200 Years Ago A IC I AD CA ADA- Fo go ten Ca paign of the Revolution

In one of the most daring and least known episodes wooden fort named Chambly. The way to ~I ontreal was of the Revolutionary War, two small American forces now open, and Montgomery did not hesitate. invaded Canada exactly two centuries ago-months Enriched by the booty he had captured at St. John 's, which included cannon, stocks of muskets, bountiful sup­ before the Declaration of Independence. The Conti· plies of ammunition and some, though not enough, warm nental Congress hoped to achieve two main goals: to clothing for his men, he moved as swiftly as possible to the forge strong ties with the anti-British French-speaking St. Lawrence. He crossed the river without difficulty and, Canadians, and to eliminate the threat of British inva· on November 13, occupied ~f ontreal without a fight. Gener­ sion of the Thirteen Colonies from the north. The al Carleton [Gen. Guy Carleton, the British commander]. who had barely 150 troops with him in the town, fled by campaign came amazingly close to succeeding under boat downstream to Quebec. Gen. Richard Montgomery, moving north through And there, safely in the citadel, Carleton heard more bad New York, and Col. , slogging north· news. ~Iontgomery's \Vas not the only American force that west through the wilderness. The story of that threatened him. On :\ovember 8, to the astonishment of the ill-fated endeavor is condensed from "200 Years," Canadians who saw them, there had abruptly appeared on the southern shore of the St. Lawrence, directly opposite publi.shed by U.S. News & World Report Books. Quebec, a ragged scarecrow band of 650 armed and in-

On June 27, 1775, Congress authorized Gen. Philip • ' , "' /.I Schuyler, the patriot commander in New York, to move into ARNOLD'S ROUTE #• -Quebec / Canada and seize any positions vital to colonial security. ... MONTGOMERY'S ,., A.MERICAt ,/ than combat commander. For many weeks he remained at --- rJb '&. "" Ticonderoga gathering men and supplies, boats for trans­ , , - # {e<::< •-. / port, and intelligence of dubious accuracy from the north. , ~ ~ In fact, when his force was finally set in motion on August _, C3-• / 28, it was not by his order at all (he was absent from l# ~IONTGOMERY TAKES / Ticonderoga, attending a conference in Albany) but by that I '.IC'iTBEAl. NOV. 13 /l Montreal • .-._~ ' , of his second in com~and, Gen. Richard :-..1ontgomery. St .Jot; "·"'·. ~· StEGE OF STJOHN'S, ,' / :' Montgomery's period as temporary commander was brief · ,n SI SEP1' 6 - NOV. 2 , ' I but intense. He led 1,200 men toward St. John's, held then ------, r------J ' by 700 seasoned British troops. I ) / ' In preliminary skirmishing along the approaches to the NEW ,'( s \ : YORK 1 \ "' ' , MAINE fort, the redcoats handled the Americans roughly. Schuyler I ' g. VERMONT l I rejoined his command just as these first fights were taking .. ( ~ ,-./ : • ,' (J I I place and at once halted offensive operations to erect defen­ I I I I lf -.J ( ' sive works. I ' I I Soon, however, reinforcements arrived, swelling his ranks • ( MOIITGOMERY STARIS FROM 1 TiICOO d eroga I FORT T.CON:)EROGA. : to nearly 2,000. Schuyler, in a decision determined by his J AUG. 28, 1775 : great preponderance of force, was about to resume the L.i ( ,' N offensive when he suddenly fell ill- so ill that he was forced I I NEW \ to relinquish his command to :\Iontgomery and go back to \ \ HAMPSHIRE ', I I Ticonderoga. I I : I 1 Montgomery was thereby enabled to press the offensive, I I /-- · L ____ l ____ .!"~~urjport • ARNOLD STARTS FRO although he did so with deliberate speed. He was acutely aware that his great numerical superiority over the enemy ! MASSACtfUS£;JTS ~~~~~:.vi1~~T. was offset by their possession of strong defensive works and by his lack of cannon powerful enough to reduce them. His men, moreover, were a various, undisciplined crew of short­ TWO INVASION ROUTES term enlistment, having small respect for military authority: They could be led but not commanded. Montgomery there­ INTO CANADA fore wisely decided against any attempt to carry St. John's by storm; he besieged it instead. · Two American officers, Richard Montgom­ The St. John's garrison held out for 55 days. Its comman­ ery and Benedict Arnold, ted invasion forces dant, Maj. Charles Preston, on November 2, when it had north to Canada from New York and Mas­ long been obvious that his position was untenable and that he and his men faced starvation, accepted Montgomery's sachusetts in 1775. The campaign nearly generous terms of surrender. succeeded, but was turned back in a furious Weeks earlier, patriot artillery, impotent against thick battle at Quebec. stone walls, had peunucd mto subnus~ion the only other obstacle to an advance on Montreal, this point being the

Copyright @ 1975, U.S. News & World Report. Inc. 77 - ... W HEN AMERICANS INVADED CANADA who cleared clogged river channels and cut back the dense [continued from preceding page] undergrowth in forests. The pioneers among them were usually Morgan's riflemen; although there was some rotation credibly determined American fighting men, under the of leadership. Arnold himself remained at the head of this command of Col. Benedict Arnold! straggling column, with the ever-resourceful Burr at his Back in August, had written to Gen­ side-his example of high courage and good cheer being an eral Schuyler, then in command at Ticonderoga, asking for inspiration to his men. his advice about a "Plan of an Expedition which has en­ As October advanced, the early northern winter closed gaged my thoughts for several days. It is to penetrate into down: One morning the expedition awoke to find 6 inches Canada by Way of Kennebeck River [in :\1aine] and so to of snow on the ground. By then clothing repeatedly soaked Quebeck. .. ." Washington had received a favorable reply and brush-torn \Vas so tattered that it ga\·e inadequate from Schuyler and soon thereafter had decided to send the protection against the increasing chill. ~or \\'as there any expedition. The man he chose to lead it was Benedict protection against lengthening cold nights. Inevitably, there Arnold. was much sickness. Arnold, having been frustrated in his attempt to lead an Nor did their sufferings diminish after they reached Cana­ invasion northward from Ticonderoga, accepted vvith alacri­ dian soil. Arnold, by this time, had pushed on ahead of the ty and immediately went to work. An order went at once to foremost of the rifle units in order to obtain food from Reuben Colburn, a boat builder in the tiny settlement of sympathetic habitants in nearby settlements. Gardinerstown, on the shore of the Kennebec, for the While he was gone, his expeditionary force was daily construction of 200 bateaux; each was to be large enough to reduced as men crazed by pai.n and hunger wandered off carry six or seven men with baggage and provisions, yet the trail, never to be seen again; others collapsed beside the light enough for easy portage. Other orders called for the accumulation of needed supplies at Gardinerstown. Sorl'.e 1,100 men, most of them volun­ teers, made up the expeditionary force: 10 companies of New England musket­ men, 2·companies of Pennsylvania rifle­ men, and 1 company of Virginia rifle­ men under the command of a giant woodsman, Capt. Dan Morgan. As his personal aide Arnold chose a personable young man by the name of . On Septemer 11, Arnold began the march to Newburyport. From this point some days later the entire force sailed in 11 vessels to t.he mouth of the Ken­ nebec. There, at Gardinerstown, the commander encountered his first bad omen. The bateaux he had ordered were shoddily made, and many were smaller than specified. l\1uch green pine had been used, so that the boats were heav­ ~------~~------~----~~----~¥----~~------~-."~---.--.------·~,,~~ ier than if made of seasoned timber On Dec. 31, 1 7 75, Gen. Richard Montgomery was killed as he led one force of a (each bateau weighed at least 400 " surprise" pincers attack on Quebec that failed. Col. Benedict Arnold led the other force. pounds) and were bound to spring leaks as the green wood warped and opened at the seams. Arnold did not hesitate to proceed, however. trail and were left to their fate. At almost the last moment At first all went well. Not until the expedition passed the possible for survival, the starving men obtained relief; the site of present-day Augusta did its troubles begin. The first food came back from Arnold, who found the French of portages proved longer, more numerous and much more the Chaudiere region not hostile to the patriot cause and difficult than indicated by the map Arnold followed. The certainly very kind and helpful to sick, famished men. labor of · carrying supplies and the overly heavy bateaux A few days later, after what is assuredly one of the epic across them reduced the strongest men to exhaustion. marches of history, Arnold stood upon the St. Lawrence Across parts of the Great Carrying Place, heavily burdened shore. A share of his force's fighting strength was already men were forced to wade through knee-deep mud. restored, for these were men of great toughness and resil­ Then as the expedition entered the rugged northwest iency. They were ready, even eager, to move against Que­ Maine wilderness, the weather turned bad. Incessant, cold bec, visible to them atop its fabled rock across the broad rain soaked the men to the skin and brought the Dead river. River to flood height. Had they arrived a day or two earlier, they might have By that time nearly all the bateaux had sprung leaks. taken Quebec with little trouble and significantly altered Several were swamped. Arms were lost; so were provisions. the course of American history. And the provision loss, added to the fact that the expedition The Canadian Lieutenant Governor, Hector Cramahe, now lagged behind the original schedule, meant extreme who was responsible for Quebec's defense in Carleton's hardship and danger. absence, despaired of holding the city when he first learned The forward units were the first to suffer from food of Arnold's arrival on the river's south bank-news that shortage. Of all Arnold's men they performed the heaviest coincided with that of ~lontgomery's ad\·ance to ~ I ontreal . labor and ran the greatest risks. They \vere the trailblazers He had in all nearly a thousand men, but several hundred of

78 U.S. NEWS & W ORLD REPORT. Dec. 1, 1975 -. them were Frc:'nch Canadians of doubtful loyalty; moreover, Montgomery awaited a c,lark stormy night on which to the walls of Quebec were so long that the men had to be launch a perhaps unduly complicated tactical maneuver, very thinly spre..1d. one requiring a dangerous dispersal of his limited forces. However, before Arnold could cross the river (he did so Two noisy rocket-firing feints were to be made against on the day of \tontreal's occupation, November 13), there the Upper Town, where the British garrison was strongest. arrived back in the citadel, after a futile attempt to relieve These were to be followed by a two-pronged main assault the British g,trrison at Fort St. John's, a remarkably able upon the Lower Town. When that was secured, the Upper British officer, Lt. Col. Allen Maclean. He brought with him Town would be attacked. 80 men. Montgomery and 300 men were to attack the town from Maclean and his men immediately took charge of the its south or river-facing side, while Arnold, with 600, at­ city's defense and provided the margin by which Canada, at tacked from the north; the two forces \vere ·to meet and that crucial point, was sa,·ed for the Crown. Soon his mettle become one at a designated point in the eastern part of the was backed up by newly arrived Carleton's authority. Lower Town. On November 1-1, the Americans stood upon the Plains of The awaited northwester arrived with a vengeance on the Abraham [outside the city walls]. Twice Arnold demanded evening of December 30. The snowfall \Vas tremendous, Quebec's surrender. Twice his demand was answered by and there was a high wind. Around 2 o'clock in the morning gunfire. He could not attack "without too great a risk," as on the last day of 1775, the main attacks got under way. he later wrote (probably to General Schuyler): Montgomery and his men, laden with scaling ladders, "We therefore in\'es ted the town and cut off their com­ struggled toward the town through huge drifts and over munication with the country. We continued in this situation great jagged cakes of ice piled up from the river. The until the 20th, having often attempted to draw out the general, at the head of his men, was forced repeatedly to garrison in vain. On a strict pause and wait while the column closed up behind him. scrutiny of our ammuni­ Finally he arrived at a narrow, snow-heaped approach to tion, found many of our a fortified house. Pausing again, he called back along the cartridges (which to ap­ howling wind: "Come on, my good soldiers. Your general pearance were good) inser­ calls upon you to come on." Then, while the column yet viceable and not ten straggled too far behind, he charged the house, believing its occupants to be unaware of him. He was fatally mistaken. There were four pieces of artil­ lery in the house. These and a score of muskets opened fire at close range. ~1ontgomery and several others were killed instantly. Abruptly the column's command devolved upon a Col. Donald Campbell. As gunfire continued ahead, he ordered the column to retreat, leaving the dead and wounded behind on bloodstained snow. Meanwhile, Arnold and his 600 men had forced their way into the Lower Town. They were, alas, expected- the tv,·o Arnold later fled to Britain feints at the Upper Town had wholly failed to distract after betraying the Colonies. Carleton. Heavy fire from palisades and house windows took its toll as the assaulting troops advanced. Arnold, who was leading the way, was wounded in the leg at the first rounds each for the men barricaded street and had to be taken to the rear. . . . and as the garrison Big, brave Dan ~forgan took over the forward command. was daily increasing . Montgomery, first a British of­ He reached the rendezvous point and adYanced beyond it we thought it prudent to ficer, joined rebels in 1772. when ~1ontgomery failed to appear. But as he approached retire." the gateway to the Upper Town and before the main part of He withdrew to Pointe the American column could catch up with him, he and his Aux Trembles, some 20 miles up the river, where General men were cut off and surrounded. They fought desperately, Montgomery joined him "with about 300 men" and "with suffering heavy casualties, until their ammunition gave out. artillery, clothing, etc.," on the morning of :"\ovember 27. They then perforce surrendered, while the remainder of On Dec;:ember 5, Montgomery moved onto the Plains of the patriots withdrew from the town, out onto the Plains of Abraham to begin siege operations. He did so under highly Abraham. disadvantageous conditions. Nearly half of the assault force had been killed, wounded Carleton contemptuously rejected ~1ontgomery 's formal or captured, whereas the British garrison had suffered but calls for surrender. The capable Governor of Canada, later five fatal casualties. knighted for his role in her salvation, saw that he possessed Arnold, despite his wound and his depleted forces, re­ ample stocks of food and fuel; he could hold out if necessary fused to retreat; instead he began to erect defensive works until the spring of 1776, when he was virtually certain of about a mile from Quebec. There he and his men remained being reinforced. He and his men were sheltered against until April of 1776-a ragged, tiny band hopelessly besieg­ the rigorous Canadian winter, as the Americans emphati­ ing a heavily fortified city. cally were not. Moreover, Montgomery had no assurance that the mili­ Eventually, the Americans who had not died or been tiamen whose terms expired at the end of the year would captured during the winter straggled south to rejoin their remain with him. Consequently, he felt forced to launch an countrymen. Other efforts to capture Canada were con· attack on the city, although he realized the hazards of such sidered but never carried out. Ironically, a British attempt an attempt. to divide the American Colonies by pushing south from The assault was planned to achieve a maximum of decep­ Canada also failed-leading to the first . big American tion and surprise, since without these it must surely fail. victory of the war at Saratoga, N.Y.

U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT. Dec. 1, 1975 79