In an effort to drive the British out of North America entirely, the revolutionaries launched a two-pronged invasion of Canada in the summer and fall of 1775. One prong, led by General Richard Montgomery, attacked from New York and captured St. John’s and Montreal. The other, headed by Benedict Arnold, had a difficult march through the Maine wilderness. Both expeditions started late in the campaign year. Arnold’s forces had to cross swollen streams, deal with rainstorms and snow, and managed to get to the St. Lawrence River only by November 9. More than one-third of his troops turned back. In early December, Arnold’s 675 men were joined by Montgomery with about 300 men. They faced almost twice that many defenders in Quebec. Since many of the enlistments were about to expire with the coming of the new year, Montgomery and Arnold led an assault during a blizzard on December 31. Although the attack demonstrated daring and bravery, it was also foolhardy. Montgomery was killed almost as soon as the battle began; Arnold suffered a serious wound to his leg. The revolutionaries were beaten back and about 400 were taken prisoner. A small force remained to besiege the city, with some reinforcements added before spring. But with the thaw, British ships sailed up the unfrozen St. Lawrence. The revolutionaries pulled back to Montreal, then retreated further to Fort Ticonderoga, almost in complete rout. Although the campaign was a disaster, it demonstrated the ardor that some Americans had for their Revolution. Montgomery’s death before Quebec, mirroring the great British hero General James Wolfe’s death in 1759, became an important symbol for the cause of independence, and Montgomery was held up as a martyr.
Death of General Richard Montgomery during the Battle of Quebec. Engraving (Library of Congress)
Quincy, Josiah (1744-1775) lawyer, writer Josiah Quincy was an important leader in the events before the Revolutionary War (1775-83). Born in Boston, Massachusetts, on February 23, 1744, to Josiah and Hannah Sturgis Quincy, when he was 12 he moved with his family to Braintree, Massachusetts. After completing his B. A. in 1763 and his M. A. in 1766 at Harvard, he began practicing law in Boston and quickly rose to the top of his profession. On October 26, 1769, Quincy married Abigail Phillips and eventually fathered two children.
In 1770 the young and ambitious Quincy joined with John Adams in defending the British soldiers on trial for murder in what came to be called the Boston Massacre (March 5, 1770). Despite the concerns of his patriot father, who was flabbergasted by his son’s involvement, Quincy’s reputation grew even more after he and Adams successfully defended the British soldiers. In 1772 Quincy was appointed to the committee of correspondence, and in 1773 he began traveling extensively to meet with officials about the perceived English threat to local rights and liberty. In addition to his skills as a lawyer and orator, Quincy was also a gifted writer and authored several essays
Decrying British imperial measures. He became one of the most vocal critics of Massachusetts governor Thomas Hutchinson and wrote a defense of the Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773) in the Boston Gazette. His most influential work was Observations of the of Parlia
Ment Commonly Called the Boston Port Bill with Thoughts on Civil Society and Standing Armies (1774).
Quincy’s life proved to be brief, and he died on April 26, 1775 from tuberculosis. Unbeknownst to him, his infant daughter had passed away just two weeks earlier, leaving his wife with only their son, also named Josiah Quincy, who went on to have a long and distinguished political career.
Further reading: Phillip McFarland, The Brave Bostonians: Hutchinson, Quincy, Franklin, and the Coming of the American Revolution (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1998).
—Sarah Eppler Janda
World History
