Battle of Trois-Rivières
Guy Carleton
| date | June 8, 1776 |
|---|---|
| place | Trois-Rivières , Quebec |
| output | British victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 3,000 | 2,500 |
| losses | |
|
17 dead or wounded |
25 dead, 200 caught |
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The Battle of Trois-Rivières was fought on June 8, 1776 during the American War of Independence in what was then Trois-Rivières . A British army under Guy Carleton , governor of the province of Québec , thwarted a counter-attack led by John Sullivan while pursuing an American army .
The American army in Canada had suffered a severe blow with the disastrous Battle of Quebec on New Year's Eve 1775. Extensive supplies of equipment and reinforcements allowed the Americans to remain present in the outskirts of Québec until 1776 , but massively superior British artillery made siege impossible and disease and escape continued to thin their ranks.
In May, a Royal Navy relief squadron sailed into Quebec Harbor. Carleton added the 9th, 20th and 60th Infantry Regiments to his command and charged against the Americans. Sullivan was already on the retreat to Montreal .
Carleton pursued him and Sullivan launched a determined counterattack; at Trois-Rivières , about halfway to Montreal. Although his men were crushed by professional British infantry, the bulk of Sullivan's defeated army escaped to Montreal because of the over-cautious Carleton.
However, this only offered temporary security. British raid squads operated on the outskirts of Montreal throughout the spring, successfully attacking the occupiers and taking nearly 500 prisoners in the battles of Les Cèdres and Vaudreuil . Unable to control the area, General Benedict Arnold withdrew from Montreal on June 15 after attempting to burn the city down. His letters to Sullivan urged "let's finish it ... and secure our own country before it's too late."
Coordinates: 46 ° 21 ′ 0 ″ N , 72 ° 33 ′ 0 ″ W.