Larry Mendte Curtis Sliwa America 250th June 17

Curtis and Larry mark today's America 250th story by looking back at the early days of the Revolutionary War, focusing on George Washington organizing defenses across Brooklyn and Manhattan in 1776 in an effort to slow the British advance as the fight for independence was just getting underway.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Curtis and Larry celebrate two fifty Stories that made America
On sevent.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Ten won so Larry and our audience. The Continental Congress
in Philadelphia ordered two expeditions to invade Canada at the
start of the war, and a lot of people were wondering.
George Washington why why? He says, we will get them

(00:28):
by surprise. They will not anticipate this. It'll allow us
to grab the northern front by invading Quebec, It'll prevent
the Brits from attacking from the north down on us,
especially in New York. And it'll persuade the French speaking Canadians,
who have no love for the English, to join us.

(00:49):
Saw a bold move, so there was a two point invasion.
General Richard Montgomery went right up through Lake Champlain with
his Continental troops. A second grueling wilderness expedition passed the
Moots and the Elk, and the forest was led by
then Colonel Benedict Arnald through Maine. Montgomery's troops arrive in

(01:13):
Montreal November seventeen seventy five and surprises the Brits and
they capture Montreal with not much of resistance. So now,
all of a sudden Benedict Arnald's troops gather up with
Montgomery and Montreal and they say, okay, now we have
to push for the final take and we will have

(01:35):
taken Canada and Quebec. And that is the defeat of
the British at Quebec City. Now, unlike Montreal that's flat,
Quebec City is three hundred and twenty feet up from
the lower part, which is on the St. Lawrence River,
to the upper part, which is elevated, and gives obviously
who is ever defending Quebec City an advantage. I would

(01:58):
equate it to Patterson. Anyone who's ever been a Patterson,
New Jersey After the Pasaic River that's in lower Pattison
and then Patterson, you go many many feet up and
it gives you a vantage point. So now the Americans
get together Montgomery and Benedict Arnold's troops and they plan

(02:19):
the siege and they do it on New Year's Eve
of seventeen seventy five. It's while a snowstorm and blinding
blizzard is taking place. They figure, wow, the elements of
the weather, the fact that momentum is on our side.
The British troops already knew that we've taken Montreal, we
can attack, we can take Quebec City, and Canada can

(02:42):
be ours. It was a complete disaster. Montgomery was killed,
Benedict Arnold was seriously wounded, hundreds of Americans were actually
captured in the siege, and it forced the American army
to immediately retreat back to Fort Tykwonderoga, as British reinforcements

(03:04):
had to ride and they were in hot pursuit of
the Americans. So in the summer of seventeen seventy six
along Lake George and Lake Champlain, the Americans nursed their
wounds to come back and fight another day. But what
was the surprise of all surprises. An invasion of Canada

(03:26):
turned out to be partly successful because it proved to
the Americans that you could beat the Brits. But then
when the British actually dug in and had the high ground,
you better not try to take Quebec City because the
Americans were left with total defeat, and obviously there would
be many many battles thereafter. In the future, I'm going

(03:47):
to talk about other New York battles where, believe it
or not, Benedicte Arnold turned out to be the bravest
of brave until later on he became a traitor and
joined the Brits as Washington expected to see him at
West Point when he had maneuvered up the Hutchon River.
Imagine go from a hero to a heel. But he

(04:10):
certainly had proved and it proved his bravery in the
invasion of Canada by the brand new American Continental Army.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
I had never heard that before. That was fascinating. I
will tell you that's the great thing about these American
two fifty moments. We are delving into the history of
this country and learning things ourselves, but sharing it with
people and allowing them to hear things that they never
heard in schools they never heard before. This is wonderful.

(04:41):
That was a great story. I love that.

Speaker 2 (04:42):
I was never taught that, and I was a history
buff and elementary school, junior, high school, and high school.
But we're going to enlighten people right on up to
our nation's birthday. By the way, that is our holiday.
Not Taylor Swift getting married in Madison Square. Gardener Travis Kelcey,
Oh my god

Speaker 1 (05:03):
Hey, let's talk about that attack that was planned on
the UFC event at the White House we'll do that
after the eight o'clock news