The Salaberry Armoury was named in memory of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles-Michel d’Irumberry de Salaberry, CB (November 1778 – February 1892).
Charles-Michel d’Irumberry de Salaberry was born in Beauport, near Quebec City, in November 1778. He enlisted in the British Army in 1792 at the age of 14, and saw action with the 60th Regiment in the West Indies and in the Netherlands. He was given a company command in 1803, continuing to serve in Europe and the West Indies. In 1810, de Salaberry was recalled to Canada with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He served as aide-de-camp to Major General Francis de Rottenburg, but in 1812 he was appointed to command a new corps of volunteers, the Canadian Voltigeurs (light infantry). Les Voltigeurs were essentially militia men, but de Salaberry trained them as regulars similar to the Fencible units raised in Upper Canada. In November 1812, de Salaberry commanded the advance guard of the force that turned away an American attack at La Colle Mill. Later, some Voltiguers took part in the decisive Battle of Crysler’s Farm. In October 1813, he confronted the Americans threatening Montreal. Colonel de Salaberry, at the head of some 300 Voltiguers and Canadian and Indian volunteers, repulsed several thousand American troops. In 1817, he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath. He later became a legislative councilor for Lower Canada until his death in February 1829.
