The
Battle of Trois-Rivières (
Three Rivers in English) was fought on June 8, 1776, during the
American Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. A
BritishThe former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
army under
QuebecThe Province of Quebec was a colony in North America created by Great Britain after the Seven Years' War. Great Britain acquired Canada by the Treaty of Paris when King Louis XV of France and his advisors chose to keep the territory of Guadeloupe for its valuable sugar crops instead of New France...
Governor
Guy CarletonGuy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, KB , known between 1776 and 1786 as Sir Guy Carleton, was an Irish-British soldier and administrator...
defeated an attempt by units from the
Continental ArmyThe Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
under the command of Brigadier General
William ThompsonWilliam Thompson was a soldier from Pennsylvania and a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.Thompson was born in Ireland and emigrated to Carlisle, Pennsylvania...
to stop a British advance up the
Saint Lawrence RiverThe Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
valley. The battle occurred as a part of the American colonists'
invasion of QuebecThe Invasion of Canada in 1775 was the first major military initiative by the newly formed Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The objective of the campaign was to gain military control of the British Province of Quebec, and convince the French-speaking Canadiens to join the...
, which had begun in September 1775 with the goal of "liberating" the province from British rule.
The crossing of the Saint Lawrence by the American troops was observed by Quebec militia, who alerted British troops at Trois-Rivières. A local farmer led the Americans into a swamp, enabling the British to land additional forces in the village, and to establish positions behind the American army. After a brief exchange between an established British line and American troops emerging from the swamp, the Americans broke into a somewhat disorganized retreat. As some avenues of retreat were cut off, the British took a sizable number of prisoners, including General Thompson and much of his staff.
This was the last major battle fought on Quebec soil. Following the defeat, the remainder of the American forces, under the command of
John SullivanJohn Sullivan was the third son of Irish immigrants, a United States general in the Revolutionary War, a delegate in the Continental Congress and a United States federal judge....
, retreated, first to
Fort Saint-JeanFort Saint-Jean is a fort in the Canadian La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec located on the Richelieu River. The fort was first built in 1666 by soldiers of the Carignan-Salières Regiment and was part of a series of forts built along the Richelieu River...
, and then to
Fort TiconderogaFort Ticonderoga, formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century fort built by the Canadians and the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in upstate New York in the United States...
.
Background
The
Continental ArmyThe Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
, which had
invaded QuebecThe Invasion of Canada in 1775 was the first major military initiative by the newly formed Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The objective of the campaign was to gain military control of the British Province of Quebec, and convince the French-speaking Canadiens to join the...
in September 1775, suffered a severe blow in the disastrous
attack on Quebec CityThe Battle of Quebec was fought on December 31, 1775 between American Continental Army forces and the British defenders of the city of Quebec, early in the American Revolutionary War. The battle was the first major defeat of the war for the Americans, and it came at a high price...
on New Year's Eve in 1775. Following that loss,
Benedict ArnoldBenedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
and the remnants of the army besieged Quebec until May 1776.
Early on May 6, three
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
ships sailed into Quebec Harbor. Troops on these ships were immediately sent into the city and, not long after, General
Guy CarletonGuy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, KB , known between 1776 and 1786 as Sir Guy Carleton, was an Irish-British soldier and administrator...
formed them up and marched them out to the American siege camp. General
John ThomasJohn Thomas was an American doctor and soldier from Massachusetts who became a major general in the Continental Army. He was a leader during the siege of Boston. Thomas briefly commanded the withdrawal from Canada after the unsuccessful invasion by the Continental Army. He died from smallpox...
, then in command of the American forces, had already been making arrangements to retreat, but the British arrival threw his troops into a panic. He led a disorganized retreat that eventually reached Sorel on about May 18.
British forces at Trois-Rivières
Throughout the month of May and into early June, ships carrying troops and war supplies continued to arrive at Quebec. By June 2, Carleton had added the
9thThe 9th Regiment of Foot was a infantry line regiment of the British Army from 1751 to 1881. It became the Norfolk Regiment following the Army reforms of 1881.-Early history:...
, 20th,
29thThe 29th Regiment of Foot was, from 1694 to 1881, an infantry regiment of the British Army. It now forms part of the Mercian Regiment.-Formation:...
,
53rdThe 53rd Regiment of Foot was a British Army regiment founded in 1755. In 1881, as part of the Childers Reforms, it became The King's Shropshire Light Infantry Regiment. Its traditions are currently held by the 3rd battalion of The Light Infantry....
and
60thThe King's Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army infantry regiment, originally raised in colonial North America as the Royal Americans, and recruited from American colonists. Later ranked as the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire...
Regiments of Foot along, along with General
John BurgoyneGeneral John Burgoyne was a British army officer, politician and dramatist. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several battles, mostly notably during the Portugal Campaign of 1762....
, to his command. Also arriving in the fleet were Hessian troops from
BrunswickThe Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , or more properly Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was an historical ducal state from the late Middle Ages until the late Early Modern era within the North-Western domains of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, in what is now northern Germany...
commanded by Baron Riedesel.
Carleton, after having put the Americans to flight early in May, took no significant offensive steps until May 22, when he sent ships carrying elements of the 47th and 29th Foot to Trois-Rivières under Allan Maclean's command. Brigadier General Simon Fraser led more forces to Trois-Rivières on June 2. By June 7, the forces on the ground at Trois-Rivières had grown to nearly 1,000, and 25 ships carrying additional troops and supplies were anchored in the river near the village and for several miles upriver.
American arrangements
Since Thomas's retreat was instigated by the early arrival of three ships of the fleet carrying only a few hundred troops, he was unaware of the true size of the British army. In a war council at Sorel on May 21, which included representatives of the
Second Continental CongressThe Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774,...
, a decision was reached to make a stand at Deschambault, between Trois-Rivières and Quebec. This decision was reached based on sketchy reports and rumors of the British troop strengths and was dominated by the non-military Congressional representatives. Thomas contracted smallpox on May 21, from which he died on June 2. He was briefly replaced by Brigadier General
William ThompsonWilliam Thompson was a soldier from Pennsylvania and a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.Thompson was born in Ireland and emigrated to Carlisle, Pennsylvania...
, who relinquished command to General
John SullivanJohn Sullivan was the third son of Irish immigrants, a United States general in the Revolutionary War, a delegate in the Continental Congress and a United States federal judge....
when he arrived on June 5 at Sorel with further reinforcements from
Fort TiconderogaFort Ticonderoga, formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century fort built by the Canadians and the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in upstate New York in the United States...
.
On June 5, just hours before Sullivan's arrival, Thompson sent 600 troops under the command of Colonel
Arthur St. ClairArthur St. Clair was an American soldier and politician. Born in Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office...
toward Trois-Rivières with the goal of surprising and beating back the small British force believed to be there. Sullivan, on his arrival at Sorel, immediately dispatched Thompson with an additional 1,600 men to follow. These forces caught up with St. Clair at
NicoletNicolet, Quebec is the county seat of Nicolet-Yamaska Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 7,827...
, where defenses against troop movements on the river were erected the next day. On the night of June 7, Thompson, St. Clair, and about 2,000 men crossed the river, landing at Pointe du Lac, a few miles above Trois-Rivières.
Battle
The American crossing had been seen by a local militia captain, who rushed to the British camp at Trois-Rivières and reported to General Fraser. Thompson left 250 men to guard the landing and headed the rest towards Trois-Rivières. Unfamiliar with the local terrain, he convinced Antoine Gautier, a local farmer, to guide the men to Trois-Rivières. Gautier proceeded, apparently intentionally, to lead the American army into a swampy morass from which it took them hours to extricate themselves. In the meantime, the British, having been alerted to the American presence, proceeded to land troops from the fleet and formed battle lines on the road outside the village. Ships were also sent up to Pointe du Lac, where they drove the American guards there to flee across the river with most of the boats.
Some of the Americans, led by Thompson, made their way out of the swamp to be confronted by HMS
Martin, which drove them back into the swamp with grapeshot. A column of men under Colonel
Anthony WayneAnthony Wayne was a United States Army general and statesman. Wayne adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him a promotion to the rank of brigadier general and the sobriquet of Mad Anthony.-Early...
fared only a little better, arriving out of the swamp only to face Fraser's formation. A brief exchange of fire took place: but the Americans, clearly outmatched by Fraser's forces, broke and ran, leaving arms and supplies behind. Portions of the American force retreated to the edge of the woods, which gave them some cover, and attempted to engage some of the British troops: but fire from those troops kept them off the road and fire from some of the ships in the river kept them from the shore. St. Clair and a number of men made it back to the landing site, only to find it occupied by the British troops. Only by returning to the swampy woods and continuing to flee upriver did these men escape capture at that time. Wayne eventually managed to form a rear guard of about 800 men, which attempted an attack on the British position; but they were driven back into the woods. Wayne then led a staggered retreat, in which companies of men slipped away, with the woods giving cover to hide their true numbers.
General Carleton arrived in Trois-Rivières late in the action. A detachment of British forces led by Major Grant had taken control of a bridge over the Rivière-du-Loup, a critical crossing for the Americans retreating along the north shore of the Saint Lawrence. Carleton ordered Grant to withdraw, allowing most of the Americans to escape, either because he did not want to deal with large numbers of prisoners or because he wanted to demoralize the Americans further. A significant number of Americans did not make it that far, and were captured. These included General Thompson and seventeen of his officers. It was not until June 13 that the British finished rounding up the stragglers. In all, 236 captives were taken. Brendan Morrissey says that about 30 Americans were killed in the battle, while Howard Peckham gives a figure of 50 Americans killed.
Aftermath
Scattered fragments of the American army made their way overland on the northern shore to
BerthierBerthierville is a Canadian town located between Montreal and Trois-Rivières on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River in the province of Quebec. Berthierville is the seat of D'Autray Regional County Municipality, and is served by Autoroute 40, and is the junction of Routes 138 and 158...
, where they crossed over to Sorel. Some did not return until June 11. Sullivan, who counted 2,500 effective troops under his command, at first wanted to make a stand at Sorel, but smallpox, desertions, and word that the British fleet was again under sail to come upriver convinced him it was time to retreat. By June 17, the Continental Army had left the province; but not before it had attempted to burn Montreal, as well as destroying
Fort Saint-JeanFort Saint-Jean is a fort in the Canadian La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec located on the Richelieu River. The fort was first built in 1666 by soldiers of the Carignan-Salières Regiment and was part of a series of forts built along the Richelieu River...
and any boats of military value capable of navigating Lake Champlain.
Carleton ordered most of the British army to sail upriver toward Sorel on June 9, but they did not actually leave until he joined them on June 13. A detachment of 1200 men under Fraser marched up the northern shore toward Berthier and Montreal. The British fleet arrived at Sorel late on the 14th; the Americans had left there just that morning. Elements of the British army entered Montreal on June 17, and also arrived at Fort Saint-Jean in time to see the last Americans (the very last one reported to be
Benedict ArnoldBenedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
) push away from its burning remnants.
The captives were treated quite generously by Carleton. Although the conditions of their imprisonment were not always good, he provided them with clothing, and eventually had all but the officers transported to New York and released.
Legacy
There are three plaques in the city of Trois-Rivières commemorating aspects of the battle. A plaque honoring the British participants, placed by the Canadian Commission on Historic Sites and Monuments, is located near the Le Jeune bridge. A plaque honoring the American dead was placed in the Parc Champlain by the
Daughters of the American RevolutionThe Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....
in August 1985. The third plaque honors Antoine Gauthier for his role in misleading the American troops.
During the American retreat from Québec, and in this battle, wounded soldiers were treated at the Ursuline convent in Trois-Rivières. Congress never authorized payment for these services and the convent has retained the bill. A bill that was about £26 at the time is now estimated to be between ten and twenty million dollars. On July 4, 2009, during festivities marking the town's 375th anniversary, American Consul-General David Fetter symbolically repaid the debt to the Ursulines with a payment of
C$The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
130.