuse burning until it exploded in the town. He had fun,” observes Paul-Gaston L’Anglais.
A 13-inch bomb would usually burst into about ten pieces, according to the archaeologist. “If it explodes 20 feet in the air, all the fragments will distribute. On the other hand, if it explodes on the ground, there are only the pieces of the top which will be precipitated. The wall of the base of a British bomb was thicker in order to allow it to stabilize on its bottom at the end of its roll. The wick could thus be completely consumed before bursting upwards.
“If you’re aiming for buildings, the best thing is to detonate it once it’s smashed through the roof of a house,” recommends L’Anglais. The success rate of the British gunners present in 1759 is remarkable, 98% of their bombs having exploded!
In addition to metal fragments, archaeologists discovered explosion craters. “If you are not careful, you will pass through without realizing it, underlines L’Anglais. It’s not easy to see. »
Spark
When they are discovered in the basement of Quebec, the intact bombs are sent to Valcartier to be x-rayed by the explosives technicians of the Canadian Armed Forces. “We told them that we didn’t want them to blow them up,” explains archaeologist Manon Goyette, from the City of Quebec, “because in principle, that’s what they would do. »
Paul-Gaston L’Anglais is reassuring by pointing to the corroded bomb on Caron Street, which passed through the Valcartier military base before landing in the archaeological reserve. “You could sledgehammer it and nothing would happen…unless of course there’s a spark that comes through the gap and hits some remaining powder…but that’s very unlikely. . »
The Valcartier bomb disposal experts still recommend caution. Witness the word “INERT” written in white letters on a bomb discovered in 2017 at the corner of Couillard and Hamel streets, in Old Quebec. The device launched in 1759 still contained 26 pounds of gunpowder, which can be seen in a khaki bag from the Canadian Armed Forces. The bomb also retained the wooden fuze that the gunners inserted into its neck. “You can see the inner channel for the wick in the rocket, I can’t believe it yet! explains The Englishman.
carcasses
Paul-Gaston L’Anglais was amazed at the high number of projectiles that remained in the courtyard of the Séminaire de Québec the day after the artillery shelling of 1759. above to fill the craters, he said. While digging in the garden, the priests must have hit shrapnel and cannonballs! »
The collection of projectiles of the World Heritage Site of Quebec includes all the calibers used by the French and British armies of the XVIIIe century. “It is the city that has been the most besieged in all of America, ignites the archaeologist. It’s fabulous and it should be known worldwide! » Only one example of an incendiary carcass is missing to complete the collection.
“A carcass is like a football covered in fabric, illustrates L’Anglais. Underneath you have a frame of iron straps into which grenades, gunpowder and even loaded gun barrels were placed. This IED was dipped in pitch before being launched using a mortar. “She could explode at any moment, so stay away from that,” he said. We’ve never found any carcasses from the siege of 1759, because it degrades very quickly in the ground. »
The engravings made in the weeks following the capitulation of Quebec on September 18, 1759 bear witness to the extent of the British bombardment ordered by General Wolfe. “This is exactly what we are seeing in Ukraine at the moment, underlines L’Anglais. The Russians want to destroy everything, and that was also the aim of the English. »