The Battle of Saint-Denis was fought on November 23, 1837, between British colonial authorities under Lieutenant-Colonel Gore and Patriote rebels in Lower Canada as part of the Lower Canada Rebellion. The Patriotes were led by Wolfred Nelson. Gore was sent to quell the uprising in the Richelieu River valley in conjunction with a force led by Lieutenant-Colonel George Wetherall. Gore was the first to arrive at a Patriote-held site. Nelson had organized the defence with most of the well-armed rebels within a stone house that overlooked the road. Gore, accompanied by only one cannon, attempted to take the stone house three times, with the cannon providing ineffective fire. Another attempt to flank the house to the left failed when Gore's soldiers encountered the less well-armed militia. Running out of ammunition, the British retreated. This marked the only Patriote victory in 1837, as this battle was followed by two defeats at Saint-Charles and Saint-Eustache.
Background
Within twenty years of the establishment of Lower Canada in 1791, new tracts of land were set aside for settlement by peoples other than French Canadians. The French remained predominantly on the seigneuries located by rivers and the new areas were settled largely by English-speaking British immigrants. The new English-speaking immigrants reaped greater benefits than the existing French communities under the British government. Those French Canadians who were elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada were mainly of the elite educated at Catholic colleges, because social movement was restricted by the British who monopolized commerce and government postings. The French Canadian habitants faced diminishing lands to give to their children and competed with the English for the new lands on English terms, with British bureaucracy placing immigrant claims ahead of those of the habitants. Furthermore, outbreaks in dysentery, typhus and cholera swept through the colony in the mid-1830s, brought by arriving immigrants. Additionally, farms in the Beauce, Chaudière and Richelieu regions (and to a lesser extent, the area around Montreal) were devastated by wheat fly, grasshopper and caterpillar infestations, reducing the food available.
Efforts by the French within the Legislative Assembly, led by Louis-Joseph Papineau, the elected leader of the Parti Patriote, to control government spending, were thwarted by the English-dominated Legislative Council of Lower Canada. Further discontent was stimulated when two journalist supporters of Papineau were arrested and jailed after disparaging the Legislative Council in their newspapers. The ensuing riot on May 21, 1832, was quashed when the garrison was called out, ending with three dead. Prolonged aggravation of the economic situation in the province led to growing discontent. Papineau submitted the Ninety-Two Resolutions to the British government with respect to the governance of the province in 1834. A response was sent in 1837 known as the Ten Resolutions which rejected all of Papineau's resolutions. The response of the Patriotes was antagonistic. Large public rallies were held at Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu, Saint-Hyacinthe, Chambly, Sainte-Scholastique and Montreal. Further rallies held around Montreal drew increased crowds throughout the summer months of 1837. On October 23 a large six-county rally was held at Saint-Charles, where several leaders called for revolt and issued a series of resolutions demanding changes from the government. Violence began with a clash in the streets of Montreal on November 6 between Patriotes and the loyalist Doric Club. The supporters of Papineau formed para-military groups and visible support was seen in Montreal and villages to the east of the city. Sir John Colborne, commander of the military in the Canadian colonies, called out the militia and sent out warrants for arrest of suspected rebels on November 16. Papineau and other Patriote leaders fled Montreal to Saint-Denis in the Richelieu valley.
Prelude
Patriotes
The Patriotes were organized into civil and military wings. The military wing was commanded by Thomas Storrow Brown, a failed merchant from Montreal. The civil wing was organized into six sections, each representing a district and each of which could be armed as a battalion in the event of war. The Patriotes had two headquarters, one in Saint-Denis and the other in Saint-Charles.