Wooster's management of Montreal was marked by deteriorating relations with the inhabitants, as efforts to rein in Loyalist activity ended up frustrating even sympathetic locals. He was eventually charged with incompetence over his tenure at Montreal; the court martial cleared him. In April 1776 Wooster took reinforcements to relieve General Arnold, who was besieging Quebec City. Wooster was only briefly in command there, as General John Thomas arrived at the end of April. In early May, British reinforcements arrived at Quebec, and the army was routed, eventually retreating in disarray back to Fort Ticonderoga in July.