Congress early turned its attention toward Canada, and endeavored to gain the co-operation, or at least to secure the neutrality of the inhabitants, in its dispute with Britain. The congress of the preceding year, although professing allegiance to the British crown, had circulated an address to the Canadians, evidently intended to render them disaffected to the British administration, and to make them enter into the sentiments and measures of the other provinces. Although that address did not make on the minds of the Canadians all that impression which was intended and desired, yet it was not altogether without effect; for the great body of the people wished to remain neutral in the contest.

Congress mistook the reluctance of the Canadians to engage in active operations against them for a decided partiality to their cause, and resolved to antici pate the British, by striking a decisive blow in that quarter In this purpose they were encouraged by the easy success of the enterprise against the forts on the lakes, and by the small number of troops then in Canada. They appointed General Schuyler commander of the expedition, with General Montgomery under him. Early in September, those officers, with about 1,000 men, made a feeble attempt on Fort St. John, situated on the river Sorel, which flows from Lake Champlain and joins the St. Lawrence, but found it expedient to retire to Isle aux Noix, at the entrance of the lake, about twelve miles above the fort, and wait for reinforcements.

Meanwhile General Schuyler was taken ill, and returned to Albany, leaving the command in the hands of General Montgomery, with instructions to prosecute the enterprise, on receiving the expected reinforcements. The reinforcements arrived: the attack on Fort St. John was renewed; and after a vigorous defence, it surrendered about the middle of November. In it the Americans found a considerable number of brass and iron cannon, howitzers, and mortars a

quantity of shot and small shells, about 800 stand of small-arms, and some naval stores; but the powder and provisions were nearly exhausted.

During the siege of Fort St. John, Fort Chamblée had been taken, which furnished General Montgomery with a plentiful supply of provisions, of which he stood greatly in need. General Carleton, who was on his way from Montreal to relieve the garrison, had been defeated; and Colonel Allen, who had made an attack on Montreal, was overcome and taken prisoner.

On the fall of Fort St. John, General Montgomery advanced against Montreal, which was in no condition to resist him. Governor Carleton, sensible of his inability to defend the town, quitted it, and next day General Montgomery entered the place. A body of provincials, under Colonel Eaton, took post at the mouth of the Sorel, and by means of an armed vessel and floating batteries, commanded the navigation of the St. Lawrence. The British force, which had retreated down the river from Montreal, Consisting only of about 120 soldiers, with several officers, under General Prescott, and accompanied by Governor Carleton, in eleven vessels, seeing it impracticable to force the passage, surrendered by capitulation. The vessels contained a considerable quantity of provisions, arms, and ammunition, which furnished a seasonable supply to the Americans. About midnight of the day before the capitulation, Governor Carleton escaped down the river in a boat with muffled oars, and safely reached Quebec.

It was now the 19th of November, and the severe weather which had set in was very unfavorable to military operations. General Montgomery, a young man of superior talents and high spirit, found himself in extremely unpleasan circumstances. He was at the head of a body of armed men, many of whom were not deficient in personal courage, but all of them were strangers to military subordination. The term of service for which numbers of them were engaged was near an end; and already weary of the hardships of war, they clamorously demanded a discharge. Nothing but devotion to his country could have made him continue in the irksome command. Hitherto his career had been successful, and he was ambitious of closing the campaign by some brilliant achievement which might at once elevate the spirits of the Americans and humble the pride of the British ministry. With these views, even at that rigorous season of the year, he hastened toward Quebec, although he found it necessary to weaken his little army, which had never exceeded 2,000 men, by discharging such of his followers as had become weary of the service.

About the middle of September a detachment of 1,100 men, under Colonel Arnold, was sent from the camp in the vicinity of Boston, with orders to proceed across the country against Quebec, by a route which had not been explored, and was little known. The party embarked at Newbury, steered for the Kennebec, and ascended that river. But their progress was impeded by rapids, by an almost impassable wilderness, by bad weather, and by want of provisions. They separated into several divisions. After encountering many difficulties, the last division, under Colonel Enos, was unable to proceed, and returned to the camp in the vicinity of Boston. But the other divisions, under Arnold, pressed forward amid incredible hardships and privations, and triumphed over obstacles nearly insuperable. For a month they toiled through a rough, barren, and uninhabited wilderness, without seeing a human habitation, or the face of an individual, except those of their own party, and with very scanty provisions. At length, on the 9th of November, Arnold, with his force much diminished, arrived at Point Levi opposite Quebec.

His appearance was not unexpected; for the lieutenant governor had beer. for some time apprized of his march. In the early part of his progress, Arnold had met an Indian, to whom, although a stranger, he had imprudently entrusted

a letter to General Schuyler, under cover to a friend in Quebec. The Indian, instead of faithfully delivering the letter according to the directions which he had received, carried it to the lieutenant governor, who, in order to prevent the Americans from passing the river, immediately removed all the canoes from Point Levi, and began to put the city in a posture of defence, which before might easily have been surprised. On discovering the arrival of Arnold at Point Levi, the British commander stationed two vessels of war in the river to guard the passage; and, at that interesting crisis, Colonel M'Lean, who had retreated before Montgomery, arrived from the Sorel, with about 170 newly-raised troops, to assist in the defence of the place.

Notwithstanding all the vigilance of the British, on the night of the 14th of November Arnold crossed the river with 500 men, in thirty-five canoes, and landed unperceived near the place where the brave and enterprising Wolfe had landed about sixteen years before, thence named Wolfe's Cove. He had provided scaling ladders, but was unable to carry them over the river with his troops, and consequently was not in a condition to make an immediate attempt on the town. Instead, however, of concealing himself till he could bring forward his scaling ladders, and then make a sudden and unexpected attack by night, he marched part of his troops in military parade in sight of the garrison, and so put the British fully on their guard. He wished to summon them to surrender, but they fired on his flag of truce, and refused to hold any intercourse with him. He, therefore, on the 19th of the month, turned his back on Quebec, and marched to Point aux Trembles, about twenty miles above the city, where General Montgomery, with the force under his command, joined him on the first of December. Soon after Arnold's retreat, Governor Carleton arrived in Quebec, and made every exertion to put the place in a state of defence. Having brought the scaling ladders across the river, General Montgomery, with the whole of the Amer