Allen Attacks Montreal: Revolutionary War's Northern Push

Patriot forces led by Colonel Ethan Allen launched an ill-conceived attack on Montreal on September 25, 1775, that ended in Allen's capture and effectively terminated American hopes of bringing Quebec into the revolutionary cause. Allen, who had gained fame five months earlier for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, crossed the St. Lawrence River with roughly 110 men, expecting reinforcements from Major John Brown that never materialized. British General Guy Carleton had been alerted to the American approach and organized a mixed force of regulars, Canadian militia, and Mohawk warriors that outnumbered Allen's small contingent. The ensuing skirmish lasted less than two hours. Allen surrendered and was shipped to England in chains, where he spent the next two and a half years as a prisoner of war. The failed attack was part of a broader American invasion of Canada that continued through the fall and winter of 1775-1776 under General Richard Montgomery, who captured Montreal in November after the British garrison withdrew, and Colonel Benedict Arnold, who led a grueling march through the Maine wilderness to attack Quebec City. Montgomery was killed in the assault on Quebec on December 31, 1775, and Arnold was wounded. The surviving American forces retreated south in the spring of 1776, ending the invasion. The failure to secure Canada left the northern border as a persistent strategic vulnerability throughout the Revolutionary War and ensured that Britain retained its most important remaining North American colony.