all other occasions, it is but fair to think that some unforeseen obstacle prevented his doing his part of the work.

The Capture of St. Johns.-St. Johns had been in a state of siege about a month, when the fort at Chambly, a little farther down the Richelieu, with a garrison of about one hundred men and quantities of ammunition and provisions, was taken by Majors Brown and Livingston. This was exactly what Montgomery needed in order to push the siege with vigor; for up to this time the progress had been slow, principally from lack of ammunition.

General Carleton, at Montreal, was making all possible efforts to relieve St. Johns; but Warner, close by with his Green Mountain Boys, was on the alert and watching his every movement. At length Carleton, with a force of 800 regulars besides militia and Indians, started out from Montreal expecting to be reenforced at the mouth of the Richelieu. When his flotilla was near the south shore of the St. Lawrence, he was met by Seth Warner and his men, who poured upon Carleton's force such a destructive volley that they were obliged to retreat in great disorder.

St. Johns, left now without hope of reenforcements, had no alternative but to surrender. And thus, on November 3, 600 prisoners, several cannon, and large quantities of ammunition fell into the hands of the Americans.

The Taking of Montreal.-Montgomery now proceeded to Montreal, and as the city was able to make no defense, Carleton having quitted it the night before, took easy possession of it on the 13th, less than two weeks after the surrender of St. Johns. As the term of enlistment had now expired for Warner's men, they returned to their homes. By cutting off its supplies they had compelled the

surrender of St. Johns, which in its turn opened the way for the capture of Montreal.

Attempt to Capture Quebec.-Montgomery now advanced down the St. Lawrence to Quebec. Here he was joined by Arnold, who had with much difficulty come through the wilds of Maine and whose force was in a lamentable condition. On the last night of the year 1775 they made a spirited attack upon the city with a force not exceeding 1,200, but were not able to take it on account of its strong fortifications and the superior numbers of the enemy. Montgomery was killed, Arnold severely wounded, and nearly one-half the American force killed or taken prisoners.

Thus the campaign of 1775, so far victorious to the patriot cause, closed in a disaster, which was the beginning of the series of defeats that followed for over a year and a half thereafter.

Petition to Congress.-The fact that the attention of the New York government was now diverted from its controversy with the New Hampshire Grants by the weightier matters of the Revolution, gave the cause of the grantees an opportunity to strengthen itself. The grantees were, indeed, practically an independent people, obeying no laws save those of their own making. Such government as they had was vested in Committees of Safety who had no power to enforce their laws upon those inhabitants who still adhered to New York. As they had never been recognized as a separate province, they had no representation in Congress and therefore no part in making the laws by which they were governed.

Seeing the necessity of a more stable government for their common defense and general welfare, a committee

was chosen to go to Philadelphia in the fall of 1775 to gain the advice of Congress as to what was best to be done. Receiving no formal advice from Congress, they held a convention at Dorset, January 16, in which they drew up a petition to send to Congress. This declared that the New Hampshire Grants were willing to do their full part in waging the war against Great Britain, but they were not willing to be considered under the control of New York; hence they requested that when Congress called upon them for military service it should be as to inhabitants of the grants and not as to inhabitants of New York. This petition was given into the care of Hemen Allen, a brother of Ethan Allen, who submitted it to Congress. The committee to whom it was referred advised the grantees to yield to the government of New York until the close of the war, when the dispute should be settled through proper judges to whom it should be referred. Allen, considering any such decision as unfavorable to the grants, and knowing that it would be very unsatisfactory to the people, asked that he might withdraw the petition so that no action should be taken on it, and was allowed to do so. This was the first application that the people of the grants had ever made to the Continental Congress.

The Retreat from Canada.-On the death of General Montgomery at Quebec the command in Canada devolved upon General Wooster, who made a strong appeal to the American colonies for reenforcements that the siege of Quebec might be kept up. In a personal letter to Seth Warner he urged him to raise a force of Green Mountain Boys and come to his succor as soon as possible. So quickly was the call responded to that in about eleven days Warner had mustered his men and was soon on his

way to Canada, Warner's regiment being among the first of the recruits to arrive before Quebec.

The winter's campaign was a hard one, not only because of the want of suitable barracks, clothing, and provisions, but also on account of the prevalence of smallpox, of which a large number of the soldiers died. The siege was kept up for several months; but on arrival of a large body of British troops, the Americans, in a council of war, decided to abandon the siege.

During the withdrawal of the army from Canada Warner and his force were put in a position of greatest danger, following in the rear of the retreating army, and much of the time but little in advance of the enemy. It was their duty to cover the retreat of the main force and to pick up the sick and wounded of their number who, unable to keep up, should fall behind.

Late in June the army reached Ticonderoga, more than half of their number sick and many of the others weak and broken in spirit because of their sufferings. They had abandoned the whole of Canada, but still hoped to retain the command of the lake. The prompt and effective services of Warner and his men were not ignored by Congress; and two weeks after their return from Canada Congress resolved to organize on its own authority a regiment of Green Mountain Boys under Warner as colonel, Warner's corps having up to this time been of a temporary character. Surely the Green Mountain Boys were beginning to gain the respect of their countrymen; they were no longer looked upon as a mob. Warner remained in command of this regiment for five years.

Companies of Rangers; Roads. For protection against the hostile invasions of the savages, companies of rangers

were raised in the grants to "scour the woods" and force back any red men who should try to cross their borders.

General Jacob Bailey, of Newbury, who had this year commenced cutting a military road from Newbury to Canada and had reached a point a little north of Peacham, caused the work to cease on the retreat of the Americans from Canada, for there was now no necessity for such road. Three years later the work was again taken up by General Hazen, and the road extended to Westfield, fifty miles farther. This has since been known as the Hazen road. Just before or during the Revolutionary War several important highways were opened in western Vermont. Among these was the road opened by Ira Allen, from Colchester to Castleton, a distance of about seventy miles, and those from Rutland to Mt. Independence and from Rutland to Whitehall.