Captain Stocking goes on to relate the hardships of negotiating the falls and crossing the island."Though this was only sixty rods over, it occasioned much delay and great fatigue. We had to ascend a ragged rock, near on a hundred feet in height and almost perpendicular.” Though it seemed as though we could hardly ascend it without any burden, we succeeded in dragging our bateaux and baggage up it. These falls in Skowhegan caused Arnold's troops many hardships. Because of damage to several bateaux on the falls, many of their provisions were lost. Casks of peas and bread and fish were cracked open and the food swelled up and was no longer usable. There were still many miles to go before Quebec!

An expedition doctor, Isaac Senter, went to help a patient up the "Wassarunskeig (Wesserunsett) River."These were a very high water, and exceeding difficult carrying by.” After performing his visit, his party backtracked to the Kennebec, He describes the falls there, “After backing all the boats, provisions, camp equipage, etc., over, we again advanced up the river." They carried the bateaux by land and he says "Not far had we advanced ere we came to a fall called Scunkhegon. With a great deal of difficulty we passed this, but not without coming very nigh losing one of my hands. After passing these, I proceeded about half a mile and tented."

Here in town there are markers indicating that the army marched through. One of these markers is at the picnic area on Route 2 east, heading to Canaan. There is another one on the island in town. It is on this island that one of the soldiers left his canteen made out of lead and copper that now may be seen at Skowhegan History House.
Joseph Weston the second, son of Joseph, joined Arnold’s army here and had many adventures on the ill fated venture. After defeat and imprisonment, he eventually returned home to lead a full life and become a community leader.

The Arnold expedition must be classified as a nearly complete failure. This certainly was not the fault of the soldiers involved or for the most part their officers. The mission was hastily planned; their boats and equipment were faulty. Their food and supplies were poorly chosen and crudely packed. The worst problem of all was a lengthy delay that moved the start of their march from early summer until late fall. The men were not dressed for winter and frostbite and starvation caused many deaths along the way. At least one company disobeyed Arnold’s orders and deserted their comrades, returning downriver taking food and medicine with them. In the end, the assault on Quebec City failed and most of the exhausted soldiers were either killed or captured.

Canaan contributed only a few soldiers to the Rebel cause because the population was very small at the time. After the conflict ended, however, an influx of new residents was largely comprised of discharged military men who received parcels of land to pay for their services in the war. Many soldiers served without pay, even furnishing their own muskets. Later, congress authorized the purchase of lots in undeveloped communities like Canaan to be given to some of these men. Louise Helen Coburn’s Skowhegan on the Kennebec, a two volume history of Skowhegan, lists the biographies of eighty-one Revolutionary War soldiers who settled in Canaan.

This group of soldiers and their families gave a boost to the population and helped lay the foundation for the large growth and development of the 1800’s.