Aristopia/Chapter 23
Let us leave the siege of Boston to view another move in this game of war so briskly opened.
But first it should be said that immediately on the publication of the news of the skirmish of Lexington, the governor-general of Aristopia announced the purpose of the fund which Charles Morton had provided for a great crisis in the history of Aristopia—the war of independence for the commonwealth. The crisis had come, the hour had struck. The fund, originally three million dollars, which had accumulated by interest to about seven millions, was to be used by the commonwealth. It was urged, however, that this fund alone must not be depended on. Aristopia must freely pour out treasure as well as blood, for the struggle would be desperate. England was a stubborn as well as a powerful foe.
At the very beginning of the struggle, the government of Aristopia decided that Canada must be conquered, and that Aristopia must do it. It was seen that the British population of Canada, fresh from England and Scotland' would not rebel, and the French population dared not. Canada, held by England, would always form a base of operation against the states, and a safe rendezvous for her fleets. From the St. Lawrence she could harry New England with her soldiers and their Indian allies. By way of Sorel River and Lake Champlain she could invade New York. From Lake Erie she could threaten Aristopia, although she could never bring force enough to endanger the commonwealth.
In the systematic manner characteristic of the commonwealth, the enterprise was begun, carefully concealed even from the leaders of the other colonies, even from Washington himself, when he was given the chief command of the Continental armies. From the head of navigation on the western branch of Alleghany River to the nearest point on the shore of Lake Erie was only twenty miles. Between these two points a good road was constructed.
The vessels of the commonwealth on Lake Michigan were ordered around to Lake Erie. A strong expedition, advancing with celerity and secrecy, captured the unsuspecting British garrison at Fort Niagara. Pressing on, they built a saw-mill on a creek near the shore of Lake Ontario. A fort was quickly erected, a shipyard constructed near the mouth of Niagara River, and the building of vessels begun as soon as possible.
By great vigilance, supplies sent by the British to Fort Niagara were captured, and information of the shipbuilding on Lake Ontario was prevented from coming to the knowledge of the enemy.
All through the summer of 1775 the shipbuilders, brought from Boston and Baltimore, worked on, with all the assistance which the skilled mechanics and a swarm of laborers from Aristopia could give them. The fleet was to be a strong one, for the commonwealth determined that no second blow should be needed. The foundries of Aristopia were now turning out as heavy and as good guns as any in the world. These great guns were brought to arm the Ontario fleet.
It was a debated point with the commanderin-chief of the army and navy of Aristopia whether the blow should be struck in the fall of 1775 or the spring of 1776, but events decided the matter. Washington himself, ignorant of the designs of Aristopia, determined to send two expeditions into Canada to cut off the British supplies. One, commanded by Arnold, went through the wilderness of Maine to capture Quebec. The other, commanded by Montgomery, went by way of Lake Champlain to capture Montreal. Both expeditions started in August. The siege of St. John's, on the Sorel River, detained Montgomery's force the whole month of September and part of October.
At last the expedition from Aristopia, hastened by these events, left the station on Niagara River about the first of October. There were ten large and heavily armed vessels and some smaller transports. Capturing Kingston, at the outlet of Lake Ontario, with hardly an effort, the expedition proceeded down the St. Lawrence, and arrived at Montreal without obstruction. Montreal was defended by a force of a few hundred men, not expecting a formidable attack. About two weeks before the arrival of the Aristopian expedition, the brave and fiery, but eccentric and foolhardy, Ethan Allen had attacked the place, with only eighty men. He and his little force were quickly captured. But the formidable expedition of Aristopia was irresistible, and the British at Montreal immediately surrendered. A strong force was hurried across the country to St. John's, while the Aristopian vessels entered the Sorel and captured the British vessels sent to relieve St. John's. Carleton, the Governor of Canada, made his escape from one of these vessels in a small boat at night, and went to Quebec.
The British force at St. John's being captured, the expedition proceeded to Quebec as hastily as possible. The British garrison at that strongpoint had been warned of the approaching attack, but they were entirely too weak to withstand, even in their stronghold, the combined forces of the Aristopians and General Montgomery. Seeing themselves besieged by a strong fleet on the river and a numerous army on land, with winter near at hand, and not the slightest hope of succor from England before spring, the garrison surrendered. Among the prisoners was Governor Carleton. Ethan Allen and his little band were also recaptured.
Winter had already begun in that high latitude, and there was nothing further to be done. With the heavy cannons of Aristopia commanding the St. Lawrence from the forts at Quebec, Montreal, and Kingston, and a fleet to aid the forts, invasion of the colonies by England, by way of the St. Lawrence, was effectually blocked. The Aristopian fleet had brought abundant stores. The French habitans were friendly to the Americans, and rejoiced to escape from British dominion. No trouble whatever in holding the country was expected.
The force under Montgomery was sent back, in the transports and the vessels captured from the British, by way of the Sorel and Lake Champlain, to New York, carrying to the colonies the first news of the complete conquest of Canada.
Toward the middle of November, the expedition under Arnold, in a desperate plight from the hardships they had endured in journeying through the wilderness, half the time without food, exposed to the storms of early winter, arrived at Quebec. Arnold's force was reduced to seven hundred and fifty men, without artillery and with damaged muskets. What would have been the fate of this desperate commander and his few but brave men, if the expedition from Aristopia had not come to the rescue, can hardly be told. They would certainly have done all that human beings in their circumstances could have done to capture Quebec, but must have perished or been captured in the end. The surprise and joy of the colonies and the consternation of England at the easy conquest of Canada were great. While it was being effected the British were forced to evacuate Boston.