18. Carleton punished the French-Canadians who had aided the Americans
The American retreat was kept from being a rout only by the exertions of Arnold in covering the withdrawal. After departing Montreal, the army fell back through St. Johns to Ile aux Noix on the Richelieu River. The American Army was by then ravaged by smallpox; hundreds died of the disease during the retreat, including General John Thomas. By June 1, more than 9,000 British troops and Hessian mercenaries had landed at Quebec, under the command of General John Burgoyne. Many of them were housed in the homes of the Canadians who had given aid to the Americans.
Carleton punished the French-Canadians in a variety of ways for the crime of aiding the Americans. He seized property, imprisoned some, and used others as forced labor. He also punished men of military age for failing to answer his calls for the militia during the American offensive the preceding year. As the British counteroffensive began in the summer of 1776, French-Canadians were used to build infrastructure for the army. The retreating Americans destroyed bridges, docks, and fortifications as they withdrew to the south; the British rebuilt them as they pursued. The Americans also destroyed young crops in the fields, to deny them to their enemy that autumn.