De Salaberry, on hearing the firing, promptly advanced with the light company of the Canadian Fencibles, commanded by Captain Ferguson, "flanked by twenty-two Indians on the right and centre,"[28] and two companies of his Voltigeurs, commanded by Captains Chevalier and Louis Juchereau Duchesnay. Ferguson's companies he posted on the right, in front of the abattis, in extended order, its right skirting on the adjoining woods and abattis, among which were distributed a few Abenaquis Indians. The three officers, Ferguson and the two Duchesnays, executed the movements required of them with the coolness of a day of parade. The Voltigeur company of the oldest of the Duchesnays, known as "the Chevalier," occupied, in extended order, the ground from the left of Ferguson's Company to the Châteauguay, and the company under Captain Louis Juchereau Duchesnay, with about thirty-five[29] Sedentary Militia under Captain Longtin, were thrown back along the margin of the river, hidden among the trees and bushes, so as to flank Colonel Purdy's men, or prevent him from flanking the Canadian position. Between the abattis and the front line were a company of Voltigeurs, Captain Lecuyer commanding, and beyond them on the right a light company (that of the 5th Battalion) of embodied militia with their side pickets, under Captain Debartzch; then, to the right of them, in the woods, the Indians under Captain La Mothe. There were thus in the front only about 240 Canadians. The positions, however, occupied about a mile along the river, and the rest of the troops—some 600—were distributed among the other breastworks, under command of McDonell.[30]
The battle was now on the point of commencing. In the centre of the front stood De Salaberry watching the enemy, whose characteristics he had noted twice before. All waited in suspense. A touching scene was taking place among the Beauharnois Militia further back, where Captain Longtin caused his men to kneel, went through a short prayer with them, and then rising, said: "that now they had fulfilled their duty to their God, they would fulfil that to their King."[31]
Meanwhile, the enemy kept steadily moving along the road in column. A tall mounted American officer rode forward and began a harangue to the Canadians in French. "Brave Canadians," said he, "give yourselves over; we do not wish to do you any harm!"[32] De Salaberry, seeing that his moment was come, sprang upon a stump,[33] discharged his musket as a signal to begin, and brought the American officer off his horse by the shot. The enemy at the time were exposed to being taken on both front and side. The bugles blared, the front companies immediately opened fire, and the battle was begun. Izard's force were in the open plain, while their foes were hidden in a thick wood. The squadrons of cavalry and four cannon which they had brought thus far were found to be useless there. They, however, commenced a spirited[34] fire in battalion volley; but, from the position of the line, it was almost totally thrown to the right of the Canadians, and of no effect whatever. They soon faced to the right, and filing up with speed, changed their front parallel with the lines of breastworks, when the engagement became general, and their fire compelled the retreat, behind the front edge of the breastwork[35] of a few skirmishers near the left, who had been rather advanced in the centre of the line. This retreat being mistaken by the enemy for a flight, a universal shout ensued, which was re-echoed, to their surprise, by the Canadians and the Glengarry men in reserve under Lieut.-Colonel McDonell. Now was the supreme moment of the battle. De Salaberry ordered his bugleman to sound the advance. "This was heard by Lieut-Colonel McDonell, who, thinking the Colonel was in want of support, caused his own bugles to answer, and immediately advanced with two of his companies from the third and fourth lines to the first and second."[36] "All these movements were executed with great rapidity." De Salaberry, at the same time, as a ruse de guerre, ordered "ten or twelve buglemen into the adjoining woods with orders to separate and blow with all their might."[37] The enemy, as De Salaberry calculated, suspected that the Canadians were advancing in great numbers to circumvent them. The Colonel, while giving these orders, is said to have done so facing his men, with his back against a tree.[38] The noise of the engagement towards its end brought on Colonel Purdy's division on the opposite side of the river, which, having driven in the picquet of sixty Beauharnois Sedentary Militia under Captain Bruyère, were pressing on for the ford, whereupon De Salaberry ordered Lieut.-Colonel McDonell, who had returned to his position to check the enemy there, and Captain Daly was chosen, with the light company of the 3rd Battalion Embodied Militia, numbering seventy men,[39] to cross and take up the ground abandoned by the picket.
De Salaberry, then seeing that the action was about to become serious on the right, left his position in the centre of the front and placed himself on the left with the troops along the bank, where, standing on a stump.[40] he could see, through his field-glass, Captain Daly with his men crossing the ford. The latter took with him such of the Beauharnois men as had rallied[41] up, and led by him, they advanced along the river-bank and made, in the words of Purdy afterwards, "a furious assault" upon the advanced guard of the Americans, whom they drove back upon themselves. "The bravery of Captain Daly," wrote the Temoin Oculaire—whose account, it is to be remembered, was published a few days afterwards—"who literally led his company into the midst of the enemy, could not be surpassed."
Purdy's main body finally recovered, and charged forward, however, emerging in great force from the wood.
Captain Daly's men, as they had been taught by Lieut.-Colonel McDonell, knelt and fired a volley kneeling. The return volley was fired by tenfold numbers, and but for that precaution would have destroyed nearly the whole of Captain Daly's command. As it was, he received a severe wound, and with his men, several of whom were wounded and himself a second time, was compelled to retreat, which the men did in very good order under Lieut. Benjamin Schiller. The latter distinguished himself greatly. He bore off his wounded captain to a safe place, and returning, took command at request of the men. At one juncture he was engaged, hand to hand, with a very formidable adversary, whose head he cut off with a single blow of his sabre.[42]
Purdy's force eventually were moving on in overwhelming numbers, and for a moment their shouts of victory were heard by the little force lying in suspense behind the barricades on the opposite bank. In coming out of the wood they swarmed down along the bank of the river. Now was the time for Captains Louis Duchesnay and Longtin's companies concealed in the river-side bushes opposite. De Salaberry instantly appears upon the scene, gives the word of command, and the bushes flame out with a hidden and destructive fire. The American shouts of victory turn into cries of confusion. In the utmost disorder they make a tumultuous and precipitate retreat into the woods. Thus, at 2.30 p.m., came the failure of Purdy's flanking movement.
As one may easily imagine, this series of incidents took several hours.
In the front, General Hampton for about an hour kept his soldiers ready in momentary expectation of attack by De Salaberry, and of hearing of Purdy's success. When he heard that the latter had failed, however, he sent him word to withdraw his column to a shoal four or five miles above and cross over, and ordered General Izard to retire his brigade to a position about three miles in the rear, to which place the baggage had been ordered forward. Hampton thus retired, leaving De Salaberry master of the field, with scarcely 300 men in actual action, and no British guns anywhere within seven miles.[43]
Sir George Prevost, with Major-General De Watteville, arrived on the ground at the close of the engagement and overlooked De Salaberry's arrangements, thanked him with great praise, and then immediately wrote an inaccurate despatch to England, in which he claimed the principal credit for himself.[44] That evening De Salaberry wrote to his father; "I have won a victory mounted on a wooden horse!"[45]