e head of a revolting force.'

Sir John Colborne, who was in command of the British military forces,
immediately {75} determined to disperse these gatherings by force and
to arrest their leaders. His plan of campaign was as follows. A force
consisting of one regiment of infantry, a troop of the Montreal
Volunteer Cavalry, and two light field-guns, under the command of
Lieutenant-Colonel Wetherall, had already been dispatched to Chambly by
way of the road on which the rescue of Demaray and Davignon had taken
place. This force would advance on St Charles. Another force,
consisting of five companies of the 24th regiment, with a
twelve-pounder, under Colonel Charles Gore, a Waterloo veteran, would
proceed by boat to Sorel. There it was to be joined by one company of
the 66th regiment, then in garrison at Sorel, and the combined force
would march on St Denis. After having dispersed the rebels at St
Denis, which was thought not to be strongly held, the little army was
to proceed to St Charles, where it would be joined by the force under
Wetherall.

At eight o'clock on the evening of November 22, Colonel Gore set out
with his men from the barrack-square at Sorel for St Denis. The
journey was one of eighteen miles; and in order to avoid St Ours, which
was held by the _Patriotes_, Gore turned away from the main {76} road
along the Richelieu to make a detour. This led his troops over very
bad roads. The night was dark and rain poured down in torrents. 'I
got a lantern,' wrote one of Gore's aides-de-camp afterwards, 'fastened
it to the top of a pole, and had it carried in front of the column; but
what with horses and men sinking in the mud, harness breaking, wading
through water and winding through woods, the little force soon got
separated, those in the rear lost sight of the light, and great delays
and difficulties were experienced. Towards morning the rain changed to
snow, it became very cold, and daybreak found the unfortunate column
still floundering in the half-frozen mud four miles from St Denis.'

Meanwhile word had reached the rebels of the coming of the soldiers.
At daybreak Dr Wolfred Nelson had ridden out to reconnoitre, and had
succeeded in destroying several bridges. As the soldiers approached St
Denis they heard the church bells ringing the alarm; and it was not
long before they found that the village was strongly defended. After
capturing some of the houses on the outskirts of the village, they were