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{{short description|1837 rebellion}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Upper Canada Rebellion
| partof            = the [[Rebellions of 1837–1838]]
| image             = Montgomery's Tavern.jpg
| image_size        = 275px
| caption           = [[Battle of Montgomery's Tavern]]
| date              = December 1837
| place             = [[Toronto]], [[Upper Canada]]
| casus             = 
| territory         = 
| result            = [[The Canadas|British Canadian]] victory
| combatant1        = {{plainlist|
*{{flag|Upper Canada}}
**{{flagdeco|Upper Canada}} [[Family Compact]]}}
| combatant2        = {{plainlist|
*{{flagicon image|Flag of the Republic of Canada.svg}} [[The Reform Movement (Upper Canada)|Reform movement]]
*{{flagicon image|Flag of the Republic of Canada (variant).svg}} [[Republic of Canada]]}}
| commander1        = {{plainlist|
* {{flagdeco|Upper Canada}} [[Francis Bond Head]]
* {{flagdeco|Upper Canada}} [[James FitzGibbon]]
* {{flagdeco|Upper Canada}} [[Allan MacNab]]}}
| commander2        = {{plainlist|
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Republic of Canada (variant).svg}} [[William Lyon Mackenzie]]
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Republic of Canada (variant).svg}} [[Anthony Van Egmond]]
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Republic of Canada (variant).svg}} [[Samuel Lount]]{{Executed}}}}
| strength1         = 
| strength2         = 
| casualties1       = 
| casualties2       = 
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox Upper Canada Rebellion}}
{{campaignbox Lower Canada Rebellion}}
}}

The '''Upper Canada Rebellion''' was an insurrection against the [[Oligarchy|oligarchic]] government of the British colony of [[Upper Canada]] (present-day [[Ontario]]) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the [[Lower Canada Rebellion|rebellion]] in [[Lower Canada]] (present-day [[Quebec]]), which started the previous month, that emboldened rebels in Upper Canada to revolt.

The Upper Canada Rebellion was largely defeated shortly after it began, although resistance lingered until 1838. While it shrank, it became more violent, mainly through the support of the [[Hunters' Lodges]], a secret United States–based militia that emerged around the [[Great Lakes]], and launched the [[Patriot War]] in 1838.

Some historians suggest that although they were not directly successful or large, the rebellions in 1837 should be viewed in the wider context of the late-18th- and early-19th-century [[Atlantic Revolutions]] including the [[American Revolutionary War]] in 1776, the [[French Revolution]] of 1789–99, the [[Haitian Revolution]] of 1791–1804, the [[Irish Rebellion of 1798]], and the independence struggles of Spanish America (1810–1825). While these rebellions differed in that they also struggled for [[republicanism]], they were inspired by similar social problems stemming from poorly regulated oligarchies, and sought the same democratic ideals, which were also shared by the United Kingdom's [[Chartism|Chartists]].<ref>Ducharme, Michel (2010) ''Le concept de liberté au Canada à l’époque des Révolutions atlantiques (1776–1838)'' McGill/Queens University Press: Montreal/Kingston. The book was awarded the John A. MacDonald award for best book 2010 by the Canadian Historical Association</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Ducharme|first=Michel|title=Closing the Last Chapter of the Atlantic Revolution: The 1837–38 Rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada.|url=http://www.americanantiquarian.org/proceedings/44539644.pdf|journal=Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society|year=2006|volume=116|issue=2|pages=413–430}}</ref><ref>Wim Klooster, ''Revolutions in the Atlantic World: A Comparative History'' (2009)</ref>

The rebellion in Lower Canada, followed by its Upper Canada counterpart, led directly to [[John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham|Lord Durham]]'s [[Report on the Affairs of British North America]], and to [[Act of Union 1840|The British North America Act, 1840]], which partially reformed the British provinces into a unitary system, leading to the [[Canadian Confederation|formation of Canada]] as a nation in 1867.

==Background==

===Political structure of Upper Canada===

Many of the grievances which underlay the Rebellion involved the provisions of the Constitutional Act of 1791, which had created Upper Canada's political framework.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Read |editor1-first=Colin |editor2-last=Stagg |editor2-first=Ronald J. |title=The Rebellion of 1837 in Upper Canada: A Collection of Documents |date=2013 |publisher=The Publications of the Champlain Society |page=21 |doi=10.3138/9781442618558 |isbn=978-0-88629-032-0 |url=https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442618558}}</ref>

The [[Family Compact]] dominated the government of Upper Canada and the financial and religious institutions associated with it. They were the leading members of the administration: executive councillors, legislative councillors, senior officials and some members of the judiciary.{{sfn|Craig|1963|p=[https://archive.org/details/uppercanadaforma0000crai/page/107 107]}} Their administrative roles were intimately tied to their business activities. For example, [[William Allan (banker)|William Allan]] "was an executive councillor, a legislative councillor, President of the Toronto and Lake Huron Railroad, Governor of the British American Fire and Life Assurance Company and President of the Board of Trade."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Johnson|first=J.K.|title=The U.C. Club and the Upper Canadian Elite, 1837–1840|journal=Ontario History|year=1977|volume=69|pages=162}}</ref> Members of the Family Compact utilized their official positions for monetary gain, especially through corporations such as the [[Bank of Upper Canada]], and the two land companies (the [[Clergy Corporation]] and the [[Canada Company]]) that between them controlled two-sevenths of the land in the province.<ref name="AGreer">{{cite journal|last=Greer|first=Allan|title=Historical Roots of Canadian democracy|journal=Journal of Canadian Studies|year=1999|volume=34|issue=1|pages=9–21|doi=10.3138/jcs.34.1.7|s2cid=141765244}}</ref> Lacking the minimum capital needed to found the bank, the corporate leaders persuaded the government to subscribe for a quarter of its shares. During the 1830s, a third of the bank's board were Legislative or Executive Councillors, and the remainder all magistrates.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Schrauwers|first=Albert|title=The Gentlemanly Order & the Politics of Production in the Transition to Capitalism in the Home District, Upper Canada|journal=Labour/Le Travail|year=2010|volume=65|pages=23}}</ref> Despite repeated attempts, the elected Legislature – which had chartered the bank – could not obtain details on the bank's workings. Politician and former journalist [[William Lyon Mackenzie]] saw the bank as a prop of the Government and demanded farmers withdraw the money they had deposited in the bank and public confidence in the bank decreased.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Peppiatt|first1=Liam|title=Chapter 80: Bank of Upper Canada|url=http://www.landmarksoftoronto.com/bank-of-upper-canada/|website=Robertson's Landmarks of Toronto Revisited|access-date=September 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925085710/http://www.landmarksoftoronto.com/bank-of-upper-canada/|archive-date=September 25, 2015|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

===Demographic changes===

The government of Upper Canada feared a growing interest in American-inspired [[Republicanism in Canada|republicanism]] in the province because of the increase in immigration of American settlers to the province. The large number of migrants led American legislators to speculate that bringing Upper Canada into the American fold would be a "mere matter of marching". After the [[War of 1812]] the colonial government prevented Americans from swearing allegiance, thereby making them ineligible to obtain land grants. Relations between the appointed [[Legislative Council of Upper Canada|Legislative Council]] and the elected [[Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada|Legislative Assembly]] became increasingly strained in the years after the war, over issues of immigration, taxation, banking and land speculation.<ref name="AGreer" />

===Political unions===
[[File:Second market in York (Toronto).jpg|thumb|right|Marketplaces like [[St. Lawrence Market]] were commonly used public spaces by political unions.]]
The Upper Canada Central Political Union was organized in 1832–33 by [[Thomas David Morrison]] and collected 19,930 signatures on a petition protesting William Lyon Mackenzie's expulsion from the House of Assembly.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wilton|first=Carol|title=Popular Politics and Political Culture in Upper Canada, 1800–1850.|year=2000|publisher=McGill-Queens University Press|location=Montreal-Kingston|pages=146–147}}</ref> The [[The Reform Movement (Upper Canada)|Reformers]] won a majority in the elections held in 1834 for the Legislative Assembly of the [[12th Parliament of Upper Canada]] but the Family Compact held the majority in the Legislative Council. The union was reorganized as the Canadian Alliance Society in 1835 and adopted much of the platform of the [[Owenite]] National Union of the Working Classes in [[London]], England, that were to be integrated into the [[Chartism|Chartist]] movement in England. In pursuit of this democratic goal, the Chartists eventually staged a similar armed rebellion, the [[Newport Rising]], in Wales in 1839.{{sfn|Schrauwers|2009|pp=181–184}} The Canadian Alliance Society was reborn as the Constitutional Reform Society in 1836, and led by the more moderate reformer, [[William Warren Baldwin|William W. Baldwin]]. The Society took its final form as the Toronto Political Union in 1837 and they organized local "Vigilance Committees" to elect delegates to a Constitutional Convention in July 1837. This became the organizational structure for the Rebellion and most of the rebel organizers were elected Constitutional Convention delegates.{{sfn|Schrauwers|2009|pp=192–199}}

===Francis Bond Head and the elections of 1836===
[[File:Francis Bond Head.jpg|thumbnail|The appointment of [[Francis Bond Head]] as the [[Lieutenant Governor of Ontario|Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada]] was initially warmly greeted, though his administration was later met with controversy.]]
Sir [[Francis Bond Head]] was appointed as [[Lieutenant Governor of Ontario|Lieutenant-Governor]] and the Reform movement believed he would support their ideas.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA164 164]}} After meeting with Reformers, Bond Head concluded that they were disloyal to the British Empire and allied himself with the Family Compact.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA167 167]}} He refused proposals to bring [[responsible government]] to Upper Canada, responding in a sarcastic tone that belittled reformers.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA168 168–169]}} The Reform-dominated Assembly responded by refusing to pass the [[money bill]], which halted the payment of salaries and pensions to many government workers. Bond Head then refused to pass any legislation from that government session including major public works projects. This caused a recession in Upper Canada.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA169 169–170]}} The movement was disappointed when Bond Head made it clear he had no intention of consulting the Executive Council in the daily operations of the administration. The Executive Council resigned, provoking widespread discontent and an election in 1834.{{sfn|Craig|1963|p=[https://archive.org/details/uppercanadaforma0000crai/page/232 232]}}

Unlike previous Lt. Governors, Bond Head actively supported Tory candidates and utilized [[Orange Order]] violence in order to ensure their election.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cadigan|first=Sean T.|title=Paternalism and Politics: Sir Francis Bond Head, the Orange Order, and the Election of 1836|journal=Canadian Historical Review|year=1991|volume=72|issue=3|pages=319–347|doi=10.3138/CHR-072-03-02|s2cid=154595085}}</ref> He appealed to the people's desire to remain part of the British Empire and a paternalistic attitude of the Crown providing goods for the people.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA173 173]}} Reformers such as Mackenzie and [[Samuel Lount]] lost their seats in the Legislature and they alleged that the election was fraudulent. They prepared a petition to the Crown protesting the abuses, carried to London by [[Charles Duncombe (Upper Canada Rebellion)|Charles Duncombe]], but the Colonial Office refused to hear him. The new Tory-dominated Legislature passed laws that exacerbated tensions including continuing the Legislative session after the death of the King, prohibiting members of the Legislature from serving as Executive Councillors, making it easier to sue indebted farmers, protecting the Bank of Upper Canada from bankruptcy, and giving Legislative Councillors charters for their own banks.{{sfn|Schrauwers|2009|pp=184–191}}

===Collapse of the international financial system===
[[File:1832bank1.jpg|thumb|right|Democratic cartoon from 1833 showing Jackson destroying the [[Second Bank of the United States]], to the approval of the [[Uncle Sam]] like figure to the right, and annoyance of the bank's president, shown as the Devil himself]]
On July 10, 1832, US President Andrew Jackson vetoed the bill for the refinancing of the [[Second Bank of the United States]], causing a [[List of recessions in the United States|depression]] in the Anglo-American world. This was worsened in Upper Canada by bad wheat harvests in 1836 and farmers were unable to pay their debts. Most banks – including the Bank of Upper Canada – suspended payments by July 1837 and successfully obtained government support while ordinary farmers and the poor did not. One fifth of British immigrants to Upper Canada were impoverished and most immigrant farmers lacked the capital to pay for purchased land. Debt collection laws allowed them to be jailed indefinitely until they paid their loans to merchants. In March 1837 the Tories passed a law making it cheaper to sue farmers by allowing city merchants to sue in the middle of harvest. If the farmer refused to come to court in Toronto, they would automatically forfeit the case and their property subjected to a sheriff's sale.{{sfn|Schrauwers|2009|pp=189–191}}

Among the more than 150 lawsuits they launched that year, the Bank of Upper Canada, sued Sheldon, Dutcher & Co., a foundry and Toronto's largest employer with over 80 employees in late 1836, bankrupting the company.{{sfn|Schrauwers|2009|p=189}} Mackenzie's first plan for rebellion involved calling on Sheldon & Dutcher's men to storm the city hall, where the militia's guns were stored.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

===Budget of Upper Canada===
The Reformers were incensed at the debt that the [[Family Compact]] incurred as the results of general improvements to the province, such as the [[Welland Canal]].<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1017/S0008423900000597|title=God's Peculiar Peoples: Essays on Political Culture in Nineteenth-Century Canada (book review)|journal=Canadian Journal of Political Science|volume=26|issue=4|pages=809|year=1993|last1=Ajzenstat|first1=Janet|s2cid=144534367 }}</ref>

The Upper Canada legislature refused to pass a [[supply bill]] in 1836 after Bond Head refused to implement [[responsible government]] reforms. In retaliation Bond Head refused to sign any bills passed by the assembly, including public work projects. This contributed to economic hardship and increased unemployment throughout the province.{{sfn|Sewell|2002|p=130}}

==Planning==

Mackenzie gathered reformers on July 28 and 31, 1837 to discuss their grievances with the government. The meeting created the Committee of Vigilance and signed a declaration urging every community to send delegates to a congress in [[Toronto]] and discuss remedies for their concerns. Mackenzie printed the declaration in his newspaper and toured communities north of Toronto to encourage citizens to make similar declarations.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA183 183]}} Farmers organised target practice sessions and forges in the [[Home District]] and [[Simcoe County]] created weapons for the rebellion.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA187 187]}}

On October 9, 1837, a messenger from the Patriotes of Lower Canada informed Mackenzie that the rebellion in Lower Canada was going to begin.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA189 189]}} Mackenzie gathered reformers at John Doel's brewery and proposed kidnapping Bond Head, bringing him to city hall and forcing him to let the Legislature choose the members of the Executive Council. If Bond refused, they would declare independence from the British Empire.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA190 190]}} Reformers such as [[Thomas David Morrison]] opposed this plan and the meeting ended without consensus on what to do next.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA191 191]}}

The next day Mackenzie convinced [[John Rolph (politician)|John Rolph]] that a rebellion could be successful and happen without anyone being killed.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA192 192]}} Rolph convinced Morrison to support the rebellion but they also told Mackenzie to get confirmation of support from rural communities.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA193 193]}} Mackenzie sought out support in rural communities but he also proclaimed that an armed rebellion would happen on December 7 and assigned [[Samuel Lount]] and Anthony Anderson as commanders. Rolph and Morrison were reluctant about the plan so Mackenzie sought [[Anthony Van Egmond]] to help lead the armed forces.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA194 194]}}

In November 1837, in the lead-up to the Political Union's Constitutional Convention, Mackenzie published a satire in the ''Constitution'', a round table discussion by [[John Locke]], [[Benjamin Franklin]], [[George Washington]], [[Oliver Goldsmith]] and [[William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham|William Pitt]] and others. As part of this satire, he published a draft republican constitution for the State of Upper Canada that closely resembled the objectives in the constitution of the Canadian Alliance Society in 1834.{{sfn|Schrauwers|2009|pp=176–181}} Mackenzie printed broadsheets listing grievances and a call to arms to communities surrounding Toronto.{{sfn|Sewell|2002|p=145}} Mackenzie also printed handbills declaring independence which were distributed to citizens north of Toronto.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA196 196]}}

===Counter-rebellion planning===

Bond Head did not believe the reports that stated the severity of resources and discontent gathered by the rebels. In November 1837, [[James Fitzgibbon]] was concerned about soldiers leaving Upper Canada going to quell the [[Lower Canada Rebellion]] and urged Bond Head to keep some troops for protection, which was refused. Fitzgibbon's call to arm a militia was also denied and he refused an armed guard at the Government's House and City Hall.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA194 194]}} After the [[Battle of Saint-Denis (1837)|Battle of Saint-Denis]] Fitzgibbon prepared a list of men that he could contact personally if a rebellion began in Toronto.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA195 195]}} The [[John Beverley Robinson|mayor of Toronto]] refused to ring the City Hall bell if a rebellion began because he felt Fitzgibbon was causing unnecessary concern over a possible revolt.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA195 195–196]}}

A Tory supporter obtained a copy of Mackenzie's declaration and showed it to authorities in Toronto.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA197 197]}} Government officials met at [[Government House (Ontario)|the Lieutenant Governor's residence]] on December 2 to discuss how to stop rumours of a rebellion.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA198 198]}} Fitzgibbon warned the men of rebels forging [[Pike (weapon)|pikes]] north of the city and he was appointed adjutant general of the militia.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA198 198–199]}}

==Confrontation==
===Toronto Rebellion===

[[File:Portrait of Peter Matthews, 1786-1838 JRR2800.jpg|thumb|[[Peter Matthews (rebel)|Peter Matthews]] was one of several delegates in support of revolt, in an October 1837 meeting with other reformists and rebels.]]

Rolph tried to warn Mackenzie about the warrant for his arrest but could not find him so delivered the message to Lount instead. Upon receiving Rolph's message Lount marched a group of rebels into Toronto for December 4. When hearing about this change, Mackenzie quickly tried to send a messenger to Lount to tell him not to arrive until December 7 but was unable to reach Lount in time.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA199 199–200]}} The men gathered at Montgomery's Tavern but were disappointed at the lack of preparation and the failure of the Lower Canada rebels. Although Lount wanted to launch an attack that night, other rebels leaders rejected that plan so that the troops could rest after their march and they could get information from Rolph about the status of rebels who lived in Toronto.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA201 201]}}

A loyalist named [[Robert Moodie (British Army officer)|Robert Moodie]] saw the large gathering at Montgomery's Tavern and rode towards Toronto to warn the officials. The rebels set up a roadblock south of the tavern on Yonge Street that Moodie tried riding through. He was wounded in an ensuing battle and taken to the tavern, where he died several hours later in severe pain.{{sfn|Sewell|2002|p=154}} Another horseman saw the rebel's march into Toronto and notified Fitzgibbon, who tried unsuccessfully to have officials take action.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA202 202]}}
[[File:Shooting of Col. Robert Moodie in front of John Montgomery's tavern.jpg|thumb|Colonel [[Robert Moodie (British Army officer)|Robert Moodie]] was fatally shot outside of [[Battle of Montgomery's Tavern|Montgomery's Tavern]] in an attempt to lead loyalists through the roadblock.]]
On December 4, Mackenzie and other rebels were patrolling the area and encountered Alderman [[John Powell (Canadian politician)|John Powell]] and [[Archibald Macdonald (Canadian politician)|Archibald Macdonald]].{{sfn|Sewell|2002|p=154}} Mackenzie took both men prisoner but did not search them for weapons as they gave their word that they did not have any.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA203 203]}} As they were approaching Montgomery's Tavern Powell mortally shot Anthony Anderson in the neck and escaped back to Toronto to report to Bond Head.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA204 204]}} The rebel leaders met that night to discuss who would become the rebellion's leader after the death of Anderson and Lount's refusal to lead on his own. It was decided that Mackenzie would become the leader.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA206 206]}}

At noon on December 5, Mackenzie gathered the rebels and marched them towards Toronto.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA207 207]}} Meanwhile, Bond Head proposed a negotiating session with rebel leaders to [[Marshall Spring Bidwell]], who declined. Bond Head then offered a negotiation with Rolph, who accepted.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA210 210]}} Rolph and [[Robert Baldwin]] met the rebel troops at Gallows Hill and stated the government's proposal of full amnesty to the rebels if they dispersed immediately. Lount and Mackenzie asked that this offer be presented in a written document and a convention be organised to discuss the province's policies.{{sfn|Sewell|2002|p=154}} When Rolph and Baldwin returned to Bond Head, they were informed that the government's offer had been withdrawn. Rolph and Baldwin relayed the rejection to the rebels, and Rolph told Mackenzie that they should attack as soon as possible because the city was poorly defended.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA210 210]}} Instead, Mackenzie spent the day burning down the house of Bank of Upper Canada official and questioning the loyalty of his troops.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA211 211]}}

A few hours later Rolph sent a messenger to Mackenzie that Toronto rebels were ready for their arrival to the city and Mackenzie marched his troops towards Toronto.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA212 212]}} A group of twenty-six men led by [[Samuel Jarvis]] met the rebels on their march and fired upon them before running away.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA213 213]}} The rebels believed there were several battalions of troops firing upon them and several ran away. Lount encouraged some riflemen to return fire before realising that the enemy had left the battlefield. Lount and the riflemen marched to find the rebels who fled and found Mackenzie trying to convince the rebels to continue their path towards Toronto. The rebels refused to march until daylight.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA214 214]}}

On Tuesday night MacNab arrived in Toronto with sixty men from the Hamilton area.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA216 216]}} Morrison was arrested and charged with treason while Rolph sent a letter encouraging Mackenzie to send the rebels home then fled to the United States. Mackenzie ignored the letter and continued his plan for rebellion.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA217 217]}}

On Wednesday morning  [[Peter Matthews (rebel)|Peter Matthews]] arrived at the tavern with sixty men, but Mackenzie could still not convince the rebel forces to march towards Toronto. Instead, they decided to wait for [[Anthony Van Egmond]] to lead the rebellion into Toronto.{{sfn|Sewell|2002|p=157}} The rebels raided a mail coach, stole the passenger's money and looked for information about the progress of the rebellion in [[London, Ontario|London]], Upper Canada. Mackenzie also attacked other travellers and robbed them or questioned them about the revolt.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA218 218]}}

The government organised a council of war and agreed to attack the rebels on December 7. Fitzgibbon was appointed commander of the government's forces. Although initially believing the government's position was untenable he was inspired by a company of men that formed to defend the government.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA219 219–220]}} At noon Bond Head ordered that the troops, consisting of 1200 men and two cannons, march towards the rebels.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA221 221]}}

==Battle of Montgomery's Tavern==
{{main|Battle of Montgomery's Tavern}}

[[Anthony Van Egmond]] arrived at the tavern on December 7 and encouraged the rebel leaders to disperse, as he felt the rebellion would not be a success.{{sfn|Sewell|2002|p=157}} His advice was rejected, so he proposed entrenching and defending their position at the tavern. Mackenzie disagreed and wanted to attack the government troops. They agreed to send sixty men to the Don Bridge to divert government troops. That afternoon a sentinel reported the government force's arrival from Gallows Hill. At this point only 200 men at Montgomery's Tavern were armed.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA222 222]}} The armed forces were split into two companies and went to fields on both sides of Yonge Street. The rebels without arms were sent to the tavern with their prisoners.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA223 223]}}

The government forces also split into two companies when the rebels fired upon them. The rebels dispersed in a panic after the first round of firing thinking the rebel's front row had been killed when they were simply dropping to the ground to allow those behind them to fire.{{sfn|Craig|1963|p=[https://archive.org/details/uppercanadaforma0000crai/page/241 241–250]}} The government continued their march and at Montgomery's Tavern a cannon shot into the dining room window. The rebels fled north and the morale of the rebellion was irreparably broken.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA223 223]}} Bond Head ordered the tavern to be burned down and the rebels arrested.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA223 223–224]}}

==London Rebellion==
News of the intended rebellion had reached London, Upper Canada and its surrounding townships by December 7. It was initially thought that the Toronto rebellion was successful, contributing to [[Charles Duncombe (Upper Canada Rebellion)|Charles Duncombe]] wanting to rise up as well.{{sfn|Read|1982|pp=84–85}} Upon hearing more details about the rebellion in Toronto, Duncombe convened a series of public meetings to spread news of the supposed atrocities committed by Bond Head against all suspected reformers to help increase anti-government support. It is estimated that there were between 400 and 500 rebels who assembled under Duncombe.{{sfn|Read|1982|p=94}}

Colonel [[Allan MacNab]], who had just finished leading Upper Canadian militiamen during the Battle of Montgomery's Tavern, was sent to engage Duncombe's uprising. He left [[Hamilton, Ontario]] on December 12 and arrived in [[Brantford]] on December 13. Although many rebels, including Duncombe, had fled prior to the upcoming battle due to hearing about the failure of Mackenzie in Toronto and general disorganization, there were still some present in [[Scotland, Ontario]] and MacNab commenced his attack on Scotland on December 14, causing the remaining rebels to flee after only a few shots were fired.{{sfn|Read|1982|pp=97–99}} The victorious Tory supporters burned homes and farms of known rebels and suspected supporters. In the 1860s, some of the former rebels were compensated by the Canadian government for their lost property in the rebellion aftermath.

==Patriot war==
[[File:Battle of the Windmill.jpg|thumb|British forces and the [[Canadian militia]] defeated [[Battle of the Windmill|an invasion attempt]] by a [[Hunters' Lodges]] paramilitary unit based in the United States.]]
{{main|Patriot war}}

The rebels from Toronto travelled to the United States in groups of two.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA224 224]}} Mackenzie, Duncombe, Rolph and 200 supporters fled to [[Navy Island]] in the [[Niagara River]] and declared themselves the [[Republic of Canada]] on December 13. They obtained supplies from supporters in the United States, resulting in British reprisals (see [[Caroline affair]]). On January 13, 1838, under attack by British armaments, the rebels fled. Mackenzie went to the United States mainland where he was arrested for violating the [[Neutrality Act of 1794|Neutrality Act]].<ref>{{cite DCB |title=McKenzie, William Lyon |first1=Frederick H. |last1=Armstrong |first2=Ronald J. |last2=Stagg |volume=9 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/mackenzie_william_lyon_9E.html}}</ref>

The rebels continued their raids into Canada using the U.S. as a base of operations and, in cooperation with the U.S. [[Hunters' Lodges]], dedicated themselves to the overthrow of British rule in Canada. The raids did not end until the rebels and Hunters were defeated at the [[Battle of the Windmill]], just eleven months after the initial battle at Montgomery's Tavern.

==Consequences: execution or transportation==
[[File:1837 Proclamation.png|thumb|upright|Proclamation from December 1837, offering a reward for the capture of [[William Lyon Mackenzie]].]]
The British government was concerned about the rebellion, especially in light of the strong popular support for the rebels in the United States and the [[Lower Canada Rebellion]]. Bond Head was recalled in late 1837 and replaced with Sir [[George Arthur]] who arrived in Toronto in March 1838. Parliament also sent [[John George Lambton, Earl of Durham|Lord Durham]] to become Governor-in-Chief of the British North American colonies,<ref name=dcbdurham>[http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=3484 Lambton, John George, 1st Earl of Durham, in the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online'', University of Toronto, Université Laval, 2000]</ref> so that Arthur reported to Durham. Durham was assigned to report on the grievances among the British North American colonists and find a way to appease them. [[Report on the Affairs of British North America (1839)|His report]] eventually led to greater autonomy in the Canadian colonies and the [[Act of Union (1840)|union]] of Upper and Lower Canada into the [[Province of Canada]] in 1840.

Over 800 people were arrested after the rebellion for being Reform sympathisers.{{sfn|Wilton|1995|p=122}} Van Egmond died of an illness he acquired while imprisoned{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA231 231]}} while Lount and [[Peter Matthews (rebel)|Peter Matthews]] were sentenced to the gallows for leading the rebellion.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA244 244]}} Other rebels were also sentenced to hang and ninety-two men were sent to [[Van Diemen's Land]].{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA231 231]}} A group of rebels escaped their prison at [[Fort Henry National Historic Site|Fort Henry]] and travelled to the United States.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA244 244]}} A general pardon for everyone but Mackenzie was issued in 1845, and Mackenzie himself was pardoned in 1849 and allowed to return to Canada, where he resumed his political career.

==Historical significance==

[[John Charles Dent]], writing in 1885, said the rebellion was a reaction from the public of the government mismanagement of the minority ruling elite.{{sfn|Dent|1885|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ErANAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA294 294]}} Frederick Armstrong believed the rebellion was a reaction to patronage afforded to members of the Family Compact after winning the 1836 election.{{sfn|Armstrong|1971|p=27}} Dent wrote that the rebellion caused England to notice the concerns of Canadian reformers and reconsider their colonial rule of the province.{{sfn|Dent|1885|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ErANAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA284 284]}} He thought the rebellion hastened the changes Reformers advocated by drawing attention to the province from the [[Colonial Office]] and the production of the ''Durham Report''.{{sfn|Dent|1885|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ErANAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA294 294]}}

Paul Romney argued that the above assessments are a failure of historical imagination and the outcome of an explicit strategy adopted by reformers in the face of charges of disloyalty to Britain in the wake of the Rebellions of 1837. In recounting the “myths of responsible government”, Romney opined that after the ascendancy of Loyalism as the dominant political ideology of Upper Canada any demand for democracy or for responsible government became a challenge to colonial sovereignty. In his view, the linkage of the "fight for responsible government" with disloyalty was solidified by the Rebellion of 1837, as reformers took up arms to finally break the "baneful domination" of the mother country. Struggling to avoid the charge of sedition, reformers later purposefully obscured their true aims of independence from Britain and focused on their grievances against the Family Compact. Thus, responsible government became a "pragmatic" policy of alleviating local abuses, rather than a revolutionary anti-colonial moment.<ref>{{cite book|last=Romney|first=Paul|title=Getting it Wrong: How Canadians Forgot Their Past and Imperilled Confederation|url=https://archive.org/details/gettingitwrongho0000romn|url-access=registration|year=1999|publisher=University of Toronto Press|location=Toronto|pages=[https://archive.org/details/gettingitwrongho0000romn/page/57 57–58]|isbn=9781442675315 }}</ref>

[[William Kilbourn]] stated that the removal of Radicals from Upper Canada politics, either through execution or their retreat to the United States, allowed the Clear Grits to be formed as a more moderate political force that had fewer disagreements with the Tories than the reformers.{{sfn|Kilbourn|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC&pg=PA233 233]}}

==See also==
{{Portal|History|Canada}}
* [[Benjamin Milliken II]]
* [[History of Canada]]
* [[Rebellions of 1837]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Works cited==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{Cite journal 
|last=Armstrong 
|first=Frederick H. 
|year=1971 
|title=William Lyon Mackenzie: the persistent hero 
|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1300016915 
|journal=Journal of Canadian Studies 
|volume=6 
|issue=3 
|pages=21–36 
|doi=10.3138/jcs.6.3.21 
|s2cid=151561718 
|issn=0021-9495 
|id={{ProQuest|1300016915}} 
|url-access=subscription 
}}
*{{cite book
|last=Craig
|first=Gerald
|title=Upper Canada: The Formative Years 1784–1841
|url=https://archive.org/details/uppercanadaforma0000crai
|url-access=registration
|access-date=November 7, 2020
|year=1963
|publisher=McClelland & Stewart
|location=Toronto
}}
*{{cite book
|last=Dent
|first=John Charles
|author-link=John Charles Dent
|title=The Story of the Upper Canadian Rebellion
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ErANAAAAQAAJ
|access-date=December 22, 2020
|year=1885
|publisher=C.B. Robinson
|location=Toronto
}}
*{{cite book|last=Kilbourn|first=William|author-link=William Kilbourn
|title=The Firebrand: William Lyon Mackenzie and the Rebellion in Upper Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=McMvWY0aJLsC|access-date=September 3, 2020|year=2008|publisher=Dundurn|location=Toronto|isbn=978-1-77-070324-7}}
*{{cite book
|last=Read
|first=Colin
|title=The Rising in Western Upper Canada, 1837–1838: The Duncombe Revolt and After
|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3138/j.ctvcj2tw7
|access-date=November 7, 2020
|year=1982
|publisher=University of Toronto Press
|location=Toronto
|jstor=10.3138/j.ctvcj2tw7
|isbn=978-1-4875-7520-5}}
*{{cite book
|last      = Sewell
|first     = John
|title     = Mackenzie: a political biography of William Lyon Mackenzie
|url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=_Dln_PbvYtUC
|year      = 2002
|publisher = James Lorimer Limited
|location  = Toronto
|isbn      = 978-1-5502-8767-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Schrauwers|first=Albert|year=2009|title=Union is Strength: W. L. Mackenzie, the Children of Peace, and the Emergence of Joint Stock Democracy in Upper Canada|publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto}}
*{{Cite journal 
|last=Wilton 
|first=Carol 
|date=1995 
|title="Lawless Law": Conservative Political Violence in Upper Canada, 1818-41 
|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/743957 
|journal=Law and History Review 
|volume=13 
|issue=1 
|pages=111–136 
|doi=10.2307/743957 
|jstor=743957 
|s2cid=147330876 
|issn=0738-2480 
|url-access=subscription 
}}

{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
* [http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/mackenzie_william_lyon_9E.html William Lyon Mackenzie], Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, Biographi.ca
* "Rebellion in Upper Canada, 1837" by J. Edgar Rea [http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/transactions/3/rebellion1837.shtml "MHS Transactions: Rebellion in Upper Canada, 1837"] Mhs.mb.ca
* Brown, Richard. ''Rebellion in Canada, 1837–1885: Autocracy, Rebellion and Liberty'' (Vol. 1) (2012)        [https://www.amazon.com/Rebellion-Canada-1837-1885-Autocracy-Liberty/dp/1478315962/  excerpt volume 1]; ''Rebellion in Canada, 1837–1885, Volume 2: The Irish, the Fenians and the Metis'' (2012) [https://www.amazon.com/Rebellion-Canada-1837-1885-Irish-Fenians/dp/1478324325/  excerpt for vol. 2]
* Ducharme, Michel. [http://www.americanantiquarian.org/proceedings/44539644.pdf "Closing the Last Chapter of the Atlantic Revolution: The 1837–38 Rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada," ] ''Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society''  '''116'''(2): 413–430; (2006)
* Dunning, Tom. "The Canadian Rebellions of 1837 and 1838 as a Borderland War: A Retrospective," ''Ontario History'' (2009) 101#2 pp 129–141.
* [[Michael Mann (bishop)|Mann, Michael]]. ''A Particular Duty: The Canadian Rebellions, 1837–1839'' (1986)
* Read, Colin. ''The rebellion of 1837 in Upper Canada'' (The Canadian Historical Association historical booklet) (1988), short pamphlet
* Tiffany, Orrin Edward. ''The Relations of the United States to the Canadian Rebellion of 1837–1838'' (2010)
* [https://archive.org/details/storyuppercanad02dentgoog <!-- quote=The story of the Upper Canadian rebellion. --> "The story of the Upper Canadian rebellion]". C. Blackett Robinson, Toronto
* Charles Lindsey, ''The Life and Times of William Lyon Mackenzie and the Rebellion of 1837–38.'' 1862; cited by Betsy Dewar Boyce, ''The Rebels of Hastings'', 1992.

===Primary sources===
* [http://eco.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_01317#oocihm.9_01317/2?r=0&s=1&_suid=1378082714072045391656100660227 Proceedings of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada on the bill sent up from the House of Assembly, entitled, An act to amend the jury laws of this province] (February 25, 1836)
* Colin Read and Ronald J. Stagg, eds. ''[http://link.library.utoronto.ca/champlain/item_record.cfm?lang=eng&searchtype=Bibrecord&startrow=1&Limit=All&query=9_96905&Idno=9_96905 The Rebellion of 1837 in Upper Canada: A collection of documents]{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}'' (The Publications of the Champlain Society, Ontario Series XII, 1985), 471pp (with free online access).
*  Greenwood, F. Murray, and  Barry Wright (2 vol 1996, 2002) [https://books.google.com/books?id=3lZn-hkbjg8C&dq=Rebellions%20of%201837&pg=PP1 Canadian state trials – Rebellion and invasion in the Canadas, 1837–1839]  Society for Canadian Legal History by University of Toronto Press, {{ISBN|0-8020-0913-1}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100802152431/http://www.ontariotimemachine.ca/books/battle_of_toronto/index.html The History of the Battle of Toronto] by William Lyon Mackenzie, 1839 from the [http://www.ontariotimemachine.ca/ Ontario Time Machine]
* [http://www.SamuelLount.com Samuel Lount Film] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20031017033648/http://www.samuel.lount.org/ Samuel Lount's History]. The feature film is about the injustice of the system under the Family Compact's rule.
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20091130044152/http://www.sg-chem.net/UC1838/ "Mr. Jarvis, do your duty"]}}. by Serge Gorelsky
* [http://PrinterFriendly.cfm?Params=A1ARTFET_E122 "Upper canada rebellion]{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}". www.canadianencyclopedia.ca

{{Canadian history}}
{{Canada topics}}
{{British colonial campaigns}}

[[Category:Upper Canada Rebellion| ]]
[[Category:Political history of Canada]]
[[Category:December 1837]]
[[Category:Political violence in Canada]]
[[Category:Riots and civil disorder in Canada]]