be treated as rebels to the
crown. It is said those of Allen's men who deserted were French
Canadians in disguise--which may explain why Carleton made such severe
example of his captives and at once purged Montreal of the disaffected
by compelling all who would not take arms to leave.

Carleton's position was chancy enough in all conscience. The habitants
were wavering. They refused point-blank to serve as volunteers. They
supplied the invaders with provisions. Spies were everywhere.
Practically no help could come from {300} England till spring, and
scouts brought word that two American armies were now marching in force
on Canada,--one by way of the Richelieu, twelve hundred strong, led by
Richard Montgomery of New York, directed against Montreal; the other by
way of the Kennebec, with fifteen hundred men under Benedict Arnold, to
attack Quebec. Carleton is at Montreal. He rushes his troops, six
hundred and ninety out of eight hundred men, up the Richelieu to hold
the forts at Chambly and St. John's against Montgomery's advance.

Half September and all October Montgomery camps on the plains before
Fort St. John's, his rough soldiers clad for the most part in their
shirt sleeves, trousers, and coon cap, with badges of "Liberty or
Death" worked in the cap bands, or sprigs of green put in their hats,
in lieu of soldier's uniform. Inside the fort, Major Preston, the
English commander, has almost seven hundred men, with ample powder. It
is plain to Montgomery that he can win the fort in only one of two
ways,--shut off provisions and starve the garrison out, or get
possession of heavy artillery to batter down the walls. It is said
that fortune favors the dauntless. So it was with Montgomery, for he
was enabled to besiege the fort in both ways. Carleton had rushed a
Colonel McLean to the relief of St. John's with a force of French
volunteers, but the French deserted en masse. McLean was left without
any soldiers. This cut off St. John's from supply of provisions. At
Chambly Fort was a Major Stopford with eighty men and a supply of heavy
artillery. Montgomery sent a detachment to capture Chambly for the
sake of its artillery. Stopford surrendered to the Americans without a
blow, and the heavy cannon were forthwith trundled along the river to
Montgomery at St. John's. Preston sends frantic appeal to Carleton for
help. He has reduced his garrison to half rations, to quarter rations,
to very nearly no rations