386 BRITISH VESSELS CAPTURED; WASHINGTON CONFERS.

ascertain what direction the British
would take after
after reaching their
destination. He immediately dis-
patched the main body of the army
to New York, and left but five regi-
ments under General Ward to fortify
and guard Boston. Shortly after
Howe's departure, a number of ves-
sels containing British troops arrived
off the harbor of Boston, and as they
had not been warned that the city was
in the hands of the Americans, two
of the transports were captured and
about 250 soldiers made prisoners of
war. On one of these vessels were
.found 1,500 barrels of gun powder,
with other munitions of war, which,
considering the existing scarcity in
the American army, proved of great
service.*

General Lee was then appointed to the command of the Southern department to push forward the work of fortification,† and Putnam was sent forward to take command of New

* Thacher, Military Journal, p. 46; Frothingham, Siege of Boston, pp. 313-314; Force, American Archives, 4th series, vol. vi., pp. 917, 1035, 1127; Gordon, American Revolution, vol. ii., pp. 266-267 (ed. 1788).

Bancroft, vol. iv., p. 385.

York. Lord Stirling had been in command there during the interim after Lee's departure from that city. Washington himself arrived at New York on April 13.† Shortly after he went to Philadelphia to consult with Congress regarding the general condition of affairs and to make arrangements for future operations, but it does not appear that this visit resulted satisfactorily to Washington. He expresses himself as apprehensive that evil consequences would result from the divisions and disputes prevailing among the members of that body. However he did secure the passage of a resolution. that the army be reinforced by 13,800 militia from the Northern colonies, and by 10,000 more troops from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. He then returned to New York to push forward the work of fortifying the city against the expected attack by the British.

INVASION OF CANADA URGED.

CHAPTER X.

1775-1776.

THE INVASION OF CANADA.

The invasion of Canada urged-Washington considers it of great importance - Expeditions organized Schuyler, Montgomery and Arnold in command - St. John's invested - Ethan Allen captured - St. John's surrenders to the Americans - General Carleton abandons Montreal - Arnold marches toward Quebec Hardships endured The assault on Quebec — Death of Montgomery and repulse of the Americans - The subsequent retreat - The Congressional Commission and the results of its labors - Americans driven from Canada- Causes for the defeat Gates appointed to the command-Dispute between Gates and Schuyler-Arnold's battle with the British on Lake Champlain - He extricates his forces - Failure of the campaign.

388

EXPEDITION STARTS; ATTITUDE OF CANADIANS.

proceed by the way of the Kennebec and through the wilderness over the mountains of Maine.* This latter plan of marching to Quebec is said to have originated with Arnold and was heartily seconded by Washington after consultation with Arnold.† Washington fully appreciated the difficulties and dangers of this wild and hazardous enterprise, and selected Arnold to lead it because of his skill and intrepidity, carefully admonishing him of the importance of the command. In pursuance of the plan of conquering Canada, Generals Schuyler and Richard Montgomery, with a force consisting of two regiments of New York militia and a body of New England troops, numbering altogether about 2,000 men, were ordered to proceed to Ticonderoga, which, since its capture by Arnold and Allen, had continued in the possession of the Americans.|| Montgomery was directed to proceed in advance,

*Daniel Morgan commanded one of the companies and Aaron Burr, then 19 years of age, Christopher Greene, Roger Enos and Return J. Meigs also accompanied the expedition. Arnold, Life of Arnold, pp. 50–51; Carrington, p. 121. On the route Arnold took, see Codman, Arnold's Expedition to Quebec, p. 21 et seq., on the personnel of his force, p. 29 et seq. Codman's work should be read in connection with that published in 1903 by Justin H. Smith-Arnold's March from Cambridge to Quebec-the latter severely criticising many of the statements made by the former.

See the introduction to Thayer's Journal of the Expedition to Quebec, edited by Stone.

63.

Irving, Life of Washington, vol. ii., pp. 61–

On the difficulties experienced in organizing this force, particularly because of the jealousy between New York and New England, see Tuckerman, Life of Schuyler, p. 102 et seq.

and with the troops then in march

ing condition
ing condition to lay siege to St.
John's, about 150 miles north of
Ticonderoga. This was the first
British stronghold to be conquered in
order to open the way to Canada.
Shortly afterward Schuyler followed
Montgomery and upon arriving at
Isle aux Noix, 12 miles south of St.
John's, he sent circular letters broad-
cast among the Canadians, declaring
that the Americans had entered the
country not as enemies but as
friends and protectors, and request-
ing that the Canadians coöperate
with them to drive out the Brit-
ish and establish their independ-
ence. But a small portion of the
Canadians joined the Americans,
however, even though the great ma-
jority were dissatisfied with the
Quebec Act.* On the other hand, the
Quebec authorities experienced much
difficulty in persuading the inhabit-
ants to join the army in repelling the
invading Americans.† Schuyler, upon
being informed that St. John's was in
a fair state of defence, determined to
wait in his present position until the
remaining troops and artillery should
arrive. Leaving Montgomery in tem-
porary command, Schuyler hastened
back to Albany to hurry the depar-
ture of the troops from that place, but
while there he became seriously ill

*See Coffin, The Province of Quebec and the Early American Revolution, p. 486 et seq.

Ibid, p. 497 et seq.; Codman, Arnold's Expedition to Quebec, p. 7 et seq.; letters of Carleton, Cramahé and Hay in Shortt and Doughty, Canadian Archives, pp. 453–459.

THE CAPTURE AND CAPTIVITY OF ETHAN ALLEN.

and was prevented from joining the army. In consequence, the chief command devolved upon Montgomery.* The latter, upon receiving reinforcements, immediately began the investment of St. John's, but made little progress in the siege because of the lack of powder and shortage of guns.†

Meanwhile Colonel Allen had needlessly involved himself in trouble, which finally resulted in his capture. He had been given a command under General Montgomery‡ and had been sent with a body of 80 troops to effect the capture of a party of Indians not far distant. In this he was successful, but while returning to headquarters, he was met by Major John Brown, who with a smaller party had been scouting in the neighborhood to observe the general disposition of the people and to secure their adherence to the American cause. The two joined forces, and without consulting Montgomery, decided to make a descent upon Montreal, dividing their little force into two parties for the purpose of assaulting the city simul

See Schuyler's letter to Washington, dated September 20, 1775, in Sparks, Correspondence of the Revolution, vol. i., pp. 39-46; Tuckerman, Life of Schuyler, p. 112 et seq.

Bancroft, vol. iv., pp. 291-294. For the correspondence of Schuyler and Montgomery regarding the Canadian expedition, see the indices under their names in Force, American Archives, 4th series, vol. iii., and 5th series, vol. i. See also Sparks, Correspondence of the Revolution, vol. i., pp. 78-81, 467 et seq.; Lossing, Field-Book of the Revolution, vol. i., pp. 169–170.

The Green Mountain Boys, however, had elected Seth Warner as their lieutenant-colonel in place of Allen.- Carrington, Battles of the Revolution, p. 127.

389

taneously from two opposite points.
In accordance with this plan, Allen
crossed the river in the night, but for
some reason Brown failed to accom-
plish his part of the plan. Instead of
returning, however, Allen determined
to stand his ground. In the morning
the British general, Sir Guy Carleton,
attacked Allen and his little band of
80
80 men and though they fought
desperately, they were finally com-
pelled to yield. Allen and the men
under him were sent in irons to Eng-
land. After having undergone every
species of hardship and outrage,
Allen was finally sent back to America
and kept prisoner of war at New
York until May, 1778, when his re-
lease was effected under the terms of
the surrender at Saratoga.*

* Brown, Ethan Allen, pp. 89-174, 245-263; Robinson, Vermont, pp. 118-123; Bradley, The Making of Canada, pp. 65-80; Bancroft, vol. iv., p. 295; Lossing, Field-Book of the Revolution, vol. i., pp. 179–180. See also the articles on Allen's alleged treason to the American cause in

Magazine of American History, vol. viii., pp. 221222, 438-439. On this adventure see Allen's A Narrative of Colonel Ethan Allen's Captivity, pp. 8-14, and the description of the book in Tyler's Literary History of the American Revolution, vol. ii., p. 228 et seq. On October 26 Washington wrote to Schuyler as follows: "His [Colonel Allen's] misfortune will, I hope, teach a lesson of prudence and subordination to others who may be too ambitious to outshine their general officers, and regardless of order and duty, rush into enterprises which have unfavorable effects on the public, and are destructive to themselves."- Irving, Life of Washington, vol. ii., p. 73; Carrington, Battles of the Revolution, p. 128. See also the letters of Montgomery and Warner in Sparks, Correspondence of the Revolution, vol. i., pp. 465467. For Washington's protest against the treatment of the captives and Howe's reply, see the letters quoted in Irving, Life of Washington, vol. ii., pp. 118-120.

ST. JOHN'S CAPTURED; MONTREAL OCCUPIED.