Poet, novelist, critic 1863 – 1944
Walk-through
John à Cleeve sails from the southern shore of Lake George with the 46th Regiment of Foot.
Arriving at the northern shore of Lake George, Howe is killed and Abercromby takes command of the regiment.
Montcalm withdraws to Crown Point and Abercrombie advances to a saw-mill two miles from Fort Carillon.
A flotilla of boats with the wounded, including John à Cleeve, leave Fort Carillon for the St Lawrence River and Montreal.
On the advice of Bateese Guyon and against the wishes of Menehwehna, Sergeant Barboux takes a short cut up the tributary of the Richelieu to a pass in the Adirondack Mountains.
Barboux, the Indians and John à Cleeve go on ahead, while Guyon and McQuarters follow with the baggage. The advance party discover the body of a French Canadian killed by the Iroquois.
The advance party flee westwards towards the St. Lawrence leaving the baggage train to take care of itself. They hear the cry of a dying man, M. Armand des Noel-Tilly.
After an unsuccesful escape attempt and an attack by the Iroquois, John à Cleeve and Menehwehna manage to escape by canoe, taking with them the jacket of Barboux which contains a secret message.
John à Cleeve and Menehwehna arrive at Boisveyrac and are questioned by Fr. Launoy. John à Cleeve is mistaken for a wounded Frenchman but Fr. Launoy has doubts about him.
John à Cleeve and Menehwehna arrive at Fort Amitié with Dominique. Diane des Noel-Tilly falls in love with John. Jealous, Dominique asks to leave in the morning. John discovers the sealed message in the tunic and conceals it from Menehwehna.
Diane brings a new and old tunic to John. He falls in love with her.
Diane discovers a second dispatch in the tunic. John realises that his identity as a French soldier has been compromised. The dispatch is taken to the Commandant.
Forced by the arrival of Bateese Guyon, John à Cleeve reveals his true identity to Diane. She refuses him but helps him and Menehwehna to escape.
John à Cleeve and Menehwehna travel on the St. Lawrence to the Great Lakes, arriving at Michillimackinac.
John à Cleeve assumes the Indian name of Netawis. Menehwehna introduces him to his daughter, Azoka, who falls in love with him.
John à Cleeve agrees to be the translator for the Ojibway at the Council in Fort Niagara of the British and the Indians of the Great Lakes. The 46th Regiment hold the fort, but John à Cleeve is not recognised.
General Amherst arrives at La Galette, as part of a 3-pronged British advance. Diane decides to remain and die in Fort Amitié with her father.
General Amherst commences his bombardment on Fort Amitié, where the Commandat has decided to fight a delaying action.
After a breach is opened, Fort Amitié falls. The Commodandat is killed lowering the flag. Diane is trapped in the flagstaff tower, where she is rescued by John in Indian dress.
Dominique and Bateese Guyon guide the British forces from Fort Amitié towards Montreal. Realising John à Cleeve's true identity, Dominique sees that he has finally lost Diane. He leads the flotilla up a dangerous branch of the river but John seizes the helm, saving some of the boats, although 46 are lost.
After a 2-day seige, Montreal surrenders. John à Cleeve resigns his commission to work for the new governor, General Murray. Diane retires to the convent where she was educated.
Meeting again when American forces stand outside Quebec, John à Cleeve and Diane are reconciled.
The widow of Brigadier-General Richard Montgomery watches as the cortège carrying the body of her husband is conveyed from Quebec to the cenotaph in New York.
A ball is held in Quebec to celebrate the victory of British Canada over the American colonists, with the celebrants wearing the dress of 1775 and carrying the sword of Richard Montgomery.