Patriot War
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Windsor was a short-lived campaign in the eastern Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

 area of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and the Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...

 area of Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

. A group of men on both sides of the border, calling themselves "Patriots", formed small militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

s in 1837 with the intention of seizing the Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...

 peninsula between the Detroit
Detroit River
The Detroit River is a strait in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as "River of the Strait". The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The river...

 and Niagara
Niagara River
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...

 Rivers and extending American-style government to Canada. They based groups in Michigan at Fort Gratiot (present Port Huron
Port Huron, Michigan
Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administratively autonomous. It is joined by the Blue Water Bridge over the St. Clair River to Sarnia,...

), Mount Clemens
Mount Clemens, Michigan
Mount Clemens is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 17,312. It is the county seat of Macomb County.-Early history:...

, Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

, and Gibraltar
Gibraltar, Michigan
Gibraltar is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,656 at the 2010 census. It is located on the Detroit River directly south of, and adjacent to, Trenton.-Geography:...

.

Beginnings

In December 1837, Thomas Jefferson Sutherland was commissioned by the rebellion leaders on Navy Island
Navy Island
Navy Island is a small island in the Niagara River in the province of Ontario, managed by Parks Canada as a National Historic Site of Canada. It is located about upstream from Horseshoe Falls, and has an area of roughly...

 in the Niagara River to head to Detroit to raise a force there. After the Navy Island base was evacuated, other Patriots came to Detroit. Public meetings were held in Detroit and an invasion force was organized. Men came to Detroit from as far away as Illinois and Kentucky to join the movement. Concerned that they would seize the U.S. arsenal at Fort Gratiot, U.S. General Hugh Brady
Hugh Brady
Hugh Brady was an American general from Pennsylvania. He served in the Northwest Indian War under General Anthony Wayne, and during the War of 1812. Following the War of 1812, Brady remained in the military, eventually rising to the rank of major general and taking command of the garrison at Detroit...

 ordered the weapons removed by boat. The steamship, however, became stuck in the ice at St. Clair, Michigan
St. Clair, Michigan
St. Clair is a city in St. Clair County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,802 at the 2000 census. The city is located on the St. Clair River near the southeast corner of St. Clair Township.-Geography:...

, and the journey to Detroit had to be completed by wagon. On January 5, 1838, the Detroit jail was raided and the Patriots seized the 450 muskets which had been stored there to keep them away from the rebels. The rebels were reported to have later stolen another 200 weapons from the unsecured office of the U.S. marshal in Detroit, perhaps with his help.

Schooner Ann

The schooner Ann was seized by the Patriots on January 8 and sailed to Gibraltar, Michigan
Gibraltar, Michigan
Gibraltar is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,656 at the 2010 census. It is located on the Detroit River directly south of, and adjacent to, Trenton.-Geography:...

. The governor of Michigan, Stevens T. Mason
Stevens T. Mason
Stevens Thomson Mason , also known as Stevens T. Mason, Tom Mason, The Boy Governor, and lesser known nicknames Young Hotspur and The Stripling, was the territorial governor of the Michigan Territory, and later the first Governor of the state of Michigan. Mason guided the Michigan Territory into...

, along with a detachment of 200 militiamen, pursued them in two steamships. A hundred Canadian militia also followed in the steamer Alliance. Mason met with the Patriot leaders at Gibaltar, but the captured steamship Ann continued on to near Fort Malden
Fort Malden
Fort Malden is a fort that stands on the remains of Fort Amherstburg in Amherstburg, Ontario. The original fort was abandoned by the British/Canadians in 1813 when Southwest Ontario fell into American hands. The Americans began building a smaller replacement fort on the same site, but this was...

 on the Canadian shore. On January 9, the Patriots began shelling Malden and the town of Amherstburg
Amherstburg, Ontario
Amherstburg is a Canadian town near the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County, Ontario. It is approximately south of the U.S...

 from the Ann. The Canadian militia took up positions in the town while the Patriots moved 300 men onto the Canadian Bois Blanc Island
Bois Blanc Island (Ontario)
Bois Blanc Island, commonly called Boblo Island, is an island in the Detroit River located directly west of Amherstburg, Ontario in the Detroit River, on the Canadian side of the border...

 opposite the town. The Canadian militia opened fire on the schooner when it tried to reach the island. The Canadians shot several of the ship crew and damaged the sails and rigging. The ship drifted until it ran aground, at which point the Canadian militia boarded it, encountered no resistance and captured the Patriot crew. The remaining Patriot forces quit Bois Blanc for the safety of the American side of the river. Several of the Patriots were wounded, a few killed, and the Canadians captured 300 muskets, 2 cannon, 10 kegs of gunpowder and various accoutrements.

After losing the Ann, the Patriots stole another ship, the steamer Little Erie. The head of the Detroit militia, himself, tried to prevent the boat leaving at swordpoint and the U.S. marshal's force was reported to have fired into the air, but the local crowd supported the Patriot movement and the boat was taken to Gibraltar. On January 27, three companies of U.S. troops arrived from Buffalo aboard the steamer Robert Fulton to help calm the area. Governor Mason met with the Patriots at Gibraltar on February 12, again to no avail. In fact, that same day, Patriots raided the U.S. arsenal in Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn, Michigan
-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...

, stealing hundreds of weapons. This group of weapons was soon recovered, having been hidden near a tavern in Detroit.

Fighting Island

On February 24, 1838, a group of Patriots began assembling on Fighting Island
Fighting Island
Fighting Island is a island in the Detroit River— the largest Canadian island in the river. It is part of the town of LaSalle, Ontario, Canada, opposite Wyandotte, Michigan and downriver from Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario....

 on the Canadian side of the Detroit River
Detroit River
The Detroit River is a strait in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as "River of the Strait". The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The river...

. Supplies were ferried over from Detroit and some 400 Patriots from Cleveland joined the Detroit area men. The larger force of 600 Cleveland men occupied Pelee Island
Battle of Pelee Island
The Patriot War occurred along what is now the Michigan-Ontario border in 1837 and 1838 involving small groups of men on each side of the border seeking to "liberate" Upper Canada.-Prelude:...

 at the same time. It was reported that the Patriots had only 50 muskets and one dismounted cannon among them on the island. The U.S. general informed his British counterpart of the assembly, announcing that he would wait for the Patriots to break up and arrest them upon their return for violation of American neutrality laws. The British commandant replied that he would attack the Patriot camp and pursue them into the United States. This reply led General Brady to order a line of red flags to be placed in the ice on the river marking the border. He deployed his men with orders to shoot any British soldiers passing the line.

The British regulars, artillery and Canadian militia attacked at daybreak of January 25. The British force proceeded across the ice to capture the island but did not cross the border. The U.S. forces briefly detained a few Patriots but soon released them. Casualties are uncertain, with the British commander claiming no deaths on either side but other reports claiming 5 British dead and 15 wounded and at least 5 Patriots wounded, some of whom required amputations of their arms.

Waiting

After the Fighting Island battle, U.S. and Canadian troops patrolled their sides of the border, and little Patriot Hunter activity occurred in the Detroit-Windsor area. Larger battles occurred along the St. Lawrence and at Short Hills with large Patriot losses. The Patriots were not yet finished, however. Activity around Detroit picked up again with the return of winter.

Renewed action

On November 24, 1838, General Brady on the steamer Illinois captured a Patriot ship with 250 weapons and a supply of ammunition. He returned to Detroit to find that his own troops' weapons had been stolen from city hall in his absence. The theft was soon solved, and the weapons were recovered after two days. The Hunter Lodge at Port Huron with its Sarnia counterparts across the river planned an invasion at the beginning of December, but reinforcements from Detroit did not arrive. British officials in Canada became aware of the plot and deployed troops and artillery along that section of the border, ending the plan. Throughout November, some 300 Ohio and Pennsylvania Patriots assembled at a field south of the city of Detroit, joining a couple hundred locals and Canadians.

Battle of Windsor

On December 4, 1838, at 2 am, the Patriots crossed the Detroit River
Detroit River
The Detroit River is a strait in the Great Lakes system. The name comes from the French Rivière du Détroit, which translates literally as "River of the Strait". The Detroit River has served an important role in the history of Detroit and is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The river...

 into Canada on a captured steamboat, the Champlain, and engaged in an unsuccessful battle at Windsor where the Patriots set the British barracks on fire, burned the steamer Thames and several houses, and killed four militiamen before taking positions at the Baby farm, which contained a large orchard. Only 20 militia were billeted at Windsor, a small town of around 300, while some miles further south at Sandwich and Amherstburg were the bulk of the 500 militia and regulars.

At about 7 am, a 60-man company of Canadian militia from Sandwich successfully repelled the invasion before the regulars arrived and captured several patriots. The militia pushed the Patriots out of the orchard and pursued them through the town. The Patriots then fled in several directions, some returning to their steamer to free the 18 prisoners they had taken. Colonel John Prince arrived after the rout (9:30 am) and took command. Prince then moved his troops back to Sandwich, fearing another attack there.

At 1:30 pm, a company of British regulars from the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot
34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot
The 34th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1702 and amalgamated with the 55th Regiment of Foot, into The Border Regiment in 1881.-Early 18th century :...

 with a six-pound cannon and 20 mounted Indians arrived at Sandwich and continued north to Windsor. Prince decided to follow with his 400 militiamen. However, all of the Patriots had made their escape by this time, and only one of them was captured. Prince ordered that four prisoners be immediately shot without having been tried in court. The British cannon fired some shots at Patriots fleeing in stolen canoes, hitting one in the arm. The U.S. steamer Erie carrying Detroit militia captured some of the Patriots but soon released them on U.S. soil.

Aftermath

After the second pursuit, Colonel Prince lined up another seven prisoners in front of the burned barracks and ordered them shot as well. Influential local citizens dissuaded him from this action. Local citizens later published a circular against Prince, leading one of them, William R. Wood, to have to duel him. Prince survived the duel unharmed. A court martial mostly exonerated him, but the matter made its way to the floor of Parliament. No censure occurred there either as the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...

 steered the discussion away from Prince to the general topic of the need to use regular troops to defend Canada from American invasion.

Joshua Doan of Sparta, Upper Canada, was among the several dozen Hunter Patriots captured in Windsor, and he was later hanged for treason. Other were sentenced to be transported to Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...

, others to Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

.

The Michigan militia remained stationed at the United States Arsenal in Dearborn
Dearborn, Michigan
-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...

, and were used to track down remaining groups of Patriots in the area. This conflict led to the reorganization of the Michigan militia because its structure was found to be insufficient to deal with such rebellions.

These events at Windsor formed the last military action of the rebellions in Upper
Upper Canada Rebellion
The Upper Canada Rebellion was, along with the Lower Canada Rebellion in Lower Canada, a rebellion against the British colonial government in 1837 and 1838. Collectively they are also known as the Rebellions of 1837.-Issues:...

 and Lower Canada
Lower Canada Rebellion
The Lower Canada Rebellion , commonly referred to as the Patriots' War by Quebeckers, is the name given to the armed conflict between the rebels of Lower Canada and the British colonial power of that province...

of 1837–38.

An Ontario Historical Plaque was erected by the province to commemorate the Battle of Windsor's role in Ontario's heritage.

External links

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