Lieutenant Colonel Clément-Charles Sabrevois de Bleury (October 28, 1798 – September 15, 1862) was a Canadian soldier, lawyer, politician and newspaper founder.
Contents |
Clément-Charles Sabrevois de Bleury was born October 28, 1798 to Clément Sabrevois de Bleury (1755–1827) and Amélia Bowers in William-Henry (present-day Sorel, Quebec) where his father was commandant. He grew up in Montréal at what is now known as la maison Clément-Sabrevois de Bleury, which is situated on Rue Saint-Gabriel.[1]
Descended from a military family linked by marriage to Pierre Boucher, Clément-Charles was the last Sabrevois to bear the name Bleury. He was brought up at William-Henry in a conservative Anglican milieu.
From 1809 to 1815 he studied at the Collège de Montréal, where he was noted for his support of the Parti patriote of Louis-Joseph Papineau, but was alarmed by the "all or nothing" strategy of the party, which made an armed rebellion seem likely. He then took legal training under his brother-in-law, Basile-Benjamin Trottier Desrivières-Beaubien, and was called to the bar in November 1819.
On January 16, 1823, at Saint-Roch-de-l'Achigan, he married Marie-Élisabeth-Alix, daughter of Barthélémy Rocher, a merchant and lieutenant-colonel.
On January 8, 1836, he became embroiled in an altercation on the floor of the House with Charles-Ovide Perrault, the Patriote representative for Vaudreuil. The point of issue between them was who should, and who should not, be called before a committee that was looking into the sale of potash. The exchange came to an end with Bleury returning to his seat and grumbling aloud about having to conduct business with filth. Perrault was angered by the insult and went to see Louis-Joseph Papineau about it. Papineau suggested, in pontidical manner, that it would be best to meet with Bleury somewhere outside the House, and let him know that the insult had been noticed.
Perrault took this to mean that he should teach the man a lesson. When next they met, in the dark of night on an icy patch of road near the Battery, he threw the first punch. What ensued was a farcical fist fight in which the combatants were unable to keep their footing on the ice as they flailed away at each other. It only ended when Perrault landed a blow which knocked Bleury down, and then, unable to retain his balance, fell on top of him. The two were finally separated by officers.
The following morning, Bleury, wanting revenge, sent a peremptory note, transmitted by Aaron Ezekiel Hart, to Perrault demanding satisfaction, and a duel was set. Bleury was quite confident, as he had already fought three duels before.[2]
They met for the duel in the woods of L'Ancienne-Lorette at three o’clock in the evening. Their seconds placed the two men 36 feet apart, loaded the pistols, then set about trying to negotiate a compromise, talking with each other, then their principals. At last a solution was worked out. The seconds negotiated a peaceful and honourable resolution of the dispute, both Perrault and Bleury apologized to each other, shook hands, and discharged their pistols into the air to end the matter.[3] They returned to their respective carriages, proceeding to a tavern for a drink before going back to Quebec.[4]
Perrault lost his life the following year at the battle of Saint-Denis on the Richelieu.
On April 5 that same year, Bleury fought another duel with Ludger Duvernay, the owner of La Minerve, which ended with Duvernay being shot in the right knee.
His family background and his skill in arms gained him a commission, on January 29, 1825, as lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion of Montreal militia, and enabled him to rise quickly in the militia. On November 24, 1830 he was promoted captain in the Chasseurs Canadiens; on April 22, 1838 he became a major and on July 7, 1848 he was appointed lieutenant-colonel commanding the Montreal Rifles.
He gradually discovered a "Canadian identity" which led him to embrace the Patriotes’ cause. In July 1832, yielding to the party’s pressing requests, he stood as a candidate for the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada in Richelieu, following the resignation of François-Roch de Saint-Ours. On August 8 he was returned by acclamation. In the house, Sabrevois followed Louis-Joseph Papineau's lead. He voted in favour of the expulsion of Dominique Mondelet in 1832 and for the Ninety-Two Resolutions in 1834,[5] branding John Neilson a turncoat because he opposed each of the resolutions.
On July 6, 1837 Bleury agreed to be vice-chairman of a gathering of the governor’s supporters at which George Moffatt presided.
He readily accepted the invitation of the governor, Lord Gosford, to sit on the Legislative Council, serving as a member from August 22, 1837 until its dissolution in 1838.
In April 1837, he and Léon Gosselin founded Le Populaire, a newspaper promoting moderation and prudence, which opposed to the Lower Canada Rebellion. In that year he commanded the escort that took the political prisoners to the new prison in Montreal.
Following the dissolution, Bleury served as an alderman for Montreal from 1839 until late 1844, when he was again elected to the legislature, and once again in 1847. Again, he supported the government on most issues, though he also opposed them on some.
He was not a candidate in the 1847–48 elections. In 1849 he let himself be persuaded by his friend George Moffatt to sign the Annexation Manifesto; then in 1854, for an unknown reason, he ran for election in the constituency of Laval, not supporting any party. He suffered the most bitter defeat in Canadian political history – he did not receive a single vote. This staggering blow marked the end of his political career and was the signal for his final retirement from public life.
Clément-Charles Sabrevois de Bleury died September 15, 1862 at his manor house[6] at Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, near Laval, Quebec at the age of 63. He was said to have 'won over Montreal’s high society by his charm, elegant manners, and refined style of living'. He is buried in Notre Dame Cathedral, Montreal. He had no children. After his death, sheriff Louis-Tancrède Bouthillier, a nephew by marriage, bought the heavily mortgaged manor house.