General Wilkinson had removed most of the troops from Fort George on the Niagara, taking them down the lake, and he now had a total force of about eight thousand men. The right wing, under Hampton, numbered half as many more. The final plan was, to move down the St. Lawrence with Wilkinson's force, while Hampton's moved northward to unite with it at or near the mouth of the Chateaugua; the combined force then to strike for Montreal. Wilkinson rendezvoused his troops at Grenadier Island, eighteen miles below Sackett's Harbor, near the point where the waters of the lake find their outlet in the St. Lawrence. The British were apprised of the movement, and drew a large force from the Niagara frontier to Kingston, supposing that was to be the point of attack; and indeed this had been the first intention of the Americans. To strengthen this impression on the part of the enemy, and induce him to hold his forces at Kingston as long as possible, Wilkinson appointed a second rendezvous at the mouth of French Creek, eighteen miles farther down. The command of the {152}advance was given to General Jacob Brown, who had successfully defended Sackett's Harbor in May. On the 1st and 2d of November the British squadron attacked the advance, but without effecting anything. On the 5th Wilkinson's entire force moved down the St. Lawrence. They occupied more than three hundred boats, which made a procession five miles long. At Prescott the river was commanded by British batteries, and to avoid them Wilkinson debarked his troops and stores a short distance above that place, and sent them by land to Red Mill, some distance below. The boats were run by the batteries at night, and escaped injury, though under a heavy fire for a considerable time. But it was found that the enemy had planted batteries at several other places, to obstruct and if possible destroy the flotilla. Colonel Alexander Macomb was ordered to cross the river with twelve hundred of the best troops in the army, and, marching down the north bank, abreast of the flotilla, drive away or capture the gunners. In this task he was assisted by Forsyth's riflemen, who crossed a little later. The cavalry and Brown's brigade passed over next day. They found plenty of fighting to do, though of a desultory kind. There was a battery at nearly {153}every narrow place in the river, and small parties of the enemy were continually hanging on the rear of the Americans, firing whenever they found a chance. Eight miles below Hamilton, Macomb had a fight with a party strongly posted in a block-house, and succeeded in driving them out.