"In the battle and the following siege, French-speaking Canadians were active on both sides of the conflict.
The American forces received supplies and logistical support from local residents, and the city's defenders included locally raised militia. When the Americans retreated, they were accompanied by a number of their supporters; those who remained behind were subjected to a variety of punishments after the British re-established control over the province."
"Its goal, as stated in a proclamation by General Schuyler, was to 'drive away, if possible, the troops of Great Britain' that 'under the orders of a despotic ministry ... aim to subject their fellow-citizens and brethren to the yoke of a hard slavery.'"