From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Battle of Fort St. Jean (English: St. John) was a siege conducted by American General Montgomery on the British town and fort of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu during the American Revolutionary War. The siege lasted from August 21 to November 3, 1775.

Fort St. Jean guarded the crucial entry to Canada on the Richelieu River at the northern end of Lake Champlain. At the beginning of hostilities with the Thirteen Colonies, Canada was almost entirely denuded of troops; Fort St. Jean's garrison of 300 regular infantry under Major Charles Preston made it the most heavily defended city in the colony.

An American attempt to storm the town was turned back on August 31 by skirmishers outside of the fort. Over the following week, Montgomery regrouped his men and began preparations for a long siege.

Preston held out for reinforcements from General Carleton, encamped in Montreal with as many as 2,000 men. Carleton, however, was unwilling to compromise the safety of Quebec City and flatly refused to risk his army (this mistake would cost him Montreal and, ironically, he would later find himself besieged within the very walls of Quebec).

On September 20, the Americans seized the small British outpost at Fort Chambly, cutting-off Preston completely. St. Jean was subjected to daily bombardment, and conditions inside the fort steadily deteriorated. Nevertheless, Preston continued to cling to the fort bitterly.

With no hope of relief, and wanting to spare the inhabitants of the town further hardships over the coming winter, the British surrendered in November after a ten-week siege. Montgomery entered Montreal unopposed on November 13.

Casualties on both sides were light, but the Americans had lost some 900 men to illness throughout the siege. The long siege meant that the Americans had to move on Quebec City with winter setting in, and with most American enlistments close to their expiration at the year's end.