Quebec 1775: The American Invasion of Canada (Praeger Illustrated Military History) [Hardcover]

Brendan Morrissey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2004 | ISBN-10: 0275984583 | ISBN-13: 978-0275984588

The American attack on Quebec in 1775 was a key episode in the build-up to the War of Independence. Capture of the city would give the Americans control of Canada - a strategic disaster for the British. In May 1775 Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold captured Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point, but Congress only reluctantly supported proceeding to a full invasion of Canada. Still, Arnold was permitted to lead an expedition to Quebec across modern-day Maine. However, during the 350-mile trek through largely uninhabited wilderness 300 men turned back, while another 150 deserted or died of disease - just 650 reached Quebec. The American siege continued until May, when the thaw brought British reinforcements and relief. More American defeats followed, and soon the British controlled Lake Champlain, but delays in building the fleet had left them insufficient time to recapture Crown Point and Fort Ticonderoga. The Americans were forced to permanently abandon their hopes of bringing Canada into their war of rebellion.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Books in Osprey's 'Campaign' series stand out at both secondary and college levels as works' that will engage and sustain student interest ... sophisticated maps and comprehensive graphics complement the texts without overwhelming them. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

Highly visual guides to history's greatest conflicts, detailing the command strategies, tactics, and experiences of the opposing forces throughout each campaign, and concluding with a guide to the battlefields today. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Praeger Publishers (August 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275984583
• ISBN-13: 978-0275984588
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,361,707 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Benedict Arnold's Finest Hour, January 11, 2004

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R. A Forczyk (MD, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Quebec 1775: The American invasion of Canada (Campaign) (Paperback)

The American invasion of Canada in 1775 rarely gets much coverage in American history for a variety of reasons. Americans like to think of their forefathers defending home and hearth against British tyranny, spearheaded by the dreaded Redcoats, not invading a territory that did not want to be part of their new nation. The fact that the campaign also ended in ignominious failure further discourages attention. However perhaps the greatest impediment to American study of this important but neglected campaign is the fact that the hero of the hour was none other than Benedict Arnold, the most despised figure in American history. Brendan Morrissey, the British PR consultant who did three earlier volumes for Osprey on the American Revolution, brings the Quebec campaign into sharp focus in Osprey's Campaign #128. In particular, this volume on Quebec 1775 would also make a useful campaign study for military officers.

Quebec 1775 begins with a 5-page introduction that provides background on the Quebec Act, a four-page section on the geography, people and political issues and a campaign chronology. The sections on opposing commanders and opposing forces are decent, but Morrissey provides no order of battle for either side (in particular, he omits British ground and naval forces in Nova Scotia). The campaign narrative itself is 60 pages long, and includes separate sections on the initial battles, Arnold's journey across the Maine wilderness, the American retreat from Canada and the Battle of Valcour Island. The author also provides an interesting section on the battlefields today and an annotated bibliography. The campaign narrative is supported by five 2-D maps (North America and the Quebec Act; Lower Canada on the eve of war; Montgomery's advance into Canada; Arnold's march to Quebec; Sullivan's retreat from Canada), three 3-D "Bird's Eye View" maps (the siege of St Johns; the attack on Quebec; the Battle of Valcour Island) and three color battle scenes (the siege of St Johns; Arnold is wounded at Quebec; the Hesse Hanau artillery in action at Valcour Island). All in all, the graphic presentations are effective and make this volume a useful supplement to any study of early military operations in the American Revolution.

Morrissey is a good storyteller and he relates the facts of the campaign with both precision and accuracy. However, Morrissey does not really attempt any military analysis and readers should be cautioned to treat the authors' opinion with some circumspection. Throughout the text, Morrissey defends Major General Sir Guy Carleton, the British commander in Canada, from accusations of over-caution and even timidity. Yet it is pretty obvious that the British army in Canada had gotten into a peacetime rut after nine years of quiet garrison duty in Montreal and neither the troops or commanders were up to the demands of mobile warfare. Carleton's decision to commit the bulk of his regulars to a "die-in-place" mission at St. Johns on the border rather than to conduct a delay or launch a spoiling attack was a major mistake. Indeed, the passivity of the British regulars in the first six months of the campaign is truly amazing - they virtually sat immobile and then just fell over like ninepins at the first strike - and it goes a long way toward explaining American initial successes. Morrissey considers the siege of St Johns as a valiant effort that delayed the American invasion for two months but the defense did not save Montreal from occupation and Arnold did not reach Quebec until nearly two weeks after the surrender of St Johns. With the loss of Montreal and nearly 70% of the British regulars in Canada at the cost of fewer than 200 American casualties, the British were on the verge of losing in weeks what had taken years of hard fighting to conquer in the Seven Years War.

Like most historians, Morrissey goes along with the notion that the American assault on Quebec on New Years Eve 1775 was foredoomed to failure. Granted, the Americans were attacking a fortified position held by an enemy that outnumbered them 2-1, but Morrissey does not credit the American advantages in morale and maneuver warfare. The British rag-tag force of militia (French and English), sailors and a few remaining regulars was willing to wait behind their defenses and they were commanded by men who leaned toward caution. Arnold and Daniel Morgan, the commander of the riflemen, typified the aggressive and anything-is-possible type mentality that represented the real military capability of the American patriots in 1775-1776. Morrissey fails to note that the American plan of attack - a pincer effort - was fairly sophisticated and came fairly close to success. Had the Americans made more effort in dealing with the British obstacle plan, the defenses might have been breached and the polyglot British force probably would have surrendered (certainly the Canada militia would probably have decided not to risk their lives for the British). As it was, the failure of the attack and the loss of much of the American army did not entice the slightest aggressiveness from Carleton.

After leading the New Years Eve attack with Richard Montgomery and being wounded, Arnold remained in Canada to rally the now-dispirited Americans. Once British reinforcements arrived in 1776 and the American army began to retreat, Morrissey notes that Arnold was the last American soldier to leave Canada. Arnold then threw himself into the construction of a fleet on Lake Champlain and fought the Battle of Valcour Island that helped to delay a British counter-invasion of northern New York. All in all, Arnold's performance in the Quebec campaign between May 1775 and October 1776 was one of the amazing displays of dynamic tactical leadership ever seen by an American commander. Unfortunately, as Medal of Honor winner "Pappy" Boyington once said, "show me a hero and I'll show you a bum," it was never more true than in the case of Arnold.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent view of a little known war, December 29, 2008

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Graves (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Quebec 1775: The American invasion of Canada (Campaign) (Paperback)

Quebec 1775 does an excellent job as it explores a little known event in the American Revolution, the American invasion of Canada.

Following the fall of Ticonderoga to the Green Mountain Boys in the summer of 1775, Congress authorized a two pronged assault to push through the northern wilderness and seize the main cities of Quebec.

What followed was a campaign of guile, bluff, hard fighting and treacherous weather that resulted in the expulsion of the colonials from Canada and the resulting counter attack that would bring England to grief at Saratoga.

Morrissey not only details the logistics and combat problems which faced the leaders but also the cultural differences between Quebec and the other British colonies in North America, differences which the American Congress failed to understand and which the British used to full effect.

The book follows the usual format of Osprey publications and for once there are enough maps to follow the action easily. If anything is lacking, it is the usual details on the opposing commanders. The book lists three on each side but as the story progresses some of these drop by the wayside and the reader is left wondering who are the more aggressive Generals who's names get mentioned more and more.

Still that is my only complaint of this book which does excellent work in exploring a little known side of the American Revolution. Since the attack failed, some may see it as a needless sideshow of the war, but since the road that started in Quebec in 1775 ended at Saratoga in 1777 then the knowledge of the earlier campaign helps illuminate that more fateful campaign which followed.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quebec 1775: The American Invasion of Canada (Campaign), April 19, 2010

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Richard J. Schneider - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Quebec 1775: The American invasion of Canada (Campaign) (Paperback)

I was hoping to find anything on my ancestor, Timothy Conner, a rifleman from Pennsylvania who marched under Arnold to Quebec, but found nothing in the book.