Battle of Trois-Rivières

Battle of Trois-Rivières
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Date June 8, 1776 Location Trois-Rivières, Quebec Result Decisive British victory
Belligerents
United Colonies	Kingdom of Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
John Sullivan	Sir Guy Carleton
Strength
2,500	3,000
Casualties and losses
50 killed 140 wounded, 236 captured	8 dead, 9 wounded

The Battle of Trois-Rivières was fought on June 8, 1776, in the American Revolutionary War. A British army under Quebec Governor Sir Guy Carleton, in pursuit of a Colonial force, defeated a counterattack led by John Sullivan.

Background

The Colonial army in Canada had suffered a severe blow in the disastrous attack on Quebec City on New Year's Eve of 1775. A heavy flow of supplies and reinforcements allowed the Americans to maintain a presence in the vicinity of Quebec into 1776, but massively superior British artillery made siege impossible, and disease and attrition further thinned their ranks.

Battle

In May, a Royal Navy relief squadron sailed into Quebec Harbor. Carleton added the 9th, 20th, 29th, 53rd and 60th Regiments of Foot along with Hessian troops from Brunswick to his command and sallied out against the Americans. Sullivan was already in retreat towards Montreal.

Carleton pursued, and Sullivan made a determined counterattack at Trois-Rivières, about halfway to Montreal. Although his men were soundly defeated by the professional British infantry, much of Sullivan's battered army was allowed to escape to Montreal by the overly-cautious Carleton.

This offered only temporary safety, however. British raiding parties had been operating on the outskirts of Montreal throughout the spring, successfully engaging the occupiers and taking almost 500 prisoners at Les Cèdres and Vaudreuil. Unable to control the area, Benedict Arnold abandoned Montreal on June 15 after attempting to burn the city. His letters to Sullivan urged: "let us quit...and secure our own country before it is too late."

References

• Peckham, Howard H., The Toll of Independence: Engagements & Battle Casualties of the American Revolution, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1974, ISBN 0-226-65318-8.