Isaac Senter was
22 years old at the time of the expedition. He was born
in Londenberry New Hampshire. Senter had joined the Rhode
Island troops as a surgeon when the news of the Battle of
Lexington had reached him. When the Army was organized,
Senter was assigned under Arnold's detachment. He went on
the journey to Quebec and returned alive. Isaac retired
from the army in 1799 and became a physician in Cranston,
Rhode Island. He was attacked with a disorder at the age
of 46 and died on December 21, 1799.
On Tuesday, September
13, Senter left Cambridge with Mr. Green, Mr. Barr and
Mr. Jackson. He left at around 5-o clock and traveled
upriver on foot for 7 miles and camped.
The fleet that they
would be traveling to Fort Western with consisted of 11
sails of shipping, sloops, and schooners. They each
carried about 100 men each. The whole army itself
included 1100 with officers counted in. The fleet left on
Tuesday the 19th.
On the day of
Wednesday the 20th, the ships came in sight of the
Kennebec River mouth about an hour after sunrise. They
entered the Kennebec, but not without much difficulty.
When the ships made it across, they anchored about one
mile up the river.
Friday the 22nd
brought the fleet to a very narrow and rapid part of the
river called Hell's Gate. They arrived at Gardener's Town
where the bateaux's were being prepared. These were not
ready yet so they continued on.
Today is the 23rd, a
Saturday, and the fleet has finally arrived at Fort
Western. They came there at about 10 in the morning. The
bateaux that were left behind in Gardener's Town came up
the river and were quite heavy. The reason for this was
because they were made of green pine boards because the
carpenters did not have the time to look and get dry
wood. There was another problem with the bateaux: since
they were made of green pine, the wood shrank in the
water and caused them to leak a lot.
Early Sunday morning
Senter was called to attend a man that had been shot
through the body by a drunken man that was enlisted in
the detachment. The man that was shot soon died
after.
On the morning of
Monday the 25th, the man that had killed the other was
found and court martialed for murder. He was condemned to
hang, but instead the officers sent him back to George
Washington. The man never made it to him though; the man
died in captivity before arriving.
On Tuesday the 26th,
the army left Fort Western at 10 am. Isaac Senter went
with Lieut. Col. Greene and Mr. Burr. They traveled
upstream and lodged within 5 miles of Fort Halifax in
Winslow.
The army reached the
falls called Tacunnick on the day of Friday the 29th. All
of the bateaux and supplies had to be carried over by
foot and past the rapids about a half a mile
upstream.
The next day the army
arrived at Fort Halifax and so did Senter's own bateaux.
The problem was that the bateaux were in such a bad
condition that Isaac was forced to buy a new
one.
On Sunday, October
1st, Senter was told to wait for Col. Enos seven miles
above Fort Halifax. Isaac's boat crew consisted of 3
Englishmen, one old Swiss, and a young Scotchmen that was
a deserter from the British army.
Today, Wednesday the
4th, the detachment came to Skowhegan Falls, which they
passed with great difficulty. Senter almost lost one of
his hands carrying the bateaux up the ridge through the
falls.
When Thursday the 5th
came around, the army found themselves within 4 and 1/2
miles from Norridgewock. When the bateaux were hauled of
the Norridgewock Falls, they were pretty broken and
battered. Carpenters were hired to fix them, but they
wouldn't be ready in time, so they had to be carried.
This proved disastrous. Water leaked through the casks
and got to the bread, which in turn swelled and burst the
casks. The same thing happened to the peas. All food was
reduced to salt pork and flour.
On Tuesday the 10th,
the army arrived at the high waterfall called Caratuncah
between 2 and 3 p.m. After passing this they encountered
rapid water all day.
Today is Thursday the
12th, and the army has arrived at the Great Carrying
Place. Senter went ahead to find his Commander. The next
day, Isaac returned to bring over some of his belongings.
He managed to get to the same place he slept on Thursday
and spent his night there. The next day he returned again
and brought the remainder with all possible
speed.
On Monday the 16th,
the army found it necessary to construct a building to
house the sick. It was built quickly, and was named
Arnold's Hospital. It filled very quickly.
The day is Wednesday
the 18th, and the army has crossed the third and last
pond in the Great Carrying Place. It was full of fish,
and replenished their food stores.
Today is the Friday
the 20th, and the army has reached the Dead River. Upon
following the river, the army slaughtered an ox, and as
each man passed the spot, they were given 1 pound of beef
each.
On Saturday the 21st,
a ferocious storm hit, and only grew as the night wore
on. It grew to about the size of a hurricane, and made
the river's water level to increase by 10 feet. When the
night passed, the land marching parties in the army had
much difficulty progressing.
The date of Wednesday
the 25th brought a storm of snow that covered the ground
up to 6 inches. Col. Arnold ordered that any person that
was sick in either body or mind was to be sent back. A
council of war was then called, and the matter to be
discussed was whether to go on to Quebec or return home.
A vote was taken and these were the results:
For Going: For
Returning:
Lieut. Col. Greene
Capt. Williams
Major Bigelow Capt.
McCobb
Capt. Topham Capt.
Scott
Capt. Thayer Adjutant
Hide
Capt. Ward Lieut.
Peters
Lieut. Col.
Enos
At first, Enos was for
going on, but he changed his mind and proceeded
back.
On Thursday the 26th,
the army arrived at around 154 miles from Canadian
inhabitants. On this day the army made much progress, and
arrived at the Chaudiere pond.
Today is Friday the
27th and the army is now at the 7 Mile stream. They
replenished supplies with trout, and proceeded up the
river to meet Capt. Morgan and the advance
party.
On Friday the 3rd, the
army crossed the Riviere du Loup, which emptied into the
S.W. side of the Chaudiere River. A little later the came
to the Famine in which they hired a ferryman to bring
them across. After crossing, they arrived at Sartigan, a
place inhabited by Canadian French and other
natives.
The next day, the
Colonel met with the natives to see if they would join
and help the army.
On Monday the 13th,
the army had to cross the river, but the British had
posted two sentry ships to prevent them from crossing.
Canoes were few as they enemy had destroyed all boats up
and down the river. There weren't enough for the army to
over all at once, so they made trips in the middle of the
night between the two patrol boats. Everyone made it over
with only one hitch; one of the canoes broke apart in the
middle of the river, but fortunately the boats did not
notice and they all got ashore safely.
The day of Tuesday the
14th brought the first small battle against Quebec. The
army marched to the walls, but couldn't fire on the enemy
effectively because they continually fired with cannons.
The army tried to send in a flag of truce but the British
would not accept it.
On Tuesday the 5th,
Senter was ordered to take control of the General
Hospital. This was in clear view of the walls, and when
Senter went to the hospital, they always gave him a few
shots.
Thursday the 27th
brought the plans for storming the city at night. There
were three captains that were against this but General
Montgomery said that he would not force anyone who would
come with reluctance.
On Sunday the 31st,
the battle plans were drawn up for where the army would
attack. General Montgomery would take the right flank
with the troops from Montreal, Arnold would take the left
flank with what was left of his army, and Colonel
Livingston's Canadian Regiment would attack the walls at
St. Johns gate to draw attention away from the flanks.
The attack was made at 4:00 in the morning. Within the
first few minutes, Arnold entered the hospital, wounded
in the leg with a piece of musket ball. It was later on
in the battle when a messenger came in and told of the
death of Montgomery and some of his lieutenants by a
cannonball explosion.
The battle went badly
from there; everything was falling apart. Arnold issued a
retreat as best he could since the army was scattered.
Most of the army escaped but they were continually
hampered by the British who followed in ships and fired
cannon upon them. Eventually the army escaped, but the 9
month expedition turned out to be a disaster. Even so,
Benedict Arnold and his men accomplished something almost
impossible despite the loss at Quebec: they traveled all
they way up the Kennebec through thick woods and
impassable marshes to Quebec and back. They suffered much
on the way and defeat at the end, but they have gone down
in history as heroes who were willing to give there lives
to free their country.
