of the military in the Canadian colonies, called out the militia and sent out warrants for arrest for suspected rebels on 16 November 1837. Papineau and other Patriote leaders fled Montreal to Saint-Denis in the Richelieu valley. Prelude Patriotes The Patriotes were organized into civil and military wings. The military wing was commanded by Thomas Storrow Brown, a failed merchant from Montreal. The civil wing was organized into six sections, each representing a district and each of which could be armed as a battalion in the event of war. The Patriotes had two headquarters, one in Saint-Denis and the other in Saint-Charles. The key to the defence of Saint-Charles was a brick manor house owned by the seigneur Pierre Dominique Debartzch, which was seized on 19 November. Debartzch and his family had been taken prisoner by the Patriotes who had seized the seigneury and sent the family on to Quebec City. The Patriotes, commanded by Brown at Saint-Charles, turned the house into a barracks and a guardhouse holding prisoners of the Patriotes. Around the house, the Patriotes constructed earthen breastworks made up of logs and branches covered in frozen mud and turned the area into a fortified camp. The rampart wall stretched from the river on the western flank of Saint-Charles in towards the main road, with the manor house on its eastern flank. Neither the manor house or the breastwork supported each other. Brown smashed bridges and felled trees along the road south. Saint-Charles became the centre of Patriote resistance, with hundreds flocking to the site. Brown however, only had about 50 rifles to hand out to the volunteers. Brown's total force was roughly 200–250 men within the camp or on picket duty. Government The government of Lower Canada was headed by the Earl of Gosford, a civilian governor general. The military was headed by Sir John Colborne, a veteran of the Peninsular War. At Colborne's disposal in Lower Canada were several British infantry regiments. At Quebec City, were the Royal Regiment, 15th, 79th, 83rd Regiments of Foot and elements of the 66th Regiment of Foot. At Montreal, the 32nd Regiment of Foot was posted and at Île aux Noix and Sorel, further elements of the 66th Regiment were garrisoned. On Saint Helen's Island in the Saint Lawrence River, elements of the Royal Artillery were posted. As events grew more unstable in the territory, Colborne ordered the Royal Regiment