Carleton's Raid was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

raid led by Major

Christopher Carleton Lt.-Colonel Christopher Carleton (1749–1787) was born into an Ulster military family in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. Christopher's parents died at sea when he was only four years old and his uncles, Guy Carleton (later created The 1st Baron ...

in the American War of Independence. It was launched in the fall 1778 from the

Province of Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...

against targets in upstate

Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the U ...

Prelude

On October 24, 1778, with snow already on the ground but before

Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; french: Lac Champlain) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the US states of New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The New York portion of t ...

had frozen, a fleet of ships left

Ile aux Noix Ile may refer to: * iLe, a Puerto Rican singer * Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places * Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria * Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language * Isoleucine, an amino acid * Another ...

for the southern part of Lake Champlain. The ships were and , both of which had fought at the

Battle of Valcour Island The Battle of Valcour Island, also known as the Battle of Valcour Bay, was a naval engagement that took place on October 11, 1776, on Lake Champlain. The main action took place in Valcour Bay, a narrow strait between the New York mainland and ...

in 1776. The ships were supported by two

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-ste ...

s and many

bateaux A bateau or batteau is a shallow-draft, flat-bottomed boat which was used extensively across North America, especially in the colonial period and in the fur trade. It was traditionally pointed at both ends but came in a wide variety of sizes. ...

. The force comprised 454 men. The

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

forces were made up of regulars from the 29th, 31st, 53rd Regiments of Foot and the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

supported by

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

from the

King's Royal Regiment of New York The King's Royal Regiment of New York, also known as Johnson's Royal Regiment of New York, King's Royal Regiment, King's Royal Yorkers, and Royal Greens, were one of the first Loyalist regiments, raised on June 19, 1776, in British Canada, duri ...

, Hessian Jägers and about 100 Indian allies. The force was led by Major

of the 29th Regiment of Foot.

Attacks

The fleet moved up the lake to about Crown Point on November 6, 1778, where parties of raiders were let off to attack Reymond's Mill on Beaver Creek, and Middlebury and

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

on Otter Creek. The fleet then moved to Buttonmold Bay on November 7, where more raiding parties were sent to attack military supplies and Black powder, the town of

Monkton, Vermont Monkton, also known as Monkton Boro, is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,079 at the 2020 census. Geography Monkton is located in northern Addison County at . It is situated on the eastern edge of the Champla ...

, and to Moore's Mill near

Shoreham, Vermont Shoreham is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,260 at the 2020 census. Geography Shoreham is located in western Addison County along the shore of Lake Champlain. The western boundary of the town, which follow ...

, a meeting place for the

Green Mountain Boys The Green Mountain Boys were a militia organization first established in 1770 in the territory between the British provinces of New York and New Hampshire, known as the New Hampshire Grants and later in 1777 as the Vermont Republic (which late ...

. At Moore's Mill the raiding party ran into a group of local

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, and there was a 20-minute

skirmish Skirmishers are light infantry or light cavalry soldiers deployed as a vanguard, flank guard or rearguard to screen a tactical position or a larger body of friendly troops from enemy advances. They are usually deployed in a skirmish line, an i ...

before the local militia retired. One British soldier was wounded during this fight; American casualties are unknown. When the force returned to Ile aux Noix on November 14, Major Carleton reported the raid had destroyed enough supplies for 12,000 men for a fou-month campaign. This included 1

saw mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ( dimens ...

, 1

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

, 47 houses, 48 barns, 28 stacks of

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

, and 75 stacks of

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...

. Over 80 head of cattle were captured and brought back to Quebec. Thirty-nine prisoners were taken to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and forty to

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

over land through northern Vermont by Indians. The only Continental Army units in the area were

Whitcomb's Rangers Whitcomb's Rangers were authorized on October 15, 1776, and formed in November 1776 at Fort Ticonderoga in New York. The unit consisted of two companies of New Hampshire rangers for service with the Continental Army under the command of Benj ...

at Rutland, Vermont and

Seth Warner Seth Warner (May 17, 1743 – December 26, 1784) was an American soldier. He was a Revolutionary War officer from Vermont who rose to rank of Continental colonel and was often given the duties of a brigade commander. He is best known for his l ...

at Fort Edward. The raid had been expected by the American forces but the raid was so late in the year that almost all the forces had gone into winter quarters and were not in a position to stop the raid. The British losses during the raid were 1 man killed by a falling tree, 1 bateau lost with 17 men on the lake on the return voyage to Ile aux Noix, and 1 wounded at the fight at Moore's Mill. The raid was followed up in 1780 by multiple raids called the Burning of the Valleys, with Major Carleton leading a force down Lake Champlain again while

Sir John Johnson Brigadier General Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet (5 November 1741 – 4 January 1830) was an American-born military officer, magistrate, landowner and colonial official in the British Indian Department who fought as a Loyalist during the America ...

lead a force in the

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans * Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people * Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...

and Schoharie Valley, and Lieutenant Houghton leading a raid towards the Connecticut River in the Royalton Raid.

Notes

References

*''The American Journals of Lt. John Enys'', John Enys and Elizabeth Cometti (editor), Syracuse University Press 1976 *''The Burning of the Valleys'', Gavin K. Watt, Dundurn Press 1997 *''Carleton's Raid'', Ida H. Washington and Paul A. Washington, Cherry Tree Books 1977 {{Authority control 1778 in the United States Addison County, Vermont Conflicts in 1778 Battles of the American Revolutionary War in Vermont Battles of the American Revolutionary War in New York (state) 1778 in New York (state) Military raids 1778 in Vermont Battles in the Northern theater of the American Revolutionary War after Saratoga