# Carleton's Raid
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{{Short description|British raid during American Revolutionary War}}
{{more footnotes|date=January 2013}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Carleton's Raid
| image =
| caption =
| partof = the [American Revolutionary War](/source/American_Revolutionary_War)
| date = October 24 – November 14, 1778
| place = [New York](/source/New_York_(state)) and [Vermont](/source/Vermont) shores of [Lake Champlain](/source/Lake_Champlain)
| result = British victory
| combatant2 = {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Great Britain}}
| combatant1 = {{flag|United States|1777}}
| commander2 = [Christopher Carleton](/source/Christopher_Carleton)
| commander1 = [Seth Warner](/source/Seth_Warner)
| strength2 = 454 soldiers plus sailors on the ships
| strength1 = Unknown number of local militia
| casualties2 = 1 killed,
17 missing,
1 wounded
| casualties1 = 79 captured, unknown killed and wounded
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox American Revolutionary War: Northern 1777}}
}}
'''Carleton's Raid''' was a raid led by British Major [Christopher Carleton](/source/Christopher_Carleton) during the [American War of Independence](/source/American_War_of_Independence). It was launched in the fall 1778 from the [Province of Quebec](/source/Province_of_Quebec_(1763-1791)) against targets in upstate [Province of New York](/source/Province_of_New_York).{{efn|Which included lands in today’s State of Vermont}}
==Prelude==
On October 24, 1778, with snow already on the ground but before [Lake Champlain](/source/Lake_Champlain) had frozen, a fleet of ships left [Ile aux Noix](/source/Ile_aux_Noix) for the southern part of Lake Champlain. The ships were {{HMS|Carleton}} and {{HMS|Maria}}, both of which had fought at the [Battle of Valcour Island](/source/Battle_of_Valcour_Island) in 1776.
{{Quote box
| align = right
| width = 35%
| quote = I propose to send a respectable party, which will be covered by some ships and [Gun Boats](/source/Gunboat), and that it shall be as late as possible in going out as the damage it may then do the enemy will be irreparable this season.
| source = [Frederick Haldimand](/source/Frederick_Haldimand), [Governor of Quebec](/source/Governor-General_of_Canada)
}}
The ships were supported by two [gunboat](/source/gunboat)s and many [bateaux](/source/bateaux). The force comprised 454 men. The [British Army](/source/British_Army) forces were made up of [regulars](/source/British_Regulars) from the [29th](/source/29th_Regiment_of_Foot), [31st](/source/31st_Regiment_of_Foot), [53rd](/source/53rd_Regiment_of_Foot) Regiments of Foot and the [Royal Artillery](/source/Royal_Regiment_of_Artillery) supported by [Loyalists](/source/Loyalist_(American_Revolution)) from the [King's Royal Regiment of New York](/source/King's_Royal_Regiment_of_New_York), [Hessian](/source/Hessian_(soldiers)) [Jägers](/source/J%C3%A4ger_(military)) and about 100 Indian allies. The force was led by [Major](/source/Major_(rank)) [Christopher Carleton](/source/Christopher_Carleton) of the 29th Regiment of Foot.
==Attacks==
The fleet moved up the lake to about [Crown Point](/source/Crown_Point%2C_New_York) on November 6, 1778, where parties of raiders were let off to attack Reymond's Mill on Beaver Creek, and [Middlebury](/source/Middlebury%2C_Vermont) and [New Haven](/source/New_Haven%2C_Vermont) on [Otter Creek](/source/Otter_Creek_(Vermont)). The fleet then moved to [Buttonmold Bay](/source/Buttonmold_Bay) on November 7, where more raiding parties were sent to attack military supplies and [Black powder](/source/Black_powder), the town of [Monkton, Vermont](/source/Monkton%2C_Vermont), and to Moore's Mill near [Shoreham, Vermont](/source/Shoreham%2C_Vermont), a meeting place for the [Green Mountain Boys](/source/Green_Mountain_Boys). At Moore's Mill the raiding party ran into a group of local [militia](/source/militia), and there was a 20-minute [skirmish](/source/skirmish) 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 four-month campaign. This included 1 [saw mill](/source/saw_mill), 1 [grist mill](/source/grist_mill), 47 houses, 48 barns, 28 stacks of [wheat](/source/wheat), and 75 stacks of [hay](/source/hay). Over 80 head of cattle were captured and brought back to Quebec. Thirty-nine prisoners were taken to [Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu](/source/Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu) and forty to [Quebec City](/source/Quebec_City) over land through northern Vermont by Indians. The only [Continental Army](/source/Continental_Army) units in the area were [Whitcomb's Rangers](/source/Whitcomb's_Rangers) at [Rutland, Vermont](/source/Rutland_(town)%2C_Vermont) and [Seth Warner](/source/Seth_Warner)'s [Green Mountain Boys](/source/Green_Mountain_Boys) at [Fort Edward](/source/Fort_Edward_(village)%2C_New_York). 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](/source/Burning_of_the_Valleys_(American_Revolution)), with Major Carleton leading a force down Lake Champlain again while [Sir John Johnson](/source/Sir_John_Johnson) lead a force in the [Mohawk](/source/Mohawk_Valley) and [Schoharie Valley](/source/Schoharie_Creek), and Lieutenant Houghton leading a raid towards the [Connecticut River](/source/Connecticut_River) in the [Royalton Raid](/source/Royalton_Raid).
==Notes==
{{Notelist}}
==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
{{New York in the American Revolutionary War}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1778 in the United States
Category:Addison County, Vermont
Category:Conflicts in 1778
Category:Battles of the American Revolutionary War in Vermont
Category:Battles of the American Revolutionary War in New York (state)
Category:1778 in New York (state)
Category:Military raids
Category:1778 in Vermont
Category:Battles of the northern theater of the American Revolutionary War after Saratoga
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Carleton's Raid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carleton's_Raid) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carleton's_Raid?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.