Battle of Lacolle Mills (1812)
The Battle of Lacolle River was fought on November 20, 1812, during the War of 1812. In this relatively light skirmish, a very small garrison of Canadian militia, with the assistance of Kahnawake Mohawk warriors, defended the Lacolle Mills Blockhouse on the Montreal road bridge over the Lacolle River at the village of Lacolle, Quebec against a disorganized American attack. Canadian regulars and militia were under the command of Charles de Salaberry who had positioned his severely outnumbered forces together with his native allies as best he could to attempt to block any advance toward Montreal. The American invasion force totalling about 2,000 regulars and 3,000 militia was assembled and led by Major General Henry Dearborn. However, a delay of several months after the American declaration of war meant that the advance would only begin with the onset of winter. Moreover, since about half of the American militia refused to advance into Lower Canada, Dearborn was hamstrung from the outset from utilizing all of his forces. Nevertheless, his forces still far outnumbered the Crown allies on the other side of the border and American Colonel Zebulon Pike crossed the border into Lower Canada with an advance party of about 650