Gore was sent to quell the uprising in the Richelieu River valley in conjunction with a force led by Lieutenant-Colonel George Wetherall.

Another attempt to flank the house to the left failed when Gore's soldiers encountered the less well-armed militia.

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.

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.

Further discontent was stimulated when two journalist supporters of Papineau were arrested and jailed after disparaging the Legislative Council in their newspapers.

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.

[5] 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.

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 largest building in Saint-Denis was an old stone two-storey coach house that was owned by Madame St. Germain, who had moved out.

Those without firearms, most equipped with scythes, pitchforks and clubs, were placed in earthworks behind the church, though some of these did desert before the battle.

North of the town the road ran through flat, plowed land, with the Richelieu River running close to the edge of the fields.

[12] The Patriotes had been warned of the British approach during the night, and Nelson sent messengers into the countryside to call upon the inhabitants to defend St-Denis.

[13] One-half mile (0.80 km) from the river bank, Papineau and Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan were waiting at Nelson's home.

Following the riot in Montreal between Thomas Storrow Brown's Société des Fils de la Liberté and the loyalist Doric Club, Colborne ordered the 24th Regiment of Foot to deploy to Montreal from their garrisons at Toronto and Kingston, Upper Canada.

The weather changed to rain mixed with snow, turning the roads into mud knee-deep with frozen potholes.

However, roughly 10 miles (16 km) down the road, the caleche took a wrong turn and the officer ended up a prisoner of the Patriotes.

[22] The fire coming from the coach house forced the artillerymen to move the cannon to safer position.

[23] Gore decided to assault the building after watching the cannon fire rebound off the stone walls of the coach house.

He ordered Captain Markham of the 32nd Regiment to lead three companies of roughly 200 men to assault the house.

At the site where he had left his cannon (which was still there, frozen in the mud) he was met by a group of villagers bearing a white flag.

[28] Scouts returned to Gore reporting that new barricades and earthworks had been erected, but were incomplete and no defenders were found.

[29] Nelson had attempted to fortify Saint-Denis, but after the Patriote rout at the Battle of Saint-Charles, he lost hope and fled to the United States.

Government troops returned to defeat the Patriotes in a series of battles, and again burned entire areas, along with pillaging and raping.