The garrison now consisted of about fifteen hundred men, of whom eight hundred were militia, and between four and five hundred were seamen.
Montgomery's effective force was stated, by himself, at only eight hundred.

His situation would have filled with despair a mind less vigorous, less sanguine, and less brave.

His numbers were not sufficient to render success probable, according to any common principle of calculation; and the prospect of their being diminished might be rationally entertained.

But, relying on their courage, on himself and his fortune, and on the fears of the garrison; stimulated, too, by the high expectations formed throughout America of his success, and by the dread of disappointing those expectations, he determined to lay immediate siege to the town.
[Sidenote: Montgomery lays siege to Quebec.] In a few days he opened a six gun battery within seven hundred yards of the walls; but his artillery was too light to make a breach, and he did not calculate on any effect from it.

His object was to amuse the garrison, and conceal his real design.
Although the troops supported the excessive hardships to which they were exposed, with constancy and firmness, Montgomery feared that such continued sufferings would overcome them; and, as he would soon have no legal authority to retain a part of them, he apprehended that he should be abandoned by that part.