Quebec Expedition
1711 CE.
Shown on the map at 49.638°, -67.175°.
The Quebec expedition (also known as the Walker expedition to Quebec) was a British attempt to attack French-held Quebec City in mid-1711 during Queen Anne's War, the North American theatre of the War of the Spanish Succession. It failed when seven troopships and one storeship were wrecked and 890 soldiers, sailors and women drowned in one of the worst naval disasters in British history. Planned by the Harley ministry, the expedition was based on plans originally proposed in 1708. Lord Harley decided to mount the expedition as part of a major shift in British military policy, emphasizing strength at sea. The expedition's leaders, Rear-Admiral of the White Sir Hovenden Walker and Brigadier-general John Hill, were chosen for their politics and connections to the Crown, and its plans were kept secret even from the British Admiralty. French agents were able to discover British intentions and warn authorities in Quebec. The expedition expected to be fully provisioned in Boston, the capital of the British Province of Massachusetts Bay, but the city was unprepared when it arrived, and Massachusetts authorities had to scramble to provide even three months' supplies.
Text from the Wikipedia article Quebec expedition (1711), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.