The Canadian Campaign, 1775-1776

by Michael P. Gabriel

In the months following the opening shots at Lexington and Concord on 19 April 1775, Americans seized the initiative and took the fight to the British. Near Boston, 20,000 militiamen, known as the New England Army of Observation, laid siege to the city. Meanwhile, the growing American rebellion spread from Massachusetts to the Champlain Valley in New York and present-day Vermont. On 10 May, Ethan Allen and some of his Green Mountain Boys captured Fort Ticonderoga in New York and its large store of artillery and other military equipment. Accompanying Allen was Benedict Arnold, a Connecticut militia officer whom the Massachusetts Committee of Safety commissioned to attack the fort. Simultaneously, another group of Green Mountain Boys occupied nearby Skenesborough and seized a schooner belonging to the settlement's loyalist founder, Philip W. Skene. Two days later, Allen's associate, Seth Warner, captured a second British installation at nearby Crown Point along with additional military stores. Arnold subsequently sailed north in Skene's vessel, which he renamed the Liberty, and raided a third fortification, Saint-Jean, Que̹bec, on the Richelieu River approximately 25 miles southeast of Montre̹al on 18 May. Arnold captured the fort's small garrison of thirteen, two brass 6-pounder cannons, and a British sloop, later dubbed the Enterprise, before retiring to Ticonderoga. He also seized a letter from Que̹bec's governor, Maj. Gen. Guy Carleton, stating that he possessed fewer than 700 regulars to defend the colony. Although the Second Continental Congress (which had not even met until the day Ticonderoga fell) did not authorize or approve these operations, they had far-reaching consequences. Allen and Arnold had given the Americans undisputed control of Lake Champlain and opened the door for American forces to invade Canada.

96 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2024

Reviews

[William Olenick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little remembered part of the early years of the American Revolution. The two pronged expedition, the siege of Montreal and Quebec, and the slow movement back into New York are all discussed. Notable names include Montgomery, Arnold, Dearborn and Gates.
This is a good introduction for further reading of this campaign.