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The Battle of Quebec
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The Battle of Quebec |
It was early fall of 1775. General George Washington had taken command of the rag-tag, bobtail state's militia camped around Boston, and was endeavoring to turn the "rabble" into an army. He and the Continental Congress made the decision on June 27 to wrest Quebec and the St. Lawrence River from the British. They erroneously assumed that the tens of thousands of French-Canadians would gladly join the thirteen colonies in rebellion. Out of this momentous decision came one of the most amazing military expeditions of all time: Colonel Benedict Arnold's birch bark-canoe invasion of Canada, the first amphibious military assault in our nation's history. Arnold was to lead 1,100 soldiers from Massachusetts to Maine, then up the Kennebec and Dead Rivers into Canada by way of the Chaudiere River to Quebec City. Another army under Generals Phillip Schuyler and Richard Montgomery was to invade from New York, take Montreal, then meet Colonel Arnold at Quebec. This all came about, but ended in defeat for the Americans inasmuch as the British were well-positioned at Quebec, and Arnold's small army had been reduced by half by desertions. The French-Canadians did not rally to the American flag. Montgomery, replacing an ill Schuyler, was killed early in the attack; Arnold was wounded; and the campaign dissolved into disaster and retreat for the dejected remnants of the invading army.
Synopsis:
In Massachusetts on September 13, Benedict Arnold set out for Canada in
command of 1,000 volunteers including Captain Daniel Morgan. Arnold planned
to march up through Maine into Canada. The route turned out to be very
difficult for the poorly supplied force with many portages to navigate,
snowstorms and illness. On September 16, Schuyler returned to Fort
Ticonderoga due to ill health, leaving Montgomery in command. On September
25, Ethan Allen was captured during a failed attack on the British fort at
St. Johns. On October 25, Benedict Arnold lost 350 men who turned
back, but the remaining 600 continued on. After a long siege on November 2,
St. Johns fell to General Montgomery. On November 8, Benedict Arnold arrived
at Point Levis on the St. Lawrence River, opposite of Quebec City.
Montgomery occupied Montreal on November 13, while Arnold was finally able
to cross the St. Lawrence River. Arnold then withdrew to Point-Aux-Trembles
and waited for reinforcements from Montgomery, while Carleton marched into
Quebec City after having abandoned Montreal. On December 3, General
Montgomery arrived at Point-Aux-Trembles with only 350 men, having left the
rest at Montreal. On December 5, Montgomery and Arnold began a siege and
demanded surrender, which was rebuffed by General Carleton. Montgomery and
Arnold knew they had to act soon, because the expedition's enlistments ended
on December 31. They decided to attack under the cover of a snowstorm. After
a near miss on December 27, a huge storm brewed on the night of December 30.
At 2:00 AM in the midst of a fierce snowstorm on December 31, 1775, muster was called in the Continental camp and a surprise attack on Quebec was soon underway. However, Maj. General Sir Guy Carleton had been warned by an American deserter of the American plan. The Americans had intended to use the cover of a storm to move their men into position. Brig. General Richard Montgomery would take his 300 men and attack the city along the river from the west, while Colonel Benedict Arnold would take his 600 men, and attack from the east. The two forces would join in the middle of the business district in Lower Town and then march up the main route to Upper Town. At 4:00 AM, General Montgomery fired rockets, signalling that he was in position and launching the assault. As Montgomery reached the western edge of Lower Town, he found a rough barricade had been thrown up by the British. The general, his aide-de-camp and a battalion commander walked forward to get a closer look at the situation. When the men were within yards of the barricade, the defenders of the barricade fired their lone load of shot from their cannon and fired their muskets. All three men were mortally wounded. The next in command Lt. Colonel Donald Campbell immediately ordered a retreat. The panicked defenders continued firing even after the Continentals were long gone. On the eastern edge of Lower Town, Colonel Arnold had launched his attack when he sighted the rockets. Having lost his one artillery piece on the way in a snowdrift, Arnold had no choice but to lead a frontal assault on another British barricade. Arnold was wounded when a musket ball tore into his leg. He attempted to continue on, but could not. He allowed himself to be carried from the from the fight, leaving Captain Daniel Morgan in command. Captain Morgan rallied the men and the Continentals overran the barricade after some heavy fighting. Morgan and his men raced through Lower Town, pouring over another unmanned barricade. Morgan was ready to continue toward Upper Town, but his subordinates advised caution and persuaded him to wait for General Montgomery.
By dawn, Captain Daniel Morgan finally grew impatient and ordered his men forward. The wait had cost the Americans their advantage and momentum. General Carleton had used the time to position men throughout the city. As the Americans now attempted to move toward Upper Town, they were under constant fire coming from the surrounding houses. After fighting most of the day still hoping for aid from General Montgomery, the Americans finally turned back. However, the once abandoned barricade was now occupied by Carleton's men and the Americans were trapped in the streets of the city. Fighting still dragged on as the American column spread throughout Lower Town. Eventually almost the entire American force was captured or surrendered, as they were isolated in small pockets throughout the streets of the city. Captain Morgan himself refused to surrender even when completely surrounded. He dared the British to shoot him, but his men pleaded with him until he finally turned his sword over to a French priest, rather than surrender it to the British.
Benedict Arnold was able to escape when Maj. General Sir Guy Carleton recalled his men before they reached the hospital. He retreated to about a mile from Quebec City with the remaining 600 men and awaited reinforcements from Brig. General David Wooster. He refused to retire from the field and continued his "siege" of Quebec. Word arrived that Brig. General Richard Montgomery had been promoted to Major General on December 9. On January 10, 1776, Benedict Arnold was promoted to Brigadier General. In a few months, he was relieved of overall command by General Wooster and was appointed commandant of Montreal. In May, the Americans began to withdraw from Canada as Maj. General John Burgoyne arrived with over 4,000 troops. On June 18, 1776, General Benedict Arnold was the last American to withdraw from Canada. Thus ended America's actions in Canada for the remainder of the war.
Recommended readings: (Click on link to purchase)
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Title: March to Quebec || Author: Kenneth Lewis Roberts || ISBN: 0-892-72083-2 || Released: April 1938 |
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March to Quebec is history as a primary source, and it is
amazing. The volume consists of the journals of then Colonel
Benedict Arnold and several of the patriots who accompanied him
on his ill-fated march through the Wilderness of Maine during a
sneak attack on Quebec. The idea, which Arnold and his mentor
General Washington cooked up, was to take Quebec and add it as a
14 colony/state. There was much adventure and intrigue. Some
famous names involved on the March are Nathaniel Green, Daniel
Morgan, Dearborn, and even a young Aaron Burr. These journals
leap off the page and are probably the best journals available
outside those of a generation later, Lewis & Clark. Highly
recommended. |
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