Because much of the clothing our men are wearing came from the British supply ships captured outside Sorel, everyone is instructed to pin patches of white cloth to their hats with the words, “Liberty or Death” written on them. Killing our own in the chaos of urban battle is always a threat, even when we all wear the same uniforms.

For the final part of the plan, General Montgomery said he will form on the Plains of Abraham near the St. Lawrence with four battalions of New York troops and move along the river road to the east and north past Diamond Bastion and link-up with Colonel Arnold in Lower Town. Once the two forces are joined, they will move west together to take the Upper Town and secure the city. Another small gun on a sled will go with Montgomery.

If all goes as we hope, this is still a very complicated and extremely dangerous assault. And the storm we need to cover our movements will slow us and make communications among and even within units, very challenging at best.

As General Montgomery prepared to dismiss us, Col. Arnold leaned into the general’s ear after which he asked Reverend Spring to pray. Our chaplain jumped to his feet, we all bowed our heads and he intoned:

Our sovereign God who loves us and ever purposes for our good, we seek Your Providence in these terrible efforts we are about to undertake for our cause of liberty. We know we shall not all live through this battle, so we now commit our lives to Your keeping in life and death. May we ask You to grant the least loss of life possible on both sides of this conflict in accomplishing our mission. This we pray in the name of the risen ­Savior. Amen.

The attending “amens” were low and solemn, but firm. I may be off on a word or two in recalling this prayer, but I shall never forget it.

St. Roche, Quebec, Canada

Sunday, December 31st, 1775

On Saturday evening, December 30th, the weather finally turned in our favor. The sky was devoid of stars and an increasingly powerful wind from the northeast started mounting in the afternoon. By dark it was snowing so hard we could barely see five yards in any direction. At 6:00 p.m. General Montgomery held a brief council of war and announced to all: “If this weather holds, we attack tonight.”

Our long and brutal campaign is nearly over. Since departing Cambridge on September 11th, we have endured more than we thought humanly possible. In a few hours, more than three months after passing in review for General Washington we will assemble in a different place and formations to carry out the mission he gave us.