After the American forces had retreated from Quebec on 6 May 1776, British Governor General Guy Carleton assembled his troops and advanced toward Montreal.
On the night of June 7, 2,000 Americans, under General William Thompson, crossed the Saint Lawrence River, landing at Pointe du Lac, a few miles above Trois-Rivières. The crossing was reported to British Brigadier General Simon Fraser. Troops were landed from the fleet and formed battle lines on the road outside Trois Rivières. Ships were also sent up to Pointe du Lac.
A column of men under Colonel Anthony Wayne arrived only to face General Fraser's formation. A brief exchange of fire took place, but the Americans, clearly outmatched by Fraser's forces, broke and ran, leaving arms and supplies behind. Portions of the American force retreated to the edge of the woods, which gave them some cover, and attempted to engage some of the British troops: but fire from those troops kept them off the road and fire from some of the ships in the river kept them from the shore. A number of men made it back to the landing site, only to find it occupied by the British troops. Wayne eventually managed to form a rear guard of about 800 men.
Governor General Guy Carleton arrived in Trois-Rivières late in the action. A detachment of British forces led by Major Grant had taken control of a bridge over the Rivière-du-Loup, a critical crossing for the Americans retreating along the north shore of the Saint Lawrence. A significant number of Americans were captured. These included General Thompson and seventeen of his officers. It was not until June 13 that the British finished rounding up the stragglers. In all, 236 captives were taken and estimates of 30 to 50 Americans were killed in the battle.
The Americans hurriedly withdrew from Trois-Rivières and the St Lawrence Valley. By the end of July, all American troops had withdrawn from Canada. The British, German and Canadian forces had successfully thwarted a determined American attempt to conquer Canada. For the remainder of the American Revolution, battles would be fought in the Thirteen Colonies to the south.
