“To Surrender Themselves Prisoners of War”: The Surrender of Fort Chambly
Left: proposed articles of surrender. Right: return of people and supplies captured.
Posted on October 18, 2025
“To Surrender Themselves Prisoners of War”: The Surrender of Fort Chambly
By mid-October 1775, the American army in Canada had been bogged down in a siege of Fort Saint-Jean on the Richelieu River for over a month. Just over 10 miles downriver from Saint-Jean was another target, much more lightly defended and holding supplies that could reinvigorate the American siege. Fort Chambly was staffed by a garrison of only 84 men. On October 16, an American force led by Major John Brown and including Canadian volunteers attacked Chambly. Their efforts quickly bore fruit.
On October 18, 1775—250 years ago today—the commander at Chambly, Major Joseph Stopford, proposed articles of surrender. His first article stated that “The Garrison, Officers, & Men not to be made Prisoners, but to march unmolested… to pass by the shortest Road to Montreal, or any other Place in… Quebec.” He agreed to give up the garrison’s stores, but stipulated that soldiers could keep their own baggage and that the almost 100 women and children in the garrison could stay with the regiment.
Major Brown responded with his own proposal, offering Stopford most of what he had asked for, but not the most crucial element. The garrison could keep its baggage, and the soldiers would not be separated from the women and children, but the soldiers would be required “to surrender themselves Prisoners of War”. Stopford knew that he was in no position to negotiate further. He agreed to the terms, saying wistfully that “he could wish, the first Article might have been as he proposed.”
More important than the capture of the 184 residents of the garrison were Chambly’s supplies. The return seen here lists the provisions captured, including 80 barrels of flour and 134 of pork, and the arms and ammunition, including 6 tons of vital gunpowder and 3 brass mortars. The food would power the American army’s stomachs and the gunpowder would power its artillery, adding new strength to the siege of Saint-Jean.
Learn more about the surrender terms (object ID MS.2066) and the return of captives and provisions (object ID 2003.0074.007) on the Ticonderoga Online Collections database: https://fortticonderoga.catalogaccess.com/archives/30076 https://fortticonderoga.catalogaccess.com/archives/29456