Charles-Michel de Salaberry

Charles-Michel de Salaberry

Charles-Michel d'Irumberry de Salaberry (born November 19, 1778 in Beauport , Canada , † February 27, 1829 ibid) was a Canadian soldier and politician .

Life

Charles-Michel d'Irumberry de Salaberry was born as the eldest son of the French-Canadian nobleman Ignace-Michel-Louis-Antoine d'Irumberry and his wife Françoise-Catherine Hertel de Saint-François in what is now Québec Province . In keeping with the military tradition of his family, whose members had served in the French army before the British conquered Canada , he - like his two brothers - volunteered in the British Army in 1794 at the age of 14 , where he worked as a Catholic of French origin was exotic. Because his father was friends with Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn , the father of Queen Victoria , he had an influential sponsor.

In 1794 he received a position as an ensign in a battalion of the 60th Infantry Regiment stationed in the Caribbean . As such, he distinguished himself in the battles for the French colonies of Dominica , Guadeloupe and Martinique . After being promoted to lieutenant and surviving a shipwreck at St. John's , he served for some time on the Prince's staff in Halifax , served on the liner HMS Asia , which chased Spanish ships, and was reassigned to the Caribbean in Jamaica in 1797 . Since he did not have the money to buy an officer license , he did not become a lieutenant captain until 1799, despite the prince's efforts, and did not receive the rank of captain and command of a company in his regiment until 1803 .

With the help of the Duke of Kent, he received sick leave in 1804, which he spent in England, partly as his guest. Also thanks to the support of the Duke, a transfer to another battalion of his regiment under the command of Francis de Rottenburg came about in 1806 , which saved him a return to the Caribbean. In 1807, despite difficulties with Major General George Prevost, he was successful as a recruiter in England and was then transferred to Ireland . In 1808 he received the rank of brigade major in a light infantry brigade commanded by de Rottenburg, with which he took part in the disastrous Walcheren expedition in 1809 . Like many other participants, he fell seriously ill with a fever (the so-called Walcheren fever ) and returned to England in October of this year. He was transferred back to the 1st Battalion of the 60th Infantry Regiment and came to Canada in 1810, where de Rottenburg, meanwhile Major General, used him as an adjutant . In 1811 he was promoted to major .

At the beginning of 1812, Salaberry proposed to the current Governor General George Prevost the establishment of a militia unit , the so-called Voltigeurs Canadiens , a force of light infantry made up predominantly of French Canadians . The formation of this unit began on April 15, 1812. The acquisition of competent officers was not easy, as the absence of an officer from his regiment delayed his promotion. In addition, a militia officer was under an army officer of the same rank. This led to tensions with Prevost when Salaberry only conferred the rank of lieutenant colonel in the militia and not - as promised - in the army. Despite promises to the contrary, he did not receive this rank until 1814.

Despite these difficulties, Salaberry managed to win some army officers for the Voltigeurs Canadiens. The crew strength of this unit fluctuated between under 300 and over 500 men. In the autumn of 1813 de Salaberry commanded 29 officers and 481 NCOs and men. Salaberry was a strict and circumspect commander who formed a disciplined and effective unit out of his troops, but was too demanding for some of his officers, including his brother-in-law Jean-Baptiste-René Hertel de Rouville , who for this reason asked for the transfer to another Regiment asked. De Salaberry had married his sister Marie-Anne-Julie Hertel de Rouville on May 13, 1812. They had four sons and three daughters.

After the United States declared war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812 ( War of 1812 ), the Voltigeurs Canadiens were first used in November to repel an American invasion in the First Battle of Lacolle Mills . Salaberry was praised for his leadership of the vanguard, but found in the summer of 1813 that Prevost had completely omitted his role in his report to the government and instead praised Adjutant General Edward Baynes and Major General Rottenburg, who had not participated in the battle.

Since his unit was subsequently only used in insignificant operations, de Salaberry wanted to leave the army in the fall of 1813 when he and his men and other militia troops as well as some Indians received the order, a 3,000-man US army under Major General Wade To oppose Hampton , who had crossed the border at the end of October and was marching along the Châteauguay on Montreal . Hampton's advance was part of a pincer operation designed to cut off British forces in Upper Canada . A second army under Major General James Wilkinson advanced along the Saint Lawrence River .

De Salaberry built a strong defensive position on the banks of the Chateauguay River at Allan's Corners. On October 26, the Americans attacked the British positions, but withdrew after a four-hour battle, to which a skillful psychological warfare contributed, with which the US troops were faked the presence of much stronger British-Indian units. Individual soldiers in the empty forest had given trumpet signals, thus simulating the presence of other troops. In addition, Mohawk warriors had faked the presence of a larger force with musket volleys and loud war cries, which led the US soldiers to fire their musket volleys into the empty forest. As discouraged Americans withdrew from Canada after this setback, the battle of the Chateauguay River, along with Morrison 's victory at Chrysler's Farm on November 11, saved Montreal from a large-scale US attack.

Salaberry's superior, Major General Abraham Ludwig Karl von Wattenwyl and Governor General Prevost reached the British positions after the end of the battle. After interrogating prisoners, the Canadians suspected they had faced 6,000 to 7,000 Americans; According to Prevost's report, written on the day of the battle, only 300 Canadians had defeated 7,500 Americans. This made the battle legendary and a source of pride for the French Canadians. De Salaberry, whose role was omitted in the Prevosts report, had cause for dissatisfaction - he claimed to have been present during the battle and ascribed the credit for the victory of Wattenwyl. De Salaberry made numerous attempts to achieve the recognition he was due, but failed at Prevost and began to plan his retirement from the army at the end of the year. In January 1814, however, he finally received the thanks of the House of Assembly (Parliament of Lower Canada ) and the Legislative Council and in March a promise from Prevost to appoint him inspector of the militia. He then handed over command of the Voltigeurs Canadiens to Frederick George Heriot .

Prevost had thwarted de Salaberry's appointment, however, with a discrediting report in which he described him as negligent and falsely claimed that he had only carried out Wattenwyl's orders on the Chateauguay River. When the appointment was not confirmed, despite de Salaberry having held the office for several months, he therefore submitted his resignation. Since the letter was intercepted by the Duke of Kent, however, he retained his post, the pay of a lieutenant colonel and also remained lieutenant colonel of the Voltigeurs Canadiens. As a result, he was involved in the court martial against Henry Procter and in 1815, after the end of the war, he was occupied for several months with the dissolution of the militias, their payment and his own financial rights.

In 1816 de Salaberry received a medal in honor of the Battle of the Chateauguay River, and in 1817 he was promoted to Companion of the Order of Bath , thanks to recommendations from Sir Gordon Drummond and George Macdonell (an 1813 comrade in arms ) . In December 1818, Governor General Sir John Coape Sherbrooke transferred the seat of his father-in-law Baptiste-Melchior Hertel de Rouville to the Legislative Council. He had previously been appointed justice of the peace for the district of Quebec in 1815 , which was later extended to other districts. There were also other offices. De Salaberry voted against a union of Lower and Upper Canada , but still considered it inevitable.

In the years after the war, he acquired extensive goods and a considerable fortune through inheritances, gifts and wise purchases, which together with his political offices made him one of the most influential personalities in Lower Canada. His technical interest is shown in his participation in a company that operated a steamship called de Salaberry on the St. Lawrence River from 1821 . However, the ship was lost in a fire in 1823.

Charles-Michel d'Irumberry de Salaberry, who was known to be quick-tempered but friendly, open and warm-hearted, died of a heart attack on February 27, 1829. His victory on the Chateauguay River has made him popular in Canada, especially with the French Canadians. After repeated controversies about its actual role in the past, there is now a tendency to see victory as the result of fruitful cooperation between different elements against a common enemy.

Web links

• Galafilm.com: Charles de Salaberry
• Charles-Michel de Salaberry . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).