The two forces joined there, but they were defeated at the Battle of Quebec in December 1775, where Montgomery died.[126]

Battle of Long Island
Main article: Battle of Long Island
Battle of Long Island by Alonzo Chappel (1858), depicting the Battle of Long Island
Washington then proceeded to New York City, arriving on April 13, 1776, and began constructing fortifications to thwart the expected British attack. He ordered his occupying forces to treat civilians and their property with respect, to avoid the abuses which Bostonian citizens suffered at the hands of British troops during their occupation.[127] A plot to assassinate or capture him was discovered and thwarted, resulting in the arrest of 98 people involved or complicit (56 of which were from Long Island (Kings (Brooklyn) and Queens counties)), including the Loyalist Mayor of New York David Mathews.[128] Washington's bodyguard, Thomas Hickey, was hanged for mutiny and sedition.[129] General Howe transported his resupplied army, with the British fleet, from Halifax to New York, knowing the city was key to securing the continent. George Germain, who ran the British war effort in England, believed it could be won with one "decisive blow".