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Today we're going to talk about the unsuccessful American invasion of Canada. The first one let's start with some context in
1763 the British Empire emerged victorious against France in the Seven Years War
Suddenly the British found themselves with a large number of ethnically French citizens in their new Canadian colony
Because of the French Canadians dubious loyalties the American Continental Congress sent a letter as early as May 29th
1775 writing the following to the oppressed inhabitants of Canada
Join with us in the defense of our common Liberty
They were flatly ignored just when Congress had all but given up
Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold the two commanders who had captured Fort Ticonderoga in northern, New York
Pleaded to the Congress to launch an invasion further north
So it was decided on June 27th that a force would be sent to capture
Montreal in the West and Quebec in the East the British perception of their Canadian subjects was also misguided
General Guy Carleton was so certain that he could recruit a new regiment of French Canadians that he sent two battalions of his standing
Garrison to reinforce general gage in Boston during the summer of 1775 in the coming months
he eventually realized that he had overestimated the French Canadians loyalty to the crown and was unable to
Successfully raise a new regiment to protect Quebec the Continental Congress saw this moment as the perfect opportunity to strike
They dispatched Brigadier General Richard Montgomery to seize Montreal and make his way east
How they expected to do this with just seventeen hundred men is beyond me
WJ would author of battles of the American Revolutionary War
1775 to 1783
other problems with the impending invasion
Unexpectedly rough terrain the forces of nature and the abilities of general Guy Carleton
governor of Canada and commander of the British forces
Montgomery began his expedition by making his way north to Lake Champlain
But was stopped on September 16th at fort st. Joan's which was garrisoned by
725 British red on
November 2nd
The fort was captured and nothing stood in the way of Montgomery's path to Montreal once he had made it there
He used a similar strategy surrounding it by landing a forest north of the city. It was the infilling that Washington could only dream of
Carleton who commanded the garrison abandoned the city and was almost captured in his escape on
November 13th the city fell just a month prior in September George Washington gave Colonel Benedict Arnold one of the earliest
advocates of the Canadian invasion
orders to march to Quebec with
1,100 men and rendezvous with Montgomery who did not have enough men on his own to successfully besieged, Quebec City
Arnold and his men had to put up with grueling conditions on their Trek up north and with highly inaccurate maps -
By the time they arrived on November 9th only 600 men remained with no cannon and inadequate equipment
The well-equipped British defenders. Meanwhile numbered some
1,800 men luckily Montgomery arrived just in time to take command on December 2nd with over 300 fresh troops
Munitions food and captured British uniforms 8 days later the cannon that Montgomery had brought with him were set up
But they couldn't even put a dent in Quebec Stick walls
Furthermore the ice-covered ground made digging trenches and defensive structures nearly impossible
And only 20 days remained before his men's enlistments expired
Montgomery had to act fast on the night of December 27th under the cover of snow fall
colonial troops
Prepared to launch their assault but just as the attack was to commence the clouds cleared and moonlight revealed all of the Americans positions
Forcing Montgomery to call the attack off by then only four days remained before the bulk of his army would head home
To make matters worse one of Montgomery's sergeants who had deserted revealed to general Carleton all of his plans
Thus a new scheme was concocted to launch a pincer movement into these supposedly weaker sides of the city while two diversionary
Forces attacked the city center on the night of December 30th
Just a day before the men's enlistments expired a blizzard rolled in it was Montgomery's last chance to launch the attack
At 2:00 a.m. He ordered his men to assume their positions
Montgomery first made his way south to the plains of Abraham and began moving his men among the snow-covered Bank of the st. Lawrence River
Montgomery assumed that he had the element of surprise and being the inspiring leader
He was took 17 of his men and rushed to capture a British redoubt that he thought was undefended
unbeknownst to Montgomery
this was one of the most heavily fortified positions of Carlton's line of defense as
Montgomery and his men broke into a sprint Cannon and men appeared seemingly out of nowhere
And delivered a volley straight into the incoming room
Montgomery was killed instantly by grapeshot and those that accompanied him ran the other way as
Montgomery's men retreated back to their camp Arnold had no idea what fate befell them
He and his men had set off at 4:00 a.m
And successfully snuck past an artillery outpost beyond the palace gate
But some time after his men were discovered - and promptly fired upon under a barrage of bullets
Arnold and his men made their way into the streets and scrambled for cover in
Preparation for a charge against the first barricade Arnold stood up and you guessed it led the charge himself
He was luckier than Montgomery though and bullet struck him in the leg
Incapacitating him for the rest of the battle
But he was taken to safety by those around him instead of retrieving his men elected a new leader captain, Daniel Morgan
Morgan did exactly what you'd expect leading another charge against the British
He was the luckiest of these three commanders
Successfully capturing a British captain and his men with only a graze on his cheek and a bullet hole in his hat
The Lowertown was now open and undefended but Morgan stopped to consult with his officers before assaulting it
They had captured a hundred and fifty prisoners and could not proceed without risking overextension
Thus Morgan's officers convinced him to stop there and wait for
Montgomery to rendezvous with them after which time they could continue the attack as we know Montgomery had been killed by then
so after an hour of waiting Morgan decided to continue the attack, however
Carlton had used this lapse in the fighting to direct his men to strategic positions on the walls
Surrounding colonial forces seeing that he had been outplayed Morgan ordered a retreat but the British had already covered his rear
He was now trapped and being fired on by all sides his men dropping all around him at 9:00 a.m
He turned over his sword
surrendering himself and about four hundred and thirty of his troops at the end of the day sixty Americans had been killed and
34 wounded compared to five British soldiers killed and 13 wounded in the aftermath of this disastrous
incursion the defeated Arnold found his way back to the remnants of Montgomery's Men and together they held out for winter with drooping spirits any
Hope of spreading the revolution to Canada had died with Montgomery
but even if Quebec had
Successfully been taken it remains doubtful whether the Patriots had the resources and men to maintain it in May
1776 the Patriots finally gave it up when British General John Burgoyne landed with
4000 reinforcements Arnold was the last American to leave Canada On June 18th still hungry for a victory
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We shall take your castle by force Meudon Franken ass
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