Up until 1776 there had been much hostility between the thirteen colonies and the French Canadian provinces. Much of the hostility was on account of the Catholicism of the French settlers being at odds with the Protestantism of the English settlers further south. Congress hoped that all of the British colonies in North America would band together to reject British rule from the entire continent. After invitations to join the Revolution extended to the province of Quebec both in 1774 and 1775 were left unanswered, George Washington authorized an invasion in an attempt acquire the colony by force. In a diplomatic effort, the First Continental Congress of 1776 also selected three men to attempt to persuade Montreal to join their revolt against Britain, despite the siege. The three delegates being sent north were Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Chase, and Charles Carroll of Carrolton. Franklin, being 70 years of age at this point, was unsure whether or not he would see the end of this northern journey. One night on their trip was nearly spent in the Chazy area, however it was decided they should not make camp for the ground was too wet and swampy so they instead crossed the lake to Isle la Motte. The wintery military and diplomatic expeditions were a disastrous failure. There were no more formal military attempts were made to acquire Quebec, aside from further diplomatic failure during the Paris peace talks.
Franklin did return to Philadelphia unharmed, although not without a Canadian marten fur cap that would become fairly iconic. Franklin was sent to France for two years, 1776-1778, in order to help assure their assistance toward the war effort. He wore his fur cap constantly, charming most everyone around him. He felt so invigorated from his trip overseas that he claimed to have aged backwards four years, as if before the stress of the Revolution. This historical marker was put up as an initiative of the Chazy Public Library Friends of the Library in 1980.
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