Battle of Pelee Island

Part of the Upper Canada Rebellion

Date	March 3, 1838
Location	Pelee Island, Upper Canada
Result	Decisive Government victory

Belligerents

Patriotes
Hunters' Lodges

United Kingdom

Upper Canada

Commanders and leaders

Lester Hoadley †

Captain George Browne

Strength

300

126

Casualties and losses

14 killed;
18 wounded;
11 captured^[1]

5 killed;
25 wounded^[1]

Upper Canada Rebellion & Patriot War

Upper Canada Rebellion Reform movement Montgomery's Tavern William Lyon Mackenzie Charles Duncombe Samuel Lount Jesse Lloyd Peter Matthews Anthony Van Egmond Patriot War Caroline affair Battle of Windsor Battle of Pelee Island Short Hills Raid Battle of the Windmill Hunters' Lodges Abram D. Smith Bill Johnston Nils von Schoultz

The Battle of Pelee Island took place during the Patriot War along what is now the Michigan-Ontario border in 1838 involving small groups of men on each side of the border seeking to "liberate" Upper Canada from the British.

Prelude

On February 26, 1838 the frozen ice of Lake Erie allowed 300 Canadian and American Patriots under the command of Major Lester Hoadley to take Pelee Island at the western end of the lake. This prompted British Colonel John Maitland to send a force to recapture the island and secure it from further attack. Maitland sent Major George Browne with 126 men, comprising two companies of the British 32nd Regiment and a detachment of the Canadian St. Thomas Volunteer Cavalry to cut off the invaders.^[2]

Battle

On March 3, 1838, Browne's force intercepted the Hunter Patriots on the ice off the south western shore of the island and defeated them in a sharp fight. The British and Canadian casualties were 5 killed (4 from the 32nd Regiment and 1 Canadian cavalryman) and 25 wounded.^[1] On the Patriot side, Hoadley, his second-in-command, Captain Van Rensselaer, and 11 rank and file were killed by enemy fire, in addition to 1 man who drowned when he fell through the ice. 18 Patriots were wounded and a further 11 were captured, some of whom were also badly wounded.^[1]

References

Guillet, Edwin C. (1938). The Lives and Times of the Patriots: An Account of the Rebellion in Upper Canada, 1837-1838, and the Patriot Agitation in the United States, 1837-1842. Toronto: Thomas Nelson & Sons, Limited.
Mann, Michael (1986). A Particular Duty: The Canadian Rebellions, 1837-1839. Salisbury: Michael Russell (Publishing) Ltd. ISBN 0-85955-136-9.
Graves, Donald (2001). Guns Across the River:The Battle of the Windmill, 1838. Toronto: The Friends of Windmill Point. ISBN 1-896941-21-4.

1 2 3 4 Guillet, pp. 101-102
↑ Mann, p. 76

External links

Coordinates: 41°46′00″N 82°38′27″W / 41.7667°N 82.6409°W / 41.7667; -82.6409

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