The Northern Department army under Maj. Gen. Philip J. Schuyler withdrew from Quebec in May 1776 and set to work building a system of defense that would protect Fort Ticonderoga. Though never in possession of enough troops and material as they wished, Schuyler and his subordinates, particularly the energetic Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold, managed to assemble an effective deterrent which thwarted British advances through the end of 1776.