Live-blogging the siege of Quebec+250 #25

Friday, July 27, 1759: James Gibson, a New England observer of the siege:

At eleven at night I was hugely alarmed with a most dreadful sight. The enemy has linked together 100 fire stages, which spread full 400 yards in length, and as the evening was dark, tow’d ‘em undiscovered toward the centre of the fleet and set fire to ‘em. We had intelligence that some such infernal scheme was intended, and therefore were prepared against it, and with our own boats we grappled and led them through the whole fleet without losing or even hurting a man…. Thus sir, scarce a day passes without its dangers…. We find ourselves outnumbered and we fear out-generalled.