The fall of St. John’s made the defence of Montreal impossible. Carleton dismissed such of the militia as were in arms to their homes, and with the few Imperial troops in the town, rather over 100 in number, and any arms and supplies that he could carry away, embarked on the afternoon of the 11th of November to make the best of his way to Quebec. On the 13th, Montgomery and his men entered Montreal. Already advanced parties of the Americans were heading down the river banks. Colonel Maclean, who had come up from Quebec as far as the Richelieu river with a small body of Canadians and Scotchmen, to co-operate with Carleton for the relief of St. John’s, had fallen back, Benedict Arnold was threatening Quebec itself, and it became a question whether Carleton would ever reach the city to take charge of its defence. His vessels and boats sailed down the river to a point some miles above Sorel at the confluence of the Richelieu river. There one of them grounded; the wind veered round and blew up-stream; for three days the little flotilla remained stationary; the enemy overtook them on the land, raised batteries in front to bar their progress, and summoned them to surrender. On the night of the 16th Carleton went on board a whale boat; silently, with muffled oars, and at one point propelled only by the rowers’ hands, she dropped down-stream, undetected by the watchers on the banks. On the 17th Carleton reached Three Rivers, with the American troops close behind him, and lower down he met an armed British ship, which carried him in safety to Quebec. He entered the city on the 19th. On the same day the vessels in which he had started from Montreal surrendered with all on board, and, being brought back to Montreal, were used to carry Montgomery and his men down to Quebec. [Sidenote: Arnold’s march from the mouth of the Kennebec to Quebec.]