While Schuyler was at the native conference, Montgomery had received word on August 25 that ships under construction at Fort St. Johns were nearing completion.

Taking advantage of Schuyler's absence (and in the absence of orders authorizing movement), Montgomery, leads twelve hundred troops that had mustered at Ticonderoga up to a forward position at Île aux Noix in the Richelieu River, arriving September 4.

Schuyler, who is falling ill, catches up with the troops en route.

He dispatches a letter to James Livingston, a Canadian prepared to raise local militia forces in support of the American effort, to circulate in the area south of Montreal.

The next day, the forces go down the river to Fort St. Johns, where, after seeing the defenses and a brief skirmish in which both sides suffer casualties, they withdraw to Île aux Noix.

The skirmish, which involves mostly natives on the British side, is not supported from the fort, prompting the natives to withdraw from the conflict.

Any additional native support for the British is further halted by the timely arrival of Oneidas in the area, who intercept a Mohawk war party on the move from Caughnawaga toward St. John's.

The Oneidas convince the party to return to their village, where Guy Johnson, Daniel Claus, and Joseph Brant had arrived in an attempt to gain the Mohawks' assistance.

Refusing to meet directly with Johnson and Claus, the Oneidas explain to Brant and the Mohawks the terms of the Albany agreement.

Brant and the British agents leave without any promises of support. (In a more formal snub of the British, the war belt that Guy Johnson had given to the Iroquois in July will be turned over to the American Indian commissioners in December 1775.)