Canada is stated to have been discovered by the famous Italian adventurer, Sebastian Cabot, who sailed under a commission from Henry VII., and as the English monarch did not make any use of the discovery, the French soon attempted to derive advantage from it. Several small settlements were established, and in the early part of the seventeenth century the city of _Quebec_ was founded for the capital of the French possessions in this part of the world. Although the colony continued in a very depressed state for some time, and the settlers were often in danger of being exterminated by the Indians, yet, in the beginning of the eighteenth century, it had become of such importance, that its capture was considered one of the best means of weakening the power of the ambitious Louis XIV. An expedition was placed under the orders of Brigadier-General Hill, with a naval force under Commodore Sir Hovenden Walker; and the QUEEN'S regiment was selected to take part in this enterprise. On arriving at North America the fleet called at Boston for a supply of provisions, and the troops landed and encamped a short time on Rhode Island; but on the 20th of July they re-embarked, and, having been joined by two regiments of provincial troops, sailed on the intended expedition.
While the brave men who adopt the profession of arms are engaged in the service of their sovereign and country, they are exposed to numerous dangers; their hopes of conquest and prospects of fame are often suddenly terminated by adverse fortune, and such was the case in the expedition to Quebec. As the fleet was proceeding up the river St. Lawrence, it became enveloped in a thick fog, and encountered a severe gale of wind; and the veterans who had fought the battles of their country found themselves in the dangerous navigation of this immense river, in a dark and stormy night, with inexperienced men collected on a sudden to act as pilots. Eight transports crowded with men were dashed upon the rocks, and a number of officers and soldiers, who but a few hours before had meditated scenes of conquest, victory, and glory, were entombed in the deep. At the head of the list of officers and men lost by the regiment which forms the subject of this memoir, is MAJOR FISHER,[20] who is probably the same officer who displayed such heroism in the defence of Gibraltar. The other officers lost by the QUEEN'S regiment were,--Brevet Major Walker; Captains Stringer and Bush; Captain-Lieutenant L'Hulle; Ensigns Hyde, Hawker, Richardson, and Loggan; Quartermaster Redix; and Surgeon Jones; with ten serjeants, eighteen corporals, thirteen drummers, one hundred and sixty-seven private soldiers, and twenty women. This lamentable disaster occasioned all thoughts of prosecuting the enterprise to be laid aside. The fleet returned to England, and the QUEEN'S regiment, having landed at Portsmouth on the 10th of October, marched into dispersed quarters in Hampshire, and commenced recruiting its diminished numbers.[21]