The Battle of Chateauguay Further Reading Charles de Salaberry’s letter to his father after Chateauguay

The Battle of Chateauguay In October of 1813, American Major General Wade Hampton marched his army from Lake Champlain down the Chateauguay River towards the St. Lawrence. This would serve as a feint in support of General Wilkinson’s main thrust against Kingston or, should Wilkinson switch his objective to Montreal, it would allow the two armies to combine on the shores of the St. Lawrence River. On October 25, Hampton found his way blocked near Spears’ Farm by breastworks of abatis - a tangle of fresh-felled trees. This was the work of Canadian Voltigeurs under Lieutenant-Colonel Charles-Michel de Salaberry. From behind these primitive fortifications, de Salaberry hoped to stop Hampton’s advance. Hampton judged the abatis too heavily defended to be taken by frontal assault. He grossly overestimated his opponents’ numbers at twice his own; in fact, he outnumbered them by about eight to one. He sent Colonel Robert Purdy with 1500 men on a sixteen mile overnight trek through the forest across the river to flank the Canadians. After stumbling through the woods until after midnight, Purdy decided to wait for daylight before proceeding. In the morning, de Salaberry’s scouts detected his presence. Lieutenant Colonel “Red George” Macdonell, who’d been charged with guarding the Canadian rear, sent two companies of select embodied militia, including the Glengarry Light Infantry, to stop them. Purdy’s advance guard was just emerging from a cedar swamp when they stumbled into each other. Both sides opened fire. The Americans turned and ran. Several of them were then killed by the main body of Americans who mistook them for charging Canadians. At two o’clock, Hampton’s main force attacked the abatis. Some of De Salaberry’s men spread out and sounded bugles simultaneously at different points in the forest, further fooling the Americans with regards to the size of their force. Mohawk warriors from Kahnawake, concealed among the trees, fired muskets and whooped loudly. The Americans, believing the bulk of the enemy were coming at them from that direction, fired volley after volley at nothing more than tree branches. By then, Red George’s militiamen had made contact with Purdy’s detachment. The Americans fired a series of deadly volleys at them, but in the forest gloom, they failed to see that the Canadians were firing from a kneeling position. The American flew harmlessly over the Canadians. Meanwhile, Canadian muskets took a considerable toll on their enemy. Purdy tried to outflank Red George’s men by skirting along the riverbank, but de Salaberry had anticipated that move and placed a detachment, muskets at the ready on the far bank of the narrow river. One volley was enough to send the Americans back inside the trees. Tired, wet, and believing themselves vastly outnumbered, the Americans had had enough. General Hampton ordered a general withdrawal. For want of a decisive leader, the Americans had squandered another opportunity to win significant British territory. De Salaberry complained bitterly that Sir George Prevost and General de Watteville, who never came near the action, took most of the credit for themselves.