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

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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.

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.

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.

The volume covers the 1775 military campaign that attempted to conquer Canada and make it the 14th American colony. The fact that a majority of the Canadians were French Catholics and that the Catholic religion was held in very low esteem by the American political establishment appeared to have been conveniently overlooked.

There are several characteristics of these books that I found quite admirable and would recommend to an individual considering a purchase. The authors make extensive use of double page drawings, full-page maps and numerous period illustration and photographs. In addition timelines, an index and a very helpful section titled "The Battlefield Today" make this a very useful volume for the student or the armchair general hidden within many of us.

I will add one caution, due to limited pages count, 96 for this volume, the text is compressed to detailing facts - dates, events, what happened, how many were killed, captured etc. Those generous author narrations that explore motives, personalities and detailed backgrounds are missing. In conclusion I found this book an excellent supplement to other books I have read on the American Revolution and Benedict Arnold and recommend it on that basis.

Brendan Morrissey is an exceptional historian. He has the talent and scholarship to take the complex history of the battles of the American Revolution and summarize them into a compact, accurate, unbiased and immensely readable short format for the Osprey Campaign Series. His chose of artwork strongly supports the text and often includes uncommon artwork and illustrations. He consults with the major experts and keeps a neutral perspective concerning the combatants. I have all of his books in my collection.

Col. Kim R. Stacy, Savannah, GA, USA

His contribution to the Osprey Campaign Series includes:

Monmouth Courthouse 1778: The Last Great Battle in the North (Campaign)

Saratoga 1777: Turning Point of a Revolution (Campaign)

Quebec 1775: The American Invasion of Canada (Campaign)

Boston 1775: The Shot Heard Around the World (Campaign)

Yorktown 1781

The American Revolution: The Global Struggle for National Independence

On to Victory: Guilford Courthouse and Yorktown 1781 (The History Channel, American History Archives)

The well-known British historian Brendan Morrissey throws his other books into question with this poor effort.

Several of the chapters are reasonably informative, if only in a superficial way and extensively illustrated, but in many respects the book seems to be intended for young readers, with fanciful illustrations and overly neat situations.

Then come the errors which are legion. For example, James Wilkerson was not on Arnold's expedition through Maine and only joined Arnold in 1776 in the group of reinforcements sent by General Schuyler after the battle was over. Another would be the illustration that shows Arnold wounded in front of a barricade (apparently the first one), but fails to show that it was still dark and the men were in a blinding snowstowm. Visibility was extremely limited. Nor were the soldiers so well-dressed as in the illustration, and the description of the situation is at odds with all other references. Another is that Hendricks did not fall wounded -- he took a musket ball in the chest and fell dead. Etc., etc.

Morrissey lists reasonable references, but one wonders if he read them. For some reason he considers Smith, "Arnold's March From Cambridge To Quebec" "... no longer the most accurate...". There is no indication as to which he considers the most accurate, but since he believes Wilkerson was on the march, I must submit that Morrissey went astray. Possibly his dependence on British sources is the cause.

The only other work that gives Wilkerson on Arnold's expedition that I have found is Mark Boatner's "Encyclopedia of the American Revolution." Perhaps Morrissey obtained his information there rather than searching the relatively few primary sources of the campaign.

In short, this is a pretty book with numerous maps and illustrations, but good production does not outweigh poor content and false information.

I have alwasy been an admirer of the American revolution. It was this nation's greatest war, as well as being the war in which this nation was born.

Just as I have been an admirer of Osprey Publishers for the quality they produce in their books.

Brendan Morrissey is one of the most facinating of their writers. Because here is an Englishman writing so well about battles in a war his country lost, without putting in a single sour word. And though I still think ins work Boston 1775 is his best so far, Quebec 1775 is pretty good. Since it gives a good view to a campain that took place during the crucial early phase of this war, in which had anything gond different, we might still be part of the Commonwealth, Though we would be controling it.

I enjoyed this book.