Hunters' Lodges

Hunters' Lodges, largest of the SECRET SOCIETIES pledged to liberate the Canadian provinces from "British thraldom," founded in early 1838 in the northern US by Canadian rebels who had fled there after the REBELLIONS OF 1837. The movement quickly became American, with support from widely varied groups in the border states and membership estimated at 40,000-60,000. Abandoning plans to invade Upper Canada on 4 July 1838, the "patriot hunters" attempted numerous unsuccessful incursions in the following months. Rebels were soundly defeated at Napierville, Lacolle and Odelltown, LC, and at Prescott (in the Battle of the WINDMILL) and Windsor, UC. They then undertook a series of border provocations calculated to drive Britain and the US to war, including burning the steamship Sir Robert Peel in the Thousand Is and blowing up the Brock monument at Queenstown, UC. On 25 Sept 1841, US Pres Tyler warned them to disband, and within a short time the lodges were a thing of the past.

Author CURTIS FAHEY

Links to Other Sites
Fort Wellington National Historic Site
The website for Fort Wellington National Historic Site in Ontario. Features an illustrated overview of the War of 1812, the 1837 rebellions, and related topics. From Parks Canada.

Battle of the Windmill National Historic Site
This Parks Canada site commemorates the 1838 Battle of the Windmill. Includes historical notes about Hunters' Lodges, the Family Compact and William Lyon Mackenzie.