Battle of the Cedars
Encyclopedia
The Battle of The Cedars was a series of military confrontations early in the American Revolutionary War
during the Continental Army's
invasion of Quebec
that had begun in September 1775. The skirmishes, which involved limited combat, occurred in May 1776 at and around The Cedars
, 45 km (28 mi) west of Montreal, Quebec. Continental Army
units were opposed by a small number of British
troops leading a larger force of Indians
(primarily Iroquois
), and militia.
Brigadier General Benedict Arnold
, commanding the American military garrison at Montreal, had placed a detachment of his troops at The Cedars in April 1776, after receiving rumors of British and Indian military preparations to the west of Montreal. The garrison surrendered on May 19 after a confrontation with a combined force of British and Indian troops led by Captain George Forster. American reinforcements on their way to The Cedars were also captured after a brief skirmish on May 20. All of the captives were eventually released after negotiations between Forster and Arnold, who was bringing a sizable force into the area. The terms of the agreement required the Americans to release an equal number of British prisoners. However, the deal was repudiated by Congress
, and no British prisoners were freed.
Colonel Timothy Bedel
and Lieutenant Isaac Butterfield, leaders of the American force at The Cedars, were court-martialed and cashiered from the Continental Army for their roles in the affair. After distinguishing himself as a volunteer, Bedel was given a new commission in 1777. News of the affair included greatly inflated reports of casualties, and often included graphic but false accounts of atrocities committed by the Iroquois that made up the majority of the British forces.
is located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River
, about 45 kilometres (28 mi) from the center of modern Montreal
, to the southwest of the western tip of the island of Montreal
, from which it is separated by the Ottawa River
. The nearby rapid
s in the Saint Lawrence required portage
, making The Cedars a strategic landing point for anyone navigating the river to or from Montreal. Crossing of the Ottawa River was made between Fort Anne
and Quinze-Chênes, now Vaudreuil.
, a Continental Army
under the direction first of Major General Philip Schuyler
, and later of Brigadier General Richard Montgomery
, invaded
the British Province of Quebec
. The city of Montreal
was taken without a fight on November 13, following the Siege of Fort St. Jean. Montgomery left a garrison of troops under the command of Major General David Wooster
in control of Montreal before leading the rest of the army to Quebec City
. The occupation of Montreal was poorly managed, and relations between the Americans and the population, including those supportive of the Americans, deteriorated for a variety of reasons. One important factor that contributed to the poor relations was the American interdiction of trade with the Indian populations on the upper St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes
, since the trade goods might be used to support British garrisons in those areas. The fur trade was economically important to the city, and its absence affected both supporters and opponents of the American cause.
Following the American losses at the battle of Quebec
at the end of 1775, Wooster eventually led reinforcements to Quebec. He arrived early in April 1776, and the military administration of Montreal passed temporarily to Colonel Moses Hazen
before going to Brigadier General Benedict Arnold
, who had been in command at Quebec. The American forces occupying the city numbered about 500, with additional forces at posts outside the city. Wooster had reported to General Schuyler as early as March 5 of rumored scheming between British troops and Indians to the west of the city. In response to these alarming reports, as well as the unauthorized departures of two fur traders and Claude de Lorimier
, a British Indian agent from Montreal, Hazen had sent 400 troops commanded by Colonel Timothy Bedel
of Bedel's Regiment
to occupy a strategic position at The Cedars in early April. Lieutenant Isaac Butterfield led an advance force that arrived at The Cedars on April 26 and began construction of a wooden stockade fort, fortifying it with two four-pound cannons. Bedel and the rest of the detachment arrived on May 6.
, where a company of the 8th Regiment of Foot under the command of George Forster had occupied Fort de La Présentation
. Lorimier proposed recruiting a force of Indians to launch an attack on Continental forces at Montreal from the west. When Forster agreed, Lorimier went to Saint Regis, where he recruited 100 Mohawk men from Akwesasne
. Word of these activities led the American rebels to fortify The Cedars.
At Fort Niagara
in early May, Loyalist
Captain John Butler
held a conference with several hundred tribesmen, primarily from the Six Nations of the Iroquois
, in which his goal was to break pledges of neutrality some of them had made in 1775. Butler, an experienced Indian agent, plied the natives with liquor and tales of combat; he convinced more than 50 Seneca
, Cayuga
, and Onondaga
warriors to join the British cause, as well as some warriors from further west. Historians are uncertain whether any of these recruits participated in the action at The Cedars, but it appears unlikely. Stanley (1973) is of the opinion that Indian participation was limited to those recruited by Lorimier, who went as far as Gananoque
to recruit. Lanctot (1967) and Smith do not identify any specific tribes participating in the action.
James Stanley Goddard, one of the fur traders who left with Lorimier, traveled further west in an ultimately unsuccessful effort to raise an Indian force to oppose the Americans occupying Quebec. He reached Fort Michilimackinac
in June, where the British commander, Captain Arent DePeyster
, sent him recruiting among the Menominee
and Winnebago
tribes near Green Bay
. DePeyster also sent out Joseph Ainsse, a local Indian interpreter, to recruit from tribes closer to the fort. None of the Indians recruited by these men reached Montreal until well after the Americans had left the city.
could be crossed.
Forster left Oswegatchie on May 12 with about 40 regular troops, 10 British and French-speaking Canadien militia, and 160 Iroquois. On May 14, they picked up 44 more Iroquois at Saint Francis, and camped at the western end of Saint Francis Lake on May 16.On May 17, Forster received scouting reports about the troop strength at The Cedars. The Indians were concerned about the number of troops, but news that the Americans were in retreat from the city of Quebec emboldened them to act.
On May 15, Colonel Bedel left The Cedars, leaving Lieutenant Butterfield in charge of the fort. Bedel later claimed that the reason for his departure was to meet with the friendly Caughnawaga
Indians. In his court martial, the judges concluded this claim was suspect. He returned to Montreal and reported that a force of 150 British troops of the 8th Foot and about 500 Iroquois
commanded by Captain Forster was approaching. On this news, Colonel John Paterson sent Major Henry Sherburne with 140 men from his regiment toward The Cedars. General Arnold, who was meeting with the retreating Continental Army command at Sorel at the time, returned to Montreal when the news reached him and set about organizing a larger relief force.
from the island of Montreal
to Quinze-Chênes, but, believing The Cedars to have fallen already, had retreated back across the river. This news caused the besiegers to redouble their efforts the next day. Additional help arrived for the British in the form of about 40 Canadiens under Jean-Baptiste Testard de Montigny; Forster sent them to harass Sherburne. Word then came to Forster that Sherburne had resumed his advance; Butterfield, unaware of this, surrendered the fort. The terms of capitulation included a guarantee of the personal safety of the captured men. The Iroquois plundered the fort's stores, and denied some of the captives small pouches of sometimes valuable personal items.
Sherburne decided to advance on May 20. Some of his men were apparently suffering from the aftereffects of smallpox
, so these were left behind. Sherburne landed about 100 of his men at Quinze-Chênes, about 16 kilometres (10 mi) from The Cedars. When word of this crossing reached Forster, he ordered Lorimier to take 100 Indians and stop Sherburne. Lorimier was at first only able to immediately raise 40 warriors, but was joined on the way by another 40. Sherburne, not realizing that Butterfield had already surrendered, marched his troops right at Lorimier's advancing force. They fought for about 40 minutes before Sherburne, believing he was being attacked by a much larger force, surrendered. The Iroquois claimed these captives as war spoils, since they were not part of the fort's garrison, and prepared to kill some of them in retaliation for their own losses. Only the intervention of Forster, who paid a ransom, prevented this; it did not prevent the Iroquois from stripping the prisoners of all but the clothes on their backs.
Following his successes, Forster moved his forces, including all of the prisoners, up to Quinze-Chênes, where more Loyalist
militia had assembled. Leaving some of the prisoners there, he advanced on May 23 to Fort Senneville
, a fortified works located on the southwest tip of Montreal island that was owned by Montigny. In the meantime, General Arnold gathered most of the few remaining forces in Montreal, and sent requests to the outposts around the city for additional troops. By May 24, he was entrenched at Lachine
, south of the city, and his force had reached 450 men. Forster began to advance on Lachine, but decided to retreat back to Quinze-Chênes when his scouts notified him of Arnold's position. He also received intelligence from Montreal that Arnold's force was going to be massively reinforced—the reported number of reinforcements was 1,500 to 2,000 men, more than Arnold had available in the area.
Once his scouts reported Forster's retreat, Arnold gave chase. He reached Fort Senneville (which he burned) on May 26, just as Forster's men were landing on the far shore at Quinze-Chênes. Arnold decided to send a group of Caughnawagas
, who were friendly to the Americans, with a demand that Forster release his prisoners and a threat that he would destroy area Indian villages if any of the prisoners were harmed. Forster countered that he would permit his Indians to kill the prisoners if Arnold attacked. Arnold attempted to cross the Ottawa River with a number of his men in bateaux, but Forster used the four-pounders captured at The Cedars to drive them back.
Arnold called a war council so the Americans could consider their options. He wanted to mount a surprise attack the next morning; Hazen, who had acquired significant experience fighting Indians in the French and Indian War
, argued against the idea. The disagreement between the two men was severe enough that it nearly provoked Arnold to file charges of insubordination against Hazen. The council decided not to act, voting Arnold's proposed attack down. Early in the morning of May 27, a boat crossed the river carrying Major Sherburne and Forster's deputy, Lieutenant Parke. Forster, whose forces were somewhat reduced as some of the Indians had returned to their homes, had negotiated a prisoner exchange with Sherburne and Butterfield. After further negotiations, both Arnold and Forster agreed to terms. The American prisoners were returned to Arnold at Fort Anne on May 30, after being delayed for two days by high winds on the river.
, the Congress
accused Forster of mistreating American prisoners by turning them over to the Indians. In a breach of etiquette, the letter containing the repudiation was delivered to Lieutenant General John Burgoyne
, instead of the British commander-in-chief and governor of the province, Guy Carleton
. The Congressional action may have been tainted by overly lurid accounts of the action—Charles Carroll
, part of a Congressional delegation that was in Montreal at the time, reported that "a hundred or more [American troops] were barbarously murdered by savages." Arnold's report of the incident included otherwise unsubstantiated allegations that two prisoners were killed by Forster's Indians. Some histories of the action (for example, the 1882 history by Jones) include accounts of significant atrocities committed by the Indians, but little supporting evidence has been found. The Congressional repudiation complicated an attempted prisoner exchange in 1781 involving Burgoyne and Henry Laurens
, a Congressman from South Carolina
whom the British were holding in the Tower of London
; Laurens was eventually freed in exchange for a promise to help negotiate Lord Cornwallis
's release.
Arnold initially blamed Bedel for the defeat. He removed both Bedel and Butterfield from command and sent them to Sorel for court-martial. Due to the army's retreat, the two men were not tried until August 1, 1776 at Fort Ticonderoga
. Both were convicted and cashiered from the army. Bedel continued to volunteer his services, and following Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga
in October 1777, he was given a new commission by Congress.
American Revolutionary War
The 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...
during the Continental Army's
Continental Army
The 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...
invasion of Quebec
Invasion of Canada (1775)
The 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...
that had begun in September 1775. The skirmishes, which involved limited combat, occurred in May 1776 at and around The Cedars
Les Cèdres, Quebec
Les Cèdres is a municipality located north of the Saint Lawrence River in the Montérégie of Quebec near Vaudreuil-Dorion. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 5,732.-Population:Population trend-Language:...
, 45 km (28 mi) west of Montreal, Quebec. Continental Army
Continental Army
The 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...
units were opposed by a small number of British
Kingdom of Great Britain
The 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...
troops leading a larger force of Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
(primarily Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
), and militia.
Brigadier General Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict 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...
, commanding the American military garrison at Montreal, had placed a detachment of his troops at The Cedars in April 1776, after receiving rumors of British and Indian military preparations to the west of Montreal. The garrison surrendered on May 19 after a confrontation with a combined force of British and Indian troops led by Captain George Forster. American reinforcements on their way to The Cedars were also captured after a brief skirmish on May 20. All of the captives were eventually released after negotiations between Forster and Arnold, who was bringing a sizable force into the area. The terms of the agreement required the Americans to release an equal number of British prisoners. However, the deal was repudiated by Congress
Second Continental Congress
The 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,...
, and no British prisoners were freed.
Colonel Timothy Bedel
Timothy Bedel
Timothy Bedel was a soldier and local leader prominent in the early history of New Hampshire and Vermont.Bedel was born in Amesbury, Massachusetts...
and Lieutenant Isaac Butterfield, leaders of the American force at The Cedars, were court-martialed and cashiered from the Continental Army for their roles in the affair. After distinguishing himself as a volunteer, Bedel was given a new commission in 1777. News of the affair included greatly inflated reports of casualties, and often included graphic but false accounts of atrocities committed by the Iroquois that made up the majority of the British forces.
Background
The CedarsLes Cèdres, Quebec
Les Cèdres is a municipality located north of the Saint Lawrence River in the Montérégie of Quebec near Vaudreuil-Dorion. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 5,732.-Population:Population trend-Language:...
is located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The 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...
, about 45 kilometres (28 mi) from the center of modern Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, to the southwest of the western tip of the island of Montreal
Island of Montreal
The Island of Montreal , in extreme southwestern Quebec, Canada, is located at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. It is separated from Île Jésus by the Rivière des Prairies....
, from which it is separated by the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
. The nearby rapid
Rapid
A rapid is a section of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. A rapid is a hydrological feature between a run and a cascade. A rapid is characterised by the river becoming shallower and having some rocks exposed above the...
s in the Saint Lawrence required portage
Portage
Portage or portaging refers to the practice of carrying watercraft or cargo over land to avoid river obstacles, or between two bodies of water. A place where this carrying occurs is also called a portage; a person doing the carrying is called a porter.The English word portage is derived from the...
, making The Cedars a strategic landing point for anyone navigating the river to or from Montreal. Crossing of the Ottawa River was made between Fort Anne
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue is a town located at the western tip of the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is the second oldest community in Montreal's West Island, having been founded as a parish in 1703...
and Quinze-Chênes, now Vaudreuil.
Montreal
In September 1775, early in the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary War
The 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 Continental Army
Continental Army
The 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 direction first of Major General Philip Schuyler
Philip Schuyler
Philip John Schuyler was a general in the American Revolution and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler.-Early life:...
, and later of Brigadier General Richard Montgomery
Richard Montgomery
Richard Montgomery was an Irish-born soldier who first served in the British Army. He later became a brigadier-general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and he is most famous for leading the failed 1775 invasion of Canada.Montgomery was born and raised in Ireland...
, invaded
Invasion of Canada (1775)
The 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...
the British Province of Quebec
Province of Quebec (1763-1791)
The 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...
. The city of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
was taken without a fight on November 13, following the Siege of Fort St. Jean. Montgomery left a garrison of troops under the command of Major General David Wooster
David Wooster
David Wooster was an American general who served in the French and Indian War and in the American Revolutionary War. He died of wounds sustained during the Battle of Ridgefield, Connecticut. Cities, schools, and public places were named after him...
in control of Montreal before leading the rest of the army to Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
. The occupation of Montreal was poorly managed, and relations between the Americans and the population, including those supportive of the Americans, deteriorated for a variety of reasons. One important factor that contributed to the poor relations was the American interdiction of trade with the Indian populations on the upper St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
, since the trade goods might be used to support British garrisons in those areas. The fur trade was economically important to the city, and its absence affected both supporters and opponents of the American cause.
Battle of Quebec (1775)
The 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...
at the end of 1775, Wooster eventually led reinforcements to Quebec. He arrived early in April 1776, and the military administration of Montreal passed temporarily to Colonel Moses Hazen
Moses Hazen
Moses Hazen was a Brigadier General in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Born in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, he saw action in the French and Indian War with Rogers' Rangers. His service included particularly brutal raids during the Expulsion of the Acadians and...
before going to Brigadier General Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict 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...
, who had been in command at Quebec. The American forces occupying the city numbered about 500, with additional forces at posts outside the city. Wooster had reported to General Schuyler as early as March 5 of rumored scheming between British troops and Indians to the west of the city. In response to these alarming reports, as well as the unauthorized departures of two fur traders and Claude de Lorimier
Claude-Nicolas-Guillaume de Lorimier
Claude-Nicolas-Guillaume de Lorimier was a businessman, official and political figure in Lower Canada. He was also known as Guillaume, Chevalier de Lorimier, Major de Lorimier, and by the Iroquois name Teiohatekon....
, a British Indian agent from Montreal, Hazen had sent 400 troops commanded by Colonel Timothy Bedel
Timothy Bedel
Timothy Bedel was a soldier and local leader prominent in the early history of New Hampshire and Vermont.Bedel was born in Amesbury, Massachusetts...
of Bedel's Regiment
Bedel's Regiment
Bedel's Regiment was first raised as a single company of rangers in Coos, New Hampshire on May 26, 1775 under the command of Timothy Bedel for the protection of northern New Hampshire during the early days of the American Revolutionary War...
to occupy a strategic position at The Cedars in early April. Lieutenant Isaac Butterfield led an advance force that arrived at The Cedars on April 26 and began construction of a wooden stockade fort, fortifying it with two four-pound cannons. Bedel and the rest of the detachment arrived on May 6.
British call to arms
The Indian agent Lorimier traveled west to OswegatchieOgdensburg, New York
Ogdensburg is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 11,128 at the 2010 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and developer Samuel Ogden....
, where a company of the 8th Regiment of Foot under the command of George Forster had occupied Fort de La Présentation
Fort de La Présentation
In 1749, the French Sulpician priest, Abbé Picquet, built a mission fort, which he named Fort de La Présentation . It was also sometimes known as Fort La Galette. It was built at the confluence of the Oswegatchie River and the St Lawrence River in Canada...
. Lorimier proposed recruiting a force of Indians to launch an attack on Continental forces at Montreal from the west. When Forster agreed, Lorimier went to Saint Regis, where he recruited 100 Mohawk men from Akwesasne
Akwesasne
The Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne is a Mohawk Nation territory that straddles the intersection of international and provincial borders on both banks of the Saint Lawrence River. Most of the land is in what is otherwise the United States...
. Word of these activities led the American rebels to fortify The Cedars.
At Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built to protect the interests of New France in North America. It is located near Youngstown, New York, on the eastern bank of the Niagara River at its mouth, on Lake Ontario.-Origin:...
in early May, Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
Captain John Butler
John Butler (pioneer)
John Butler was a Loyalist who led an irregular militia unit known as Butler's Rangers on the northern frontier in the American Revolutionary War. He led Seneca and Cayuga forces in the Saratoga campaign. He later raised and commanded a regiment of rangers.-Background:John was born to Walter...
held a conference with several hundred tribesmen, primarily from the Six Nations of the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
, in which his goal was to break pledges of neutrality some of them had made in 1775. Butler, an experienced Indian agent, plied the natives with liquor and tales of combat; he convinced more than 50 Seneca
Seneca nation
The Seneca are a group of indigenous people native to North America. They were the nation located farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League in New York before the American Revolution. While exact population figures are unknown, approximately 15,000 to 25,000 Seneca live in...
, Cayuga
Cayuga nation
The Cayuga people was one of the five original constituents of the Haudenosaunee , a confederacy of American Indians in New York. The Cayuga homeland lay in the Finger Lakes region along Cayuga Lake, between their league neighbors, the Onondaga to the east and the Seneca to the west...
, and Onondaga
Onondaga (tribe)
The Onondaga are one of the original five constituent nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Their traditional homeland is in and around Onondaga County, New York...
warriors to join the British cause, as well as some warriors from further west. Historians are uncertain whether any of these recruits participated in the action at The Cedars, but it appears unlikely. Stanley (1973) is of the opinion that Indian participation was limited to those recruited by Lorimier, who went as far as Gananoque
Gananoque, Ontario
Gananoque is a town in Leeds and Grenville County, Ontario, Canada. The town had a population of 5,287 year-round residents in the Canada 2006 Census, as well as summer residents sometimes referred to as "Islanders" because of the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River, Gananoque's most...
to recruit. Lanctot (1967) and Smith do not identify any specific tribes participating in the action.
James Stanley Goddard, one of the fur traders who left with Lorimier, traveled further west in an ultimately unsuccessful effort to raise an Indian force to oppose the Americans occupying Quebec. He reached Fort Michilimackinac
Fort Michilimackinac
Fort Michilimackinac was an 18th century French, and later British, fort and trading post in the Great Lakes of North America. Built around 1715, it was located along the southern shore of the strategic Straits of Mackinac connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, at the northern tip of the lower...
in June, where the British commander, Captain Arent DePeyster
Arent DePeyster
Arent Schuyler DePeyster was a British military officer best known for his term as commandant of the British controlled Fort Michilimackinac and Fort Detroit during the American Revolution...
, sent him recruiting among the Menominee
Menominee
Some placenames use other spellings, see also Menomonee and Menomonie.The Menominee are a nation of Native Americans living in Wisconsin. The Menominee, along with the Ho-Chunk, are the only tribes that are indigenous to what is now Wisconsin...
and Winnebago
Ho-Chunk
The Ho-Chunk, also known as Winnebago, are a tribe of Native Americans, native to what is now Wisconsin and Illinois. There are two federally recognized Ho-Chunk tribes, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska....
tribes near Green Bay
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
. DePeyster also sent out Joseph Ainsse, a local Indian interpreter, to recruit from tribes closer to the fort. None of the Indians recruited by these men reached Montreal until well after the Americans had left the city.
Prelude
Once forces began assembling at Oswegatchie, Lorimier made arrangements with a sympathetic priest near The Cedars for the provisioning of supplies for the troops. With the assistance of some men of the 8th Foot, he strategically hid several shallow-draft boats, known as bateaux, near a point where the Saint Lawrence RiverSaint Lawrence River
The 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...
could be crossed.
Forster left Oswegatchie on May 12 with about 40 regular troops, 10 British and French-speaking Canadien militia, and 160 Iroquois. On May 14, they picked up 44 more Iroquois at Saint Francis, and camped at the western end of Saint Francis Lake on May 16.On May 17, Forster received scouting reports about the troop strength at The Cedars. The Indians were concerned about the number of troops, but news that the Americans were in retreat from the city of Quebec emboldened them to act.
On May 15, Colonel Bedel left The Cedars, leaving Lieutenant Butterfield in charge of the fort. Bedel later claimed that the reason for his departure was to meet with the friendly Caughnawaga
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
Indians. In his court martial, the judges concluded this claim was suspect. He returned to Montreal and reported that a force of 150 British troops of the 8th Foot and about 500 Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
commanded by Captain Forster was approaching. On this news, Colonel John Paterson sent Major Henry Sherburne with 140 men from his regiment toward The Cedars. General Arnold, who was meeting with the retreating Continental Army command at Sorel at the time, returned to Montreal when the news reached him and set about organizing a larger relief force.
The Cedars
Forster's force landed near the American-occupied fort on May 18, and sent in a demand for surrender. Butterfield countered with a request to withdraw under arms, which Forster refused. The parties exchanged fire. During the course of the exchange, Forster received word that Sherburne had crossed the Ottawa RiverOttawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
from the island of Montreal
Island of Montreal
The Island of Montreal , in extreme southwestern Quebec, Canada, is located at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers. It is separated from Île Jésus by the Rivière des Prairies....
to Quinze-Chênes, but, believing The Cedars to have fallen already, had retreated back across the river. This news caused the besiegers to redouble their efforts the next day. Additional help arrived for the British in the form of about 40 Canadiens under Jean-Baptiste Testard de Montigny; Forster sent them to harass Sherburne. Word then came to Forster that Sherburne had resumed his advance; Butterfield, unaware of this, surrendered the fort. The terms of capitulation included a guarantee of the personal safety of the captured men. The Iroquois plundered the fort's stores, and denied some of the captives small pouches of sometimes valuable personal items.
Quinze-Chênes
Sherburne reached Fort Anne, across the Ottawa River from Quinze-Chênes, on May 17. A scout he sent across the river the next day was captured by Lorimier. The scout was allowed to notify Sherburne of his capture; in his message he included a claim that 500 Indians had surrounded the fort at The Cedars. Consequently, Sherburne decided to delay crossing the river, and sent word back to Montreal requesting further assistance.Sherburne decided to advance on May 20. Some of his men were apparently suffering from the aftereffects of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
, so these were left behind. Sherburne landed about 100 of his men at Quinze-Chênes, about 16 kilometres (10 mi) from The Cedars. When word of this crossing reached Forster, he ordered Lorimier to take 100 Indians and stop Sherburne. Lorimier was at first only able to immediately raise 40 warriors, but was joined on the way by another 40. Sherburne, not realizing that Butterfield had already surrendered, marched his troops right at Lorimier's advancing force. They fought for about 40 minutes before Sherburne, believing he was being attacked by a much larger force, surrendered. The Iroquois claimed these captives as war spoils, since they were not part of the fort's garrison, and prepared to kill some of them in retaliation for their own losses. Only the intervention of Forster, who paid a ransom, prevented this; it did not prevent the Iroquois from stripping the prisoners of all but the clothes on their backs.
Arnold's relief
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
militia had assembled. Leaving some of the prisoners there, he advanced on May 23 to Fort Senneville
Fort Senneville
Fort Senneville is one of the outlying forts of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, built by the Canadiens of New France near the Sainte-Anne rapids in 1671. The property was part of a fief ceded to Dugué de Boisbriant in 1672 by the Sulpicians. A large stone windmill, which doubled as a watch tower, was...
, a fortified works located on the southwest tip of Montreal island that was owned by Montigny. In the meantime, General Arnold gathered most of the few remaining forces in Montreal, and sent requests to the outposts around the city for additional troops. By May 24, he was entrenched at Lachine
Lachine, Quebec
Lachine was a city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is now a borough within the city of Montreal.-History:...
, south of the city, and his force had reached 450 men. Forster began to advance on Lachine, but decided to retreat back to Quinze-Chênes when his scouts notified him of Arnold's position. He also received intelligence from Montreal that Arnold's force was going to be massively reinforced—the reported number of reinforcements was 1,500 to 2,000 men, more than Arnold had available in the area.
Once his scouts reported Forster's retreat, Arnold gave chase. He reached Fort Senneville (which he burned) on May 26, just as Forster's men were landing on the far shore at Quinze-Chênes. Arnold decided to send a group of Caughnawagas
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
, who were friendly to the Americans, with a demand that Forster release his prisoners and a threat that he would destroy area Indian villages if any of the prisoners were harmed. Forster countered that he would permit his Indians to kill the prisoners if Arnold attacked. Arnold attempted to cross the Ottawa River with a number of his men in bateaux, but Forster used the four-pounders captured at The Cedars to drive them back.
Arnold called a war council so the Americans could consider their options. He wanted to mount a surprise attack the next morning; Hazen, who had acquired significant experience fighting Indians in the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, argued against the idea. The disagreement between the two men was severe enough that it nearly provoked Arnold to file charges of insubordination against Hazen. The council decided not to act, voting Arnold's proposed attack down. Early in the morning of May 27, a boat crossed the river carrying Major Sherburne and Forster's deputy, Lieutenant Parke. Forster, whose forces were somewhat reduced as some of the Indians had returned to their homes, had negotiated a prisoner exchange with Sherburne and Butterfield. After further negotiations, both Arnold and Forster agreed to terms. The American prisoners were returned to Arnold at Fort Anne on May 30, after being delayed for two days by high winds on the river.
Aftermath
The Americans never held up their side of the prisoner exchange. Formally repudiating the agreement over the protests of George WashingtonGeorge Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, the Congress
Second Continental Congress
The 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,...
accused Forster of mistreating American prisoners by turning them over to the Indians. In a breach of etiquette, the letter containing the repudiation was delivered to Lieutenant General John Burgoyne
John Burgoyne
General 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....
, instead of the British commander-in-chief and governor of the province, Guy Carleton
Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester
Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, KB , known between 1776 and 1786 as Sir Guy Carleton, was an Irish-British soldier and administrator...
. The Congressional action may have been tainted by overly lurid accounts of the action—Charles Carroll
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Charles Carroll of Carrollton was a wealthy Maryland planter and an early advocate of independence from Great Britain. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and later as United States Senator for Maryland...
, part of a Congressional delegation that was in Montreal at the time, reported that "a hundred or more [American troops] were barbarously murdered by savages." Arnold's report of the incident included otherwise unsubstantiated allegations that two prisoners were killed by Forster's Indians. Some histories of the action (for example, the 1882 history by Jones) include accounts of significant atrocities committed by the Indians, but little supporting evidence has been found. The Congressional repudiation complicated an attempted prisoner exchange in 1781 involving Burgoyne and Henry Laurens
Henry Laurens
Henry Laurens was an American merchant and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laurens succeeded John Hancock as President of the Congress...
, a Congressman from South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
whom the British were holding in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
; Laurens was eventually freed in exchange for a promise to help negotiate Lord Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG , styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as The Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army officer and colonial administrator...
's release.
Arnold initially blamed Bedel for the defeat. He removed both Bedel and Butterfield from command and sent them to Sorel for court-martial. Due to the army's retreat, the two men were not tried until August 1, 1776 at Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga
Fort 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...
. Both were convicted and cashiered from the army. Bedel continued to volunteer his services, and following Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga
Battle of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga conclusively decided the fate of British General John Burgoyne's army in the American War of Independence and are generally regarded as a turning point in the war. The battles were fought eighteen days apart on the same ground, south of Saratoga, New York...
in October 1777, he was given a new commission by Congress.