Blood on the Snow

The Death of General Montgomery in the Attack on Quebec
John Trumbull (PD)

Quebec, 28 December 1775

"I tell you what boys, when Monday rolls around, this old boy is heading south."

Seamus McTeague stared at the man, "So that's it? All of this then, for nothing?"

"Well, I don't know about calling it nothing, Sarge. We marched through that damned wilderness, hauled all those bateaux up here to Canada and, as it turns out, the Canadians don't seem all that interested in being free of King George. My enlistment is up on New Year's Day and that's it for me. I'm going home."

"The rest of you fellows feel that way?" McTeague asked, as he surveyed the men huddled around the campfire, just to the north of the walls of Quebec.

"Word has it, we're going in as soon as this storm hits. Sneaking in the back way so to speak. Heck, if Colonel Arnold can pull this off, I might sign up for another hitch. But if it fails, I dunno, Sarge. I'm worried about my wife and the children, ain't much I can do for 'em up here in Canada. If we fail, I'm gone."

Ensign Thompson had showed him a rough sketch of the plan, McTeague thought it was possible to pull this off. If the regulars and the Canadian militia inside the town couldn't see them coming on, they might get into the city and take it. With Montgomery's men included, they had outnumbered the defenders when they arrived earlier in the month. Now? Rumor had it that the defenders now outnumbered the attackers.

"Sergeant McTeague?"

"Sir?"

"You do know that it's General Montgomery and General Arnold, right?" Ensign Thompson was something of a stickler for titles.

"Sorry, Sir, I'm just not used to them being generals now. Hell, Sir, beggin' your pardon, I'm not used to being a sergeant just yet."

Thompson grinned, "Just do your job Sergeant, I'm going to need you when the attack goes in. You've seen action, this will be my first."

Seamus took no comfort in that thought, he'd rather have sat this one out.

Troop movements during the attack
Source

Quebec, Montgomery's Force, 31 December 1775

The descent from the Plains of Abraham had gone smoothly enough. Corporal Keith Adams was near General Montgomery when he heard the general hiss, "We've been spotted, I think." Adams heard church bells from within the city, though it was the Sabbath, he knew that the bells weren't calling the faithful to Mass.

They came up on a palisade, part of the outer defenses, men who were carpenters before the war pitched in to tear an opening in the wall. Once they cut through that, they came upon another. More bells were sounding within the city now. The general himself helped cut a hole in the second wall. Now they were through onto a narrow city street. A two story building lay ahead.

Montgomery drew his sword, "All right lads, stay close. We need to get on them before they know ..."

A blast of canister from a concealed cannon showered the men in the street. General Montgomery was killed instantly, a number of officers were down. Corporal Adams looked to rally the men when a volley of musket fire ripped into them.

Keith Adams was down, he felt like he'd had the wind knocked out of him. As he lay there, trying to catch his breath, the remainder of Montgomery's party fled, living the general's body in the street, where he had died.

Corporal Adams of Albany, tried to drag himself out of the street. He was beginning to shiver from what he thought was the cold. He managed to make it only five feet before his life ended, there in the snow of a Canadian winter.

Quebec, Arnolds Force, 31 December 1775

Seamus had seen many a snowstorm in his day, but this one seemed the worst of the lot. The wind was howling, the snow was driving into their faces almost horizontally. The men were all bent over, moving into the driving snow. All wondering what lay ahead.

Seamus thought, for a moment, that he heard musket fire to what he presumed was the south. It was hard to tell as they were below the northern facing walls of the town, in what was essentially a cul-de-sac. He was praying fervently that they were proceeding unnoticed. If a defending force showed up to their front, they could scarcely miss, the men were so packed together.

He looked back at the single six-pounder cannon they had brought with them, the artillerymen had rigged a sled for it. To his front were a number of Virginians, riflemen led by their own officer, fellow named Morgan as McTeague recalled.

Ensign Thompson came up beside him, "What do you suppose all those bells are ringing for?"

"Well, Sir, my guess is that the other party, the lads with Montgomery, have been spotted. Did you hear that musket fire before?"

Before the Ensign could speak, a spatter of musketry hit the street around them, the defenders were on the walls above them. One ball found Ensign Thompson, who fell in a heap right next to Seamus.

As chaos erupted around him, Seamus dropped to one knee to check on his officer. He pulled him over onto his back and was going to pull his overcoat open when he realized that Thompson was dead, a ball in his brain.

"Come on, lads! Attack, attack!"

Seamus, recognizing the voice as Arnold's, jumped to his feet. There was a barricade ahead, becoming wreathed in smoke as the defenders gave them a volley. As General Arnold tried to rally the men to rush the barricade, he went down, badly wounded in the leg.

Captain Morgan of the Virginia riflemen led an assault on the barricade, carrying a ladder himself, he was quickly pushed back off the wall. Recovering himself he was over on the second attempt, Seamus McTeague wasn't far behind him.

Once inside, the Canadian militiamen quickly surrendered.

"All right, fellas, someone take ahold of these prisoners and herd 'em after us. We need to get deeper into the city before the British wake up!"

Advancing down the narrow streets, they met more opposition. Raising his musket to fire, Seamus pulled his trigger, the lock snapped but nothing happened. Checking his pan in the dim light, he realized his powder was wet.

Pulling his horn out to recharge his pan, he heard a shout, "Fall back, boys! There be too damned many of 'em."

With that, the remainder of Arnold's force fled back the way they came.

Arnold's column is shattered in fierce street fighting during the Battle of Quebec
Charles William Jefferys (PD)

Near Cambridge, Massachusetts - Late January 1776

Will Hensley recognized the road they were on, it wasn't all that far to Cambridge where the Continental Army had its headquarters. He wondered if he'd catch a glimpse of the famous General Washington.

"Backs to it lads! We're almost home!"

Will looked up as Colonel Knox himself came down the road. Again, he felt sorry for the general's horse, but he realized, as he stared, that like the rest of them, the colonel had lost some weight on their long trek from Ticonderoga.

Now at last, they were back from the wilds of upper New York.

Source

First thing he wanted, after a hot meal, was to get leave to go to New Hampshire and see his family. He'd been gone far too long from them. But for now, they had succeeded, he wondered what the British in Boston might think of these guns they'd brought down through so much forest and field. Will believed it spelled their doom.

The quicker an end to this war the better, he thought.