General Richard Montgomery Cried a New Nation’s Defiance, Drew His Sword, and Charged the Cannon

The American Revolution was just over six months old. The young, energetic general had faced insurmountable hardships that brought his weary troops before the strongest and most formidable fortification in all the Americas; Quebec’s Citadel. In the dead of winter, when the north winds of Canada were fiercest, he and his battle worn men, thinned by casualties and plagued by sickness, stood facing the towering walls. He knew what they must do. His men knew what was expected of them. The odds were slim at best. On December 31, 1775, a frozen night that gripped the plains in a swirling blizzard, his men attacked. Too many who followed their general would never see another sunrise. More would suffer indescribable wounds from large caliber muskets and deadly grapeshot as cannon swept the field.  Yet miraculously, his column succeeded to storm the wall into the city. With his sword drawn, General Richard Montgomery bellowed the defiance of a new nation and charged before his men. The roar of cannon was deafening. Broken bodies littered the courtyard. Their blood flowed in red rivulets among the snow. The battle was over. Only the gentle touch of the silent snowfall was left, covering the general’s torn body in death’s shroud, immortalized by a grateful nation and the poet’s verse.

Brief brave and glorious was his young career; His mourners were two hosts, his friends and foes; And fitly may the stranger, lingering here; Pray for his gallant spirit’s bright repose.

Lord George Byron

Early Life

Richard Montgomery (1738[2] – 1775) was born on the 2^nd of December at Convoy House, his father’s seat of Lifford near Donegal and the town of Raphoe, County Dublin of northern Ireland. His father, Thomas Montgomery (1700 – 1761) was well connected; an officer in the British Army, he was also a member of Parliament (MP). Richard spent his childhood at Abbeville House in Kinsealy. There he learned the skills of a country gentleman, riding, shooting, hunting, as well as tutored in French, Latin, and the Classics. His parents’ wealth allowed Montgomery an early and liberal education at Trinity College, Dublin, enrolling in 1754 at age sixteen. At eighteen, prior to finishing his studies at Trinity, his father purchased an officer’s commission for Richard in the British army. On September 21, 1756, he was commissioned an ensign in the British 17^th Regiment of Foot.

Siege of Louisbourg, 1758

Not five months after Montgomery’s commission, on February 3, 1757, the 17^th Foot left its garrison at Galway and marched to Cork, Ireland, where they prepared for deployment to North America. The Seven Years War, 1756 – 1763, (The French and Indian War in America) was a global confrontation between British and Prussian allies against France and Spain. It officially started the year previously; however, the spark was lit on May 28, 1754 by a 22-year-old provincial officer, Lt. Col. George Washington. The brash young officer ambushed a French detachment, that turned out to be on a peaceful mission, killing the delegate; a French officer. Montgomery’s regiment set sail for Halifax, Nova Scotia on May 5, 1757, and arrived two months later. The 17th was to be part of a planned attack against the French fortress of Louisbourg, north of Halifax on the Atlantic coast of Cape Breton Island and at the entrance to the St. Lawrence River. The attack would be postponed and Montgomery’s regiment was shipped to winter at New York City.

Spring of 1758 saw the 17^th board ship where they returned to Halifax to be part of the siege of the citadel at Louisbourg. On May 28, 1758, a large navel and military force commanded by Major General Jeffery Amherst and Admiral Edward Boscawen left Halifax for Cape Breton. Over nine thousand British and American Provincial troops and over four thousand sailors in twenty-three ships-of-the-line, thirteen frigates, and numerous transports, arrived at Cabarrus Bay on June 2^nd. It was not until the 8^th of June, that the wind and surf had abated to allow the assault on the citadel to begin. The attack was split into three divisions. Two acted as a diversion while the third, under General James Wolfe, led the main attack. They landed in a perilous surf that was uncommonly high and in the face of a heavy and well directed fire from the defending French. Amhurst would write, “Many of our boats overset, several broke to pieces, and all the men jumped into the water to get on shore.” Wolfe and his officers, including Montgomery, ordered the men to fix bayonets and press forward. The outer French defenses were routed and withdrew back towards the city. Montgomery’s unit, along with the rest of Wolfe’s force, followed the French to just outside the fort’s massive guns.

Here, before the fortress guns, Montgomery’s troops dug entrenchments and breastworks. Due to bad weather that delayed materials to besiege the city, the 17th would hold this position for several weeks. On July 9^th, the French attempted a breakout that was fiercely met and driven back. On July 26^th, after much of the destruction of the French fleet, the garrison had no choice but to surrender. Both Generals Wolfe and Amherst were impressed by the young ensign’s courage and leadership qualities. Shortly after the French capitulation, Amherst, based on Montgomery’s actions during the siege, promoted him to lieutenant without purchase on July 10^th, 1758.

Fort Carillon, 1759

During the Siege of Louisbourg, General James Abercrombie (Commander of all British Forces in America) led a powerful army against Fort Carillon on Lake Champlain.  They attacked on July 8, 1758, but were repelled with heavy losses, forcing the British to withdraw; however, the British were not through with the French fort. The next month, in August, Montgomery’s 17^th Foot boarded ships at Louisbourg and sailed to Boston. There they marched the 170 miles overland to Albany, New York, to reinforce Abercrombie. They marched northward soon after to the Lake George region where they wintered. On November 9^th, 1758, Abercrombie was recalled and replaced by Amhurst, the hero of Louisbourg. For the 1759 campaign, Amhurst developed a three-pronged assault against the French to capture all the forts along Lake Champlain up to and including Montreal, the last French stronghold in Canada. Fort Carillion and Fort St. Frederick (further north at Crown Point), would be assaulted by the main army and the first to fall.  Montgomery would participate in the attack on Fort Carillon. In May, 1759, Montgomery’s company first saw action while on guard duty. He came under fire from a raiding party of French and Native Americans, stiffly meeting the assault and throwing back the attackers. On July 26^th, Amhurst’s army of 11,000 men moved up and continued on to Ft. Carillon reaching the vicinity by the 26^th. Rather than resist, the 400 Frenchmen defending the fort retreated and attempted to blow up the fortification (destroying the magazine, but not the walls). The next day, the French blew up Fort Frederic at Crown Point and moved their forces to the north of Champlain along the Richelieu River in Canada. Montgomery and the 17^th remained at Ft. Carillon, renamed Ft. Ticonderoga, to make necessary repairs before being placed under the command of Major General Robert Monckton and detached on garrison duty in the Mohawk River Valley.

Montreal

Montgomery continued to impress his superiors. On May 15, 1760, he was named the regimental adjutant after the court-martial of the previous adjutant. Three months later, his regiment set out from Crown Point to participate in the three-prong attack on the forts along the Richelieu River leading to the St. Lawrence and Montreal. The 17^th captured the French strongholds on the island ‘Ile aux Noix’ and Fort Chambly, before joining the other two divisions outside Montreal. The French had been victorious in the Battle of Sainte-Foy, April 28, 1760, outside Quebec. However, with the defeat of the French Fleet, the commander, Chevalier de Levis, had to withdraw his forces to Montreal. By September, when supplies were low and facing a far superior British force, the Marquis de Vaudreuil, the French governor, along with Chevalier de Levis surrendered the city without a fight. With the fall of Montreal, all of Canada was now in British hands. The 17^th would winter around Montreal and in the summer of 1761, Montgomery and the 17^th Foot marched to Staten Island, New York, and in November, 1761, boarded transports for the West Indies.

West Indies

The 17^th arrived in Barbados and joined other units from North America. On January 5, 1762, the force sailed to the island of Martinique. A beachhead was quickly established and the British offensive began on January 24^th. The French outer defenses were overrun and the survivors reached the capital of Fort Royal. Just as the British were preparing a final assault, the French surrendered, with the entire island capitulating on February 12^th. The campaign was grueling on the regiment with severe losses in the unhealthy islands.  On May 6, 1762, in reward for his actions in Martinique, Lieutenant Colonel John Campbell, commander of the 17th,  promoted Montgomery to captain, however Montgomery still had to purchase his commission, which gave him command of one of the regiment’s ten companies. Spain had entered the war in 1761 and the British high command decided to capture Havana. The 17^th was given the assignment to assault Moro Fort, the key to the Spanish defense of the city. On July 30^th, Montgomery and the 17^th stormed and captured the fort. In late August, the sickly remnant of the regiment boarded transports for New York City and would spend the next nine months recruiting and recovering.

Returns to New York

With a major commitment of British regulars to North America during the Seven Years War came increased contact between its officers and the colonial world. The elites of the British army tended to mix with colonial counterparts wherever they were stationed, seeking the “society” of polite company among merchants, planters, and professionals. At the most obvious level, dance partners often turned into wives.[3] This would be Montgomery’s third return to the New York City area, and it is certain that the handsome up and coming Irish officer formed many social contacts among the ‘well-ballasted’ residents of the city. Though for Montgomery, his arrival this time was not to be adorned with pleasant outings and attractive young ladies. He was among the sickly, later writing that the climate of Cuba “made him lose a fine head of hair.” They remained in New York where Montgomery regained his health until the signing of the Treaty of Paris on February 10, 1763. But Montgomery and the 17th had one more expedition until the regiment would be sent home.

Pontiac War and Meets Future Wife

At the end of the war, in 1763, all lands previously controlled by the French were now under British rule. Native Americans feared the influx of colonists from east of the Appalachian Mountains. Chief Pontiac of the Ottawa, led a loosely united group of American Indian tribes and encouraged them to rise against the British in a series of attacks that has been referred to as Pontiac’s Rebellion or War. Pontiac was successful early on, capturing stockades and killing or capturing over six hundred settlers. In June, 1763 the 17^th was called up. Colonel Campbell’s 17^th Regiment of Foot was ordered back to the Mohawk Valley where they had served prior to the capture of Montreal. While Montgomery’s ship was in route to Albany, fate stepped in and the vessel ran aground near Clermont Manor, the seat of the powerful Livingston Family. While the ship was refloated and damage repaired, the Livingstons played host to the ship’s officers. There, Montgomery met Robert Livingston’s eldest daughter Janet (1743-1824). Though their time was brief, it must have made quite an impression on the twenty-three-year-old officer and twenty-year-old daughter of one of New York’s largest land-owning families. Before the young officer sailed on the refitted ship, no doubt the two had already formed a bond.

Montgomery spent the winter of 1763 – 1764 in Fort Stanwix, at the Great Carrying Place along the Mohawk River. He requested a leave of absence to return to England in early 1764, but was told he had to wait until the expedition to the interior forts had been completed. In July, the 17^th arrived at Fort Niagara and remained for a month before marching to Fort Detroit in early August. There Montgomery remained, aiding in improving upon the fort’s defenses. While the 17^th remained on garrison duty at Fort Detroit, Montgomery accompanied Major General John Bradstreet on talks in Illinois with the Native America tribes. On October 3^rd, Bradstreet released Montgomery and granted him leave. Though Pontiac would not surrender until 1766, the brief war was technically over and after six years’ service in America, Montgomery sailed for England.

Sells his Commission and Returns to America

Peacetime soldiering did not agree with Captain Montgomery. He lived frugally, his father having died in 1761 while he was in America, leaving Richard a small portion of his estate. Little is known of his nine years in England except that he became political, having associated with Whig Members of Parliament; those who generally supported the colonists in their demands for more political freedoms. Montgomery became friends with several prominent Whigs, among them Isaac Barre, Edmund Burke, and Charles James Fox.  When he was overlooked for a promotion to major in 1771 (suspected because of his political leanings), and with few opportunities to excel at his profession, he eventually decided to leave the army. In 1772 he wrote to his cousin “You no doubt will be surprised when I tell you I have taken the resolution of quitting the service and dedicating the rest of my life to husbandry…. And as a man with little money cuts but a bad figure in this country among Peers, Nabobs, etc, etc, I have cast my eyes on America, where my pride and poverty will be more at their ease.” Magill Wallace, a fellow officer in the 17th and Montgomery’s close friend, also related to a family of New York merchants, purchased Montgomery’s captaincy for over 1500 pounds.[4] The sale of his commission and his properties in Ireland gave Montgomery the money to get started on his new career in America. He left England for good in July of 1772 and arrived in New York City.

Farmer and Marriage

In the spring of 1773, he purchased a small farm in Westchester County, near King’s Bridge, about thirteen miles north of the city. The thirty-four-year-old former British officer soon renewed his former acquaintance with Janet Livingstone, now thirty and unmarried. In July of 1773, he and Janet tied the knot. Montgomery leased his farm to a tenant and accepted Janet’s grandfather, Judge Beekman, his fine offer of a cottage in Duchess County on the Post Road, north of the Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck, about twenty miles north of Poughkeepsie and a hundred miles from the city. Montgomery purchased the surrounding land and set to work settling it, constructing fencing, ploughing fields, building a grain mill, and laying the foundation for a much larger home called ‘Grasmere’. Though their small cottage would be their only residence in America before war called him to serve, those two years proved to be the happiest in Montgomery’s life.

Choosing Sides

As one crisis after another led to the American Revolution, Montgomery, like most colonialists, was forced to take sides. The Livingstons emerged as leaders of the Patriot faction. So too, Montgomery’s former relations with Whig champions in England, Barre and Burke, helped to seal his personal choice in the developing drama. Also, Montgomery may have been predisposed to sympathize with the Patriot cause, as he was familiar with similar struggles playing out amongst Ireland’s Protestant elites during the same period. Still, it was a gradual process for him. Though his sympathies lay with the Patriots, he also remained attached to his old comrades of the 17^th. He continued to correspond with Perkins Magra, writing him in 1774 that he “entertain[ed] a more cordial regard [for the officers of the regiment] than I shall probably ever again feel for any of my fellow creatures.” Initially reluctant to engage in politics, he was selected as a delegate to the New York Provincial congress in May of 1775. Montgomery’s views became those of a moderate patriot. He believed that the British Government was wrong, but hoped for an honorable reconciliation.[5] Because of his military experience, Montgomery was selected to serve in a site selection committee to decide the placement of military defensive positions in New York. He was also involved in organizing the provincial militia and securing its supplies.

Commissioned Brigadier General

The Continental Congress appointed George Washington as commander of the American army on June 19, 1775. They immediately sought out other experienced military men to act as his subordinates. As Washington was passing through New York while in route to Boston to take command in Boston, on June 25^th, he appointed Richard Montgomery as a brigadier general in the new Continental army.[6]  Montgomery did not openly make known any desire to serve in an army of revolution. However, he was cognizant that his former military experience would make it difficult for him to refuse. He wrote: “The Congress having done me the honor of electing me brigadier general in their service, is an event which must put an end, for awhile, perhaps forever, to the quiet scheme of life I had prescribed for myself; for, though entirely unexpected and undesired by me, the will of an oppressed people, compelled to choose between liberty and slavery, must be obeyed.” Placed under Major General Philip Schuyler of Albany, he helped organize the Northern Continental Army. He was second in command when Congress decided to invade Canada.

Canadian Invasion Begins

It was shortly after his commission when Montgomery learned that Schuyler received orders from Congress to invade Canada. They were to drive back and capture all British garrisons along Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River. Afterwards, they were to take Montreal and head down the St. Lawrence River to Quebec. There they were to capture the citadel at Quebec, a critical supply line for all of Canada. A force was quickly assembled at Fort Ticonderoga (Colonel Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allan of the Green Mountain Boys had taken the fort earlier that year). On July 4^th, Schuyler left to take personal command of the army around Ticonderoga, leaving Montgomery in Albany. There, the energetic former British officer remained for several weeks, finalizing arrangements for the invasion. Janet joined him as far north as Saratoga, spending what would be their remaining time together. During this period, Washington was conducting a siege of Boston. He found he had a surplus of men stationed around the city, particularly Colonel Daniel Morgan’s Riflemen. The mainly rowdy, insubordinate backwoodsmen were proving to be a nuisance, constantly itching for a fight. Washington decided to give them one. Morgan, along with up-and-coming Connecticut firebrand, Colonel Benedict Arnold, would assemble a force of 1,100 men and ship up the coast of Maine to the Kennebec River. There, they would travel up the river by bateaux, then march through the remaining wilderness, to arrive outside Quebec at about the same time General Schuyler’s force found their way down the St. Lawrence River. Arnold’s route was bold and extremely difficult, but his men, mainly frontiersmen, were anxious for the fight and departed on September 11, 1775.

Montgomery Moves up Lake Champlain

In August, while General Schuyler was meeting with representatives of the Iroquois Confederacy, hoping to keep them neutral, Montgomery was left in command at Ft. Ticonderoga. He learned that the British were constructing two gunboats at the northern end of Lake Champlain. Without waiting for approval, he ordered 1,200 men north on two ships, the schooner Liberty, and the sloop, Enterprise. When Schuyler returned to Ticonderoga on August 30^th, he ordered 800 men to reinforce Montgomery. Though Schuyler was ill, he set sail to join Montgomery, reaching the brigadier on September 4^th on Isle La Motte, seven miles long, two miles wide, and about twenty miles south of the Canadian border. There Schuyler took command. He ordered the detachment’s advance into Canada, to a small island on the Richelieu River, Ile aux Noix, which drains Lake Champlain into the St. Lawrence River. Montgomery was familiar with this region during his campaigns in the French and Indian War. From there, on Sept. 6^th, Montgomery led an expedition force through wetlands and swamps towards the British Fort St. Johns. Outside the fort they were attacked by over a hundred Native Americans allied to the British. Montgomery held his ground and retreated to a point just beyond the British guns. Schuyler decided the fort was too strong for Montgomery’s force and ordered him back to Isle Noix where they continued to fortify their position with reinforcements. Here, Schuyler’s health continued to decline and Montgomery assumed command of the army’s daily functions.

Montgomery Takes Command of the Invading Force and Siege of St. Johns & Ft. Chambly

On September 10^th, Montgomery launched another go at Ft. St. Johns. He led a larger force of 1,700 men through the swamps and tight growth that surrounded the fortification. The assault proved to be disastrous. Inexperienced detachments ran into each other, thinking each to be British and fled. The main assault was quickly beat back by cannon grapeshot which routed half of Montgomery’s force, the former British officer racing among his men trying to halt the panic-stricken troops. When rumors of a large British force advancing up the river caused the New Englanders to flee from fright, a fuming Montgomery called off the attack. While Schuyler’s health continued to fail, Montgomery began plans for a longer siege of the fort. On the 16^th of September, Schuyler departed for Fort Ticonderoga, leaving the invasion under Montgomery’s command. This was a critical moment in the invasion. Had Montgomery succeeded in taking the fort quickly, he could have massed his troops and captured Montreal shortly thereafter. Had he done so, he could have arrived outside Quebec while his troops were still fresh and the weather less severe. Instead, he was bogged down in a two-month siege while his troops languished in declining health in the wet, swampy conditions. The Fort did not capitulate until Nov. 3^rd and only after the lesser defended Ft. Chambly was taken. Through ice and snow, Montgomery quickly marched his force north, capturing Montreal ten days later on the 13^th. From there, as the weather rapidly declined and turned severely colder, on November 28^th, he and 300 men boarded captured British ships. His undisciplined, sickly and poorly supplied army would arrive at Quebec City on December 2^nd.[7] There he met what was left of Arnold’s men and the two began to plan their siege of the city.

Arnold’s Bedraggled Force Arrives at Quebec as does Montgomery’s Worn-Out Troops

Unfortunately for Montgomery and Arnold, the British commander of Canada, General Sir Guy Carleton, had slipped out of Montreal before its capture. Though the general’s small armada was captured on Nov. 19^th, Carleton made his escape to Quebec City and the citadel where he took over command. Unknown to Brigadier Montgomery, because of his success at taking Ft. St. Johns and Montreal, Congress had promoted him to Major General on Dec. 9^th. For the dedicated officer, standing before the imposing walls of Quebec’s citadel, the same fortification that his former commander, General James Wolfe stood before he led the assault that would take his life, a promotion was far from his mind.

Arnold had reached the Saint Lawrence at Pointe-Levi on November 9^th, six days after Montgomery finally captured Ft. St. Johns. He had about 600 men left of his original 1,100 due to illness, death, along with entire companies giving up and going home. He was left with a sick and starving force that could barely stand, let along attack one of America’ strongest forts. Had Montgomery enacted a quick assault on Ft. St. Johns and moved rapidly down the St. Lawrence with fresh troops, Arnold would have been resupplied and the two could have assaulted the fort immediately. As it was, Arnold sent a message of surrender to the fort’s commander, Lt. Colonel Allen Maclea,n who was to be replaced by General Carleton about two weeks later. Maclean ignored the flag of surrender, having been informed of Arnold’s dismal condition. Arnold, fearing a strong sally from the fort’s garrison, had no option but to withdraw from the city to Pointe-aux-Trembles, eighteen miles upriver from Quebec and wait for Montgomery who had just captured Montreal.   

Strength of Belligerent Forces

When Montgomery’s arrived on the Dec. 2^nd, Arnold turned over command to the former British officer. The next day, Montgomery provided captured British winter clothing and supplies to Arnold’s men who had suffered extreme hardships on their grueling march through the Maine wilderness. Montgomery waisted no time advancing towards the city. He was pressed for time as most of his army’s terms of enlistment were due to run out on January 1^st with few indicating re-enlistment. Any delay would leave him with no other choice but to follow his men home. By now Montgomery’s force consisted of 300 men from the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd New York Regiments, a company of artillery of raised by John Lamb (of New York) that included four cannon and six mortars, about 200 men recruited by James Livingston of the 1^st Canadian Regiment, and another 160 men led by Jacob Brown – remnants of regiments disbanded due to expiring enlistments. Add to Arnold’s approximate 500 men fit for duty, put Montgomery’s strength at around 1,200 men. The faced a combined British force of 700 highly discipline British regulars and marines, a strong detachment of artillerists manning the fort’s cannon, and five hundred militiamen, both English and Canadian. According to Carleton, approximately 1,800 men – most disciplined regulars, well supplied, and rested.

Montgomery Demanded Quebec’s Surrender, Shelling the City Proves Ineffective

While the Americans surrounded the city, on Dec. 7^th, Montgomery demanded the surrender of the city. Reportedly, Carleton burned the letter. Two days later, on the 9^th, Montgomery began to shell the city with his mortars. Meanwhile Montgomery continued to try and convince the fortress to surrender. He sent a letter into the city, appealing to the merchants and inhabitants that the Americans had come to liberate the civilians of Quebec. Carleton discovered the messenger and quickly had him arrested. After nearly a week in which the mortars had no effect on the walls, garrison, or inhabitants, he moved his batteries closer, onto the Plains of Abraham and within seven hundred and fifty yards of the walls. On Dec. 15^th, he sent another flag of surrender which was promptly turned down. He opened fire; however, this placement of cannon soon proved problematic. The ground was too frozen to dig proper entrenchments to protect the cannon. The mounds of ice piled up before the artillery was useless to stop enemy shelling from reaching the artillerymen. Also, the distance was too great to have any effect on the fort’s walls. When these new batteries were hit by more effective fire from the fort, knocking out two mortars, Montgomery ordered them withdrawn. With enlistments almost up, ammunition running low, and the looming threat of a strong British reinforcement in the spring, Montgomery could not wait. He and Arnold had no option left but to launch what would be a desperate assault against a well-defended city.

Quebec’s Plan of Attack

Montgomery believed his only chance to take the city was during a snowstorm at night, when his men could scale the walls undetected. On Christmas Day, Montgomery announced in a speech before his army his plans to take Quebec City. Preparations for the assault was finalized in which he would lead a division against the Lower Town district closer to the river (Saint-Roch), while Arnold’s force would attack the Cape Diamond Bastion, a strong part of the city walls on the highest point of the rocky promontory. On December 27^th, in a gathering snowstorm, Montgomery decided to attack, but the storm abated and it was called off. That same night, a sergeant from Rhode Island deserted and carried the plan of attack to the British. Montgomery devised a new plan which called for two feints against Quebec’s western walls led by Jacob Brown and James Livingston’s Canadians. The main attack would be made against the lower town. Arnold would lead one division against the defenses at the north end of town, while Montgomery would follow the river south before assaulting the defenses. The plan was for the two forces to meet then turn and scale the walls of the upper town. Montgomery was hopeful that once his men poured into the upper town, the ‘Old Subject Merchants’ would fear their warehouses would be destroyed and force British General Carleton to surrender. This plan was only divulged to most senior officers. On the afternoon of December 30^th, a northeastern was developing that would bring heavy snows to the region. Montgomery knew that this was his last chance and ordered the men to form that night for the assault.

Montgomery and Arnold Attack

Brown and Livingston’s Canadians plowed through the snow to their assigned positions; Brown assembled his men at the Cape Diamond Bastion while Livingston sat just outside St. John’s Gate. Brown reached his position between four and five am and fired flares to signal the general attack. They commenced to fire as Montgomery and Arnold set off for the lower town. Montgomery led his men from Wolfe’s Cove and down the steep, snow covered path to the town’s outer defenses. By now the storm was a blizzard, forcing the men to struggle during their advance. As they approached, the bells of the Notre Dame des Victoires Church began to sound the alarm. The Fort’s defenders armed themselves as sentries spotted the American’s lanterns in the blizzard. Montgomery’s men arrived at the first palisade and carpenters sawed their way through the wall. At the second palisade, Montgomery himself aided in sawing through this defense. Montgomery led fifty of his men down a street towards a two-story building. Unknown to the general, the building was not one of the many warehouses lining the street, but had been converted into a blockhouse, occupied by thirty-nine Quebec militiamen and nine British sailors, armed with muskets and manning cannon.

Leading Arnold’s advance were thirty of Daniel Morgan’s riflemen together with artillerymen who dragged a brass six-pounder cannon on a sled. Behind was Arnold with the rest of the riflemen and New Englanders, including some Canadian militiamen and Native Americans who joined the attack. As they passed the Port de Palais, they came under heavy fire of musketry and grenades hurled from the walls. The cannon become stuck during the heavy fire and was abandoned. Because the walls were too high to return fire, Arnold ordered his men to run to the docks that were not behind the walls. There they hoped to scale barricades into the town. During this part of the battle, many of the Americans became lost in the town’s narrow streets, made worse by the blizzard. Arnold’s advance reached a strong barricade manned by three light cannon. Having lost his cannon, he had no choice but for a frontal attack. As he was organizing this, he received a severe wound to his leg and was taken from the field, turning over command to the Virginian Daniel Morgan. Morgan twice assaulted the works, the second time, he personally mounted the barricade and led his men into the town. But his advance was hampered by wet powder and his men demanding they wait until reinforced by Montgomery’s men. Eventually, after a thirty-minute delay, Morgan got his men moving, but it was too late. They were swarmed upon by regular troops and marines, including sailors from the ships. A bloody hand to hand battle ensued in which Morgan finally realized he was surrounded and had no other hope but to surrender.

Death of Montgomery

Montgomery, ecstatic to having smashed through the outer defenses and now within the city, unsheathed his sword. At the head of his column, he rushed forward, anxious to team up with Arnold’s force. The defenders of the stockade waited until the Americans were in close range before opening up with cannon grapeshot – canisters of broken metal that when fired, spray the area with deadly missiles. Montgomery, was caught full in the head by the cannon blast, killing him instantly. Most of the men beside him were either killed or wounded. The few men left of the advance party who survived fled ack towards the palisade. Only the future vice-president of the United States, Aaron Burr and a few others escaped unhurt. With the next two senior officers also killed, the command fell upon the shoulders of deputy quartermaster, Colonel Donald Campbell, who had no stomach for the attack and decided it was suicidal to continue. Upon his orders, he withdrew the division back to the Plains of Abraham, leaving Montgomery’s body among the dead before the stockade.

Immediate Aftermath

The battle was a complete and disastrous defeat for the Americans. Arnold would assume command of all American Forces in Canada. He continued the siege of Quebec, but in name only. When the British arrived by ship with strong reinforcements in the spring of 1776, he pulled back his men, meeting up with those American forces sent north; as Congress wasn’t yet finished with Canada.

As to casualties, Carleton reported only 5 dead and 14 wounded. Of the Americans, over forty percent would be listed as dead, wounded, or missing: 50 killed, 34 wounded, and 431 missing or captured. This included most of the senior officers. With morning, on January 1, 1776, the British started collecting those killed. They soon found the body of a high-ranking American officer. The remains were brought to General Carleton who had Montgomery’s body confirmed by one of the American prisoners. Carleton had known Captain Richard Montgomery as a fine British officer during their Cuban campaign against Havana in 1762. The deceased had been highly respected on both sides of the battlefield. Carleton ordered that Montgomery be buried on January 4^th with dignity, but not with too much fanfare. Montgomery’s remains would remain in Quebec until 1818, when his widow Jane, arranged to have him brought home to New York. It is reported that she feinted when viewing the ship bearing her beloved Richard’s remains.

Montgomery’s Death Mourned

Montgomery’s death proved both shocking to the struggling new nation as well becoming the first martyr to the American cause. Schuyler lamented that the entire operation against Canada was lost without Montgomery, writing to Congress, “My amiable friend, the gallant Montgomery, is no more…we have met a severe check, in an unsuccessful attempt on Quebec, May Heaven be graciously pleased that the misfortune may terminate here.” So too Washington praised Montgomery, writing to Schuyler, “In the death of this gentleman, America has sustained a heavy loss, as he had approved himself a steady friend to her rights and of ability to render her the most essential services.” On January 25, 1776, Congress approved a monument in memory of Montgomery. It rests to this day in St. Paul’s Cathedral, New York, installed in 1787 and later, in 1818, upon which the remains of Montgomery were laid to rest. Throughout the colonies, Montgomery was viewed as a hero and patriot to the cause. He was soon after elegized in literature among authors and poets such as Thomas Paine, Ann Eliza Bleeker, and Lord George Byron. Even in England his death was mourned. The Whigs used his death to help show the failure of Britain’s policies towards America. Lord North acknowledged Montgomery’s brave virtues as an ‘Englishman,’ while pointing out that he was still a ‘rebel.’ And newspapers in London paid tribute to Montgomery; the Evening Post bordered its March 12, 1776 edition in black as a sign of mourning for the brave American general and former British officer.

Lost Love

Janet would suffer two personal deaths in 1775, her father Robert Livingston, and her husband Richard. However, of Richard, she would never recover from the loss of ‘my general’. She would never remarry, declining the offer of marriage from several suiters, including former Continental Army General Horatio Gates. After Richard’s death, she moved to the house near Rhinebeck on which Montgomery had begun work when called to serve. Janet remained interested in politics for the rest of the war and throughout her life. She remained a harsh critic of Loyalists and much later, after visiting her deceased husband’s family in England, was glad to return to America after a political fall-out. Janet died on November 6^th, 1824. After fifty-three years without her beloved Richard, in which her love for ‘my soldier’ never faltered, she was laid to rest beside him in New York’s St. Paul’s Chapel and Churchyard.

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RESOURCES

Desjardin, Thomas A. Through a Howling Wilderness: Benedict Arnold’s March to Quebec, 1775. 2017: St. Martin’s Press, New York, NY.

Gabriel, Michael P. Major General Richard Montgomery, The Making of a Hero. 2002: Rosemont Publishing Company, Cranbury, NY.

Griswold, Rufus W. & Simms, William & Ingraham, Edward D. Washington and Generals of the American Revolution Complete in Two Volumes, Vol. 2. 1848: Cary & Hart, Philadelphia, PA.

Hunt Louise Livingston. Biographical Notes Concerning General Richard Montgomery Together with Hitherto Unpublished Letters. 1876: News Book and Jobs Printing, Poughkeepsie, NY.

Odintz, Mark. “Officers of the 17^th Part 4, Choosing Sides in the American Revolution” January 17, 2018. 17^th Regiment of History in America, www.17thregiment.com

Shelton, Hal T. General Richard Montgomery and the American Revolution: From Redcoat to Rebel: 1996: New York University Press, New York, NY.

Sparks, Jared & Armstrong, John. The Library of American Biography, Vol. 1. 1834: Harper & Bros. Publishers, New York, NY.

Tucker, Philip Thomas. How the Irish Won the American Revolution: A New Look at the Forgotten Heroes of America’s War of Independence. 2015: Skyhorse Publishing, New York, NY.

ENDNOTES

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[1] The Works of Lord George Byron (ed. Coleridge, Prothero) – Volume 2, pg. 251.

[2] Earlier accounts, (Griswold, Sparks) give his date of birth as 1736.

[3] Odintz.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Montgomery had arrived at Pointe-aux-Trembles, eighteen miles upriver from Quebec, on Dec. 1^st.