The War that Made America: Montcalm's Cross

Following the Battle of Carillon, in which Montcalm and his army successfully defended Fort Carillon (Ticonderoga), most would expect a celebration, but Montcalm had a different idea.  Instead of taking credit, Montcalm gave God the credit.  The event, described in Fred Anderson's The War that Made America, is known as Montcalm's Cross.  It will be reenacted when I attend the teacher institute at Fort Ticonderoga later in the summer.

When Montcalm finally grasped what had happened, the only possible explanation that came to him was that God himself had intervened to preserve His Most Christian Majesty's dominions in North America.  In late August he ordered a huge red cross to be raised on the hilltop above the abatis where Abercromby's troops had poured out their lives for nothing.  On the cross Montcalm directed that a Latin couplet of his own composition be inscribed, along with its paraphrase:

​Chretien!  Ce ne fut point Montcalm et la prudence,
     Ces arbres renversė, ce hėros, leur exploits,
Qui des Anglais confus ont brisė l'espėrance;
     C'est le bras de ton Dieu, vainqueur sur cette croix.

Christian, behold!  Not all the care that Montcalm took,
     Nor this fearsome abatis, nor all our heroes' feats
Have stunned the English here, have shattered all their hopes;
​     Instead the arm of God prevailed, the victor of this cross.

We now know this about Montcalm:  he was a man with enough courage to stick with his convictions.  That's at least the case in this situation.  Montcalm refused to take credit or apply credit to his soldiers or any barricades they constructed.  He recognized the French win to be the work of his God.  There would be no heroism to take the attention off of God.

Whether one agrees or disagrees with Montcalm's attribution to God, one must recognize conviction and humility - two traits that we could use more of in here in the 21st century.

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As I continue to reflect on this reading, I will collect my thoughts on my Fort Ticonderoga page.
I am reading this volume to help me prepare for a week-long Teacher Institution at Fort Ticonderoga,
​on the east bank of Lake Champlain in upstate New York, this summer.