Burlington Heights, on Lake Ontario, was supposed to be the depot of military stores for the British, and in September an expedition was fitted out under Scott's command to capture it; but no stores being found there, he marched toward York, now called Toronto, where a large quantity of stores were taken and the barracks and storehouses burned. General Wilkinson being now in command of the army, a campaign was inaugurated for the capture of Kingston and Montreal. Kingston was an important port, and Montreal the chief commercial town of Lower Canada. Wilkinson was ordered to concentrate at Sackett's Harbor early in October. General Wade Hampton was ordered to join him from northern New York. Wilkinson embarked on October 2d, and Scott was left in command of Fort George with some eight hundred regulars and part of a regiment of militia under Colonel Joseph Gardner Swift. Under directions of Captain Totten, of the engineers, work was rapidly advanced in placing the fort in tenable condition; but the work was not completed before October 9th, when, to Scott's surprise, the enemy near him moved down toward Wilkinson. As authorized by his orders, Colonel Scott turned the command of the fort over to Brigadier-General McLure, of the New York militia. It was arranged that Scott was to join Wilkinson, and that vessels for his transportation should be sent up to the mouth of the Genesee River. On his arrival there he received information that Commodore Chauncey, commanding the fleet, had been detained by the protest of General Wilkinson against his leaving him, even for a few days. Scott was then compelled to undertake the long march for Sackett's Harbor by way of Rochester, Canandaigua, and Utica. The march was accomplished under many difficulties and with much suffering, as it rained almost incessantly, and the roads were in the worst of conditions. On his arrival in advance of his troops, he was appointed to the command of a battalion under Colonel Macomb. Being in command of the advance of the army in the descent of the St. Lawrence, he was not present at the engagement at Chrysler's Farm on November 11th. At that time, in conjunction with Colonel Dennis, he was forcing a passage near Cornwall, under fire of a British force, which he routed, and captured many prisoners. The day before the occurrence of the affair just mentioned he landed at Fort Matilda, commanding a narrow place on the river, where he gained possession of the fort. The expedition which was announced for the conquest of Canada was, on November 12th, abandoned by its leader and projector, General Wilkinson, who commanded a retreat. This occurred when Scott was fifteen miles in advance of Chrysler's Field, there being no body of British troops between him and Montreal, and the garrison at the latter place had only four hundred marines and two hundred sailors.