Benedict Arnold, who had been rejected for leadership of the Champlain Valley expedition, had returned to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and approached George Washington with the idea of a supporting eastern invasion force aimed at Quebec City.

Washington had approved the idea, and had given Arnold eleven hundred men, including Daniel Morgan's riflemen, for the effort.

Arnold's force had sailed from Newburyport, Massachuesetts, to the mouth of the Kennebec River and then upriver to Fort Western (present day Augusta, Maine).

Arnold's expedition is a success in that he is able to bring a body of troops to the gates of Quebec City.

However, the expedition had been beset by troubles as soon as it had left the last significant outposts of civilization in present-day Maine.

There had been numerous difficult portages as the troops moved up the Kennebec River, and the boats they were using had frequently leaked, spoiling gunpowder and food supplies.

The height of land between the Kennebec and the Chaudière River is a swampy tangle of lakes and streams, where the traversal had been complicated by bad weather, resulting in one quarter of the troops turning back.

The descent down the Chaudière had resulted in the destruction of more boats and supplies as the inexperienced troops were unable to control the boats in the fast-moving waters.

By the time Arnold reached the outskirts of civilization along the Saint Lawrence River in November, his force had been reduced to six hundred starving men.

They had traveled almost four hundred miles through untracked wilderness.

had When Arnold and his troops finally reached the Plains of Abraham on November 14, Arnold sent a negotiator with a white flag to demand their surrender, but to no avail.

The Americans, with no cannons, and barely fit for action, faced a fortified city.

Arnold, after hearing of a planned sortie from the city, had decided on November 19 to withdraw to Pointe-aux-Trembles to wait for Montgomery, who had recently captured Montreal.

As he headed upriver, Carleton had returned to Quebec by river following his defeat at Montreal.

On December 2, Montgomery had finally come down the river from Montreal with five hundred troops, bringing captured British supplies and winter clothing.

The two forces had united, and plans were made for an attack on the city.

Three days later the Continental Army again stands on the Plains of Abraham and begins to besiege the city of Quebec.