[Footnote 582:  Entick, III. 224.]

West of Louisbourg there were three accessible places, Freshwater Cove, four miles from the town, and Flat Point, and White Point, which were nearer, the last being within a mile of the fortifications.  East of the town there was an inlet called Lorambec, also available for landing.  In order to distract the attention of the enemy, it was resolved to threaten all these places, and to form the troops into three divisions, two of which, under Lawrence and Whitmore, were to advance towards Flat Point and White Point, while a detached regiment was to make a feint at Lorambec.  Wolfe, with the third division, was to make the real attack and try to force a landing at Freshwater Cove, which, as it proved, was the most strongly defended of all.  When on shore Wolfe was an habitual invalid, and when at sea every heave of the ship made him wretched; but his ardor was unquenchable.  Before leaving England he wrote to a friend:  “Being of the profession of arms, I would seek all occasions to serve; and therefore have thrown myself in the way of the American war, though I know that the very passage threatens my life, and that my constitution must be utterly ruined and undone.”

On the next day, the third, the surf was so high that nothing could be attempted.  On the fourth there was a thick fog and a gale.  The frigate “Trent” struck on a rock, and some of the transports were near being stranded.  On the fifth there was another fog and a raging surf.  On the sixth there was fog, with rain in the morning and better weather towards noon, whereupon the signal was made and the troops entered the boats; but the sea rose again, and they were ordered back to the ships.  On the seventh more fog and more surf till night, when the sea grew calmer, and orders were given for another attempt.  At two in the morning of the eighth the troops were in the boats again.  At daybreak the frigates of the squadron, anchoring before each point of real or pretended attack, opened a fierce cannonade on the French intrenchments; and, a quarter of an hour after, the three divisions rowed towards the shore.  That of the left, under Wolfe, consisted of four companies of grenadiers, with the light infantry and New England rangers, followed and supported by Fraser’s Highlanders and eight more companies of grenadiers.  They pulled for Freshwater Cove.  Here there was a crescent-shaped beach, a quarter of a mile long, with rocks at each end.  On the shore above, about a thousand Frenchmen, under Lieutenant-Colonel de Saint-Julien, lay behind entrenchments covered in front by spruce and fir trees, felled and laid on the ground with the tops outward.[583] Eight cannon and swivels were planted to sweep every part of the beach and its approaches, and these pieces were masked by young evergreens stuck in the ground before them.

[Footnote 583:  Drucour reports 985 soldiers as stationed here under Saint-Julien there were also some Indians.  Freshwater Cove, otherwise Kennington Cove, was called La Cormorandiere by the French.]