For the next twelve Fridays, I'm doing blog posts about Canadian heroes of History... some you may have heard of... others you may not know... in under 800 words (not including my usual last note), I'm going to TRY and introduce them to you as best I can...

Meet Lieutenant Colonel Charles-Michel d'Irumberry de Salaberry... born in Quebec in 1778.

He is an oddity... most of the heroes of Canada "back in the day" tended to be immigrants... but not DeSallaberry. He was one of four boys from a proud Quebec family that had a long standing military history in Canada... fighting for France when the French had control of the country, and then serving Britain in the same fashion after the British wrested control of the Canadas...

There's a fantastic story about DeSallaberry when he was serving in the West Indies... In the mess, a German soldier serving with him came in boasting about a duel he'd just won...

"I come just now from dispatching a French Canadian into another world!"

DeSallaberry answered the boast...

"We are going to finish lunch and then you will have the pleasure of dispatching another."

...the German didn't win that one... but DeSallaberry carried a scar on his brow from that day for the rest of his life.

At the first signs of war with America (the War of 1812), DeSallaberry was brought home to Canada where he raised a hand-picked militia group... The Voltigeurs... made up of not of farmers, but of voyageurs, lumbermen, and city-bred young men. DeSallaberry drilled them like regulars (rare for the time) and made them into one of Canada's fiercest and finest fighting groups of the time.

The Voltigeurs wore grey-wool jackets, (not "redcoats" or "green jackets" that were more common in British lines,) with black cross-belts... and black bear-skin hats... With their training, they were ready for what was to come.

Now, think about this... in the time of Napoleon and the wars with France when Britain was fighting in Spain and Portugal, one of the best British militia groups was a French group named "Voltigeurs"... and they were fighting for King and Country!

Easily, DeSallaberry's (and the Voltigeur's) greatest moment was at the Battle of Chateauguay...

U.S. General Wade Hampton and some four-thousand troops were heading to Montreal by way of the St. Lawrence.

Through intelligence, DeSallaberry knew they were coming... and picked his battlefield. He built a abatis (a tangle of branches and obstructions) to slow the American approach... but they came in force... right where he wanted them.

DeSallaberry had his Voltigeurs, a company of "Select Embodied Militia" (in read coats), and a picket of Chasseurs (embodied militia... mostly untrained) and a handful of Caughnawaga natives... in all, 460 men... facing almost ten-times their number... and as the Chasseurs weren't trained, they couldn't be counted on.

He did have 1,500 men in reserve... just in case his advanced position didn't hold... they would not see action this day.

The American's sent a single advanced horseman... who yelled to the Voltigeurs in French...

"Brave Canadians, surrender yourselves; We wish you no harm!"

This was done as the American's were somewhat counting on anti-British sentiment from the French Canadians...

Wrong move.

The "story" goes that DeSallaberry himself borrowed a musket from a man beside him, levelled it at the rider... and dropped him from his horse.

It's probably just a legend... but it's a good one.

The battle, such as it would be, was now joined.

DeSallaberry called for his bugler to sound the call to open fire... he noticed that the Americans, on hearing the bugle and musket fire, hesitated... so he sent buglers out all around... surrounding the Americans and sounding the call to fire. This led to the Americans assuming they were facing a much larger force.

He called to "Red" George MacDonald... the officer in charge of the Select Embodied militia... barking his orders in French to further confuse the Americans.

"Red" George marched his men in their red tunics up a hill and made them visible to the Americans... then marched them back, had them reverse their tunics (which were lined in white) and march back up the hill... "doubling their force"... at least in the eyes of the American soldiers.

The Caughnawagas would "pop-out" of the brush here and there... waving their weapons and giving "war whoops", then disappear into the woods, only to re-emerge elsewhere and repeat their step.

There's more to this story and battle... but I've got to keep this short...

"Surrounded by a huge force" of British soldiers... "Surrounded by angry natives"... the American's retreated in disorder...

Four-Thousand... thrown back by four-hundred.

Combined with the battle of Crysler's Farm, this stopped the American advance on Montreal... thus keeping the Americans hacking vainly at the "end" of Canada at the time... the Niagara region... they could have cut a swath through the heart of the country... but a French Canadian officer... and handful of militia... a handful of natives... stopped their plans dead... and yes, it can be said, they saved Canada.

DeSallaberry did receive awards for his efforts and was made inspector of all the light companies in the Canadas for the remainder of the war.

He spent the last of his days as a "seigneur" in Quebec... a "gentleman farmer" and landlord... He was also a folk-hero... and served as a justice of the peace and even spent a short time in politics, but was a "quiet rebel" and wasn't fond of the ruling oligarchy and preferred the life in St. Mathias as a seigneur... The government he was not fond of would later be thrown into turmoil during the rebellions of 1837...

DeSallaberry passed away in Chambly in 1829.

He's not too well known in Quebec... and almost anonymous in the rest of Canada with the exception of history buffs.

If you wish to know more, you can pick up a decent biography called Charles de Sallaberry - Soldier of the Empire, Defender of Quebec by J. Patrick Wohler.

Also have a "boo" at Fields of Glory - The Battle of Crysler's Farm, 1813 by Donald E. Graves and Flames Across the Border by Pierre Berton.