In Canadian history, Cook is remembered for sailing through a channel up the St. Lawrence the French thought was impossible. The surprise move eventually allowed the British to go further up river and land above the fortress of Quebec City and attack it from the land. The seeds of British Canada was formed and the French never recovered in North America from this set back. BTW - George Washington served in the campaign but did not take part in the battle. Quebec was not attacked again until the American Revolution when Benedict Arnold almost took it on Christmas Day.
In preparation for the fleet's approach to Quebec, James Cook surveyed a large portion of the river, including a dangerous channel known as The Traverse. Cook's ship was one of the first ships up the river, sounding the channel and guiding the fleet as it moved up; Wolfe and his men landed on the Île d'Orléans on 28 June.[7] The French attempted to attack the fleet by sending seven fire ships downriver to disrupt the landing, but the ships were set afire too early and British sailors in longboats were able to pull the flaming craft clear of the fleet.[8] The following day, Wolfe's troops landed on the south bank of the river at Point Levis, nearly directly across the river from Quebec; an artillery battery was established there in early July that nearly leveled the lower town by bombardment.[9]
