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C H A P T E R E I G H T Struggle and Success against St. Johns Six weeks before St. John's they lay, While cannon on them constant play, On cold and marshy ground; When Preston forced at length to yield, Aloud proclaimed it in the field, Virtue a friend had found . . . To Montreal he winged his way, Which seemed impatient to obey And opened wide its gates, Convinced no force could e'er repel Troops who had just behaved so well, Under so hard a fate.l jk s the formidabl e responsibilit y o f invadin g Canad a settle d o n hi s / % shoulders , Montgomery quickly took stock of the situation. Th e .X J L terrai n wa s familia r t o him . Fiftee n year s earlier , h e ha d cam paigned i n this sam e area while i n the Britis h army . Th e circumstances , however, ha d change d dramatically . Then , h e serve d a s a n office r i n a crack regimen t o f tightl y controlle d an d discipline d soldiers , traine d t o strict obedience . Now , h e foun d himsel f o n th e othe r sid e o f th e battl e line in charge of an army of rebels that were quite different fro m the professional soldiers to whom he was accustomed. Clearly , Montgomery woul d have to make numerous adjustments t o accomplish his crucial mission. 97 98 • Struggle and Success against St. Johns The arriva l o f mor e troop s provide d on e piec e o f goo d news . Thes e additional levie s helpe d t o compensat e fo r th e rampan t sicknes s tha t had attacke d an d disable d almos t hal f o f hi s campaigners . Reinforce ments arrivin g o n Augus t 1 6 included Lt . Col . Set h Warne r wit h 17 0 of hi s Gree n Mountai n Boy s an d Col . Timoth y Bede l wit h 10 0 Ne w Hampshire Rangers . Capt . Joh n Lamb' s Ne w Yor k artiller y company , with it s much-neede d cannon s an d gunner y expertise , woul d als o appear soon . Montgomery' s troo p strengt h wa s nearin g tw o thousan d soldiers. When Schuyle r returne d t o Ticonderoga , h e immediatel y bega n t o push forwar d additiona l troop s t o bolste r Montgomery' s force . Colone l Easton wit h tw o hundre d o f his troops an d th e 1 st New Yor k Regimen t were soo n e n rout e fro m Ticonderog a t o Isl e au x Noix . Schuyler' s dili gent mobilizatio n o f reinforcement s an d th e procuremen t o f provision s from th e rea r echelo n probabl y contribute d mor e t o th e campaig n tha n he coul d hav e otherwis e accomplishe d a t Montgomery' s side . Circum stances ha d swep t th e tw o officer s int o a comman d arrangemen t tha t matched th e capabilities of both.2 A fe w o f the reinforcements , however , offere d littl e hel p to the cam paign . Pleadin g personal reasons or some other excuse, they requested t o go home on furlough. Montgomer y grante d leave s to two irresolute company commanders , a Captai n Doolittl e o f Connecticu t an d Capt . Joh n Quackenbush (Quackenbos ) o f Ne w York . Shortl y afterward , h e re marked wryl y t o Marinus Willett, anothe r company commander : "Whe n we get rid of the 'do-littles' and 'quakes-in-the-bush' I hope we shall have none left bu t fighting men on whom I can rely." 3 Unhesitatingly, Montgomer y initiate d anothe r expeditio n agains t St . Johns o n Septembe r 16 , the sam e da y tha t Schuyle r departe d t o retur n to Ticonderoga . H e organize d hi s fourtee n hundre d effective s int o a combined strik e force . First , h e sen t a nava l component , consistin g of a schooner...

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