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The conflict phase of the American Revolution began with the Battle of Lexington and Concord in the spring of 1775. After that the British Army was bottled up in the Siege of Boston, royal governors were being forced to leave the other British colonies, and the American Congress had created the Continental Army. Congress sought a way to seize the initiative.
Several times during the French and Indian Wars the British colonies had either fought in Canada or been subjected to northern and western pressure from Indians supplied and provoked by the French. Congress authorized General Philip Schuyler, commander of the Northern Department to mount an invasion to drive British forces from Canada. He sent General Richard MontgomeryRichard Montgomery ( December 2, 1738- December 31, 1775) was an Irish- American soldier. He was born in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland, the son of Thomas Montgomery (a member of Parliament) and Mary Franklin Montgomery. He was an officer in the British A north with an invasion force. General WashingtonGeorge Washington ( February 22, 1732— December 14, 1799), also called Father of his Country 1 was an American general and Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War ( 1775 1783) and later the first President of the Unite also sent Benedict ArnoldBenedict Arnold, V ( January 14, 1741 June 14, 1801) was a Continental Army and British military leader. As a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, Arnold became well known when he left the Continental forces to rejoin the towards Quebec with a supporting force.
American forces took the north end of Lake ChamplainLake Champlain lies mostly in the United States, forming the country's sixth-largest body of water. It is situated between the Green Mountains of Vermont and the Adirondacks in New York, with its northern tip extending into Quebec, Canada. It is naturally and MontrealMontreal (/mVn. tri"Al/ in English, /mO~. re"al/ in French) is the largest city in the province of Quebec, Canada, where it also constitutes an administrative region. It is Canada's second most populous city after Toronto ( Statistics Canada), and the sec. By the end of 1775, they controlled the St. Lawrence River above Quebec, and had laid siege to the city and Canada's governor Guy CarletonSir Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester ( 1724- 1808) was a British soldier who served as Governor of Canada. Colonel Carleton was a part of James Wolfe's attack on Quebec City during the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. General Carleton repelled the Ameri. But this was the high water mark of the attack.
In a last desperate effort to take Quebec, they launched the Battle of Quebec (1775) and were soundly defeated. Montgomery was killed, Arnold was injured, Daniel Morgan and Ethan Allen were captured. When General John Thomas arrived to take command and replace Montgomery, he found the army severely weakened by the march north of the Arnold Expedition, smallpox, and the harsh Canadian winter. He immediately began a withdrawal.
In 1776, British forces in Canada were strengthened by troops under General John Burgoyne and Hessian mercenaries. The new American commander General Thomas died of smallpox. With the additional troops, Carleton drove the Americans all the way back to Fort Ticonderoga in New York state.
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Canadian history American Revolutionary War