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He was the scion of an aristocratic French military family. After the fall of New France, he joined the British army as a boy soldier. He returned to Canada in 1810, where he organized and commanded the Canadian Voltigeurs. He led them and other troops in the 1813 Battle of Chateauguay, where they defeated a much larger American army led by General Hampton, thus saving Lower Canada (now Quebec). After the war he served as a Justice of the Peace and Member of the Legislative Assembly. As an interesting aside, the first public performance of "O Canada" was by the Voltigeurs band. Today the Voltigeurs have a Regimental Museum in a spectacular building on Place Georges V in Quebec City. More information: www.galafilm.com/1812/e/people/salaberry.html .
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North America
