Battle of the Cedars (Paperback)

The Battle of the Cedars was a series of military confrontations, involving limited combat, between May 19 and 27, 1776, early in the American Revolutionary War. They took place at and around The Cedars, located 28 miles west of Montreal, Quebec, in the later stages of the American colonial invasion of Quebec that began in September 1775. General Benedict Arnold, commanding the American military garrison at Montreal, had placed a detachment of his troops at The Cedars in April 1776 after receiving rumors of British and Indian military preparations to the west of Montreal. Isaac Butterfield, the garrison's second-in-command, surrendered the 400-strong garrison when confronted by a force composed of a small number of British troops and a larger number of Indians. After a brief skirmish on May 20, American reinforcements en route to The Cedars were also captured. Most sources do not count any fatalities or wounded from the skirmishes.