The episode that is the subject of this volume occurred during the War of the Spanish Succession. At the time that Marlborough had completed his successful campaign in Europe, the Secretary of State for War, Henry St John, had for some time been under pressure to help the colonial forces in northern America and the trade on that coast. Port Royal (renamed Annapolis Royal) in Nova Scotia had already been easily taken in 1710 and it was decided to send an expedition to capture Quebec, and drive the French out of Canada. ...
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The episode that is the subject of this volume occurred during the War of the Spanish Succession. At the time that Marlborough had completed his successful campaign in Europe, the Secretary of State for War, Henry St John, had for some time been under pressure to help the colonial forces in northern America and the trade on that coast. Port Royal (renamed Annapolis Royal) in Nova Scotia had already been easily taken in 1710 and it was decided to send an expedition to capture Quebec, and drive the French out of Canada. Several factors combined to doom the project from the start; political considerations obtruded, including the choice, not an obvious one, of Admiral Sir Hovenden Walker to command it. Strenuous attempts were made, unsuccessfully, to keep it a great secret, which considerably hampered the administrative preparations. There were no reliable charts of the St Lawrence River, nor were reliable pilots easily obtainable as there had been very little traffic with Quebec by sea. Lastly, numerous delays meant that the final preparations were rushed to avoid being caught upriver in the severe Canadian winter. The upshot was that the expedition was an abject failure with seven transports and a storeship being driven ashore and lost in a gale. The volume is based on Walker's contemporary journal, published in 1720, which is quite detailed and makes no attempt to show events in a favourable light to himself.
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Seller's Description:
Good to very good. 1st Edition. xx, 441 (20)pp. Octavo. Original quarter blue cloth and off-white cloth boards. Half-title. Frontispiece. Illustrated with 3 B/W plates and tables. Index, list of publications and members included. Minor wear and soiling to boards. good to very good A reprint of Hovenden Walker's "Journal" (1720) of the ill-fated expedition to capture Quebec in 1711 with commentary on the subsequent reaction in England.
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Seller's Description:
Very good. First edition Limited to 550 copies. xx, 441, xiv pp. Octavo in original red cloth with gilt lettered crested spine, gilt top edge, others untrimmed. The boards are partially lacquered. With frontispiece photo and 3 illustrations (maps) in text. Pocket on front free endpaper, with a number of institutional stamps internally else a solid, clean copy. Copy #228. Very good condition. "Walker's journal tells the story of the conduct, and disastrous end by shipwreck, of an expedition designed for the capture on Quebec in 1711."
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Seller's Description:
Fine. 1st Edition Limited to 550 numbered copies. xx, 441, xiv pp. Octavo in original red cloth with gilt lettered crested spine, gilt top edge, others uncut; a photograph on frontispiece and 3 illustrations (maps) in text. Copy #260. Fine condition. "Walker's journal tells the story of the conduct, and disastrous end by shipwreck, of an expedition designed for the capture on Quebec in 1711."
