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The Battle of Saint-Denis took place on 23 November 1837 in Saint-Denis, Quebec. The confrontation between the army (sent by the government of Lower Canada) and the Patriotes aimed to arrest the leaders of the latter. The battle lasted less than 24 hours and resulted in a victory for the Patriotes. (See Rebellions of 1837–38.)
Summary of the Battle
In mid-November 1837, the government of Lower Canada decided to send out the army against the Patriotes and issued orders for the arrest of their leaders. In Richelieu County the Patriotes, led by Thomas Storrow Brown of Montreal, seized the manor of Seigneur Pierre Debartzch and surrounded it with fortifications, while in Saint-Denis they organized around doctor Wolfred Nelson.
Two army detachments came from Montreal to attack Saint-Charles, the one led by Colonel Wetherall taking the south route via Chambly and the other led by Colonel Charles Gore taking the northern route through Sorel. Gore's troops, having marched through the night in dreadful weather conditions, arrived at Saint-Denis on the morning of November 23 and attacked the rebels, who had dug themselves in at the far end of the village where the Saint-Germain house and doctor Nelson's distillery were to be found.
The walls of the Saint-Germain house withstood the artillery attack and its occupants were well placed to fire from its windows on the exposed troops. Gore had to sound the retreat at about 3:00 p.m. when reinforcements for the besieged Patriotes were beginning to flock to neighbouring villages and threatened to cut him off from Sorel.
(See also Rebellions of 1837–38.)
