First to Fall Part 2: First Hero

Autumn Winds

Brigadier General Richard Montgomery tugged at his leather glove as the line of poorly fed and poorly armed men marched northward. The winds were strengthening, and the skies looked like slate. His eyes shifted to the dense forests to the north – Canada. We must strike quickly, or these lads will leave their bones here. 

Brigadier General Richard Montgomery

Isle of Hope

On September 4th, Schuyler joined Montgomery with an additional 800 men. Now, he had 2,000 poorly trained and poorly equipped soldiers. Schuyler was also ill. Despite this, the aging New Yorker ordered the army to move toward a small island on the Richelieu River called Île aux Noix. With little time left, on September 6th, Montgomery led a force north to their first goal, Fort St. John's, which protected the route to Montreal. Paddles and oars brushed the dark waters, each stroke bringing the army and Montgomery closer to their destiny. They carried more than just bullets in their pouches. Schuyler, who was in poor health and unable to lead the expedition, had drafted a proclamation calling the Canadians "Friends and Countrymen" and pleading for their support in driving the British out of the territory. They would be disappointed in this hope. Montgomery’s probing attack failed. Although he managed to repel an ambush of about 100 Indians under Captain Matthew Mead, Schuyler feared the fort couldn't be taken by storm and ordered Montgomery to return to the island, which the Americans then fortified.

Area of Operations around Montreal

Fort St. Johns 

Montgomery decided to make another attempt at Fort St. Johns, but this attack was no more successful. In a series of errors, the two pincers of the American assault collided in the dark, muddy woods. Each thought they had encountered the British, and both forces fled. A furious Montgomery was able to stop the retreat and redirect them toward the fort.

His men advanced under withering British grapeshot fire, and the assault on the British breastworks was driven back. Montgomery planned another attack on the fort. However, half the New England troops fled. Montgomery, believing his force could no longer take the fort, retreated to Île aux Noix. When Schuyler’s illness forced him to return to Fort Ticonderoga, command of the late-start and ill-equipped operation was now his.

On September 16, Montgomery launched another expedition against the British fort. This time, he had 1,400 men along with a naval component consisting of two small ships and ten bateaux carrying 350 troops. The bateaux would counter the HMS Royal Savage. Montgomery arrived with the main force the following day. A month-long siege began, with the defenders outmanned and the attackers outgunned. The British garrison of 725 men was commanded by Major Charles Preston, who had been Montgomery's superior officer in the British Army just three years earlier. After initial skirmishing, Montgomery proceeded to besiege the fort. Progress was slow. Montgomery was everywhere at once, encouraging the building of siege lines and often coming under fire himself. 

                                                                        Fort St. John

On September 22, the fiery general was inspecting the breastworks when a cannon shot from the fort flew by, tearing his coattails and causing him to tumble down. By luck and skill, Montgomery managed to land on his feet. His men watched and were all impressed by his Sang Froid. Their commander was a man of steel nerves. However, by early October, they still had not closed the ring on the fort, despite bringing in more guns. One battery did sink HMS Royal Savage, but Montgomery’s forces remained outgunned in most areas. 

In mid-October, James Livingston, a relative of Janet Montgomery, recommended that Montgomery attempt to attack nearby Fort Chambly, which was a weaker post than St. John. He agreed and launched a night assault ten miles down the river. In two days, the fort surrendered 83 men and a large amount of valuable powder. However, the most significant prize was the colors of the 7th Royal Fusiliers, which he sent to the bedridden Schuyler – marking the first time a British battle flag fell into American hands.

The King's Colors of the 7th Royal Fusiliers

This boosted morale, and Montgomery was able to get his men to reinforce the defenses around Fort St. John. They also managed to repel a relief force sent from Montreal by General Guy Carleton, the British commander in Canada. By November 1st, the new batteries positioned north of the fort completed the encirclement. They launched a bombardment that shattered walls and buildings, causing little damage but significantly lowering the defenders' morale. As night fell on the battlefield, Montgomery ordered a cease-fire and sent a flag of truce. During the night, the Americans intercepted a dispatch from Carleton instructing Major Preston to continue his defense. The following day, the fort surrendered with full military honors, and its garrison marched off to imprisonment. One can't help but wonder what might have happened if the message had gone through. 

Montreal

Montgomery’s first major victory was now within his reach. But the weather and the terrain proved to be tough allies for the British. His men trudged across rugged ground covered with ice and snow. An early winter storm made progress even harder. He encouraged his men forward, knowing Carleton and his army were nearly cornered. When he learned of a British attempt to escape, he sent a detachment to Sorrel. After brief fighting, the British withdrew. Smoke rising from Montreal's chimneys welcomed Montgomery’s troops as they approached the city. A surrender demand failed, however, and as negotiations dragged on, Carleton managed to slip down the St. Lawrence River to the safety of Quebec. On November 13, Montgomery’s exhausted men entered a city without defenders - a Pyrrhic victory. 

Guy Carleton

 Back in Montreal, Montgomery insisted that the captured British prisoners be treated kindly. After all, many of them were not long before his comrades in arms. However, some of his own officers were unhappy with this. Montgomery was disappointed by another act of indiscipline, and only protests from the commander-in-chief prevented him from resigning.

Quebec

Determined to finish the campaign, Montgomery sailed to Quebec City on November 28 with 300 of his best men. Four days later, he joined forces with Benedict Arnold's remaining men at Pointe aux Trembles, just upriver from Quebec. Montgomery took command of both groups, and his first action was to deliver much-needed clothing and supplies to the exhausted “rabble in arms” marching through the Maine wilderness. But winter was tightening its grip on Canada, forcing him to act swiftly. The next day, his combined force moved downstream and encircled Quebec. On December 7, he sent a letter with an ultimatum, but it was burned by Carleton. Montgomery then tried to win the Canadians over to the cause, but his envoy was arrested. Desperate to reach Les Habitants (the locals), he had his proclamation shot over the city wall with bows and arrows. However, they stayed loyal to their new rulers.

Quebec City was the Key to Canada

Now Montgomery had to do the tough work of a siege. Several mortars began shelling the city, but their shells caused little damage. Undeterred, Montgomery moved another battery onto the Plains of Abraham, the site of the battle that decided the city's fate in the French and Indian War. The guns were closer to the walls but also more exposed. Still, by December 15, Montgomery had his batteries in position. Anxious for a resolution, he once again asked for Carleton’s surrender. When Carleton refused, Montgomery’s batteries opened fire. The guns failed to make an impact and were immediately threatened by effective British counter-battery fire. He was forced to order them back. 

Quebec City and Environs

With supplies running low, morale weakening, and winter approaching, Montgomery had no choice but to storm the city. He decided to attack the Lower Town district (Saint-Roch) on the bank of the Saint Lawrence while Arnold would assault the powerful Cape Diamond Bastion. He planned the attack during a stormy night, hoping the weather would conceal their movement from the British. An attack scheduled for December 27 was canceled when the weather cleared. He was forced to revise his plans after someone defected to the British and revealed his strategies.

Montgomery's situation required 

careful planning and flexibility

Montgomery prepared his plan. He aimed for a two-prong attack on the Lower Town, coming from the south, while Arnold would attack from the north. To mislead the British, Montgomery used a deception tactic. He ordered the 1st Canadian Regiment (local fighters who had joined the American cause) to fire at one of the gates, while a separate group engaged the defenders at Cape Diamond Bastion. The signal for the assault was rocket fire. Montgomery’s unimpressive artillery would bombard the city during the feint attacks. This was a bold and risky move. One Montgomery was reluctant to make, but he had no alternative. As George Washington would face a year later, expiring enlistments were draining the army, and many would be gone by January 1. 

A Night to Remember, and Forget

Montgomery experienced his second snowstorm on the night of December 30. He quickly issued the order. Shivering but now energized, the Americans gathered in the wind and snow. The night was cold, dark, and intense, with wind howling and snow swirling. Where was the signal? At 4 am, an orange burst lit up the sky. Boot steps muffled by the wind and snow as his men made their way to the lower town. However, the British were warned by the rockets, and the walls were well-manned. 

Night attack in a snowstorm

With their general at the front, the Americans edged down the steep and slippery cliffs and arrived just below the city walls. As if they didn't have enough obstacles, a palisade at the edge of the Lower Town now blocked their way! Axemen ran to the front and began chopping through. Then Montgomery personally led his column through the opening. Unknown to Montgomery, he was now a major general, promoted by Congress on December 9 for his victories at St. Johns and Montreal. Seeing a two-story blockhouse blocking their path, he had no time to waste or hesitate. He drew his sword and led the troops toward it, shouting, "Come on, my good soldiers, your general calls upon you to come on."

Quebec's defenders proved formidable

The desperate men gripped their muskets tightly and moved forward. About fifty yards away, an equally determined group of Canadian militia and British sailors in the blockhouse unleashed a barrage of musket balls and grapeshot. Montgomery was hit in the head and both thighs by grapeshot and died instantly. The deadly fire brought down two of his captains.

Death of Montgomery

The attack fell apart after Montgomery’s death. The Americans retreated chaotically. A staff officer named Aaron Burr tried to carry Montgomery’s body back but failed. Meanwhile, Benedict Arnold's attack, which had started well, also broke down when Arnold was wounded in the leg by a ball. Many of his men, including Daniel Morgan, were forced to surrender to the British bayonets. With the guns suddenly silent, the howling wind and snow marked the end of the effort to connect Canada to the American cause. 

Benedict Arnold

Honors in Death

Montgomery was highly respected by the British for his previous service and his humane treatment of prisoners at Montreal. Carleton had him buried modestly but with honor on January 4. Some of his men, now prisoners, watched their beloved and heroic general during the solemn funeral. Meanwhile, Arnold, with a bandaged leg, took command of the battered army. His efforts to save the lost cause would be heroic and extraordinary but ultimately futile.

First Hero – First Monument

News of Richard Montgomery’s death was a heavy blow to the Northern Department. Schuler wrote, "My amiable friend, the gallant Montgomery, is no more; the brave Arnold is wounded; and we have met a severe setback in an unsuccessful attempt on Quebec. May Heaven be graciously pleased that the misfortune may end here." For a time, news of his death was kept quiet to delay the morale decline that would follow.

Phillip Schuyler

Washington was dismayed at the loss. So struck by Montgomery’s valiant death, Congress commissioned a monument to him and held a memorial service. He was celebrated as a hero throughout the colonies – perhaps the nation’s first national hero. 

The Montgomery Monument

Significantly, Montgomery's death was mourned in Britain, and his former Whig allies used his death as an opportunity to criticize British policy. British Prime Minister Lord North acknowledged his qualities as a man but condemned him as a rebel. However, many of the London papers actually paid tribute to Montgomery. 

Lord North

Montgomery’s widow, Janet, dedicated her life to protecting his legacy. She moved to the house near Rhinebeck, which she had initially hoped to keep before the war. She also rejected a marriage proposal from former Continental general and British officer Horatio Gates. This was noteworthy in a society where widows usually remarried. 

Final Farewell

In 1818, Governor Stephen van Rensselaer of New York had Montgomery's body moved to New York. About 5,000 mourners participated in his funeral procession, and on July 8, he was laid to rest for the last time next to the Montgomery monument at St. Paul’s Church. The ceremony provided some closure for Janet Montgomery, who was pleased with the honors given to the soldier she loved.

In closing, Montgomery, Alabama, named after America's first hero, unveiled a statue of its namesake in 2019 as part of its bicentennial celebration. It is somehow touching that a man who died in the cold of the North would be honored by citizens in the deep South. 

Montgomery statue in Alabama

Climate of Independence

Baby, It's Cold  (or Hot) Outside

This isn't about global warming (also known as climate change). This blog focuses on the weather, an often overlooked factor by some who study military history. However, serious warfare students understand that weather can often—and did often—play a crucial, if not decisive, role in military operations. 

There are many examples: Crusaders overwhelmed by intense heat in Palestine, German divisions frozen outside Moscow and Stalingrad, or Napoleon's invasion halted by an early winter. The list goes on. Perhaps the most decisive and specific instance of weather affecting warfare was the typhoon that sank the Mongol fleet preparing to invade medieval Japan—the Kamikaze, which gave its name to Japan's WWII suicide attacks.

The invading Mongol fleet destroyed by the
"Divine Wind" that saved Japan

Weather's Impact

Like any other war, especially one lasting eight years like the American War for Independence, the weather was bound to influence events. Since our First Patriots and the British didn't have a modern weather system, they had to rely on an almanac, early barometers, or local knowledge of past weather patterns. But mostly, they simply had to react to the weather as it happened. That could complicate things when unusual or unexpected weather shifts occurred. 

Year after year, across all four seasons, rebels and redcoats dealt with extremes of rain, snow, heat, and fog—as well as tides, ice formations, and winds. The weather was unpredictable, sometimes helping one side and hindering the other, and sometimes hindering both. Savvy commanders often sought to utilize the weather to their advantage or mitigate damage caused by its extremes. The weather sometimes shaped the Revolutionary War just as much as political, economic, or logistical factors.

The Heat of Battle

During the Battle of Long Island in 1776, the hot and oppressively humid weather likely played a role, which may have been one reason the long march around the Americans occurred at night. When the humidity turned into violent thunderstorms, both armies were slowed by mud and poor visibility, making the use of firelocks nearly impossible. The stormy weather and shifting tides prevented the Royal Navy from cutting off Washington's forces on Long Island. Washington used the weather to his advantage and slipped away during the stormy night. 

The early morning fog also blocked the British from seeing his retreat until it was too late. Weather, combined with decisive and heroic action, truly saved the Continental Army. The Battle of Monmouth was fought in unusually hot and humid conditions, too. This slowed the British column and gave Washington the chance to catch them as they marched across New Jersey. 

Washington's surprise attack at Germantown might have stopped Howe's plan to capture Philadelphia, but this time, the heavy morning fog confused the American attackers, and the British were warned and rallied. Later in the war, in the southern theater, hot and humid weather influenced Cornwallis's decision to abandon his shrinking army of baggage and heavy equipment, even heavy clothing, as he desperately tried to catch the clever Nathaniel Greene in the Carolinas. We know how that ended.

The Continental Army retrograde shielded by a summer storm

General Frost

Much more widely remembered are the cold campaigns: Nathaniel Greene's men dragging desperately needed cannon through the snowy mountains of New England to help win the siege of Boston. The winter at Valley Forge is iconic. 

But Washington's Christmas crossing, despite biting cold and gathering ice floes, is just as significant. The weather prevented two of his divisions from crossing, but his main column used it as cover to surprise the Hessian garrison at Trenton. The cold winter weather also caused the British to go into "winter quarters" earlier than the successes of the 1776 campaign and the nearing victory.

The weather helped with the element (sic) of surprise at Trenton

Less well known is the winter war fought in the Jerseys after Washington moved to Morristown for his winter quarters. Instead of a well-earned rest, it was the British who endured hardships as they struggled to gather supplies. The militias, and later the continentals, ambushed forage parties, attacked relief columns, and bushwhacked couriers. The British commander Lord Howe suffered casualties he could not easily replace - and gained no military advantage.

Cold Winter at Valley Force was
only one of many, and not the worst

Perhaps the campaign most affected by the cold is the least known: the 1775 invasion (liberation?) of Canada in twin attacks across America's harsh and rugged northern frontier. Colonel Benedict Arnold led several hundred men through the wilds of Maine, while General Richard Montgomery led a column through upper New York towards Montreal. The weather turned cold earlier than usual that year. Launching a northward invasion in the fall left the Americans suffering through rapidly cooling weather that plagued them all the way to Quebec. 

General Montgomery

The weather hampered both expeditions as each column battled through a mix of ice, snow, and rain. Over six inches of snow flooded Arnold's column in a single night in late October. The weather alone had severely weakened the invasion forces by the time they met near Quebec in early December. With more freezing weather approaching, Montgomery decided to attack Quebec rather than lay siege to the city. 

Hoping to use the weather to their advantage, the Americans launched an attack during a severe snowstorm. However, the blinding snow caused chaos during the assault, which ended in failure and resulted in the deaths of Montgomery and the wounding of Arnold. Arguably, two of America's best commanders were lost to General Frost.

Gallant Old Patriot

Those of you who follow my postings on Facebook might have caught a flurry of them this week on the small  engagement that took place near Danbury, Connecticut, and the death of a "little known First Patriot, David Wooster." The American Revolution is replete with people from all walks of life who served quietly and diligently (on both sides) for the cause they believed in. This is the story of one...one of the First Greatest Generation.

Captain David Wooster

Much of David Wooster's fame came early in life during two of the many wars fought between England and France in North America.  A  Yale graduate, he had married the beautiful daughter of the president of that college but chose a life of action over books.  He took to the water (even today, Connecticut has more ports than any other state) and became an officer in that colony's coast guard.

During the War of the Austrian Succession (King George's War in America), the colonists of New England waged a bitter struggle against the French in Canada and Nova Scotia to their north. Wooster was commissioned a captain in command of a company in Colonel Andrew Burr's Regiment.  Coincidentally, Burr was the uncle of  Aaron Burr. He took part in the campaign against the mighty French fortress of Louisbourg. Captain Wooster distinguished himself enough to be named as part of the escort of prisoners back to France when the fortress finally fell.  His journey took him to Britain where his achievements were celebrated in the press. Wooster met the King and received for his service a commission in Sir William Pepperrell's Regiment (a regular British army regiment)  that included a pension for life. In 1748, the Treaty of Aix la Chapelle ended the war and Wooster returned to civilian life in Connecticut.

Jeffery Amherst at Ticonderoga,
the land between the waters

When the French and Indian War broke out, Wooster served from 1755 to the war's end in 1761, during which he was promoted to colonel and given command of the 3rd Connecticut regiment. In 1758 his regiment was at the disastrous Battle of Carillon, near the French fort of that name, at the southern extreme of Lake Champlain. There, General James Abercrombie launched a disastrous frontal attack that was torn to ribbons by Marquis de Montcalm's force of French regulars, Canadians, and Indians. This was the bloodiest battle of the French and Indian War, the British lost over  2,000 of the 3,000 casualties. But Wooster was  again in the thick of things in 1759 when General Jeffery Amherst captured the Fort Carillon and renamed it Ticonderoga, the Indian name
for that strategic place between the waters.

Rebels stopped cold at Quebec

By the time of the American Revolution, Wooster was in his mid-sixties and settled in the mercantile business in New Haven. But this First Patriot sacrificed his comfortable pension and status to serve the cause of his country at a time when most men of his age were enjoying home and hearth. Appointed general in the Connecticut militia, he planned the attack on Fort Ticonderoga that gave the newly forming rebel army its first artillery train. He was named a Brigadier General in the Continental Army and second in command of the failed rebel attack on Quebec that same year. Wooster stayed with the force during the bitter retreat to Fort Ticonderoga.  The defeat in Canada resulted in his recall from Continental command but likely his age ruled him out for further active campaigning with the field forces. But Wooster was then appointed Major General of the Connecticut Militia and commanded all militia troops in that state.

Governor William Tryon

That placed him at the center of the action for the Danbury April 1777 raid launched by New York's Governor Tryon.  At the time, an arc of territory stretching from southeast Connecticut through the Hudson Valley and Highlands was a no man's land of bitter fighting on both sides.  Danbury was a key rebel base in that struggle. Leading a force of regulars and Loyalists in a swift landing at Fairfield, Connecticut,  Tryon's column over 2,000 strong marched north towards the rebel arsenal at Danbury, looting and burning patriot homes along the way.  They reached the arsenal and destroyed it on April 26th.

 Learning of the attack, Wooster and General Benedict Arnold had rallied around 600 Connecticut militia who tried to stop the British at Ridgefield as they returned south to the coast near Compo Point. Arnold took the main body of troops to block the British advance while Wooster led a small detachment of them in the British rear. His undisciplined troops could not stand up very long against the regulars and they soon broke.  Wooster's ire was up though and he tried gallantly to rally his men.  However, a British cannon unleashed canister and a piece of metal pierced his side and struck his backbone.

Battle of Ridgefield - Arnold and Wooster
could not stop Tryon's forces

The battle continued in sporadic skirmishes as the British retreated to the coast. But they carried the gravely wounded old warrior back to Danbury. Before he died on May 2nd, his wife and son had been sent for. They arrived soon enough to receive his parting blessing. The gallant old Patriot  told them that he was dying, but "with strong hope and persuasion that his country would gain its independence."

Monument to Major General David Wooster
in Danbury, Connecticut