The Battle of Saint-Charles was fought on 25 November 1837 between the Government of Lower Canada, supported by the United Kingdom, and Patriote rebels.

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.

Those French Canadians who were elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada were mainly of the elite educated at Catholic colleges as 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.

[2][3] With the parliamentary route blocked, Papineau and his allies argued for armed rebellion at an open-air meeting at Saint-Charles and published a declaration of independence.

[4] Sir John Colborne, commander of the military in the Canadian colonies, called out the militia and sent out warrants for arrest for suspected rebels on 16 November 1837.

[7][8] The key to the defence of Saint-Charles was a brick manor house owned by the seigneur Pierre Dominique Debartzch, which was seized on 19 November.

Around the house, the Patriotes constructed earthen breastworks made up of logs and branches covered in frozen mud and turned the area into a fortified camp.

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.

Wetherall's force moved towards Chambly and as the column arrived, it was met by a group of roughly forty men which scattered upon taking sight of the British.

At dusk on 22 November, Wetherall's force crossed the Richelieu River to its western bank and began its march north.

[15] After receiving the news of the defeat, Wetherall sent a messenger back to Fort Chambly ordering his reserve of one grenadier company of the Royal Regiment to join him.

[9] As Wetherall marched north, he encountered smashed bridges and Patriotes firing upon him from both sides of the Richelieu River as the road neared the shoreline.

Meanwhile, Brown had constructed rail fences roughly 250 metres (820 ft) south of Debartzch manor house.

The Patriote picket fire wounded one Royal Regiment soldier, leading Wetherall to order the burning of the houses and barns along the road.

The lack of a competent Patriote command structure forced Brown to oversee everything and at the time of Wetherall's arrival was reported to have been "attending the baking of bread"[17] and "arranging food to be taken to the camp.

"[20] Brown only became aware of Wetherall's arrival when one of the cannon fired a ball that struck the steeple of the church in Saint-Charles.

Brown ordered a group of his men under the command of Henri-Alphonse Gauvin to a position behind a wood fence 100 metres (330 ft) south of the fortified camp that had a ditch below it.

Within fifteen minutes of the opening shots, the hill had been taken and the guns re-situated there, able to fire directly into the Patriote positions below.

[21][22] After two hours, Wetherall ordered his three central companies to fix bayonets and attack the fortified camp directly.

As they charged the breastworks, they made short work of the abatis that the Patriotes had constructed, being only 1 metre (3.3 ft) high.