ABSTRACT
Ticonderoga was poorly guarded and Ethan took it without much trouble. It was in the colony of New York, which did not yet consider itself at war. The British Commander in Canada, Sir Guy Carleton, may have guessed what was brewing, for he started building boats at St John's with the obvious intention of clearing the Americans off the lake. Accordingly, General Montgomery was sent north from Ticonderoga with orders to take St John’s and then press on to Montreal. The French Canadians were Roman Catholics, and by the act of 1774 they had been given complete religious freedom and the chance of keeping up their old customs. Franklin could see for himself that Arnold's reports were true, and that his mission could do no good. But Carleton seemed to think that his real job was to keep a firm hold on Canada, and to Canada he retreated as the winter was coming on..
