<Li> Saint - Pierre </Li> <Li> Trois - Rivières </Li> <P> The Battle of Quebec (French: Bataille de Québec) was fought on December 31, 1775, between American Continental Army forces and the British defenders of Quebec City early in the American Revolutionary War . The battle was the first major defeat of the war for the Americans, and it came with heavy losses . General Richard Montgomery was killed, Benedict Arnold was wounded, and Daniel Morgan and more than 400 men were taken prisoner . The city's garrison, a motley assortment of regular troops and militia led by Quebec's provincial governor, General Guy Carleton, suffered a small number of casualties . </P> <P> Montgomery's army had captured Montreal on November 13, and early in December they joined a force led by Arnold, whose men had made an arduous trek through the wilderness of northern New England . Governor Carleton had escaped from Montreal to Quebec, the Americans' next objective, and last - minute reinforcements arrived to bolster the city's limited defenses before the attacking force's arrival . Concerned that expiring enlistments would reduce his force, Montgomery made the end - of - year attack in a blinding snowstorm to conceal his army's movements . The plan was for separate forces led by Montgomery and Arnold to converge in the lower city before scaling the walls protecting the upper city . Montgomery's force turned back after he was killed by cannon fire early in the battle, but Arnold's force penetrated further into the lower city . Arnold was injured early in the attack, and Morgan led the assault in his place before he became trapped in the lower city and was forced to surrender . Arnold and the Americans maintained an ineffectual blockade of the city until spring, when British reinforcements arrived . </P>

What was important about the fall of quebec