Sebuah ekspedisi meninggalkan Fort Ticonderoga di bawah pimpinan Richard Montgomery, mengepung dan merebut Fort St. Johns, dan hampir menangkap Jenderal Guy Carleton ketika merebut Montreal. Ekspedisi lain meninggalkan Cambridge, Massachusetts, di bawah komando Benedict Arnold, dan melakukan perjalanan dari Maine ke Quebec City. Kedua tentara bergabung di sana, tetapi dapat dikalahkan dalam Pertempuran Quebec Desember 1775. Pertempuran ini merupakan bencana bagi Amerika; Montgomery tewas dan Arnold terluka, sementara tidak banyak korban yang jatuh pada pihak musuh.
Tentara Britania mengirim ribuan tentara untuk memperkuat pertahanan provinsi-provinsi tersebut pada Mei 1776. Jenderal Carleton lalu melancarkan serangan balasan. Ia berhasil mengusir tentara Amerika (yang telah menjadi lemah akibat variola) kembali ke Fort Ticonderoga.
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^The Continental Army strength is difficult to count, owing to the number of times reinforcements were sent, and the number of sick that were sent home or died. As of May 1776, the army was estimated to be 5,000, with a significant percentage unfit for duty (Smith, Vol 2, p. 351), but this does not include forces that went home because of sickness or ending enlistments, were killed or captured in previous action, or turned back on Arnold's expedition. In June 1776, John Sullivan arrived at Sorel with over 3,000 men (Smith, Vol 2, p. 390). Given that Arnold's expedition lost 500 men (Smith, Vol 1, hal 152), and over 400 were captured in the Battle of Quebec, and at least 900 men were sent home sick during the Siege of Fort St. Johns, 10,000 is a reasonable estimated of the number of troops sent to Quebec. The number of effective troops at any one time was generally much lower.
^British forces at the beginning of the invasion were 700 regulars according to Simeon, p. vii. These were augmented by militia support at Fort St. Johns and Quebec, raising total force to 1,800 for the major actions (Smith (1907), vol 1, pp. 342–3 and Alden, p. 209). Reinforcements arriving by June 1776 under Charles Douglas and John Burgoyne raised total troops to 10,000, plus militia and Indians (Smith (1907), vol 2, hal. 430).
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