The Militia of the Battle of the Chateauguay: A Social History

W.A. Morrison was Military Advisor with the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations.

The author answers the questions: Who were these militiamen who won the Battle of the Chateauguay on 26 October 1813? Where did they come from? How were they recruited, how were they fed, clothed and housed? What were their battle skills? And she answers them well. Extensive research has produced much detail, yet Guitard’s explanatory style leads the reader on an unencumbered trek. Two especially interesting chapters are: Myth and the Battle of the Chateauguay” and “The Rewards.” The former deals questioningly but approvingly with de Salaberry and his associates and concludes that “there is no longer a single hero, but many heroes.” The latter chapter recounts, with a degree of regret, the none-too-freely-given appreciation that de Salaberry and his soldiers received following the battle. The appendices, notes, and bibliography are deserving of praise. This social history may well serve as a model for like examinations of our armed forces personnel of later wars.