At the end of August 1775, the new commander of the Northern Department, Maj. Gen. Philip J. Schuyler, his deputy Brig. Gen. Richard Montgomery, and a force of several thousand Continental Army soldiers left Fort Ticonderoga on a journey that would take them north across Lake Champlain, down the Richelieu River, and on to Montreal before meeting up with another force led by Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold on the western outskirts of Quebec City in early December. Led in the field by General Montgomery, who took operational control over the army while the ailing Schuyler returned to Albany to handled logistical matters, the expeditionary force had to contend with supply problems, illness, and expiring enlistment terms for many soldiers as the Continental force fought its way into Canada.