Page "Military history of Canada" Paragraph 15

During King William's War ( 1689 – 1697 ), the next most serious threat to Quebec in the 17th century came in 1690 when, alarmed by the attacks of the petite guerre, the New England colonies sent an armed expedition north, under Sir William Phips, to capture Quebec itself.

This expedition was poorly organized and had little time to achieve its objective, having arrived in mid-October, shortly before the St. Lawrence would freeze over.

The expedition was responsible for eliciting one of the most famous pronouncements in Canadian military history.

When called on by Phips to surrender, the aged Governor Frontenac replied " I will answer ... only with the mouths of my cannon and the shots of my muskets.

" After a single abortive landing on the Beauport shore to the east of Quebec City, the English force withdrew down the icy waters of the St. Lawrence.