Quebec during the American Revolutionary War
On June 27, 1775, General George Washington decided to attempt an
invasion of Canada by the American
Continental Army to wrest Quebec and the St. Lawrence River from the British. A force led by Brigadier General
Richard Montgomery headed north from
Fort Ticonderoga along
Lake Champlain and up the St. Lawrence River valley. Meanwhile, Colonel
Benedict Arnold persuaded Washington to have him lead a
separate expedition through the Maine wilderness. The two forces joined at Quebec City, but were defeated at the
Battle of Quebec in December 1775. Prior to this battle Montgomery (killed in the battle) had met with some early successes but the invasion failed when British reinforcements came down the St. Lawrence in May 1776 and the
Battle of Trois-Rivičres turned into a disaster for the Americans. The army withdrew back to Ticonderoga.
Although some help was given to the Americans by the locals, Governor Carleton punished American sympathizers and public support of the American cause came to an end.
The
American Revolutionary War was ultimately successful in winning independence for the Thirteen Colonies. In the
Treaty of Paris (1783), the British ceded their territory south of the Great Lakes to the newly formed United States of America.
At the end of the war, 50,000
British Loyalists from America came to Canada and settled amongst a population of 90,000 French people. Many of the loyalist refugees settled into the Eastern Townships of Quebec, in the area of Sherbrooke, Drummondville and Lennoxville.