2. Thwarting an attempt by the British to attack Quebec during Queen Anne’s War, the invasion fleet was stopped by fierce weather conditions on the Saint Lawrence River that took the lives of almost one thousand soldiers.
Occurring during the course of Queen Anne’s War – the North American theater in the War of the Spanish Succession – the Quebec Expedition of 1711 was an attempt by the British to capture Quebec from the French. Poorly planned and provisioned, the expedition, comprising a fleet of nine ships of war and sixty transports carrying a total of 7,500 soldiers and 6,00 sailors, set sail from Boston on July 30. Reaching the coast of Nova Scotia without incident on August 3, the fleet arrived at the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. On the morning of August 18, as the fleet attempted to enter the Saint Lawrence River, encountering fierce northwesterly winds.
Blanketing the river in thick fog, the fleet drifted inexpertly upriver until, without warning, it was driven into giant breakers. Two warships, HMS Montague and HMS Windsor, were unable to navigate safely away, instead dropping anchor and attempting to endure the waves. Unable to see their sister ships, neighboring crews could only “hear the shrieks of the sinking, drowning, departing souls”. An account of the disaster three days later recorded the loss of seven transport ships, in addition to 850 soldiers. Blaming inadequate planning and support, the expedition elected to turn back and not continue with the attack.