The Battle of Quebec

1. The Battle of Quebec The Battle of Quebec was an attempt on December 31, 1775, by American colonial forces to capture the city of Quebec, drive the British military from the Province of Quebec, and enlist French Canadian support for the American Revolutionary War. The British governor of Quebec, General Guy Carleton, could not get significant outside help because the St. Lawrence River was frozen, so he had to rely on a relatively small number of regulars along with local militia that had been raised in the city. Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold led a force of about 1,200 American army forces and Canadian militia in a multi-pronged attack on the city, which, due to bad weather and bad timing, did not start well, and ended with Montgomery dead, Arnold wounded, and Daniel Morgan and more than 400 men captured. Following a somewhat ineffectual five-month siege, the American forces were driven to retreat by the arrival of ships from England carrying British troops in early May 1776. The battle was the first military defeat for the Continental Army. In the battle and the following siege, French-speaking Canadians participated on both sides of the conflict. American forces received supplies and logistical support from local residents, and the city's defenders included locally raised militia. Some of those that supported the American cause were subjected to a variety of punishments after the Americans retreated. In September 1775, the Continental Army began moving into Quebec, with the goal of liberating it from British military control. Brigadier General Richard Montgomery led one force up Lake Champlain, successfully besieging Fort St. Jean and capturing Montreal on November 13. Colonel Benedict Arnold led a force of 1,100 men through the wilderness of Maine toward the city of Quebec. Quebec's governor, General Guy Carleton, had been preparing the defense of the province against possible invasion since May 1775, following the capture of Fort Ticonderoga by Arnold and Ethan Allen, and Arnold's raid on Fort St. Jean on May 18. While Carleton concentrated the defense at Fort St. Jean, small British garrisons were located at Montreal and Quebec.

2. The Battle of White Plains General George Washington had, early in his chieftaincy, urged upon the Congress the necessity of the establishment of a permanent army, and with prophetic words had predicted the very evils arising from short enlistments and loose methods of creating officers, which now prevailed. While there was a brief lull in active military operations after the battle on Harlem Heights, he again set forth, in graphic pictures, the sad condition of his army, and the importance of a thorough reform and reorganization of the forces, for he foresaw the natural dissolution of his army, by the expiration of enlistments, only a few weeks later. The Congress had just resolved (September 10th) to form the army anew into eighty-eight battalions, to be "enlisted as soon as possible, and to serve during the war;" but they were so afraid of the "military despotism" implied by a standing army, that much of the efficacy of this longer term of enlistment was neutralized by retaining the old method of levying troops by requisitions upon the several States, and the appointment of officers by local authorities without due regard to their qualifications. Washington was compelled to relinquish all present hope of obtaining an efficient army for the great work before him. Yet he never despaired nor uttered a petulant word of complaint, nor threatened to resign. His duty as a patriot and soldier was plain, and he pursued it. For almost a month in September, 1776, Washington rested with the main body of his army on Harlem Heights, watching the movements of Howe. He had constructed strong lines of fortifications across the narrow island, between the Harlem and Hudson Rivers, and redoubts were planted at proper places to defend approaches from the waters and the main land. The crest of Mount Washington was crowned with a five-sided earthwork, named Fort Washington. It was two hundred and thirty feet above tide-water, a mile northward of headquarters, with strong ravelins and outworks, and mounting thirty-four great guns. This was the principal fortification within the American lines, and was commanded by General Putnam. General Greene, the best leader in the army excepting Washington, was in command of Fort Lee on the Palisades on the New Jersey shore. On the 12th of October, Howe embarked a large portion of his army in ninety flat-boats, and landed them on Throgg's Neck, a low peninsula jutting out from the main of Westchester county. He left a sufficient force under Lord Percy to hold the city and guard the British lines toward Harlem. Washington sent Heath to oppose Howe's landing, and to occupy lower Westchester. After encountering many difficulties from the opposition, Howe finally took post on the heights of New Rochelle, across the road leading to White Plains, where he was joined by General Knyphausen with a freshly arrived corps of German troops. Meanwhile Washington had sent McDougall, with his brigade, four miles beyond Kingsbridge, and a detachment to White Plains. He wished to evacuate Manhattan Island entirely, but an order had come from Congress to hold Fort Washington to the last extremity. At a council of war held on the 16th of October, he produced such proofs of the intention of the British to surround his army, that it was determined to move them all into Westchester excepting a garrison for Fort Washington. That was commanded by Colonel Magaw of the Pennsylvania line, with troops who came chiefly from that State. The army marched in four divisions, commanded respectively by Generals Lee (who had just arrived), Health, Sullivan and Lincoln, and moving up the valley of the Bronx River, formed entrenched camps from the heights of Fordham to White Plains. On the 21st, Washington made his headquarters near the village of White Plains. General Greene commanded a small force that garrisoned Fort Lee.

3. Boston Massacre The Boston massacre was no massacre at all, but a Boston mob and a squad of British soldiers. The riot took place on March 5, 1770.It was called a "massacre" because several colonists were killed and several others were wounded. Here is the story as Paul Revere tells it. "Twenty-one days before, on the night of March 5,1770, five men had been shot to death in Boston by British soldiers participating in the event known as the Boston Massacre. A mob of men and boys taunted a sentry guard standing outside of the city's costume house. When other British soldiers came to the sentry's support, a free for all ensued and shots were fired into the crowd. Four died on the spot and a fifth died 4 days later. Capt. Preston and six of his men were arrested for murder, but later were acquitted through the efforts of attorneys Robert Auchmuty, John Adams, and Josiah Quincy who took their defense to ensure a fair trial. Later two other soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter." This was one of the reasons we had the American Revolution.

4. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE In 1776, the second Continental Congress chose Thomas Jefferson to draft the Declaration of Independence. When Jefferson was done with a rough copy, he gave it to his subcommittee, which included Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, for their approval. It only took seventeen days before the copy was presented to Congress with the entire subcommittee's approval. One by one, the representatives signed the document, and on July 4th, made it official. Even though independence was declared on July 4th, it took several days for the news to reach all the colonists. Although the revolution would last until 1783, the United States was free from British rule.

5. BATTLE OF LEXINGTON It was 4:30 in the morning before the British appeared. About 70 American men stood dismayed while the 600 British soldiers in gleaming red and white uniforms with shiny brass buttons and buckles, assembled into battle lines. "Stand you ground!" yelled Captain Parker. "If they want war, let it begin here!" And it did. Knowing there was no way to overthrow the British forces with the tiny American group of men, Captain Parker ordered his men to disband, but the British commander Major Atcairn had orders to take the American's weapons. A small skirmish arose between the Americans and British. Parker was killed. As the sun began to rise, the British marched to Concord. This battle was fought at a village near Boston, Massachusetts on the morning of April 19, 1775. The reason for this battle was the British wanted to investigate accounts that the colonists were stockpiling weapons in Concord. As the British began to investigate, firing began in Lexington and 8 colonists were killed before the British marched on to Concord. The American men fighting were regular townsmen, many owned property, but others were working men. The Battle of Lexington was important because it signaled the start of the American Revolution

6. The Siege of Fort Ticonderoga On April 19, 1775 the Revolutionary War had begun with the skirmishing at Lexington and Concord Massachusetts. Once the British detachment retreated to Boston, the Siege of Boston began. As the rebels continued to gather around Boston, they realized that they did not have the munitions or cannon to carry out successful siege or military operations. Fort Ticonderoga, which is located on Lake Champlain, became an objective for its stores of munitions and the strategic position of control that it held over the waterways to Canada. As a result, expeditions began to be planned to capture the fort. At the request of the Connecticut Assembly, Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys of Vermont (then a disputed territory of New Hampshire) set out from Hartford on April 28. Meanwhile, Benedict Arnold, who had been on his way to participate in the siege at Boston, convinced the Massachusetts Committee of Safety to authorize his expedition. When Arnold learned of Ethan Allen's expedition, he left his men behind and hurried to catch up with Ethan Allen. Arnold caught up with Allen and tried to take command of the expedition on the authority of the Massachusetts Committee of Safety, but since he had none of his own men and the Green Mountain Boys would not follow him, it was agreed that the two men would share command. On the night of May 9, 1775, about 100 men crossed Lake Champlain and at dawn on May 10, slipped into the Fort. Most of the dozen British soldiers garrisoned there were still asleep. As they entered the officers' quarters, Allen is said to have yelled, "Come out of there, you damned old rat!" Although in his memoirs, Allen later wrote that he had said, "in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress." The commander of the fort appeared and quickly surrendered the fort. Both American leaders were ordered to take the approximately 100 canons stored in the fort.  They did not arrive in Boston until January 1776.

7. The Battle of Bunker (Breeds) Hill On June 17, 1775 the Battle of Bunker Hill took place. It is one of the most important colonial victories in the U.S. War for Independence. Fought during the Siege of Boston, it lent considerable encouragement to the revolutionary cause. This battle made both sides realize that this was not going to be a matter decided on by one quick and decisive battle. When the British planned to occupy Dorchester Heights on the Boston Peninsula, the colonists became alarmed at the build up of British troops off of the coast. The colonists decided that action had to be taken so as to stop the threatening British movement in this territory to protect themselves from an attack. The Battle of Bunker Hill started when the colonists learned about the British plan to occupy Dorchester Heights. The colonists were understandably shaken by this news. They thought of this as the last straw, and they had to protect their land and freedom.

8. The Battle of Long Island (Brooklyn Heights) The British recognized the strategic importance of New York as the focal point for communications between the northern and southern colonies. Washington also recognized this, and in April of 1776 he marched his troops from Boston to New York. He positioned his troops on the western end of Long Island in anticipation of the British arrival. The American outpost of Colonel Edward Hand's sent word that the British were preparing to cross Long Island from Staten Island on August 22, at dawn. There were three frigates, the Phoenix, Rose, and Greyhound, and two bomb ketches named Carcass and Thunder, in Gravesend Bay. The frigates were anchored in the Namews. British generals Cornwallis and Clinton had a force of 4,000 men that included Von Donop's corps of jaegers and grenadiers. The force started crossing to Denyse Point and they were covered by the guns of the H.M.S. Rainbow. Two hundred men of Edward Hand's withdrew to Prospect Hill, destroying the property and supplies that the British might use. The British boats returned to Staten Island and landed in Gravesend Bay with more then 5000 men. By noon, they had landed almost 5,000 men and about 40 cannons safely on shore.

9. The Battle of Germantown The campaign in Philadelphia had begun quite badly for the American forces. Washington and the Continental Army had suffered successive defeats at the Battle of Brandywine and the Battle of Paoli that left Philadelphia defenseless. After the seizure of the revolutionary capital by Charles Cornwallis on September 26, 1777, William Howe left 3,462 men to defend it and moved 9,728 [3] men to Germantown, 5 miles (8.0 km) north, determined to locate and destroy the American forces. Howe established his headquarters at Stanton, the former country home of James Logan. With Howe's forces thus divided, Washington saw an opportunity to confront the British. He decided to attack the British garrison in Germantown as the last effort of the year before the onset of winter. His plan was to attack the British at night with four columns from different directions with the goal of creating a double envelopment. Washington hoped to surprise the British and Hessian armies in much the same way he had surprised the Hessians at the Battle of Trenton.

10. The Battle of Brandywine It was a critical time for George Washington. He had just been soundly defeated in New York and morale was very low. His writings to the Continental Congress tell us so. Although there was not much to be gained through a victory here in a territorial sense, it was one of the many crucial moments in the American Revolution. This victory was essential to give the soldiers hope that a group of rag-tag soldiers could indeed be victorious in their struggle for independence.