America's Invasion of Canada

Summary

American History Hit: “America's Invasion of Canada”
Host: Don Wildman | Guest: Major Jonathan Bratton
Release Date: October 6, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Don Wildman is joined by Major Jonathan Bratton of the Maine Army National Guard to explore the dramatic and often-overlooked American invasion of Canada during the Revolutionary War, focusing on Benedict Arnold’s harrowing 1775 campaign through the wilds of Maine toward Quebec. The discussion covers the campaign's motives, the grueling journey, the climactic assault on Quebec City, and its aftermath—illuminating why Canada was targeted and why the operation failed, as well as the legacy it left for later military history.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Invade Canada? The Revolutionary Motive

[03:57–07:51]

• Historical Context: The plan to invade Canada was driven by longstanding colonial animosity toward “the big boogeyman” to the north. Many colonists had recently fought in the French and Indian War, which shaped their view that Quebec was “ripe for the picking.”
• Strategic Opportunity: In 1775, British forces were thin in Canada. “If you take out Canada, you remove that avenue of approach that the British have to attack from the north.” (Bratton, 07:44)
• Ideological Aspirations: The dream of a North American “union” that included Quebec as the 14th colony motivated decision-makers.
• Misjudging Local Sentiment: American assumptions that French Canadians would readily join the revolution ignored class divisions and the increasing number of British settlers, setting the stage for later miscalculations.

2. The Enigma of Benedict Arnold

[07:51–10:07]

• Early Promise: Arnold was “the ideal military leader”—a bold, enterprising merchant-soldier with logistical know-how and early Revolutionary success.
• Downside: His “impulsive nature… soon turns into a bit of hubris” (Wildman, 08:39), which would contribute to future infamy.
• Ticonderoga and the Route to Canada: Seizing Fort Ticonderoga preserved options for attacking Canada and enabled the transport of captured artillery to Dorchester Heights, ultimately instrumental in chasing the British out of Boston.

3. Into the Wilds: The Expedition Begins

[10:07–18:10]

• Arnold’s Ambition: As others moved north via traditional routes, Arnold pitched an ambitious flanking march through the Maine wilderness, believing he had found a secret backdoor to Quebec.
• Logistical Nightmares: Arnold’s “handmade boat flotilla”—the bateau—was ill-conceived due to green timber and a shortage of nails, leading to fragile and leaky transports. Maps were incomplete, underestimating the trek by as much as 90 miles.
• The ‘Who’s Who’ of Early America: The march included future notables like Aaron Burr, James Wilkinson, Daniel Morgan, and Henry Dearborn—seeding future American military and political folklore.

4. The Ordeal: Hardship and Near-Mutiny

[18:16–24:18]

• Nature’s Onslaught: Crossing Maine’s “height of land,” the men contended with green, waterlogged boats, ruined supplies, and relentless storms (“…a small hurricane, as some historians look at the weather patterns, which is very, really, really weird for October.” – Bratton, 20:50)
• Desperate Provisions: Men resorted to eating leather, candles, and even a dog, while exposure claimed many.
• Mass Desertion: Lt. Col. William Enos led half the force (about 700 men) in retreat, a move Arnold saw as mutiny: “He’s livid. Yeah, he’s absolutely livid. He’s seeking court martial…” (Bratton, 23:20) No punishment followed.

5. The Approach to Quebec

[24:18–26:52]

• Ragged Arrival: Approximately 675 survivors stumbled into a French-Canadian village, half-starved, requiring immediate aid from locals.
• Leadership Amid Calamity: Arnold’s charisma and “force of personality” kept the remaining men together. “He manages to within less than a month of coming out of the swamps, feed, almost clothe his soldiers, get them up to the St. Lawrence, get them within sight of Quebec City.” (Bratton, 26:12)

6. Besieging Quebec: The Pincer Fails

[26:52–36:16]

• Siege Setup: Richard Montgomery’s and Arnold’s forces intended a two-pronged assault; delays and lack of artillery forced them into a risky winter frontal attack.
• Quebec’s Fortifications: “It still is the only walled city left in North America... formidable.” (Bratton, 30:06)
• The Assault: On New Year’s Eve 1775, amidst a snowstorm, both columns attacked. A lucky blast of grapeshot killed Montgomery and his staff, collapsing one prong of the attack while Arnold was wounded and his force overrun. “So there’s no—now—it’s literally… all the focus is now, the attention is on Arnold and his force.” (Wildman, 36:16)

Memorable Moment

• On Montgomery’s Death:
  “Probably one of the worst timed blasts of grapeshot in American history kills Montgomery and the sort of leading attack party… And Montgomery’s dead and his second in command is dead. And the third in command goes, ‘I’m scared...’ and pulls the entire assaulting column back.” (Bratton, 33:24–34:10)

7. Aftermath and Legacy

[36:16–42:32]

• Collapse and Retreat: The failed assault resulted in 400 American prisoners, 50 dead, 40 wounded, and the shattered remains retreating to retrench before the arriving British reinforcements.
• Recurring Lessons: Despite future attempts—in 1812, and even diplomatic maneuvers later—America would never come so close to controlling Canada.
• Impact on the War: The failed campaign was “extraordinarily important to set up for what comes later… the whole war shifting down to sort of the mid Atlantic region.” (Wildman, 42:32)

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Notable Quotes

• “Canada has just always been the boogeyman… ever since the beginning.”
  — Jonathan Bratton [06:18]
• On Arnold’s march:
  “There are soldiers dying of exposure right and left. There’s frosts in the swamps. There’s a Pennsylvania rifleman who dies—his wife… picks up his kit and walks off to go invade Quebec with Arnold. We’re talking about some incredibly horrific privations.”
  — Bratton [24:18]
• On Quebec’s walls:
  “If you ever go up there, you look at the walls, you go, ‘Oh my God. What on earth were they thinking?’”
  — Bratton [30:06]
• On smallpox and final withdrawal:
  “Smallpox is the chief killer of the northern army… And then just when smallpox is destroying the combat power, the British show up in the spring of 1776.”
  — Bratton [40:07]

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Timeline of Key Events (with Timestamps)

• [03:57] The rationale for invading Canada and the colonial mindset
• [07:51] Benedict Arnold’s military qualities and Ticonderoga
• [10:07] Arnold proposes the Maine wilderness route
• [12:00] Map and logistical failures, the challenges of the bateau
• [18:16] The “cursed expedition” begins, leading into starvation and storms
• [23:05] Enos’s retreat: 700 men abandon the expedition
• [23:48] Ragged survivors reach Canada, nursed by locals
• [26:52] Join Montgomery, prepare for pincer assault, besiege Quebec
• [33:17] The New Year’s Eve assault and the abrupt defeat
• [38:33] The closest America came to conquering Canada, and its echo in later wars
• [40:07] Smallpox ravages the Army and the campaign collapses
• [42:32] Broader significance: how defeat shaped the later course of the Revolution

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Conclusion & Resources

The episode casts new light on the “forgotten” campaign to conquer Canada, highlighting Benedict Arnold’s complex leadership, the terrible ordeal suffered by his men, and the far-reaching consequences of the failed invasion. The story is not just one of military mishap, but of enduring human spirit and the unpredictability that shaped early American history.

To learn more:
Jonathan Bratton recommends the US Army Center of Military History website (history.army.mil) for accessible resources, especially the concise new publication on the Canadian Campaign.

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Guest sign-off:
“This is like the who’s who of American military history—and also so rapscallion agree on this expedition.”
— Jonathan Bratton [19:52]

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Host sign-off:
“All of this is extraordinarily important to set up for what comes later…”
— Don Wildman [42:32]

Transcript

[Mario Lopez]

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[Don Wildman]

They have come so far through the sodden, tangled forests of Maine, pushing leaking boats along flooded rivers, through weeks of starvation and illness when shoe leather became a meal. Now, standing in snow, a blizzard howling around them, they look to the steep barricades of Quebec. Exhausted eyes staring into the predawn darkness, Everyone aware of the knife's edge of history they teeter upon. All the months of sacrifice, the hardship, the resolve converging on this one desperate assault. This is their chance to seize the city and try and make Canada the 14th American colony. They move quietly, stealthily, undetected in the snow. Soon enough, muskets and cannon roar. The battle for Quebec is underway. Greetings one and all. This is American history. Hit and I'm Don Wildman. It's sometimes tough to ground your feet solidly in the early history of the American Revolution, so let's review a few events. Everybody knows about Lexington and Concord, spring of 75, shot Heard round the world. Bunker Hill. That British victory that comes at such a bloody cost follows in June, July. George Washington arrives to organize the Continental army surrounding Boston. The siege of Boston and that stalemate lasts until the following March, when the British finally evacuate under threat of American artillery. That siege is the backdrop of a remarkably grueling event that often escapes notice. Certainly when we were youngsters locking in the basics of the revolution. In the fall months of 1775, there was a critical and pivotal scene setter of so much which comes later. It involved none other than the infamous Benedict Arnold, though this is the early heroic Arnold, the one so full of vim and vigor, hell bent on victory against the tyrants. It is the American invasion of Quebec, Canada today our peaceful ally and primary trading partner to the north, which might be the reason we never hear much about it happened in the fall and winter of 1775. And today we have just the man to explain it all. Jonathan Bratton is a major in the Maine Army National Guard. On this series, he has previously attacked the history of Bunker Hill, demystified George Washington's generalling even took on the counterfactual. What if the British had won? All these and more you can find in our very lively background, backlogged, wherever you get your podcasts and please do. Hello, Jonathan Bratton. Welcome back to American History hit. Let's do this again.

[Jonathan Bratton]

I would love to dive into the Canadian campaign. Thanks so much, John.

[Don Wildman]

This story divides in three parts. Preparation in March, the battle, and the aftermath. All this takes place, a lot of it anyway, takes place in the woods of Maine, your home turf. Where did this notion come from? Why head north to Canada and specifically Quebec and. And why in the world, with winter looming?

[Jonathan Bratton]

Phenomenal questions that really we need to ask ourselves all the time in nearly every war until after the Civil War, why go to Canada? Just sort of as a sideshow. There's almost like this urge inside American colonists at this point, just like, well, Canada should be part of us. Remember, English colonists have been making war against Canada and primarily, you know, before the British, the French, obviously, since we basically showed up, you know, Canada was the big boogeyman. So for these colonists in 1775, they'd grown up in the shadow of or taking part in the colonial war, specifically the French and Indian War, 1754-1763, where the British seize Canada. So a lot of people have cut their teeth there. There's this idea that Quebec should be the 14th colony. There are committees of safety that meet in Quebec and Nova Scotia. We should say that when we talk about Canada, we are referring to Quebec and Nova Scotia, which are two colonies that today comprise, you know, the greater part of eastern Canada, but split up into two colonies. So there's this idea that ideologically, Quebec is ripe for the picking to join this burgeoning revolution. There's also the idea that if we were going to get it, we got to go now, right? You know, this is the time where the British are the weakest. In 1775, they have yet to send major reinforcements. They don't have a war winning strategy yet. Got to rely on that giant ocean right there to just slow everything down. So take advantage, strike while the iron is hot. And because Canada is rightfully, you know.

[Don Wildman]

Should be American, it should be a 14th colony. And then state, right, that they basically are looking at this as one big North American union, basically.

[Jonathan Bratton]

And we have to remember, you know, we talk about the Thirteen Colonies. The Thirteen Colonies, there are about 31 to 33 British colonies in North America. You know, once you start looking at the Caribbean, and then once you go, oh, only 13 out of those, 32 or so rebelled, you know, it starts putting things into perspective. What is important in Canada? Quebec is growing and it's small. Honestly, the biggest asset and really, if you can knock out Quebec or if you can bring Quebec into the fold ideologically, hey, that's great. We have more people on our side who don't like the British. You know who really doesn't like the British? The French. The French Canadians in Quebec. They're hoping for that.

[Don Wildman]

There are a lot of French people there. I mean, there's tens of thousands of people. It's an enormous population at this time. So, yeah, the Americans or the soon to be Americans are all thinking, gee, these people just hate the British, so let's just give them a reason to rise up against them. And that's kind of the seed of all of this thinking, isn't it?

[Jonathan Bratton]

Yeah. And this is sort of a problem because, yes, the French in Canada don't love the English. However, it's not just French in Canada. There are a whole bunch of British who have arrived there since the end of the war in 1763. You have a whole bunch of different class issues about the peasants, the landowners, the gentry in the French class system as well as the British class system. So you've got a bunch of different things going on inside Canada that really American policymakers, decision makers, military leaders don't quite fully understand. To them, Canada has just always been the boogeyman that's like been in the background that they've been. They and their parents and their grandparents, their great grandparents have been fighting really ever since the beginning. But when you look at in the summer of 1775, really early summer May to June, as Benedict Arnold completes his sort of cleanup of Lake Champlain after seizing Ticondero, what he gets is one of his intelligence coup is that he seizes basically a list of all the British soldiers in North America. And with that, he and everyone else realizes, oh, there's not a lot of troops in Canada. Oh, this should be easy. And if you take out Canada, you remove that avenue of approach that the British have to attack from the north.

[Don Wildman]

Sure. Let's talk about Benedict Arnold. An enigma of a guy. He has, as you say, distinguished himself early in the struggle. May 1775, you already mentioned it. He has the command dictated by Massachusetts to take a tiny force and seize Port Ticonderoga, which is at the bottom of Lake Champlain. Very strategic place. He is the ideal military leader for this. Bold, intrepid, thinks outside the box at this point. That's who Benedict Arnold is.

[Jonathan Bratton]

He is. And he's also a merchant, which means that he understands the sea, he understands logistics, he understands people, and he's pretty well loaded at this point. And the revolution will ensure that he loses his fortune really rapidly, which may cause him to be a little bit bitter since Congress doesn' Ever reimburse him because Congress is broke the entire war.

[Don Wildman]

That impulsive nature which we're calling bold and intrepid soon turns into a bit of hubris and a lot of other personality flaws which take over and are his curse. I want to just really understand Ticonderoga without getting too much in the weeds of it. This was, of course, the source of the artillery that ends up being posted in the Dorchester Heights over Boston harbor that later on will chase the British out of Boston. That was his plan, right? That was his understanding of take Ticonderoga.

[Jonathan Bratton]

For this reason, not just for the ordinance that's inside it, really. They're looking at Connecticut and Massachusetts, both commission Arnold and then also Ethan Allen to take Ticonderoga, to remove a threat essentially to their western borders, and then also to possibly look to having a route into Canada. So Ticonderoga is taken with a bit of foresight into, hey, if we wanted to, let's preserve some options. Let's keep some options open if we ever want to go towards Canada. Because there's a bunch of people thinking it should be part of the 14th. Sure.

[Don Wildman]

Well, it makes sense. It speaks to the whole chess game that's being played at this point, which is all New England. I mean, of course, everyone's involved in the discussions up and down the eastern seaboard, but the primary actions are all New England. If we can pin them down and take Canada, we're in pretty good shape for leveraging this whole situation. Washington agrees to Arnold's plan. I'm curious how Arnold planned presented this idea.

[Jonathan Bratton]

So Arnold's actually a little bit sulky when he comes to Cambridge in the summer of 1775 because he shows up and says basically like, hey, dad, look what I've got. I got this fort, I got these plans. I have this idea to invade Canada. I should go invade Canada. And Washington's like, yeah, cool kid. I'm going to invade Canada, but I'm not sending you. So he actually sends on the main route, on the main avenue of approach. So essentially the Champlain to Richelieu river to St. Lawrence corridor that runs south to north, there is Brigadier General Richard Montgomery. He's a former British soldier, Irish born, tons of Experience. And he's leading a bunch of mostly New York troops. New York and a few New England troops in this route up towards Montreal in the fall, late summer, fall of 1775. And they get bogged down almost immediately besieging the Fort St. Jean on the edge of the Richelieu River. And they're just hung up there while they're hung up. Arnold sort of sees this as his opportunity. He's like, hey, so I was looking at some old maps and I have this other idea. What if we go for Quebec City through the main backcountry and Washington goes, yeah, that seems like a great idea. I have very few troops. We'll get volunteers out of the army at Boston. So Arnold raises a force of about 1200. Never gets really more than 15 to 1800. Not a large force if you are invading Canada. But Arnold believes that he has the secret backdoor route to Quebec City. No one will see him coming. No one expects it, because you're going through. Is described at the time as a howling wilderness.

[Don Wildman]

It still is. I mean, the Maine backwood, you go to Baxter State park, you know how much of a tangle that that state is? It's extraordinary. And for those days, there's only water routes. Right. That's the only way they're going to get up there.

[Jonathan Bratton]

Yeah. So Maine at this point is very sparsely settled. You've got about 35,000 people spread out across really most of the lower half of the state. And this route that Arnold is proposing had only been recently mapped by a British engineer. John Montresor, who actually is in still in America, operating with the British army in Boston, had already taken part in the Lexington Concord expedition. In fact, we could do an entire podcast about John Montresor because he's one of these guys who's just like, at every single major event of the American Revolution and then documented it. But Montresor mapped it after the seizure of Canada in 1760-63. And he left a map. The problem is he left off about like 60 to 90 miles of that on that map. So it is not complete. I don't know if he also left a note on the map. I don't think he did, but that was like, hey, bring extra food. I ate my shoes literally on the second time that I did this, because there's nothing there. Maine is a lot of wilderness. Right. But this is a uniquely rough route. Once you go up, up the Kennebec, you leave the Kennebec, you have to cross over this area called the height of Land. If you stand there and look up, well, you have to look up. And that's basically like the whole sort of ascent. The beginning of this really arduous expedition into an area where there's just not a lot of game, there's not a lot of fish. So all those things that you think about with Maine, you know, lots of people go on vacation there. They're like, oh, I go hunting, I go fishing. What's wrong with them? Why couldn't they sustain it? Well, yeah, you try sustaining a 1200 man force in the fall. So the obstacles that Arnold is facing are many. And then he's not fully aware of what he's undertaking.

[Don Wildman]

Yeah. And the first episode of this really is that they have to sail from Massachusetts. I mean, all of it is Massachusetts in these days. But they have to make an ocean crossing to the mouth of the Kennebec River. Right. This is the first step in the process. Everything about this trip is insane, let's say challenging, to say the least. Let's come back after the break and head into the wilderness with these men and see what happens.

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[Don Wildman]

Welcome back. We're discussing with Major Jonathan Bratton the attempted American invasion of Canada. Canada, fall of 1775. Jonathan When Arnold and his men head into the wilderness, they'll have to journey about 300 miles. Starting out from Cambridge, Massachusetts. Understand there's no state of Maine in these days. This is part of Massachusetts back then, right mid September, where did they even begin to march in?

[Jonathan Bratton]

As much as I hate to admit it, yes, Maine was part of Massachusetts until 1820. The beginning of this is really at what is today historic Fort Western. So it's in Augusta, modern day Augusta, Maine. When Arnold gets this crazy idea, hey, I'm gonna invade Canada through Maine. He puts in a massive order for like 300 bateaux. Now a bateau is. It runs the gamut of being a massive sort of flat bottom craft. We'll just summarize it as it is a handmade boat that is meant to carry cargo and personnel of original French design. He puts in an order for like 2 to 300 handmade bateau to this dude living in modern day Gardner, Maine. This, you know, obviously is a lot of material that is needed for this, which obviously isn't on hand because no one just has, hey, I've got timber enough for 200 bateaux. So obviously the wood is not seasoned, it is green. There are not enough nails. Anyone see where this could possibly go wrong? Yeah. So basically Arnold gets up here after leaving, I think it's around September 26th or so. He leaves Newburyport, he gets up to Augusta area, gets to Fort Western, and so he starts fitting out the expedition, essentially getting the bateau, realizes there's not enough bateau and sort of trying to overcome the initial logistical difficulties before he sets off on this expedition.

[Don Wildman]

He believes it's a lot shorter a trip than it actually is. Is this because he has bad maps?

[Jonathan Bratton]

Yeah, it's fundamentally because his map is about 60 to 90 miles too short. He does send off a scouting party. They do go ahead. They run into logist difficulties. They don't have enough food. They think they see the mountain that is sort of the last obstacle before descending down into Canada. They see the wrong mountain. You know, this is the most like Cursed expedition ever.

[Don Wildman]

Well, not to mention they're leaving in September, late September. I would know to say to Benedict Arnold, are you crazy? This is going to take you right into the cold weather. It's already getting cold in Maine at that point.

[Jonathan Bratton]

It is. And they know this. They're not stupid. So Washington issues a 14 point order to Arnold before he leaves. And one of those is, hey, if the weather gets bad, you have to use your own judgment and say, you know, if it gets real bad, you got to call it. You know, you've just got to go ahead and turn around and come back. There's other things in there. Instructions about the inhabitants, you know, honor their religion. We get it. We don't love the Catholics. You're going to be with a bunch of New Englanders who don't like the Catholics. They've been fighting Catholicism for a really long time. They're not allowed to go do, you know, burn churches or break things or anything like that. Treat everyone with respect, Commander in chief. Things like, hey, we want to like, have these people be friendly to us. So Washington's aware of this, Arnold's aware of it. Arnold's trying to build his force as best he can in Augusta. I forgot to mention, everyone who's like anyone in American history is on this trip. Like, Aaron Burr is a private on this trip. James Wilkinson, who is going to like, like, we know Benedict Arnold as like the greatest traitor in American history. Right. Well, Aaron Burr should probably be up there because Aaron Burr was a vice president when he was doing his treason. So Aaron burns on there. James Wilkinson, who also is a horrendous traitor in American history, was in the pay of the Spanish as the general of the army between the Revolution and the War of 1812, is on this expedition. Daniel Morgan is on this expedition. Henry Dearborn, future Secretary of War during the War of 1812. This is like the who's who of American military history. And also so rapscallion agree on this expedition.

[Don Wildman]

It's almost like Guadalcanal, isn't it? I mean, it's the beginning of this enormous campaign or this enormous war. And this will have been the campaign that really cut people's teeth on the whole thing. This march will take about six to eight weeks. By late October, the weather has become extraordinary. Right. It's worse than they imagined. It's dark, it's stormy. I mean, these are gusty, gusty winds.

[Jonathan Bratton]

Yeah. So their first leg is going up the Kennebec. And that's got its own problems, but at least you're on water. The biggest issue issue is the second leg, when you have to begin your first portage to go over the height of land. This is a massive logistical problem. These boats weigh 400 pounds and they're green wood, so they're soaked with water. Like they just suck the water into them so they're even heavier. The water that gets into the boats gets into the dried peas, gets into the flour, and so you're losing provisions. Arnold eventually breaks up his group into three sections. He sort of has an advance guard to move ahead, scout out the trail. They're worried about Wabanaki Indian ambushes which never really materialize. They are concerned about sort of enemy contact. And then he's got his sort of middle group, and then he's got his rear guard, which has most of the provisions. And about halfway into this thing with, as you say, the weather is awful. There's basically a nor' easter or a small hurricane, as some historians look at the weather patterns, which is very, really, really weird for October. Like really late comes in just as the advance parties on what's called the Dead River. Not because you know you all die when you get on there, it's just, it's reflect referring to how slow it goes. But with this, the advance guards on the Dead river, the main body and the. The rear guard are still doing their portage. It's awful. It's pouring rain. It is miserable. Provisions are running like they're already down on half rations. And this is when the rear guard, which is composed of the majority of troops with most of the provisions under Lt. Col. William Enos from Vermont, decides to hold a little council of war about what they should do, because everyone remembers those orders that Washington gave. Hey, if the weather gets bad, you gotta call it. So Arnold's pressing ahead, pressing ahead. He's going back and forth, by the way, between all of these groups. So he's got to be exhausted and he's going, hey, no, keep your spirits up. We're going to keep going. We're going to keep going. But his rear guard does eventually vote when he's not there, that, hey, you know, discretion is the better part of valor. We out. And they, they split the rations with the. The main body. They actually take the majority of them and they peace out. Back to Cambridge.

[Don Wildman]

How many?

[Jonathan Bratton]

You're looking at about 700.

[Don Wildman]

Oh, my God.

[Jonathan Bratton]

Half the force, so half the force. So before Arnold even gets close to Quebec, he's already down by half strength.

[Don Wildman]

He must see this as mutiny, right? I mean, this is.

[Jonathan Bratton]

He's livid. Yeah, he's absolutely livid. He's seeking court martial for them when he, you know, fast forward a while because, you know it's going to be a hot minute before Arnold gets a chance to ever, like, go back to Cambridge and sort this out. Nothing ever comes of these guys. Arnold requests a court martial. Too much time has passed. Washington's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I got other stuff going on. Like, you know, we can't spare these guys. So there are no repercussions for Enos and those other officers who opt out.

[Don Wildman]

Right. It's November 1775 when about 675 survivors, half of that original forces, we say, stumble into Sardagon, a French Canadian village. They are ragged, they are half starved. I mean, what they've been through, we could have made a whole episode. It was extraordinary. Death fighting, hurricane, floods. These guys just look like ragtag soldiers who stumbled in from the forest. Local Canadians have to sort of rescue them, right? Feed and clothe them.

[Jonathan Bratton]

Yeah. Going through the last swamps as they head down towards the Chaudier River. This is when they realize, oh, gosh, we wish we hadn't left the boats behind, because boats would have been great, but there was no way that they would have been able to bring the boats. We're way too heavy. These guys are eating their shoes. They're eating anything leather. They're eating candles. They kill Henry Dearborn's dog and eat it. There are soldiers dying of exposure right and left. There's frosts in the swamps. There's a Pennsylvania rifleman who dies. His wife is accompanied by them, picks up his kit and walks off to go invade Quebec with Arnold. We're talking about some incredibly horrific privations that these soldiers and their accompanying spouses are enduring. It's absolutely insane. So, yeah, when they're coming out, they're absolutely starving. Arnold has enough of his messages gotten ahead to say that, hey, we're coming, we are not invading. Please help. There is food. As these guys start straggling out of the swamps. Unfortunately, what's also happened is that some of his letters that have gone ahead have also been captured by the British. Sir Guy Carleton, the royal Governor of Canada, is aware that they're coming. Fortunately for Arnold, Carleton has other problems on his hand, which is called Richard Montgomery, has finally broken the Siege of St Jean, has taken Montreal and is poised to look to be advancing on Quebec City. So Carlton is fleeing backwards towards Quebec City to try to put it in a state of repair and fortification as Arnold's guys are Just sort of coming out of these frozen swamps and they are not by any means combat ready at all.

[Don Wildman]

Yeah, so there we are. I think we have to note this speaks well of Arnold, that these guys who stuck with him, half the force still believe in this mission, that they still follow this man. I mean, that's the honor that he carries, isn't it?

[Jonathan Bratton]

And force of personality too. I mean, when American soldiers don't want to do something, they're. There's tons of examples in history to show that they just won't, you know, that American individual spirit of just like, nope, not going to do it. The force of Arnold's personality really can't. We can't emphasize it enough. He manages to within less than a month of coming out of the swamps, feed, almost clothe his soldiers, get them up to the St. Lawrence, get them within sight of Quebec City. And. But for some doggone scaling ladders around the Quebec's wall in early December of 1775, Quebec City probably would have been taken.

[Don Wildman]

We're in the midst of what is essentially a pincer action. You know, we've got the guys coming up from the south, Richard Montgomery's forces, and this is key because of the timing involved that as you say, they're holding off from attacking Quebec, waiting for this arrival to happen. So when we come back after this next break, let's attack Canada. It's third down.

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[Don Wildman]

It is time for our mission to take place. My Lord, it's amazing they even remembered what they were doing. After all, they came through leadership. Question. Jonathan, you're a military man. How in the world do you keep focus on a mission of this sort?

[Jonathan Bratton]

Boy, that's a good question. Arnold is noted for having been a person of immense character and personality. Like you could feel people talked about when you spoke to him. You could sort of feel his eyes boring into you. Arnold also shared all the privations of his soldiers. That is probably the best way. Leading by example is the best way to reinforce discipline in an army that has no discipline because it's not trained. Remember, these are. These were all civilians or militia members until, you know, May of 1775, and we're in November, so we're. No one's had any type of basic training. There is no underlying training regimen. It's literally, we are following you because of loyalty, we are following you because of duty or this idea that we have a cause for all the varying reasons. We finally get this united force of Montgomery and Arnold showing up outside the Wal Walls of Quebec City in December of 1775. Arnold had. He had scaling ladders on hand to actually attack those walls. He had a very good chance of getting into the city walls, but there was no way for his force to get in. So he has to wait for Montgomery to show up with artillery.

[Don Wildman]

Okay, so let's talk about the objective. How difficult a city is this to attack today?

[Jonathan Bratton]

It still is the only walled city left in North America. If you ever go up there, you look at the walls, you go, oh, my God. What on earth were they thinking? Thinking, yeah, it's a. It's a formidable objective. But when Arnold arrives, it is not fully manned. So Sir Guy Carlton is the royal governor of Canada, and he realizes very quickly, like, yes, Quebec City, heavy fortifications, tons of artillery. We don't have enough people here. He has a very small garrison of only like, 250 regular troops. Vast majority are all down in Boston. What he does is he basically brings in a bunch of sailors, arms them, brings in a bunch of city loyalists, arms them to try to get a force to be able to man the walls, to man the guns, and to put up a stout defense. He's worried about people inside the city who might be sort of, you know, not to be anachronistic, but like, fifth columnists might be siding with the patriots. So he's got a lot of things on his mind, and it's definitely never a given that he's going to have enough troops. He's really wasting. His objective is to hold on until the spring when reinforcements can arrive and when the mouth of the river thaws, essentially.

[Don Wildman]

Carlton's a formidable guy. Always impresses me with the stories. Just picture this place. As Jonathan's explaining, Quebec sits at the top. It's right on the river. It sits at the top of a hill with really steep walls. There's kind of two parts of this place. There's the upper town, which is behind those walls, and then there's a lower town, which has smaller defenses but has the river right there. So, you know, it's like a moat. And so there's a very, very difficult path to getting into this thing, which is really why he has to wait for. For Montgomery's arrival, which is. Gives, of course, the British time to do, as you say, get ready for this whole thing. There's about a thousand men inside of the city to defend, including Scottish Highlanders. That just sounds bad for everybody. When Montgomery comes, we're in the later part of December, so they've been actually camped over the other side of the river for all the British are watching them from above. I mean, it's a terrible idea. I can't believe that somebody didn't say, you know what, let's hold off on this until spring, you know, just for our own survival.

[Jonathan Bratton]

Well, everyone knows that spring is the time when we're going to see an actual response from Parliament, because we haven't really seen a significant response. They send reinforcements in the summer of 1775, but really, everyone knows that 1776 is going to be the big response. You know, Parliament is not going to be happy, and they're going ascend, as they do, between 20 to 30,000 troops, you know, a massive expedition. They know they're probably going to come in via Halifax or Quebec because they're open ports. So if they can seize Quebec now, they seal off this. This northern approach. They realize, man, if we can take Quebec City, what a great spot this will be. We control the St. Lawrence. We won't let the British in, and we'll basically. We'll basically be able to have a small force here to hold a British off while we mass against the British in New York or Massachusetts or wherever they should show up. So this is their sort of last chance. And they all realize that they launch.

[Don Wildman]

On New Year's Eve, December 31, in a snowstorm, intentionally, as cover for attack, take us through the battle.

[Jonathan Bratton]

So the rationale behind this is twofold. One, everyone's enlistments run out on January 1st. This is one of those planning factors of, like, hey, make sure, you know, when everyone's enlistments are good through, you've got the enlistment problem. You have the problem that the Continentals don't have enough artillery to basically breach the walls. Really, if you're going to do an operation of this type, they don't have enough artillery to breach the walls. They don't have enough troops for a siege. So what does that leave you with? That means you have to attack. You have to have an assault of some kind. And what they're looking for is they're looking for some bad weather to do it in. They want to have obscuration from a snowstorm. There's a couple false starts in the days prior of, hey, we're going to go, we're going to go. You know, it's like D day kind of feeling, hey, we're going tonight. We're going to, oh, nope, no jump tonight. That type of thing. And now it's like, oh, invasion tonight on New Year's Eve, they get the weather that they need and, and they execute an attack which is, it's another pincher movement. They leave a very small force at their camps with some light artillery pieces to demonstrate in front of the city walls to fix the British attention there, while two other forces try to maneuver around the city. So Montgomery has the larger force around 6 to 700 troops. He sweeps south around Cap d' ament to try to seize one of the main city gates to sweep into the upper town. Meanwhile, Arnold, with a slightly smaller force, he's going to attack the northern gate of the southern town and then work his way into the southern town to then attack through the city itself into the upper town and seize the fortifications from there. So it's this double envelopment. Double envelopments are tough. They're really tricky to keep synchronized. This soldiers all have green sprigs or pieces of paper in their hats to try to help distinguish them from friend to foe. Especially in a snowstorm. Everything's going super well. Arnold crosses the walls. They're going in the lower town. Montgomery's leading his force in. They find what they believe is a open passageway into the city. And then probably one of the worst timed blasts of grapeshot in American history kills Montgomery and the sort of leading attack party. You know, maybe if you're, if you're leading an assault, maybe don't post yourself on the right in the, in the front. But, you know, leading by example. And Montgomery's dead and his second in command is dead. And the third in command goes, I'm scared. And I don't think we should do this anymore. And pulls the entire assaulting column back.

[Don Wildman]

So much for the pincer action.

[Jonathan Bratton]

Yeah, so much for the. Exactly. So there's no. Now it's. It's literally everyone's. All the focus is now. The attention is on Arnold and his force.

[Don Wildman]

And he gets wounded in the leg. He is shot. This is one of several injuries he will undergo in this war. He's shot in the leg. He passes his command to Daniel Morgan, who was a very capable commander, big name, as you've mentioned already. But of course, the whole strategy has fallen apart at this point.

[Jonathan Bratton]

Yeah, everything's sort of broken down. Carleton had been panicking a little bit because he realized that he was. Was about to be attacked on both sides, didn't have enough troops. And all of a sudden, with one attacking column gone, he can now focus entirely on Arnold. Arnold shot in the leg as the same leg that he will continue to be shot in throughout the war. He is withdrawn from the city. Morgan is fighting essentially house to house, and realizes after several hours that one, they're out of ammunition, they have a lot of wet powder, can't really fight back. Two, they are surround on pretty much all sides. And so Morgan will surrender and this whole attacking column essentially what the survivors either surrender or find their way out of the city. Which leaves us where. Which leaves us with Arnold with a gunshot. You know, Arnold is now in command of the entire expedition, what's left of it. He's got a gunshot wound in the leg. It's winter. There's a whole bunch of uncertainty about who's actually in the army with all the enlistments and everything like that. So he's trying to convince people to, hey, re up, sign up, back up again. Please trust me, I, I know you just went through this really horrific ordeal. Please trust me. We're going to get through this. And then also, you know, sending back word back through, you know, continental controlled Montreal, back down to Washington, you know, so this is. These are letters that I go to Montreal, to Ticonderoga, to Cambridge. It's going to take a hot second. Hey, boss, here's what's going on. Not optimal. Please send help. We need more troops.

[Don Wildman]

I mean, the statistics are the patriots, you know, under Morgan, 400 were captured. It was a lot of prisoners of war. 50 are dead, 40 wounded. The defenders, they lost only 20 to 50 casualties. It was really a very light effect on them. This would be the closest America ever came to controlling Canada, isn't it?

[Jonathan Bratton]

It is. It is not for lack of trying, immediately following Saratoga, Congress is like, okay, so Canada and, and actually Washington sends Lafayette up there to sort of look around and be like, hey, what do you think? Lafayette's like, dude, it's the winter again. Did we not learn about this maybe? No, we're not. We're not doing it. There are, of course, War of 1812 begins with a three pronged assault against Canada. Every single one fails, right? The last sort of major to acquire Canada actually happened by the US Government. Officially happens post Civil war with the CSS Alabama claims the Confederate Commerce Raider that had been built in Britain. The US Sues Great Britain for the loss of the tonnage caused by that commerce raider and says, hey, you can give us this many million dollars or we'll take Canada. And Great Britain's like, yeah, no, here's a few million to get you to stop talking. But yeah, this is, this is the closest.

[Don Wildman]

And in the revisionist version of Arnold's story, which I don't subscribe to, but it's an interesting counterfactual. Had he been more substantially supported in his mission, had they gone in with those ladders, for one thing, you know, let alone more men and better boats, that was a pretty good idea. I mean, you, you mentioned it just a while ago. Had they controlled Quebec, My goodness, there was a lot of. Of goodness that could come from that. How does this event resonate through. Through to, let's say, Saratoga? I mean, the whole Canadian factor in.

[Jonathan Bratton]

The northern campaign, it's kind of fascinating because the situation outside Quebec that you think couldn't get any worse gets worse. Yes, Arnold gets a bunch of reinforcements. He also gets a bunch of new commanding general officers that Washington ships up there. And he also gets a lot of smallpox. So smallpox hits as they're sort of in these miserable camps outside Quebec City through the winter, 1775-1770. 1776. Smallpox is the chief killer of the northern army, of the Continental army. You have the northern army, the main army, and the southern army. The northern army is absolutely decimated by smallpox, is going to kill one of their commanders who sort of didn't believe that it was that bad. And then he gets there and realizes it is this bad. And then just when smallpox is destroying the combat power, the British show up in the spring of 1776. A lot of reinforcements, Carlton and this guy, John Burgoyne, who will feature heavily in the northern theater, push out from Quebec City. There's a few brief battles that do not go well, but a few future big names in the Continental army do pretty well in them, one of them being Anthony Wayne, who is able to get his force off the field in good order. And that's called doing well in the Canadian campaign. By June of 1776, I mean, this thing is done. Arnold's writing about back to his superiors, saying, hey, it's over. Prepare river transports, prepare defenses. We need a flute and lake giant plane to contend. He's already thinking a few steps ahead. We have to contend and contest the lake because they're going to be invading down if there's too strong. Continental leaders. Arnold, Wayne, Sullivan, others are sort of by force of personality holding this tiny force only about like 800 troops at the end together as they pull out of Canada, there's this sort of legend. James Wilkinson talks about it in his diary. But James Wilkinson also lied about nearly everything in his career that says that Arnold was the last person to leave the shores of Canada, actually shoots his horse prior to getting on board the boat in order that the British cannot have that. They sort of burn everything in their retreat, go back down the lake. Now Arnold and Philip Schuyler, the overall continental commander of the Northern theater, have to build this army from scratch again to contest the British attempt down the lake.

[Don Wildman]

In some ways, this failed invasion of Canada is on par a bit with Washington's retreat from New York. These kind of moments in this beginning of the war when we just get away with just enough to keep going in that way the Americans were, you can say there was. They were blessed in a way. Arnold, as you say, eventually sets up for the battle of Valcour island, fall of 1770. All of this is extraordinarily important to set up for what comes later, which is the whole war shifting down to sort of the mid Atlantic region. Major Jonathan Bratton of the Maine National Guard, I salute you, sir. How can people find out more about this tale?

[Jonathan Bratton]

So to learn more about the invasion of Canada and the American Revolution in general, you can go to History Army Mil, which is the army center of Military History website with a whole section on the American Revolution, including all of our publications. We have a recently released Canadian Campaign examination of the Canadian campaign. It's only about 80 pages long. It's a great summary by a fantastic historian. You can check out the other works that are in there, shout out to opening shots that I got lucky to be a co author on. So a whole bunch of resources there for you.

[Don Wildman]

Thank you so much for telling us this story. We will doubtlessly have you back again soon.

[Jonathan Bratton]

Always a pleasure. Thank you so much.

[Don Wildman]

Thanks for listening to this episode of American History Hit as you've made it this far, why not like and follow us wherever you get your podcasts? American History Hit A podcast from History Hit.