How many American invaders did Lieutenant-Colonel de Salaberry and 460 soldiers turn back at Châteauguay in 1813?

Discover Canada records this in one direct sentence about the War of 1812. The guide writes: In 1813, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles de Salaberry and 460 soldiers, mostly French Canadiens, turned back 4,000 American invaders at Châteauguay, south of Montreal. The number the test wants is therefore 4,000.

The numerical odds were nearly nine to one. Discover Canada commits the defending force to 460 soldiers and the attacking force to 4,000 American invaders. So the defending Canadiens were outnumbered roughly 8.7 to 1 — yet they turned back the much larger American force. The mathematics of the battle is part of why Châteauguay became a legendary moment of Canadian military history.

The defenders were mostly French Canadiens. Discover Canada commits the makeup of the 460 defenders to "mostly French Canadiens" — meaning the Châteauguay victory was won principally by French-speaking Canadian soldiers under a French-Canadian commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles de Salaberry. So the battle stands as a proud French-Canadian contribution to Canada's defence in the War of 1812. The location is "south of Montreal" — meaning the American thrust aimed at the heart of Lower Canada and was stopped before reaching Montreal.

Châteauguay sits in the broader 1812 War narrative. Discover Canada commits the War of 1812 to a sequence of named events. The Americans launched an invasion in June 1812 "believing it would be easy to conquer Canada." Major-General Sir Isaac Brock captured Detroit but was killed defending against an American attack at Queenston Heights, near Niagara Falls. Then in 1813 came two events: de Salaberry's victory at Châteauguay AND the American burning of Government House and the Parliament Buildings in York (now Toronto). In retaliation, in 1814, Major-General Robert Ross led an expedition from Nova Scotia that burned down the White House and other public buildings in Washington, D.C. Ross died in battle soon afterwards and was buried in Halifax with full military honours. So the Châteauguay victory is one named highlight in a war Canadians won decisively against an invading neighbour. The 4,000-vs-460 number captures both the scale of the threat and the outsized achievement of the small French-Canadian defending force.

The question is testing whether new citizens know the size of the American force turned back at Châteauguay in 1813. Discover Canada commits to one number: 4,000. The right test answer matches that.

The wrong answer choices each substitute a different number. The first choice halves the actual size — under-counting the threat. The third choice exaggerates the force beyond the source's named figure. The fourth choice doubles the source figure — overstating the invasion. Only 4,000 — the source's exact named number — matches.