Читать книгу Revolution An Uncommon Chronicle of the American War for Independence - Kenneth JD Samcoe - Страница 21

Rebel Siege Successful

Carlton

St. Johns, Quebec, Canada: Nov. 3, 1775. Britain’s hope of retaining her Canadian territory was dealt a severe blow when a force of 500 British regulars and 200 provincials surrendered to rebel troops after a 55-day siege at Fort St. Johns. British General Guy Carlton lost half his forces when his garrison commander capitulated this strategic post. Fort St. Johns is situated on the Richelieu River between Fort Ticonderoga and Montreal, 40 miles northeast.

When asked why General Carlton had not marched his entire force of 2,000 troops to Quebec after learning General Montgomery was advancing, a source at British headquarters stated that Carlton was compelled to leave half his troops behind because their Indian and Canadian allies would have considered a full retreat to Quebec weakness and fear of the rebel advance.

Montgomery was able to surround St. Johns and seal it off from Montreal when a portion of his 2,000 troops slipped up the river past the heavily armed fort at night. A British rescue party of 800 men was repelled by New Hampshire’s Green Mountain boys, while Montgomery’s men captured a British supply train, leaving the British garrison with only three days of rations.

It is expected that Montgomery will advance to the weakly defended garrison at Montreal. There has been no news of Colonel Benedict Arnold and his 1,000 volunteers who left Cambridge in September, apparently headed for Quebec through the Maine wilderness.

In related news, the Earl of Dunmore, Royal Governor of Virginia, issued a proclamation promising freedom to all slaves who would desert their masters and join the Loyalist movement. The proclamation, written a week after Dunmore declared martial law, angered thousands of Virginia planters who consider themselves neutral in the rebellion.

In other news, the court martial of Dr. Benjamin Church concluded late last month when a military tribunal headed by General Washington found the former Surgeon General guilty of holding criminal correspondence with the enemy. Though General Washington urged the death penalty, the court relinquished the terms of Church’s punishment to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. Church has been taken to a prison in Connecticut, where he is expected to serve a moderate sentence.