s,
he waited there for Wilkinson to set his own undertaking in motion. Word
came from Secretary Armstrong to advance along the river, hold the enemy
in check, and prepare to unite with Wilkinson's army. Hampton acted
promptly and alarmed the British at Montreal, who foresaw grave
consequences and assembled troops from every quarter. Hampton then
learned that his army faced an enemy which was of vastly superior
strength and which had every advantage of natural defense, while he
himself was becoming convinced that Wilkinson was a broken reed and that
no further support could be expected from the Government. General
Prevost's own reports and letters showed that he had collected in the
Montreal district and available for defense at least fifteen thousand
rank and file, including the militia which had been mustered to repel
Hampton's advance. The American position at Chateauguay was not less
perilous than that of Harrison on the Maumee and far more so than that
which had cost Dearborn so many disasters at Niagara.

Hampton moved forward half-heartedly. He had received a message from the
War Department that his troops were to prepare winter quarters and these
orders confirmed his suspicions that no attempt against Montreal was
intended. "These papers sunk my hopes," he wrote in reply, "and raised
serious doubts of that efficacious support that had been anticipated. I
would have recalled the column, but it was in motion and the darkness of
the night rendered it impracticable."

The last words refer to a collision with a small force of Canadian
militia, led by Lieutenant Colonel de Salaberry, who had come forward to
impede the American advance. These Canadians had obstructed the road
with fallen trees and abatis, falling back until they found favorable
ground where they very pluckily intrenched themselves. The intrepid
party was comprised of a few Glengarry Fencibles and three hundred
French-Canadian Voltigeurs. Colonel de Salaberry was a trained soldier,
and he now displayed brilliant courage and resourcefulness. Two American
divisions attacking him were unable to carry his breastworks and were
driven along the river bank and routed. Hampton's troops abandoned much
of their equipment, and returned to camp with a loss of about fifty men.

There was great rejoicing in Canada and rightly so, for a victory had
been handsomely won without the aid of British regulars; and Colonel de
Salaberry's handful of French Canadians received