d been concerted
between them. Landing on the 17th at the place where they had formerly
encamped, within a mile and a half of the fort, he detached a force of
five hundred men to take a position at the junction of two roads
leading to Montreal and Chamblee, so as to intercept relief from those
points. He now proceeded to invest St. Johns, which had a garrison of
five or six hundred regulars and two hundred Canadian militia. Its
commander, Major Preston, made a brave resistance. Montgomery had not
proper battering cannon; his mortars were defective; his artillerists
unpractised, and the engineer ignorant. The siege went on slowly,
until the arrival of an artillery company under Captain Lamb. Lamb,
who was an able officer, immediately bedded a thirteen-inch mortar,
and commenced a fire of shot and shells upon the fort. The distance,
however, was too great, and the positions of the batteries were ill
chosen.

A flourishing letter was received by the general from Colonel Ethan
Allen, giving hope of further reinforcement. "I am now," writes he,
"at the Parish of St. Ours, four leagues from Sorel to the south. I
have two hundred and fifty Canadians under arms. As I march, they
gather fast. You may rely on it that I shall join you in about three
days, with five hundred or more Canadian volunteers."

But when on his way towards St. Johns, when between Longueil and La
Prairie, Allen met Colonel Brown with his party of Americans and
Canadians. A conversation took place between them. Brown assured him
that the garrison at Montreal did not exceed thirty men, and might
easily be surprised. Allen's partisan spirit was instantly excited.
Here was a chance for another bold stroke equal to that at
Ticonderoga. A plan was forthwith agreed upon. Allen was to return to
Longueil, which is nearly opposite Montreal, and cross the St.
Lawrence in canoes in the night, so as to land a little below the
town. Brown, with two hundred men, was to cross above, and Montreal
was to be attacked simultaneously at opposite points.

All this was arranged and put in action without the consent or
knowledge of General Montgomery. Allen was again the partisan leader,
acting from individual impulse. The whole force with which he
undertook his part of this inconsiderate enterprise was thirty
Americans and eighty Canadians. With these he crossed the river on the
night of the 24th of September. Guards were stationed on the roads to
prevent any one passing and