Battle of Fort St. Jean
| Siege of Fort St. Jean | |||||||||
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| Part of the American Revolutionary War | |||||||||
 Detail from a 1777 map showing the Richelieu River valley |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 United Colonies
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 Great Britain Province of QuebecIroquois |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Richard Montgomery David Wooster James Livingston |
Guy Carleton Charles Preston Joseph Stopford |
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| Strength | |||||||||
| 1,500–over 2,000 (Fort St. Jean) 350 (Fort Chambly) |
about 750(Fort St. Jean) 82(Fort Chambly) |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 20–100 killed and wounded at least 900 sick |
20 dead 23 wounded about 700 captured |
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The Siege of Fort St. Jean (also called St. John, St. Johns, or St. John's) was conducted by American Brigadier General Richard Montgomery on the town and fort of Saint-Jean in the British province of Quebec during the American Revolutionary War. The siege lasted from September 17 to November 3, 1775.
After several false starts in early September, the Continental Army established a siege around Fort St. Jean. Beset by illness, bad weather, and logistical problems, they established mortar batteries that were able to penetrate into the interior the fort, but the defenders, who were well-supplied with munitions, but not food and other supplies, persisted in their defence, believing the siege would be broken by forces from Montreal under General Guy Carleton. On October 18, the nearby Fort Chambly fell, and on October 30, an attempt at relief by Carleton was thwarted. When word of this made its way to St. Jean's defenders, combined with a new battery opening fire on the fort, the fort's defenders capitulated, surrendering on November 3.
The fall of Fort St. Jean opened the way for the American army to march on Montreal, which fell without battle on November 13. General Carleton escaped from Montreal, and made his way to Quebec City to prepare its defences against an anticipated attack.
Fort Saint-Jean guarded the entry to the province of Quebec on the Richelieu River at the northern end of Lake Champlain. When Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen captured Fort Ticonderoga and raided Fort St. Jean in May 1775, Quebec was garrisoned by about 600 regular troops, some of which were widely distributed throughout Quebec's large territory.
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