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Battle of the Cedars

Coordinates: 45°18′22.41″N 74°3′16.68″W / 45.3062250°N 74.0546333°W / 45.3062250; -74.0546333
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Battle of the Cedars
Part of the American Revolutionary War

A 1764 map showing Montreal and Les Cèdres
DateMay 18–27, 1776
Location
Les Cèdres, Quebec, southwest of Montreal
45°18′22.41″N 74°3′16.68″W / 45.3062250°N 74.0546333°W / 45.3062250; -74.0546333
Result Tactical British victory
No strategic impact
Belligerents
Great Britain
Iroquois		 United Colonies
Commanders and leaders
George Forster Isaac Butterfield (POW)
Henry Sherburne (POW)
Benedict Arnold
Strength
40 regulars
11 militia
204 Iroquois[1]		 Cedars: 400 regulars and militia[2]
Quinze-Chênes: 100 regulars and militia[2]
Casualties and losses
Cedars: none[3]
Quinze-Chênes: 1 killed, 4–5 wounded[4]		 Cedars: all captured[3][2]
Quinze-Chênes: 5–6 casualties, rest captured[5]

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The Battle of the Cedars (French: Les Cèdres) was a series of military confrontations, involving limited combat, between May 19 and 27, 1776, early in the American Revolutionary War. They took place at and around The Cedars, located 28 miles (45 km) west of Montreal, Quebec, in the later stages of the American colonial invasion of Quebec that began in September 1775.

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. Isaac Butterfield, the garrison's second-in-command, surrendered the 400-strong garrison when confronted by a force composed of a small number of British troops and a larger number of Indians. Reinforcements en route to The Cedars were also captured after a brief skirmish on May 20. The captured troops were eventually released after negotiations between Forster and Arnold, who was bringing a sizable force into the area. Under the terms of the release, the Americans were supposed to release an equal number of British prisoners; the deal was repudiated by Congress, and no British prisoners were freed.

Butterfield and Colonel Timothy Bedel, the garrison's commander (who had gone to Montreal for reinforcements without warning the garrison of the approaching forces), were court-martialed and cashiered out of the Continental Army for their roles in the affair, although Bedel, after distinguishing himself as a volunteer, was given a new commission in 1777. News of the affair greatly inflated the casualties, and often included graphic but false accounts of atrocities committed by the Iroquois, who made up a large part of the British forces.

Background

The Cedars is located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River, about 50 kilometres (31 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 Cedars is located at a rapids in the Saint Lawrence, making it a militarily strategic point, as anyone navigating the river to or from Montreal would use the area as a landing point for a portage. Crossing of the Ottawa River was made between Fort Anne and Quinze-Chênes,[6] now Vaudreuil.

Montreal

In September 1775, early in the American Revolutionary War, a Continental Army under the direction first of General Philip Schuyler, and later of 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. General Montgomery left a garrison of troops under the command of General David Wooster in control of Montreal before leading the rest of the army to Quebec City.[7]

Following the American losses at the battle of Quebec at the end of 1775, Wooster eventually led reinforcements to Quebec, arriving early in April 1776, and the military administration of Montreal passed to 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.

Brigadier General David Wooster

When Wooster departed Montreal, he left Moses Hazen, the Canadian commander of the 2nd Canadian Regiment temporarily in command. Wooster had reported to General Philip Schuyler as early as March 5 of rumored scheming between British troops and Indians to the west of the city.[8] In response to increasing reports, as well as the unauthorized departure of two fur traders and Claude de Lorimier, a British Indian agent, from Montreal, Hazen sent 400 troops commanded by Colonel Timothy Bedel of Bedel's Regiment to occupy The Cedars in early April.[9] Lieutenant Isaac Butterfield led an advance force, which arrived at The Cedars on April 26, and began construction of a wooden stockade fort, fortifying it with two four-pound (1.8 kg) cannons. Bedel and the rest of the detachment arrived on May 6.[10]

British call to arms

Lorimier, the Indian agent, traveled west to Oswegatchie, where there was a fort garrisoned by a company of the 8th Regiment of Foot under the command of Captain George Forster.[11] He proposed to the captain that some Indians should be recruited, and an attack launched on Montreal from the west. When Forster agreed, Lorimier went to Saint Regis, where he recruited 100 Iroquois.[12] Word of these activities is what caused The Cedars to be fortified.[13]

At Fort Niagara in early May, Captain John Butler held a conference with several hundred tribesmen, in which his goal was to break previous Six Nations assurances of neutrality. 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.[14] Historians are unclear whether any of these recruits participated in this battle, 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.[15] Lanctot (1967) and Smith do not identify any specific tribes participating in the action.[2][16]

James Stanley Goddard, one of the traders who accompanied Lorimier, traveled further west in an ultimately unsuccessful effort to raise an Indian force to oppose the Americans while they were 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 fled the city.[17]

Early histories of this action—e.g. Stone (1838) and Beers (1883)—claim that Joseph Brant was among the Indian leaders participating in this action. This assertion is largely based on the behavior of one of the warriors and Arnold's memoirs; Smith claims that Brant went to England in November 1775, and did not return to New York until June 1776.[18] At least one recent biography of Brant does not mention the event at all.[19]

Prelude

Lorimier, once forces began assembling at Oswegatchie, 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 bateaux near a point where the Saint Lawrence River could be crossed.[12]

Forster left Fort Oswegatchie on May 12 with about 40 regular troops, 10 British and 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.[20] 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 panicked retreat from the city of Quebec emboldened them to act.[21]

On May 15, Colonel Bedel left The Cedars, leaving Major Butterfield in charge of the fort. He later claimed that the reason for his departure was to meet with the friendly Caughnawaga Indians; this reason was, in a later court martial, deemed somewhat suspect.[22] He returned to Montreal with a report that a force of 150 British troops of the 8th Foot and about 500 Iroquois commanded by Captain Forster was approaching. On this news, Major Henry Sherburne immediately went with 140 men 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.[23]

Battle at 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. Fire commenced between the parties. During the course of the exchange, Forster received word that Sherburne had crossed the Ottawa River 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. Help arrived for the British in the form of about 40 Canadiens under Jean-Baptiste Testard de Montigny, that Forster sent to harass Sherburne. Word then came to Forster that Sherburne had resumed his advance; Butterfield, unaware of this, surrendered the fort.[21][24] 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 even small pouches of (sometimes valuable) personal items.[25]

Battle at Quinze-Chênes

Sherburne, who had reached Fort Anne, across the Ottawa River from Quinze-Chênes on the May 17, had sent a scout across the river on May 18. The scout was captured by Lorimier, who sent a note to Sherburne to that effect, also saying that the fort was surrounded by 500 Indians. Consequently, Sherburne, decided to delay crossing the river, and sent word back to Montreal, requesting further assistance.[26]

On May 20, Sherburne landed about 100 of his men (the rest, apparently suffering from the aftereffects of smallpox, were being left behind) at Quinze-Chênes about 10 miles (16 km) 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 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.[25] 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 losses. Only the intervention of Forster, who paid a ransom, prevented this; it did not prevent the Iroquois from stripping them of all but the clothes on their backs.[4]

Arnold's relief

Brigadier General Benedict Arnold

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 then advanced on May 23 to Fort Senneville, a fortified works located on the southwest tip of Montreal island that was owned by Montigny.[4] 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 all the way back to Quinze-Chênes when his scouts notified him of Arnold's position, and he 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).[27][28]

Arnold, once his scouts reported Forster's retreat, gave chase, reaching Fort Senneville (which he had burned) on May 26, just as Forster's men were landing on the far shore at Quinze-Chênes.[29][30] He decided to send a group of Caughnawagas, who were friendly to the Americans, with a demand that Forster release his prisoners and a threat to destroy area Indian villages if any of them were harmed. Forster, in his response, countered that he would allow the Indians kill the prisoners if Arnold attacked.[30] Arnold then 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 to Fort Anne.[30]

Arnold called a war council so the Americans could consider their options. Arnold 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.[31] Early in the morning of May 27, a boat crossed the river carrying Major Sherburne and Forster's second, Lieutenant Parke. Forster, Sherburne, and Butterfield had negotiated a prisoner exchange, which was proposed to Arnold. After some negotiation, both Arnold and Forster, whose forces were somewhat reduced as some of the Indians had returned to their homes, 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.[32][33]

Aftermath

The Americans never held up their side of the prisoner exchange. Formally repudiating the agreement, the Congress, apparently over Washington's disagreement, accused Forster of mistreating his prisoners (by turning them over to the Indians). In a breach of etiquette, the letter containing the repudiation was delivered to John Burgoyne, instead of the British commander-in-chief in the province, General Guy Carleton.[32] The Congress' actions 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",[34] and Arnold's report of the incident included otherwise unsubstantiated allegations that two prisoners were killed by Forster's Indians.[31] Some histories of the action (for example, the 1882 history by Jones) include accounts of significant atrocities executed by the Indians. The Congressional repudiation complicated an attempted prisoner exchange involving Burgoyne and Henry Laurens, a Congressman from South Carolina that the British were holding in the Tower of London, in 1781; Laurens was eventually freed in exchange for a promise to help negotiate Lord Cornwallis's release instead.[35][36]

Blame for the defeat was initially placed on Bedel by Arnold, who removed Bedel and Butterfield from command, and sent them to Sorel for court-martial. Due to the army's retreat, Bedel and Butterfield were not tried until August 1, 1776 at Fort Ticonderoga. Both were convicted and cashiered out of the army.[37] However, Bedel continued to volunteer his services, and following Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga in October 1777, he was given a new commission by Congress.[38][39]

Notes

  1. ^ The conventional record of this battle, based mostly on American reports, is 500 Indians and 100 non-Indians (sometimes all characterized as British troops). Kingsford (1893), p. 59, lists these numbers, and, on preceding pages, describes in detail how they are justified.
  2. ^ a b c d Lanctot (1967), p. 141
  3. ^ a b None of the principal sources describing this action (Smith, Stanley, Kingsford, Lanctot) give any indication that anyone was killed or wounded in the action at the Cedars.
  4. ^ a b c Kingsford (1893), p. 51
  5. ^ Smith (1907), Vol 2, p. 373
  6. ^ Quinze-Chênes ("Fifteen oaks" in English) was the name of the place at the time. The place was later also known as Quinze Chiens ("fifteen dogs") or Vaudreuil.
  7. ^ These events are recounted in great detail in e.g. Smith (1907), Vol 1, Lanctot (1967), and Stanley (1973).
  8. ^ Wooster (1885), pp. 122–123
  9. ^ Lanctot (1967), p. 141, establishes the date, but incorrectly assumes Arnold issued the order. Arnold was still at Quebec City (as was Wooster) on April 2. Arnold confirmed the order when he arrived in Montreal later in April (Smith Vol 2, p. 365).
  10. ^ Smith (1907), Vol 2, p. 366
  11. ^ Leighton (2000)
  12. ^ a b Kingsford (1893), pp. 63–64
  13. ^ Smith (1907), Vol 2, p. 363
  14. ^ Glatthaar (2007), pp. 112–113
  15. ^ Stanley (1973), p. 119
  16. ^ Smith (1907), Vol 2, p. 367
  17. ^ Barnett (2003), p. 27
  18. ^ Smith (1907), Vol 2, p. 596
  19. ^ Graymont (2000)
  20. ^ Kingsford (1893), p. 46
  21. ^ a b Kingsford (1893), pp. 47–48
  22. ^ Smith (1907), Vol 2, p. 593
  23. ^ Martin (1997), p. 210
  24. ^ Angus (1955), p. 195
  25. ^ a b Kingsford (1893), pp. 49–50
  26. ^ Smith (1907), Vol 2, p. 372
  27. ^ Martin (1997), p. 211
  28. ^ Kingsford (1893), p. 52
  29. ^ Kingsford (1893), p. 54
  30. ^ a b c Martin (1997), p. 212
  31. ^ a b Kingsford (1893), p. 55
  32. ^ a b Kingsford (1893), p. 56
  33. ^ Martin (1997), p. 214
  34. ^ Kingsford (1893), p. 60
  35. ^ Cobbett (1814), pp. 860–862
  36. ^ Brant (2007), pp. 182–185
  37. ^ Jones (1882), pp. 56–57
  38. ^ Smith (1907), Vol 2, p. 471
  39. ^ Metcalf (1915), p. 499

References

Of the sources included here, Kingsford provides one of the most interesting accounts, apparently using sources that other sources, including recent ones, have not made use of. He gives a very detailed account of the British view of the action, and provides fairly detailed documentation of facts that contradict other widely-disseminated accounts of this action. Many accounts of this action are based primarily on American sources, especially Arnold's journals, and are apparently lacking some of this detail.

  • Angus, Alexander David (1955). Old Quebec, in the days before our day (2nd ed.). Montreal: Louis Carrier. OCLC 1296490.
  • Barnett, LeRoy (2003). Michigan's Early Military Forces: A Roster and History of Troops Activated Prior to the American Civil War. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 9780814330814. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Beers, J.H. (1883). The History of the County of Brant, Ontario. Warner, Beers, & Co. OCLC 35790361.
  • Brant, Irving (2007). James Madison the Nationalist 1780-1787. READ BOOKS. ISBN 9781406722215.
  • Cobbett, William (1814). The Parliamentary History of England, from the Earliest Period to the Year 1803. Vol. Volume 22 (1781–1782). Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown. OCLC 28837253. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Glatthaar, Joseph T. (2007). Forgotten Allies: The Oneida Indians and the American Revolution. Macmillan. ISBN 9780809046003. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Jones, Charles Henry (1882). History of the Campaign for the Conquest of Canada in 1776: From the Death of Montgomery to the Retreat of the British Army Under Sir Guy Carleton. Porter & Coates. OCLC 2110167.
  • Graymont, Barbara (2000). "Biography of Joseph Brant". Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
  • Kingsford, William (1893). The History of Canada, Volume 6. Roswell & Hutchinson. OCLC 3676642.
  • Lanctot, Gustave (1967). Canada and the American Revolution 1774-1783. Harvard University Press. OCLC 2468989. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Leighton, Douglas (2000). "Biography of Claude-Nicolas-Guillaume de Lorimier". Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  • Martin, James Kirby (1997). Benedict Arnold: Revolutionary War Hero. New York University Press. ISBN 9780814756461.
  • Metcalf, Henry Harrison; et al. (1915). The Granite State Monthly. Vol. Volume 47. Granite Monthly Co. OCLC 2447262. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help); Explicit use of et al. in: |first= (help)
  • Smith, Justin H (1907). Our Struggle for the Fourteenth Colony, Vol 1. G.P. Putnam's Sons. OCLC 259236. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help)
  • Smith, Justin H (1907). Our Struggle for the Fourteenth Colony, Vol 2. G.P. Putnam's Sons. OCLC 259236. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help)
  • Stanley, George (1973). Canada Invaded 1775-1776. Hakkert. ISBN 9780888665782.
  • Stone, William Leete (1838). Life of Joseph Brant-Thayendanegea. A. V. Blake. OCLC 3182176.
  • Wooster, David (1885). Genealogy of the Woosters in America. M. Weiss. OCLC 666535. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) (contains transcripts of General Wooster's letters while in command at Montreal)
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