 During the American retreat from Quebec , and in this battle , wounded soldiers were treated at the Ursuline convent in Trois @-@ Rivières . Congress never authorized payment for these services and the convent has retained the bill . A bill that was about £ 26 at the time is now estimated to be between ten and twenty million dollars . On July 4 , 2009 , during festivities marking the town 's 375th anniversary , American Consul @-@ General David Fetter symbolically repaid the debt to the <unk> with a payment of C $ 130 . 
