A body of troops, commanded by General Arnold, was ordered to march to Canada, by the river Kennebeck, and through the wilderness. After suffering every hardship, and the most distressing hunger, they arrived in Canada, and were joined by General Montgomery, before Quebec. This city, which was commanded by Governor Carleton, was immediately besieged. But there being little hope of taking the town by a siege, it was determined to storm it.
The attack was made on the last day of December, but proved unsuccessful, and fatal to the brave General, who, with his aid, was killed in attempting to scale the walls.
Of the three divisions which attacked the town, one only entered, and that was obliged to surrender to superior force. After this defeat, General Arnold, who now commanded the troops, continued some months before Quebec, altho his troops suffered incredibly by cold and sickness. But the next spring, the Americans were obliged to retreat from Canada.
About this time, the large and flourishing town of Norfolk, in Virginia, was wantonly burnt by order of lord Dunmore, the then royal Governor of that province.
General Gage went to England in September, and was succeeded in the command, by General Howe.
Falmouth, a considerable town in the province of Maine, in Massachusetts, shared the fate of Norfolk; being laid in ashes by order of the British admiral.
The British king entered into treaties with some of the German princes for about seventeen thousand men, who were to be sent to America the next year, to assist in subduing the colonies. The parliament also passed an act, forbidding all intercourse with America; and while they repealed the Boston port and fishery bills, they declared all American property on the high seas, forfeited to the captors. This act induced Congress to change the mode of carrying on the war; and measures were taken to annoy the enemy in Boston. For this purpose, batteries were opened on several hills, from whence shot and bombs were thrown into the town. But the batteries which were opened on Dorchester point had the best effect, and soon obliged General Howe to abandon the town. In March, 1776, the British troops embarked for Halifax, and General Washington entered the town in triumph.
In the ensuing summer, a small squadron of ships commanded by Sir Peter Parker, and a body of troops under the Generals Clinton and Cornwallis, attempted to take Charleston, the capital of South Carolina. The ships made a violent attack upon the fort on Sullivan's Island, but were repulsed with great loss, and the expedition was abandoned.
In July, Congress published their declaration of independence, which separated America from Great Britain. This great event took place two hundred and eighty four years after the first discovery of America by Columbus; one hundred and sixty six, from the first effectual settlement in Virginia; and one hundred and fifty six from the first settlement of Plymouth, in Massachusetts, which were the earliest English settlements in America.
Just after this declaration, General Howe with a powerful force arrived near New York, and landed the troops upon Staten Island. General Washington was in New York with about thirteen thousand men, who were encamped either in the city or the neighboring fortifications.