American Revolution: Invasion of Canada and Declaration of Independence transcript

Autumn 1775. King George III has decided to punish his rebellious colonies in America. While some British subjects sympathize with the Americans, a growing number see them as the King does: “dangerous and ill designing men … who forget the allegiance which they owe to the power that has protected them.” The King and his advisors pour over maps and military reports… while seeking to raise a force of 18,000 German auxiliaries to reinforce their army in America.

“When once these rebels have felt a smart blow … they will submit”, the King tells his ministers. Across Britain and Ireland, ships are requisitioned. 20,000 soldiers muster at Portsmouth, Cork, and other ports… The largest expeditionary force yet seen in British history.. will soon be under sail. In Philadelphia, the Second Continental Congress knows that the British will strike soon. General Washington commands the main Patriot army, which besieges the British in Boston.

Patriot forces control much of the Thirteen Colonies, with the help of local Committees of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety. But elsewhere in North America, the British remain in control. Their colonies in the West Indies rely on the British military to protect them from imperial rivals and slave revolts. They will not risk rebellion. Florida’s population is small and scattered, more worried by the threat of Spanish invasion than British ‘tyranny’.

Native American tribes assume a watchful neutrality… although most secretly favour the British, seen as the more useful ally. But American Patriots hope that Canada might still come over to their cause. The province of Quebec has only been ruled by the British since 1763. Most of its European population is French, and Catholic. They have no love for the British... but the recent ‘Quebec Act’ has restored their rights and privileges, and reconciled many to British rule.

When overtures arrive from Congress, imploring the Canadians to join the rebellion... they are ignored. Right now, there are just 800 British redcoats in Canada. But Congress knows the British will likely send reinforcements, and use Canada as a staging ground to invade the Thirteen Colonies. So Congress decides to strike first... in its own words, to liberate “The Oppressed Inhabitants” of Canada. The main advance will be made by the 2,000 strong ‘Northern Army’ gathered around Ticonderoga: a disorganized force hardly deserving of the name, but led by a talented Irish officer, General Richard Montgomery.

In September 1775, he lays siege to Fort St. Jean, guarding the road to Canada. And with the heavy guns captured at Fort Ticonderoga, pummels it into submission, in six weeks. The road to Canada is open… but desertion and sickness have already reduced the Northern Army’s strength by half. As the army marches on Quebec … a second force races to join them. Colonel Benedict Arnold, an enterprising young officer from Connecticut, has convinced Washington to give him 2,000 men to reinforce Montgomery.

His route is treacherous… through a wilderness of thick forests, rivers, and swamps. “Our march has been attended with an amazing deal of fatigue… I have been much Deceived … Our route is longer and has been attended with a thousand difficulties I never apprehended.” Many of Arnold’s men give up, and turn back. But in early December, he arrives outside Quebec … and links up with Montgomery. Their combined force is just 1,200 men.

Quebec sits on an imposing bluff over the St. Lawrence River. It’s the most well-fortified city in North America, with 20-foot walls and 114 cannon. The extremely able British Governor, Guy Carlton, has prepared for a siege, recruiting hundreds of militia, and stockpiling ammunition and supplies. The Americans are under pressure. It is midwinter, and just as at Boston, they face the prospect of hundreds of troops going home in a few days, when their enlistments expire.

So Arnold and Montgomery decide to risk an immediate assault. In the early hours of 31st December, under cover of a blizzard, the Americans attack… But it is a disaster. They are met by organised, determined British resistance. General Montgomery is killed, his men routed. Colonel Arnold is badly wounded – while hundreds of his men are surrounded and captured. The remnants of the Northern Army – about 600 men - are isolated, frozen, ravaged by smallpox, and hundreds of miles from friendly territory.

For now, Arnold stubbornly holds his position outside Quebec. But it is clear he won’t last long without reinforcements. That winter, Henry Knox, a 25-year-old book-seller from Boston, now a colonel in the Patriot army, oversees a stunning logistical operation: The movement of 59 heavy guns – some weighing more than 2 tons – across 300 miles of snow, mountains, and frozen rivers, using sleds, oxen and horses. These are the guns of Fort Ticonderoga, which Knox has promised General Washington he shall have for his siege of Boston… where they may well turn the tide.

Knox arrives on 27th January 1776… with all 59 guns not far behind. A jubilant Washington promotes Knox to commander of the artillery. Washington’s first instinct is to use the guns to support a direct assault on Boston, across the frozen Charles River. But his war council persuades him to adopt a more cautious approach: to fortify Dorchester Heights – from where the guns can threaten the British fleet at anchor. Without the fleet guaranteeing resupply, the British army will have to evacuate.

Tons of timber, stone and hay are discreetly gathered at Roxbury… while the Americans open a nightly bombardment on Boston, to mask their preparations. The British answer with twice the firepower. On the third night, Patriot forces use the cover of the bombardment to quietly haul 20 guns onto Dorchester Heights. By dawn the next day, they have entrenched the position, and garrisoned it with 6,000 troops. The British are horrified.

They open up with a massive cannonade, but their fire does little damage. The British prepare an assault – but snow and hurricane strength winds force General Howe to call it off. With his men now close to starvation and decimated by sickness, Howe decides he must evacuate the city. In exchange for an unopposed departure, the British agree not to destroy Boston. On 20th March, the British blow up their supply base at Castle William...

Then sail for Halifax, to regroup and resupply. After more than 10 months … The siege is over. The British have been defeated. And news of Washington’s victory spreads across the colonies, sparking celebrations and jubilation. A Connecticut newspaper proclaims: “The joy of our friends in Boston, on seeing the victorious and gallant troops of their country enter the town almost on the heels of their barbarous oppressors was inexplicably great.” A British Lieutenant remarks: “I hope the rebels will get heartily thrashed, I would be content to lose a leg and an arm to see them totally defeated and their whole country laid waste.” Not all Americans rejoice to see the British defeated.

Those who oppose the rebellion, now termed ‘Loyalists’, make up around one in five of the population. Each has their own motives, which are diverse, and often complex. Some are recent immigrants to America, with strong social and economic ties to Britain. Some are doggedly loyal to King and country – including Anglicans, for whom George the Third is head of the Church of England. Others fear an American republic will lead only to anarchy, and mob rule – and can point to many historical precedents.

“Which is better - to be ruled by one tyrant three thousand miles away or by three thousand tyrants not a mile away?” Many fear the horrors of armed conflict... “Our once happy land is plunged deeper into a Ruthless war... Torrents of blood will be spilt, and thousands reduced to beggary and wretchedness.” Many might have chosen to sit out the conflict. But local Patriot ‘Committees of Inspection and Safety’, that have sprung up across the Colonies, make that increasingly difficult.

In the absence of royal authority, they have taken up many of the duties of local government – and keep an eye on potential enemies. By 1776, anyone suspected of Loyalist sympathies is liable to be investigated by such a committee – or targeted by a rowdy Patriot mob... and often, driven out of their home. “That violent Spirit in the Patriots of harassing and oppressing the Loyalists has … spread and I have been obliged a little more than a Month since to leave my Parishes, my Family and Friends, and to fly into Exile in order to escape Violence and Imprisonment, if not immediate Death.” Some Loyalists leave to form their own militia companies, that clash with Patriot partisans for years to come.

The conflict will divide communities and families, pitching neighbour against neighbour, father against son. The King and his ministers believe New England to be the hotbed of rebellion. And that especially in the south, most of the population remain loyal – bullied into silence by a minority of trouble-makers. A British show of force, it is hoped, will lead thousands of such people to come forward, and volunteer to serve in Loyalist units.

In the Carolinas, British Governors Josiah Martin and William Campbell have been calling out for just such a measure, since they were forced from their homes by Patriot mobs the previous summer. At last, in January 1776, they receive news that Admiral Parker is on his way, with 50 ships and 3,000 soldiers. But it is a tiny force for such a mission – hastily planned, and poorly co-ordinated, to boot. On 27th February, a Loyalist force in North Carolina duly marches to join Governor Martin on the coast.

But at Moore’s Creek Bridge, they are ambushed by a larger Patriot force. Most of the Loyalists are new Scottish immigrants – and launch the last known ‘Highland Charge’, with swords drawn. They are gunned down – and more than 1,000 Loyalists are taken prisoner in the ensuing rout. Admiral Parker decides to attack the port of Charleston, held by around 6,000 rebels. It is the richest city in North America, and the point of entry for more than 100,000 enslaved Africans in the last century.

Its capture will give the British control of a major port, and surely inspire more Loyalists to rally to the King’s cause. But to take Charleston, the British must first capture the rebel fort on Sullivan's Island - overlooking the harbour. Parker’s attack is a fiasco. Naval fire is ineffective against the fort’s spongy palmetto logs... While shore batteries drive off British transports, and inflict heavy damage on Royal Navy warships.

The failure of Parker’s expedition is a heavy blow to British hopes in the southern colonies. The only other British force in the region is Lord Dunmore’s collection of sailors, cast off troops, and his ‘Ethiopian Regiment’ of former slaves. But they have been decimated by smallpox and typhus. The hopeless situation leads Dunmore to withdraw his forces, and return to London… abandoning the Loyalists of Virginia. By July 1776 - from the Chesapeake to Charleston… there is not a single British soldier.

April 1776. For the first time since its formation, the Continental Army is on the march. The soldiers are cheered through every town. Morale is sky high. Their destination is New York City - the largest harbour on the East Coast - where Washington expects the British to strike next. From Georgia to New England … there are now growing calls for total separation from Britain. The desire for independence is fuelled - in no small part - by a new pamphlet, ‘Common Sense’.

Its author is the British radical Thomas Paine, now living in Philadelphia. In persuasive, plain English, he mocks the entire basis of monarchy - while praising the principle of self-government through elected representatives. “Of more worth is one honest man to society... than all the Crowned ruffians that ever lived … The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind … The birth-day of a new world is at hand.” Loyalists like Nicholas Cresswell are unimpressed.

“One of the vilest things that ever was published to the world. Full of false representations, lies, calumny and treason whose principles are to subvert all Kingly Governments and erect an Independent Republic.” But Patriots control the printing presses. An estimated 100,000 copies of Common Sense are printed and sold across the colonies. Among the upper and merchant classes, there have been calls for independence for many months.

Now, Common Sense persuades thousands of ordinary folk that it is the only solution. That June, in Philadelphia, Congress meets daily for heated debates over independence. Congress has decided the colonies must be unanimous in their decision. Backroom deals, and last-minute u-turns take it down to the wire. On 2nd July 1776, Congress votes in favour of independence. Two days later, 4th July, it formally adopts a written ‘Declaration of Independence’, drafted by John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…” Ironically, the Declaration is closely modelled on English precedents … particularly the Declaration of Right, and Bill of Rights, of 1689. Debate and revisions continue until the last moment – including the removal of a paragraph criticising the slave trade, in order to appease the Southern colonies.

Eventually, all 56 delegates sign, pledging: “our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honour.” Grand demonstrations erupt across what are now commonly called the 13 ‘United States’ of America. There is a mock funeral for King George in Georgia. His portrait is burned in Delaware. Royal buildings are defaced in New Hampshire. In New York, a 15-foot statue of the King is toppled … its lead melted into 42,088 bullets for the war effort.

The Colonies are now Independent States… Unless the British army can reclaim them for the Crown. For more than a year, the rebels in America have acted almost with impunity. No longer. On 6th May 1776, General Burgoyne arrives in Quebec City from Britain, with 7,000 reinforcements. Brigadier General Benedict Arnold has maintained a blockade for five months. But now, massively outnumbered, he must make a rapid retreat.

In June, General Sullivan takes command, and orders a counterattack at Trois-Rivières. It’s a disaster. The retreat continues, and Montreal falls to the British. Meanwhile, Washington prepares for the defence of New York with the bulk of the Continental Army. For weeks, he’s anxiously awaited the arrival of the British. Then, on 29th June, ships are sighted on the horizon. With each passing hour, more and more are spotted Thirty...

Seventy... more than a hundred sail! “You can scarcely conceive of the distress and anxiety... The city in an uproar, the alarm guns firing, the troops repairing to their posts.… My God, may I never experience the like feelings again!” General Howe has arrived with 120 ships, and 10,000 soldiers at his command. They have spent the last three months training and preparing in Halifax … burning to avenge their defeat at Boston.

Soon Howe will be joined by Admiral Parker’s southern expedition … and a vast fleet from England, commanded by his brother, Admiral Richard Howe. In total, 32,000 soldiers, 12,000 sailors, and 400 ships are converging on New York – almost half the military might of the British Empire. British troops land unopposed on Staten Island… welcomed with cheers from the small loyal population. And learning of the Declaration of Independence ten days later … General Howe has a reply.

Two Royal Navy frigates sail up the Hudson, and bombard Manhattan – with impunity. The British … are back. To American Patriots, King George the Third was a great villain – a blood-stained tyrant. And in later life, mental illness earned him the unfortunate nickname: ‘The Mad King’. But as mad monarchs of history go, George the Third’s got some fierce competition. If you want to find out about some really bizarre and brutal despots, RealLifeLore’s new series ‘Mad Kings’ is not to be missed.

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