To Quebec: Triumph and Tragedy (1)

To the Gates of Quebec

“We Shall Be Undone”

In the Fall of 1775, the Americans launched an invasion of Canada. The defending British forces were concentrated in the western part of the province, especially at Fort Saint-Jean. In the eastern part of the province, Lieutenant-Colonel Allan Maclean safeguarded Quebec, a strategically valuable city and the seat of government.

Unbeknownst to the British, the American invasion was made in two parts. General Richard Montgomery led the main effort in the west. In the east, Colonel Benedict Arnold led a secretive expedition through the wilderness of Maine and southern Canada in a bid to take the city of surprise. His march was a remarkable achievement, and one of the most celebrated events of the war.

Strategic Situation: November-December, 1775 (click to enlarge).

Arnold’s expedition was nearly successful as British attention was focused elsewhere. At the time Arnold reached the St. Lawrence River, the city of Quebec was defended by only a handful of regulars. Maclean, and most of his men had moved west to Sorel. Meanwhile, a number of English merchants in Quebec scarcely hid their hopes that the Americans would take over. However, word of Arnold’s expedition leaked out, and the British removed all small craft from the south shore of the river. This stymied Arnold just long enough. By the time the Americans were across the St. Lawrence, Maclean and his men were back in the garrison. [1]

At this point, the city of Quebec was not in imminent danger, but its fall looked inevitable. Maclean lamented:

“…we have been now ten days invested so that we can get nothing into the Town, and our provisions are by no means Adequate to Maintain the Number of Inhabitants, and if we turn out some thousands, we run a very great risk of having the Canadian Militia Mutiny… But what above all gives me the greatest uneasiness is, that the very best Train of Artillery in Canada fell into the hands of the Rebells at St. John's, there is not a single piece of Brass Ordnance in the Whole Province that they have not got, and if they have got a ship that lay at Montreal with 2000 Barrells of Powder, which I am afraid is the case, we shall be undone…”

Fortunately for the British, the supply of gunpowder had been thrown into the St. Lawrence.

Also, the American army was on the point of dissolution.

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“Patience and Perseverance”

Brigadier-General Richard Montgomery’s men had spent a miserable campaign in the swampy forestland around Fort Saint-Jean, during which time much of the army was debilitated by illness. Now the Canadian winter was at hand, and the men were without adequate clothing. Provisions were chronically in short supply and the army was essentially bankrupt. It didn’t help either that most of the Americans’ terms of enlistment were set to expire on December 31st, and the men longed to be with their families again.

Montgomery issued a proclamation at Montreal on November 15 in which he made “acknowledgment to the troops for their patience and perseverance during the course of a fatiguing campaign.” Rather than force dispirited men to campaign with him any longer, he offered “Passess, together with boats and provisions… for such as choose to return home…” However, he asked “the troops not to lay him under the necessity of abandoning Canada; of undoing in one day what has been the work of months,” and he hoped “that none will leave him at this critical juncture but such whose affairs or health absolutely require their return home…”

Montgomery also asked the men to extend their enlistments until April 15th, by which time new regiments could be raised in the colonies and sent into Canada. By way of enticement, he wrote: “Those who engage in this honorable cause shall be furnished completely with every article of clothing requisite for the rigor of the climate, blanket-coats, coats, waistcoat and breeches, one pair of stockings, two shirts, leggins, sacks, shoes, mittens, and a cap, at the Continental charge, and one dollar bounty.”

The response was disappointing. The Green Mountain Boys chose to return home, so too did Bedel’s Rangers, and most of the troops from Connecticut. At least many in Montgomery’s own New York regiments agreed to stick it out. Major John Brown also remained along with many of his men, and James Livingston retained a corps of Canadian troops (soon to be reorganized as the 1st Canadian Regiment).

Another unit that had planned on departing was Lamb’s artillery company. Cannoneer Robert Barwick recorded in his journal on November 18, “our Capt [John Lamb] Came up to know the minds of our Company about [en]Listing but there was scarce one of them that would consent to it, as they been so long from home and wanted to go Back.” [2]

Lamb’s men, however, seem to have been given the option to leave only after the other unwilling men were dismissed. Lamb’s men then “were told what Difficulty it was in getting down the Lakes in the winter[, and] they began to think it would be best to [en]list again…” Once the other units departed, the Americans suffered from a shortage of bateaux -- the one practical means of returning to New York.

Therefore, Barwick, in spite of his wishes, “went forwards to Quebec although I had but about 4 or 5 weeks to serve of my old inlistment.” Most of the company followed suit.

Montgomery then began to send the troops downriver aboard the vessels captured at Sorel.

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“To Die with a Hero”

Lieutenant John Copp of the 1st New York Regiment left Montreal on December 1st and reached Quebec on the 6th. He wrote the following day, “We met herewith Colonel Arnold and his Detachment from Cambridge, he has about 600 men who have suffered innumerable hardships on their March hither. He is really a brave Man, and will no doubt, if his Life is spared, do honor to the American Arms. Great part of the Army left us when they were most wanted, but I flatter myself we shall be able to do without them. The more Danger, the more Glory. If Quebec is taken all is Ours…” [3]

But Copp admitted that the situation was hardly promising: “the place appears to be almost impregnable… This Evening our Bombardment is to go on, and the Artillery to begin their Attack in different places. Our Chief difficulty is in erecting Batteries, on account of the Frost having hardened the Ground too much for throwing it up.”

The same mix of optimism and fatalism appears in a letter written the same day by an officer stationed at Fort Saint-Jean (now an American depot):

“Heaven seems still to smile upon us… This is the time of the year when in common the rivers about here are froze up, but we have this day calm moderate weather, with a fair wind to carry down the boats with the powder… Gen. Montgomery landed at Point aux Trembles last Friday the 1st inst. on Saturday part of his Army marched for Quebec and he was to follow with the remainder the next day; This we call great news, & if it is true that fortune favours the brave, success must attend our General, for a braver man does not tread on America nor on English leather; to die with such a man is to die with a Hero indeed.” [4]

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Notes:

1. Maclean left Sorel for other reasons and learned of Arnold's arrival on the St. Lawrence while returning to Quebec.

2. Barwick's journal appears in the series, Naval Documents of the Revolutionary War.

3. Source.

4. Source. The last passage is of course remarkably prescient. I got the chills when reading it.

Surrender at Lavaltrie

This is the most recent entry in a series of posts on the American invasion of Canada. The previous post can be found here. For an index of all posts, see here.

British Governor Guy Carleton abandoned Montreal on November 11, 1775, and headed for Quebec. Carleton sailed with an 11-vessel flotilla that included the British regulars that had garrisoned Montreal. The flotilla reached Sorel on the 15th, where they found their passage blocked by American forces under Colonel James Easton. Easton had placed a 12-pounder gun was placed in a gondola that was rowed out into the shipping channel. He also had on shore one battery of two 6-pounders, and another of one 9-pounder and three 12-pounders. Overseeing the guns was Lieutenant Martin Johnston of Lamb’s artillery company.

When the British vessels neared these guns, the Americans fired seven cannon balls into the lead vessel (probably the Gaspee), causing havoc on board [1]. According to Benjamin Trumbull, the British then attempted to land some of “their men and Effects,” but they were thwarted by Canadian volunteers allied with the Americans. The flotilla then turned about and anchored upstream.

Easton sent a message to Carleton, in which he gloatingly wrote, “You are very sensible I am in Possession at this Place, and from the Strength of the United Colonies on both sides, your own situation is Rendered very disagreeable.” He warned that if Carleton did not surrender, “you will cherefully take the Consequences which will Follow.”

Soon thereafter, Easton advanced some guns close to the British anchorage, and forced them to retreat still further upstream. This time they anchored near Lavaltrie.

From Sorel to Lavaltrie. The routes taken by the American forces are conjectural.

When American Brigadier-General Richard Montgomery learned that Carleton had been trapped, he asked Colonel Timothy Bedel to take his regiment (Bedel’s Rangers) and the Green Mountain Boys to Easton’s assistance. As an incentive to the troops, he offered them “All public stores, except ammunition and provisions.” Bedel’s men chose to march; the Green Mountain Boys did not.

At Lavaltrie, Governor Carleton weighed his options. The wind was still not in his favor, and the Americans were closing in. He accepted the offer of one of his Canadian ship captains (Bouchette) to lead him past the Americans in a small boat. Carleton then ordered Brigadier-General Richard Prescott to make his way as best he could with the flotilla. As a last resort, Prescott was to throw his guns and gunpowder overboard and surrender.

On the night of November 16-17, Captain Bouchette, Governor Carleton, and two of Carleton’s aides (de Lanaudière and de Niverville) rowed quietly downstream (the oars were wrapped in cloth to dampen the noise). When their boat neared the Americans, the men silently paddled with their hands. By morning, they were well out into Lac Saint Pierre. Carleton reached Quebec on the 20th.

Prescott did not attempt a breakout, and on the 19th he agreed to surrender. The Americans thus captured 11 officers, 9 sergeants, 5 drummers and fifers, 113 rank and file, a large number of sailors, some prominent French and English Canadians, and a few artillerymen. Also on board was a large supply of provisions, including 760 barrels of pork and 675 barrels of flour. Prescott had most of the gunpowder thrown overboard, but the Americans still captured much-needed ordinance and ammunition [2].

In this manner, the Americans finished off the 26th Regiment of Foot, and Montgomery obtained the means to convey his army from Montreal to Quebec. Montgomery was astonished by the ease of this victory, writing “I blush for His Majesty's troops! Such an instance of base poltroonery I never met with!”

Notes:

1. As was the case with the attack on the Fell, I’m unsure how many casualties were inflicted. At least one soldier was killed -- a sergeant in the 26th Regiment (see here).

2. Most of the infantry were from the 26th Regiment; the rest were odds and ends of the 7th Regiment and the Royal Highland Emigrants. Click on the following links for a tally of the loss in officers, enlisted men, ordinance, and provisions.

Skirmish at Rivière Saint-Jean (3)

This is the third and final post devoted to a skirmish at Rivière Saint-Jean in southern Canada that took place on September 18, 1775. For the events immediately preceding this skirmish, click here. For transcriptions of journal entries recorded by the participants, click here.

On September 17, 1775, the Americans advanced on Fort Saint-Jean, in southern Canada, for the third time. Unlike the earlier attempts (September 6 and September 10), this time the British offered no outward resistance. The Americans took up positions to the south and northwest of the fort, which placed the garrison in a state of siege. Early on September 18th, the British garrison learned of its predicament. Lieutenant William Duff of the 7th Foot was dispatched with about 30 Canadian volunteers to round up cattle from farms north of the fort and to scout out the American position to the northwest. Also, Guillaume de Lorimier, with a few Indians, was sent to scout out the American position to the south.

When Duff returned to the fort, he reported that the American force to the northwest was small, and the fortification it had erected was crude. Major Preston then dispatched Captain John Stronge with around 100 men of the 7th and 26th regiments, with nearly as many Canadian volunteers, and a field piece to drive away the Americans. The force they attacked was much smaller: about 50 Americans and 34 Canadians under the command of Major John Brown.

Brown’s men fired as the British approached, killing Sieur Beaubien dit Desauniers of the Canadians and wounding Corporal Knowles and Private Kelly of the 7th. The British, for their part, fired and charged. This fire possibly wounded several of Brown’s men, who quickly fled into the woods. [1]

British infantry and Canadian volunteers capture a breastwork near Fort Saint-Jean.

Canadian Antoine Dupré was the first man to climb into the breastwork; there he captured a couple of men, including Moses Hazen, a retired British officer and a prominent local landowner.

Hazen had been Brown's prisoner; he was captured the day before while traveling to his fields. However, the British suspected the worst of him and kept him as their own prisoner. The suspicion was deserved. Hazen had secretly contacted the Americans on September 6. On September 11, the British gave him a captain’s commission and orders to raise a company of militia. He did neither.

The British sortie against Brown’s command surprised the American leadership. Brigadier-General Richard Montgomery had intended Brown’s position to remain secret until he could move 500 men into position to support him. However, Brown was defeated before the American movement began. As soon as the sound of musket fire boomed across the flat woodland, Montgomery raced to get his forces into motion.

On the river, the Schuyler and Hancock rowed towards the fort and opened fire with their 12-pounders. This fire reportedly struck a bateau and the British schooner, the Royal Savage, but apparently did no other harm. The British responded with shell fire, but they, too, were unable to inflict casualties.

On land, Colonel Timothy Bedel led around 500 men from Bedel’s Rangers (his regiment), the 4th Connecticut, and the Green Mountain Boys, on a circuitous march through the wet woodland north and west of Saint-Jean. En route, Bedel received conflicting advice: a Canadian guide wanted to take Bedel directly to the site of the earlier skirmish, while a Huron guide wanted to take Bedel further to the east, so as to cut off the British detachment from the fort. Bedel, not understanding the Indian’s intention, and fearing treachery, took the Canadian’s advice.

Skirmish at Rivière Saint-Jean (click to enlarge). The British attack is shown in red. The advance of the American relief force is shown in blue.

The Americans advanced noisily through the woods, and the British opened fire the moment they came into view. According to Lieutenant John Fassett of Vermont, “They gave us a hot fire. The grape shot and Musket balls flew very thick…”

Bedel's Column Forms for Battle.

Benjamin Trumbull (who at the time was in the main American camp), claimed that the British fire wounded two Americans (including a Captain John Watson of the 4th Connecticut), and that a piece of grape shot accidentally killed one Briton (that would be, based on other evidence, Private Alexander Ross of the 26th). Before the Americans could deploy, the British scrambled for the safety of their fort. Bedel then occupied the breastwork Brown had built.

Once again, Fort Saint-Jean was in a state of siege.

Note:

1. See this letter from Major Israel Morey to the New-Hampshire Committee of Safety.

Skirmish at Rivière Saint-Jean (2)

In early September, 1775, Major-General Philip Schuyler led an American army into southern Canada. It was the first American offensive of the war and the first major test of the new Continental army. The first advances against British-held Fort Saint-Jean met with disappointment (see here and here). On September 17-18, however, the Americans were successful in laying siege to the fort. I describe these events in this post and in another that will follow. For an earlier treatment of this subject, see here.

On September 11, 1775, the Americans were encamped south of Fort Saint-Jean. Their supply line consisted of a flotilla of small vessels operating on the Richelieu River. When a British schooner, the Royal Savage, threatened to disrupt this supply line, the Americans retreated to a more secure base on L'Île-aux-Noix.

On September 14, Schuyler learned that a force of Canadian Volunteers had taken the field under the command of James Livingston. Schuyler dispatched Major John Brown of Massachusetts to support Livingston with about 100 Americans and 34 Canadians. These men circled around Fort Saint-Jean and established a base between the American army and the friendly Canadians.

Meanwhile, hundreds of men had fallen ill in the American camp and were either discharged or sent south to recuperate. Fortunately, reinforcements started arriving at L’Île-aux-Noix, which partially offset the loss in strength. The new troops included a company of the 4th New York Regiment, 100 of Bedel’s Rangers, and 170 Green Mountain Boys.

Schuyler was also ill, and he soon turned over command of the army to Brigadier-General Richard Montgomery. Before he left, the two generals made plans for a new attack on Fort Saint-Jean.

The American plan was to divide into three parts: a) 500 men would circle around the fort, and cut the British supply lines, b) 200 men would establish a base south of the fort, and c) 350 men would defend the Americans’ own supply lines against the Royal Savage.

None of the American vessels was strong enough to confront the Royal Savage directly. Instead, the Schuyler and Montgomery planned on using the row galleys Hancock and Schuyler to fire on the vessel, while “picked men” aboard Liberty, Enterprise, and 10 bateaux would board it. [1]

American Invasion of Canada: September 16, 1775 (click to enlarge). The blue circles in the Richelieu River Valley show the positions of the main American army under Mongtomery at L'Île-aux-Noix, Brown's detachment near Fort Saint-Jean, and Livingston's Canadian forces near Chambly.

Schuyler left the army on September 16, and Montgomery led the attack against Saint-Jean on the following day. The operation faced minimal opposition. [2]

To the northwest, John Brown’s men captured eight wagons bringing supplies to the fort. Brown then threw down the bridge over Rivière Saint-Jean and erected a crude fortification from the wooden beams. Fort Saint-Jean was now in a state of siege, although the garrison did not know it.

Interception. Brown's Americans and Canadians seize a British waggon train and hide the supplies in the nearby woods.

To the south, the American flotilla advanced downstream and found that the Royal Savage was stationed near the fort and out of effective fire range. Hancock and Schuyler advanced a short ways further and fired on the fort and on British bateaux in the river. The British in Fort Saint-Jean replied with howitzer shells, but made no other movement.

Montgomery’s land forces disembarked without incident and reoccupied the abandoned breastworks south of the fort. In the words of Lieutenant John Fassett of the Green Mountain Boys, “We arrived at the breast work before night and found no Molestation, tho’ we expected a battle as much as we expected to get there. The whole army soon came up where we all staid that night and had nothing to cover us but the heavens and it was very cold and they flung Bom[b]s among us [i.e., howitzer shells] and we had a very tedious night of it indeed.”

Notes:

1. Hancock and Schuyler each carried a double-fortified 12-pounder and 12 swivel guns. Enterprise was armed with two 6-pounders, four 3-pounders, and 11 swivel guns. Liberty was armed with two 2-pounders and 10 swivel guns.

2. The British commander, Major Charles Preston, had been abandoned by most of his Indian allies over the past week. Without these men, it was difficult to track (much less stop) American movements in the wilderness surrounding the fort. The Indians left for several reasons, including earlier diplomatic efforts by the Americans and the fact that their Canadian neighbors generally favored the American cause.