250 years ago today—July 5, 1776—as the Continental Congress made plans for the future of an independent United States, the Northern Army was licking its wounds at Crown Point. Among them was a Massachusetts soldier named John Shepard, who had served in the reinforcements that had marched north that spring and arrived in Canada just in time to join the army’s retreat. He was not impressed by what he had seen.
In this letter to his brother Alexander, Shepard shares his complaints about the Canadian campaign: “The Transactions of the Army in Canada have Always been Very Rongly Represented in New England, for we always heard that Quebec would be given up to our People soon, when the Army in Canada had not the least Expectation of Prosperity.” His main complaint, like many others who served in Canada, was the army’s disorganization. In his view, the problem came from the top: “If a Cannon Comes to [General Schuyler] Ready Mounted he will Perhaps send the Cannon to Montreal and the Carriage to Surrel the Ball to one place and the Powder to an other.”
The retreat brought Shepard and the rest of the army out of “miserable” Canada, but he was not impressed with the new camp, saying, “We have Commissary’s without Stores, Quarter Masters without Provison, Doctor’s without Skill or Medicens…” Skill and medicines were sorely needed, as by his count over half the army was sick. Shepard himself had “had the Small Pox Very favourable”, but even after his recovery he did not feel as healthy as he had before.
Rumors stated that Shepard’s regiment was to move elsewhere soon, although no one could agree on where: Fort No. 4 in western New Hampshire? Cohoes, just north of Albany? All the way to New York City? Either way, “there is no Doubt but what we shall be Remov’d from this place”. Shepard was not left in suspense for long. In a postscript to the letter, added July 9, he gives Alexander the news: “they have Orderd the Stores to put on Board the Schooners in order to Go to Ticondaroga”.
Learn more about this letter (object ID 2003.0074.018) on the Ticonderoga Online Collections database: https://fortticonderoga.catalogaccess.com/archives/29467