[Sidenote: 1775 A.D.] When the war began, the Americans lost no time in taking hostile measures against Canada. They were able, by the superior energy of their movements, to possess themselves of the fortresses of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, which had not yet been prepared to offer resistance. Governor Carleton was taken at a disadvantage by this spirited invasion, for he had been left without an army. For the defence of the vast territory over which his sway extended, he had no more than eight hundred soldiers. He fell back upon the privileges of the feudal law, and summoned the colonists to render to the King that military service which they owed. But the colonists, from whose minds there had not yet passed the memory of the disastrous war which preceded the conquest, decisively repudiated feudal obligations, and maintained that the various seignorial dues which they paid were the full equivalent of the advantages which they enjoyed. The embarrassed Governor invoked the help of the clergy, who exhorted the people to take up arms in defence of their country. But neither could the authority of the priests rouse those unwarlike spirits. The Frenchmen would fight when their own homes were invaded. Meanwhile they had no quarrel with any one, and they would not incur the miseries of war so long as it was possible for them to remain at peace. The Americans still believed that there existed among the Canadians a feeling of sympathy with their cause. To embolden their secret allies, and give opportunity for the avowal of friendly sentiment, they now despatched two expeditions, one of which was to seize Montreal, and then descend upon Quebec, where it would be joined by the other, approaching by way of the river Kennebec. One wing of the expedition was successful. Montreal fell; the larger portion of the British troops became prisoners; the Governor escaped with some difficulty, and fled to Quebec. In the east the fortune of war was against the invaders. They besieged Quebec, maintaining their attack under severe hardships, imperfectly supplied with food, and cruelly wasted by epidemic disease. After months of this vain suffering, a British frigate appeared one morning at Quebec, and proceeded to land a body of troops. The siege was quickly raised, and the assailants, in much distress, effected a disorderly retreat. Reinforcements soon began to arrive from England, and the continued occupation of Montreal by the Americans was found to be impossible. The invasion of Canada served no good purpose. It was obvious that no help was to be afforded to the party of revolution by the uncomplaining people of Canada. It was possible to hold certain positions on Lake Champlain and elsewhere. But that could be of no service to the American cause; on the contrary, it withdrew useful men from the work for which they were urgently required--the defence of New York and Pennsylvania against the overwhelming strength of the English attack. The invasion of Canada