PRISES THE
HESSIANS AT TRENTON--1776-1777

Let us now consider some events which had taken place elsewhere in the
country. Before Washington had been made Commander-in-Chief, Ethan
Allen, with the "Green Mountain Boys" (so-called because they came from
Vermont, the "Green Mountain State"), had surprised and taken, without a
fight, Fort Ticonderoga in eastern New York. Shortly after, Crown Point
on Lake Champlain was captured by Colonel Benedict Arnold. The capture
of these two British forts opened the way to Canada.

[Illustration: The Liberty Bell]

While Washington was building up the army and besieging Boston, an
expedition against Montreal and Quebec was planned. General Richard
Montgomery, who commanded a force on Lake Champlain, marched up to
Montreal, which surrendered (November, 1775) without a struggle.
Benedict Arnold was sent, with about twelve hundred men from Boston, to
join Montgomery's forces in the attack on Quebec. They were to make
their way up the Kennebec River and through the dense Maine woods.
Arnold was a brave soldier and led his men through hardships and perils,
through snow and ice and over frozen mountains, until they reached
Quebec. On the last day of December, with the ground frozen and covered
with snow, the two American armies made a combined attack on the city;
but Quebec did not surrender, though the patriots fought with desperate
courage and daring. The gallant Montgomery led his men up the heights,
dashing forward with the cry, "Push on, my brave boys! Quebec is ours!"
A volley from a cannon killed him and scattered his men. The Americans
suffered terrible losses. In the death of General Montgomery, America
lost one of her bravest soldiers and truest gentlemen. He was deeply
mourned in England as well as in America.

Benedict Arnold also was beaten back; his leg was shattered by a musket
ball, but he bravely fortified his position and with five hundred men
besieged Quebec. He wrote, "I am in the way of my duty and I know no
fear."

As the weeks passed, the men grew weary and homesick. They suffered
untold hardships from want of food, clothing and shelter, and from the
bitter cold of the Canadian winter. Though Arnold and his men fought
bravely, Quebec did not fall into the hands of the Americans. Their
attacks were repulsed by the British forces in command of the city.

Shortly after the capture of Boston, Washington brought his army to New
York, as he feared the British