Trouble in Canada
This Week in 1776, #22
“This Week in 1776” is an ongoing almanac of events from the American Revolution, mostly political and military in nature. I drew on these very loosely for my Engines of Liberty series of YA novels.
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New York and George Washington
Yes, the fortification of the city continued this week in the previously mentioned sites. Washington knew the Brits would want to scrap over New York and he wouldn’t see it fall out of American hands, so they had to beef it up right.
Nevertheless, his thoughts also remained with his compatriots near Montreal, among them Benedict Arnold. They needed supplies and reinforcements and Washington could not personally supply either in any meaningful quantity.
Thus he traveled briefly over to Philadelphia to meet with Congress and discuss the situation. The Americans had to hold what ground they could and fight back where they must.
Canada and Benedict Arnold
Arnold rightly has a bad name in history for betraying the trust of his Continental allies, but people might forget that the betrayal stung all the more based on how loyal he once had been. The man went absolutely broke in the cause and suffered permanent physical injuries besides. I can never endorse his betrayal, but I can understand how he got there, and hopefully that understanding leads to prevention in future cases.
He had some diplomacy skills and he used those both for the exchange of prisoners and for the managed retreat of his forces from Montreal, despite losing many of his men to sickness and desertion. Between May 24 and 27, Arnold skirmished with the Brits (led by Captain George Forster) and later had to cover the flight of his men after they were expelled by the governor of Montreal.
Continental Congress
While they met and passed resolutions, none of them were especially noteworthy; they acknowledged the hardship in Canada and urged their forces not to surrender any hard-won land along the Saint Lawrence River. Other than that, this week was a holding pattern for them as they urged more colonies to pass individual resolutions for independence. Virginia led and North Carolina followed.
We are now 33 days away from the Declaration of Independence.
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