Louisbourg Expedition (1757)

The French and Indian War started in 1754 over territorial disputes between the North American colonies of France and Great Britain in areas that are now western Pennsylvania and upstate New York.

In a major setback, a French and Indian army led by General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm captured the garrison and destroyed fortifications in the Battle of Fort Oswego in August 1756.

[2] Loudoun's plan for the 1757 campaign was submitted to the government in London in September 1756, focused on a single expedition aimed at the heart of New France in the city of Quebec.

It called for a purely defensive posture along the frontier with New France, including the contested corridor of the Hudson River and Lake Champlain between Albany, New York and Montreal.

[3] Loudoun's plan depended on the expedition's timely arrival at Quebec, so that French troops would not have the opportunity to move against targets on the frontier, and would instead be needed to defend the heartland of the province of Canada along the Saint Lawrence River.

[4] However, there was political turmoil in London over the progress of the Seven Years' War, both in North America and in Europe, and this resulted in a change of power, with William Pitt the Elder rising to take control over military matters.