Invasion of Quebec (1775)

Invasion of Canada, 1775 Part of the American Revolutionary War Death of General Montgomery in the Attack on Quebec (John Trumbull, 1786) Date 1775–1776 Location Primarily the Lake Champlain and St. Lawrence River valleys Result Defeat of Colonial invasion; British counter-offensive Belligerents United Colonies File:CONGRESSOWNen.jpg Canadian regiments (1st and 2nd) British Empire Canadian militia Commanders and leaders Richard Montgomery † Benedict Arnold Guy Carleton Strength Around 4,000 700-10,000+ Casualties and losses 400~ KIA 650~ Wounded 1,500~ Captured Total: 2,500 Killed, Wounded or Captured 100~ KIA 230~ Wounded 600~ Captured 930~ Killed, Wounded or Captured

The Invasion of Canada in 1775 was the first major military initiative by colonial separatist forces during the American Revolutionary War. One expedition left Fort Ticonderoga under Richard Montgomery, besieged and captured Fort St. John, and very nearly captured British General Guy Carleton when taking Montreal. The other expedition left Cambridge, Massachusetts under Benedict Arnold, and traveled with great difficulty through the wilderness of Maine to Quebec. The two forces joined there, but were defeated at the Battle of Quebec in December 1775.

The British sent several thousand troops, including General John Burgoyne and Hessian mercenaries, to reinforce those at Quebec in May 1776. General Carleton then launched a counter-offensive, ultimately driving the American forces back to Fort Ticonderoga. The Americans, under Arnold's command, were able to hinder the British advance sufficiently that an attack could not be mounted on Ticonderoga in 1776. The end of the campaign set the stage for the Saratoga campaign of 1777.

In the only significant attempt at rebellion in Nova Scotia, an American-born (likely Massachusetts) Nova Scotian named Jonathan Eddy raised a small force in November 1775 and attempted to take Fort Cumberland. This action was not formally sanctioned by the Continental Congress, and failed in December.

the canada was a whor eby itself it was never invaded you whore

Montgomery's expedition

Approach to St. John

The primary thrust of the invasion was to be led by General Schuyler, going up Lake Champlain to assault Montreal and then Quebec City. The expedition was to be composed of forces from New York, Connecticut, and New Hampshire, as well as the Green Mountain Boys under Ethan Allen, with provisions supplied by New York. However, Schuyler was overly cautious, and by mid-August the colonists were receiving reports that General Carleton was fortifying defensive positions outside Montreal, and that some Native tribes had joined with the British.

In mid-August, Schuyler went to Albany for conference with the Iroquois. On August 28, General Montgomery, taking advantage of Schuyler's absence (and in the absence of orders authorizing movement), led 1,200 troops that had mustered at Ticonderoga, up to a forward position at Ile aux Noix, arriving September 4. Schuyler, who was falling ill, caught up with the troops en route. He dispatched a letter to James Livingston, a Canadian prepared to raise local militia forces in support of the American effort, to circulate in the area south of Montreal. The next day, the forces went down the river to Fort St. John, where, after seeing the defenses and a brief skirmish in which both sides suffered casualties, they withdrew to Ile aux Noix. The skirmish, which involved mostly Natives on the British side, was not supported from the fort, ultimately causing the Natives to withdraw from the conflict. At this point, General Schuyler became too ill to continue, so command was turned over to Montgomery, and Schuyler left for Fort Ticonderoga on September 16.

Siege

While waiting for appropriate weather conditions, Montgomery received word from Livingston that he had raised a small force and captured supplies bound for Fort St. John, and that, if action were to be taken, he could raise a thousand men. Furthermore, another 800-1000 men arrived from Connecticut, New Hampshire, and New York, as well as some of the Green Mountain Boys. Montgomery laid siege to the fort beginning September 18, cutting off its supply line from Montreal. During the siege, numerous attempts by the British to resupply the fort by boat resulted in the capture of supplies by the Americans. Ethan Allen was captured in the Battle of Longue-Pointe, when, overstepping instructions to merely raise local militia, he attempted to take Montreal with a small force of men. This event resulted in a brief upturn in militia support for the British; but the effects were relatively short-lived, with many deserting again in the following days.

In October, Livingston (who would also be instrumental in the recruitment of Moses Hazen, who went on to lead the 2nd Canadian Regiment) and a group of 300 locally-raised men and 50 Americans captured Fort Chambly, downriver from St. John. The prize included military supplies and weaponry, including powder that the fort's commander had not seen fit to destroy. News of this capture apparently led to the increasing desertion of militia in Montreal.

After 45 days of siege, Fort St. John's commander surrendered on November 3, resulting in the capture of more British military supplies. Montgomery then led his troops north and occupied Saint Paul's Island in the Saint Lawrence River on November 8, crossing to Pointe Saint-Charles on the following day, where he was greeted as a liberator. Montreal fell without any significant fighting on November 13, as Major-General Carleton, deciding that the city was indefensible (and having suffered significant militia desertion upon the news of the fall of St. John), withdrew. He barely escaped capture, as the Americans had crossed the river downstream of the city, and winds prevented his fleet from departing right away. When his fleet neared Sorel, it was approached by a boat carrying a truce flag. The boat carried a demand for surrender, claiming that batteries downstream would otherwise destroy the convoy. Based on uncertain knowledge of how real these batteries were, Carleton elected to sneak off the ship, after ordering the dumping of powder and ammunition if surrender was deemed necessary. (There were batteries in place, but not nearly as powerful as those claimed.) On November 19, the British fleet surrendered; Carleton, disguised as a common man, made his way to Quebec City. The captured ships included prisoners that the British had taken; among these was Moses Hazen, a Massachusetts-born expatriate with property near Fort St. John whose poor treatment by the British turned him against them. Hazen, who had combat experience in the French and Indian War, and would go on to lead the 2nd Canadian Regiment throughout the war, joined Montgomery's army.

Montgomery, who lost of much his army due to expiring enlistments, then used captured boats to move towards Quebec City with about 300 troops on November 28, leaving about 200 in Montreal under the command of General David Wooster. Along the way, he picked up James Livingston's 1st Canadian Regiment of about 200 men.

American attack on Quebec: routes of the Arnold and Montgomery expeditions

Arnold's expedition

The second expedition was led by Benedict Arnold, who had earlier distinguished himself in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. In September 1775, the Continental Congress generally adopted Arnold's plan for the invasion of Canada, but Arnold was not included in the command structure for the effort. Thus rebuffed, Arnold returned to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and approached George Washington with the idea of a supporting eastern invasion force aimed at Quebec City.

Planning and Departure

Because there had been little direct action at Boston after the Battle of Bunker Hill in June, many units were bored with garrison life and eager for action. Washington agreed with Arnold's proposal. He appointed Arnold a colonel, and they worked to recruit troops to go on the expedition. Arnold eventually selected a force of 750 men, to which Washington added 250 riflemen, including Daniel Morgan's company. The frontiersmen, from the Virginia and Pennsylvania wilderness, were better suited to wilderness combat than to a siege. The entire force numbered about 1100.

The plan called for the men to cover the 180 miles (290 km) from the Kennebec River to Quebec in 20 days. They expected to find relatively light defenses since British Commander Carleton would be busy handling Schuyler's forces at Montreal. Arnold sent ahead to Fort Western (in the Province of Maine) to have supplies and bateaux readied for his force. The expedition departed on September 11, marching to Newburyport, where the took to the sea on the 19th. They arrived at Gardinerston on the 22nd, and spent several days at Fort Western organizing supplies and preparing the boats they would use for the river portion of the trek.

Troubles in the wilderness

The men expected to go up the Kennebec River and then descend the Chaudière River to Quebec. After staying for three days at Colburn's Shipyard in Gardinerston, where Reuben Colburn built the bateaux at Washington's request in just 15 days, they set out from Fort Western on September 25. Their troubles began almost immediately.

Every time there were significant rapids, it necessitated a portage, which could easily occupy the forces for a whole day. The bateaux, which were built from green, split pine planks because of a lack of dried lumber at that time of year, were extremely heavy, and, due to their rapid construction and the abuses of portaging, began to leak almost immediately. This, combined with poor rowing techniques by the inexperienced troops, led to water infiltrating the supplies and spoiling some of the food stores. Colburn traveled with the army, repairing the bateaux as they went, but in hauling them upstream and lowering them down the Chaudière, many supplies and some men were lost. Rain and violent storms ruined more, and rendered many of the portages into swampy morasses. On October 24, Lieutenant Colonel Roger Enos, with his men in near revolt, turned back with his division, taking 300 men and some of the dwindling supplies with him.

To compound the logistical difficulties, the maps the expedition had started with were of poor quality, and the intelligence they had did not describe the difficulties of the route, even though both French and British military had previously investigated the route. The journey turned out to be 350 miles (560 km), not 180. After the expedition ran out of supplies, the men began to eat anything, including their dogs, their shoes, cartridge boxes, leather, moss, and tree bark.

Arrival at Quebec

On November 9, the expedition reached the southern shore of the St. Lawrence River; Arnold had about 600 of his original 1,100 men. The forces crossed the St. Lawrence in canoes on the night of November 13-14 after three days of bad weather, likely crossing the mile-wide river between HMS Hunter and HMS Lizard, which were guarding the river against such a crossing.

The city of Quebec was then defended by about 150 men of the Royal Highland Emigrants under Lieutenant Colonel Allen Maclean, supported by about 500 poorly organized local militia and 400 marines from the two warships. When Arnold and his troops finally reached the Plains of Abraham on November 14, Arnold sent a negotiator with a white flag to demand their surrender, but to no avail. The Americans, with no cannons, and barely fit for action, faced a fortified city. Arnold, after hearing of a planned sortie from the city, decided on November 19 to withdraw to Pointe-aux-Trembles to wait for Montgomery. As he headed upriver, Carleton returned to Quebec by river following his defeat at Montreal.

Finally, on December 2, Montgomery came down river from Montreal with 500 troops and bringing captured British supplies and winter clothing. The two forces united, and plans were made for an attack on the city.

Battle and siege of Quebec

Template:Details3 Montgomery joined Arnold and James Livingston in an assault on Quebec City during a snowstorm on December 31, 1775. Outnumbered and lacking any sort of tactical advantage, they were soundly defeated by Carleton. Montgomery was killed, Arnold was wounded, and many men were taken prisoner, including Daniel Morgan. Carleton chose not to pursue the Americans, opting instead to stay within the fortifications of the city, and await reinforcements that might be expected to arrive when the river thawed in the spring. Arnold maintained a somewhat ineffectual siege over the city, until March 1776, when he was ordered to Montreal and replaced by General Wooster. Following the battle, Arnold sent Moses Hazen and Edward Antill, another expatriate American, to report the defeat and request support to Wooster in Montreal, and also to the Congress in Philadelphia.

Discontent in Montreal

Template:Details3 When General Montgomery left Montreal for Quebec City, he left the administration of the city in the hands of Connecticut's Brigadier General David Wooster. While Wooster at first had decent relations with the community, he took a number of steps that caused the local population to come to dislike the American military presence. After promising American ideals to the population, he began arresting Loyalists and threatening arrest and punishment of anyone opposed to the American cause. He also disarmed several communities, and attempted to force local militia members to surrender their Crown commissions. Those who refused were arrested and imprisoned at Fort Chambly. These and similar acts, combined with the fact that the Americans were paying for supplies and services with paper money rather than coin, served to disillusion the local population about the entire American enterprise. On March 20, Wooster left to take command of the forces at Quebec City, leaving Moses Hazen, who had raised the 2nd Canadian Regiment, in command of Montreal until Arnold arrived on April 19.

On April 29, a delegation consisting of three members of the Continental Congress, along with a Catholic priest and a French printer from Philadelphia, arrived in Montreal. The Congress had assigned this delegation the task of assessing the situation in Quebec, and attempting to sway public opinion to their cause.

Reinforcements arrive at Quebec City

General Wooster arrived in the American camp outside Quebec City in early April with reinforcements. More reinforcements continued to arrive from the south, until General John Thomas arrived at the end of April and assumed command of a force that was nominally over 2,000 strong, but in reality significantly diminished by the effects of smallpox and the hardships of the Canadian winter. On May 2, rumors began circulating that British ships were coming up the river. Thomas decided on May 5 to evacuate the sick to Trois-Rivières, with the rest of the forces to withdraw as soon as practical. Late on that day he received intelligence that 15 ships were 40 leagues below the city, awaiting favorable conditions to come up the river.

The pace of camp evacuation took on a sense of urgency early on the morning of the 6th when ships masts were spotted; the wind had changed, and 3 ships of the fleet had reached the city. Carleton, having been informed of pace of activity in the American camp, rapidly unloaded reinforcements from the arrived ships, and around noon marched with a force of about 900 troops to test the Americans. The American response was essentially panic; a disorganized retreat began that might have ended even more disastrously for the Americans had Carleton pressed his advantage. He contented himself with sending ships up the river to harass the Americans, and to possibly cut off them off. He also captured a number of Americans, mostly sick and wounded, but also a detachment of troops that had been abandoned on the south side of the St. Lawrence. The Americans, in their hurry to get away, left numerous valuable military effects, including cannon and gunpowder, in their wake. They regrouped on the 7th at Deschambault, about 40 miles upriver from Quebec City. A war council was held, in which most of the leadership favored retreat. Thomas opted to send word to Montreal, requesting assistance, since many of the troops had little more than the clothes on their backs and a few days rations.

The Congressional delegation in Montreal, upon hearing this news, determined that holding the Saint Lawrence would no longer be possible, and dispatched only a small number of troops toward Deschambault. Thomas, after waiting for six days for word from Montreal and hearing none, began to withdraw toward Trois-Rivières, but not before having to fight off skirmishers that forces landed from British ships on the river. They reached Trois-Rivières on May 15, where they left the sick, and a detachment of New Jersey troops to defend them.

Carleton's counteroffensive

Guy Carleton

Template:Details3 On May 6, 1776, a small squadron of British ships under Captain Charles Douglas arrived to relieve Quebec with supplies and 3,000 troops, forcing the Americans to immediately retreat. A few weeks later, British forces in Quebec were strengthened by even more troops under General John Burgoyne and Hessian mercenaries. Another attempt was made by the Revolutionaries to push back towards Quebec, but it failed at Trois-Rivières on June 8. The new American commander, General Thomas, died of smallpox.

Carleton then launched his own invasion and defeated Arnold in the Battle of Valcour Island in October. Arnold fell back to Fort Ticonderoga, where the invasion of Canada had begun. The invasion of Canada ended as a disaster for the Americans, but Arnold's improvised navy on Lake Champlain had the effect of delaying a full-scale British counter thrust until the Saratoga campaign of 1777. Carleton was heavily criticized in London for not pursuing the American retreat from Quebec more aggressively, and so command of the 1777 offensive was given to General Burgoyne instead.

Aftermath

Conquering Canada remained a key objective of Congress throughout the war though George Washington, who had supported the first invasion, considered any further expeditions a low priority that would divert men and resources away from the main war in the Thirteen Colonies. There were some minor efforts, usually by Americans who had migrated into the northern provinces, to take actions in support of the revolution. The most notable of these was the Eddy Rebellion of November 1776, in which Massachusetts expatriate Jonathan Eddy, who received some funding and supplies from George Washington, tried, but failed, to take Fort Cumberland in central Nova Scotia.

During the Paris peace talks, the American negotiators unsuccessfully demanded all of Quebec as part of the war spoils. Benjamin Franklin, primarily interested in the Ohio Country, which had been made part of Quebec by the Quebec Act of 1774, suggested in the peace talks that Quebec should be surrendered to America; only the Ohio Country was ceded.

In the War of 1812 the Americans launched another invasion of Canada, again expecting the local populace to support them. The failed invasion is now regarded as significant in Canadian history and it has even been claimed as the birth of modern Canada.

Casualties

Returns of the Continental Army troops from Canada in May 1776, which show how hard the campaign was on the soldiers:

• Colonel Reed's Regt., N.H. 350 Soldiers Fit for duty, 81 Sick
• Colonel Stark's Regt., N.H. 389 Soldiers Fit for duty, 40 Sick
• Colonel Poor's Regt., N.H. 406 Soldiers Fit for duty, 96 Sick
• Colonel Paterson's Regt., Mass 238 Soldiers Fit for duty, 71 Sick
• Colonel Greaton's Regt., Mass. 281 Soldiers Fit for duty, 52 Sick
• Colonel Bond's Regt., Mass. 230 Soldiers Fit for duty, 43 Sick
• Colonel Wayne's Regt., Penn. 128 Soldiers Fit for duty, 28 Sick
• Colonel Irvine's Regt., Penn. 609 Soldiers Fit for duty, 33 Sick
• Colonel Dayton's Regt., N.J. 528 Soldiers Fit for duty, 28 Sick
• Colonel Wind's Regt., N.J. 377 Soldiers Fit for duty, 28 Sick
• Colonel De Haas' Regt., Penn. 471 Soldiers Fit for duty, 68 Sick
• Colonel Bedel's Regt., N.H. 106 Soldiers Fit for duty, 53 Sick
• Colonel Maxwell’s Regt., N.J. 227 Soldiers Fit for duty, 64 Sick
• Colonel Burrell's Regt., Conn. 279 Soldiers Fit for duty, 263 Sick
• Colonel Porter's Regt., Mass. 109 Soldiers Fit for duty, 254 Sick
• Colonel St. Clair's Regt., Penn. 312 Soldiers Fit for duty, 51 Sick

• Total: 5,040 soldiers fit for duty and 1,253 sick

References

• Alden, John R (1969). A history of the American Revolution. Knopf. ISBN 0-306-80366-6. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help)
• Coffin, Victor (1896). The Province of Quebec and the Early American Revolution. University of Wisconsin Press.
• Kingsford, William (1892). The History of Canada, Volume 5. Roswell & Hutchinson.
• Porter, Joseph Whitcomb (1877). Memoir of Col. Jonathan Eddy of Eddington, Me: With Some Account of the Eddy Family, and of the Early Settlers on Penobscot River. Sprague, Owen & Nash.
• Lossing, Benson John (1888). The Empire State: A Compendious History of the Commonwealth of New York. Funk & Wagnalls.
• Shelton, Hal T (1996). General Richard Montgomery and the American Revolution: From Redcoat to Rebel. NYU Press. ISBN 9780814780398.
• Smith, Justin H (1903). Arnold's March from Cambridge to Quebec. G. P. Putnams Sons. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help) This book includes a reprint of Arnold's diary of his march.
• Smith, Justin H (1907). Our Struggle for the Fourteenth Colony, vol 1. G.P. Putnam's Sons. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help)
• Smith, Justin H (1907). Our Struggle for the Fourteenth Colony, vol 2. G.P. Putnam's Sons. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help)
• Stanley, George (1973). Canada Invaded 1775-1776. Hakkert.
• Thayer, Simeon (1867). The Invasion of Canada in 1775: Including the Journal of Captain Simeon Thayer, Describing the Perils and Sufferings of the Army Under Colonel Benedict Arnold, in Its March Through the Wilderness to Quebec. Knowles, Anthony & Co. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

Further reading

• Bird, Harrison (1968). Attack on Quebec. Oxford University Press. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help)
• Codman, John (1902). Arnold's Expedition to Quebec. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help)
• Desjardin, Thomas A (2006). Through a Howling Wilderness: Benedict Arnold's March to Quebec, 1775. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-33904-6. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help)
• Hatch, Robert McConnell (1979). Thrust for Canada: The American Attempt on Quebec in 1775–1776. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-27612-8. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help)
• Roberts, Kenneth Lewis (1980). March to Quebec: Journals of the Members of Arnold's Expedition. Down East Books. ISBN 9780892720835.
• Template:Fr Rumilly, Robert (1970). Histoire de Montréal. Vol. Volume 2. Fides. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help)