A few hundred neighbouring militiamen were scraped
together. Every one of the handful of regulars who could
be spared was turned out. And Carleton set off to the
relief of St Johns. But Seth Warner's Green Mountain
Boys, reinforced by many more sharpshooters, prevented
Carleton from landing at Longueuil, opposite Montreal.
The remaining Indians began to slink away. The
French-Canadian militiamen deserted fast--'thirty or
forty of a night.' There were not two hundred regulars
available for a march across country. And on the 30th
Carleton was forced to give up in despair. Within the
week St Johns surrendered with 688 men, who were taken
south as prisoners of war. Preston had been completely
cut off and threatened with starvation as well. So when
he destroyed everything likely to be needed by the enemy
he had done all that could be expected of a brave and
capable commander.

It was the 3rd of November when St Johns surrendered.
Ten days later Montgomery occupied Montreal and Arnold
landed at Wolfe's Cove just above Quebec. The race for
the possession of Quebec had been a very close one. The
race for the capture of Carleton was to be closer still.
And on the fate of either depended the immediate, and
perhaps the ultimate, fate of Canada.

The race for Quebec had been none the less desperate
because the British had not known of the danger from the
south till after Arnold had suddenly emerged from the