A12 SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014 THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR l THE SPEC.COM FOCUS The Bloody Assize

litia, went with Brock to Detroit and was commanding a company at Queenston Heights when Brock was killed charging the enemy. Ordered to charge again, Rob-

COURTESY FIELDCOTE MUSEUM, LORI LE MARE inson saw his commanding officer and the province’s attorney general, John Mac- donnel, mortally wounded. Robinson, who had been articling in Macdonnel’s office, was subsequently ap- pointed acting attorney general. He had just turned 21 and was not yet a member of the bar. It would be nearly impossible to over- state the enormity of the task facing him. The hanging of traitors at Burlington Heights, near Dundurn Castle, by artist In the wake of losses on Lake Erie and at Lori Le Mare. Her art is on display at the Fieldcote Museum in Ancaster. Moraviantown, the military was keen on a declaration of martial law and summary drumhead courts martial for traitors, a move that Robinson and the judiciary IT WAS THE LARGEST MASS HANGING in Canadian history. rightly opposed. The province’s newly ap- pointed civil administrator, Lieutenant- General Gordon Drummond, was also the Two hundred years ago, eight men were hanged for high military commander and he, too, was un- der enormous pressure to suppress trea- treason for taking up arms against the government of Upper son and stabilize the military situation in . The strategy of the government was to Canada. Their heads were chopped off and displayed on conduct civil show trials to reaffirm the Crown’s ability to deal swiftly and severe- poles, their bodies buried in unmarked graves in what is ly with treason. Robinson had received information for treasonable practices against 60 men and today Hamilton’s Inchbury neighbourhood. prepared indictments against 30 for which he felt there was sufficient evidence to convict. Of course, the big fish — Willcocks, Markle and Benajah Mallory — had al- In times perilous and unusual ready skipped and were beyond punish- ment except for forfeiture of property. Common-law trials are held where the offence occurred, which would have been the London and Niagara districts. Howev- ON FEB. 19, 1814, the wartime Parlia- one month later he was the commanding er, the London District courthouse was in officer of the . Charlotteville on the shore of Lake Erie ment of Upper Canada, homeless since Stoney Creek and a subsequent victory which the Americans now controlled. the Americans burned the legislature, at Beaver Dams secured Niagara momen- And in Niagara-on-the-Lake the district tarily, but the loss of the Royal Navy courthouse and gaol had been destroyed convened in a midtown hotel. When the squadron on Lake Erie and the ensuing in 1813 when the Americans burned the speaker called the roll, eighteen members defeat of General Henry Procter’s army at entire town. York was briefly considered Moraviantown in October essentially end- and quickly rejected as it had already been responded. Of the seven absent, one was JAMES ELLIOTT ed British authority over the entire south- pillaged twice by the Americans. Robin- sick, four were prisoners of war and two, west portion of the province. son was therefore instructed to hold the Needless to say there was no shortage of trials at Burlington in the District of Niag- including the member representing Ancaster, were stated to have deserted to the elements ready to move into the vacuum. ara. Poor Robinson then discovered there enemy. In Niagara, the British army that had was no township or town named Burling- been blockading the larger American ar- ton, only the adjoining bay and the mili- The defection of Thomas Markle and , who were actually bearing my in Fort George retired in haste to Bur- tary position. So Ancaster was chosen as it arms in a newly minted U.S. Army unit called the Canadian Volunteers — the turncoats lington Heights and called in the detach- had a building big enough to hold the trial ment kept at Port Dover to maintain com- and was reasonably secure with a military that torched Niagara-on-the-Lake in 1813 — clearly shocked the legislature. It con- munications with Amherstburg. camp on Burlington Heights and 2,000 na- demned their “abominable treason” and declared their seats vacant. The Americans sallied forth and made a tives camped on the Beach Strip. three-day march though the surrounding The Union Hotel — lately used as a mili- The treason of two sitting members, one of whom had fought against the Americans countryside during which, according to tary hospital — was pressed into service at Queenston Heights in 1812, was a major blow to the authority of the colonial govern- their accounts, they were welcomed as as a courthouse. “deliverers and friends.” Ironically, it was ’s ment. But the two rogue members were only the highest-profile examples of the wide- Emboldened by the British withdrawal, Union Mill, on the site of today’s Old Mill spread disaffection that existed in Upper Canada during the War of 1812 and culminated a number of the disaffected joined by some restaurant, that served as a lock-up. rogue militia units conducted raids, seiz- The decision to forgo Charlotteville as a in the largest mass hanging in Canadian history. ing public property, capturing militia offi- venue was reinforced on May 16 when an cers, plundering private property and set- American naval squadron anchored in The story begins in the wake of the American Revolution tling private scores. In November, a party Long Point Bay and landed a force guided of the Norfolk Militia surprised a gang of by Abraham Markle and another former AMONG THE MEASURES taken to se- da, reflected on the widespread apathy these marauders in a house near the Ancaster resident, Oliver Grace, which cure the sovereignty of the Crown’s re- and disaffection: “The population, believe mouth of Nanticoke Creek on Lake Erie, burned the village of Port Dover and every maining North American colonies after me, is essentially bad — full belief possess- killing three and taking 18 prisoners. mill in the area. this stunning loss, was an offer of free land es them all, that the province must inevita- In December, a second party of maraud- in Upper Canada to anyone who would bly succumb — this preposition is fatal to ers guided by Ancaster’s Abraham Mar- ON MAY 23, 1814, the assize opened take up residence within six months. every exertion. Legislators, magistrates, kle, was attacked and captured by a volun- with the Chief Justice, Thomas Scott, pre- The obvious source of English-speak- militia officers, all have imbibed the idea, teer militia force at Chatham. Two were siding. Bench duties were to be shared on ing settlers was the , and in and are so sluggish and indifferent to their killed and 40 captured though Markle es- a rotating basis with senior Justice Wil- the late 18th and early 19th centuries, thou- respective offices that the artful and active caped. Among the prisoners were 15 in- liam Dummer Powell and junior Justice sands of Americans took up the offer, only scoundrel is allowed to parade the country habitants of Upper Canada. Those who William Campbell. Three associate magis- too happy to mouth an oath of allegiance without interruption and commit all had come from the U.S. were held as trates — Richard Hatt, Samuel Hatt and in return for 200 acres. imaginable mischief.” POWs, the rest faced treason charges. Thomas Dickson — sat as observers. These newcomers joined the Loyalists When General William Hull launched Also in December, the Canadian Volun- The 17-man grand jury included such who had actively supported the Crown the first American invasion of the war at teers, under command of Willcocks and worthies as James Crooks, Robert Nelles during the Revolution and been exiled for what is now Windsor, he circulated his in- including at least seven former Ancaster and Samuel Street. Bills for High Treason it. So by the early 19th century at least 75 famous proclamation that began “Raise residents, put torch to the town of New- were found in rapid succession against per cent of the population of Upper Cana- not your hands against your brethren,” ark, present day Niagara-on-the-Lake, de- the 19 accused who were in custody and da was American-born or born of Ameri- which was clearly aimed at recent immi- stroying 80 structures. against another 50 who were not. By law can parents. grants from the U.S. The government in York, shaken to its the court was obliged to provide each of The attraction, of course, was the free Two hundred copies were printed in core by the breakdown of authority and the accused a copy of the indictment along land. But along with their industry came English and French and widely distribut- the increasing boldness of the enemy with a list of witnesses and jurors 10 days notions of Republicanism, that dangerous ed. Half the militia at Amherstburg within, moved quickly in the February before any trial could begin. political virus that so alarmed conserva- promptly deserted, 60 reported to Hull’s session to pass legislation that included a Court convened again on June 7 with tive government ministers in London. At- headquarters to claim the protection limited suspension of habeas corpus and Scott presiding before a jury of 12 men. A tracted by the land grants, they were con- promised, and several enlisted under his streamlined procedures for punishing Scot by birth, the chief justice — described tent to live under the Union flag, but it was command. treason. by one historian as “an amiable mediocri- a contentment born of convenience only Brock’s brilliant and unexpected victo- A special commission composed of the ty” — was 68 and in poor health. After a and did not include any particular loyalty ry at Detroit and the collapse of the Ameri- Chief Justice and two subordinate justices daylong trial: to the Crown or its government. can invasion at Queenston Heights damp- of the King’s Bench were empowered, and In the lead-up to the war there were ened open disaffection in 1812, but a pair of the prosecution was laid on the callow Luther McNeal plenty of examples of the disaffected quick U.S. victories in the spring of 1813 shoulders of acting attorney general John A former ship’s carpenter accused of be- speaking their minds. successfully revived it. Beverly Robinson. Still a law student ing an American sympathizer. Acquitted. In 1807, a tavern patron in Niagara told a When the Americans overran York, when war broke out, Robinson was com- receptive full house: “If Congress will only U.S. Navy commander Isaac Chauncey missioned a lieutenant in the 3rd York mi- The following day, Justice William send us a flag and a proclamation declar- told Anglican clergyman John Strachan Dummer Powell took over. Born in Boston ing that whoever is found in arms against that he’d “never heard of any place that to a family split by the Revolution, Powell, the United States shall forfeit his lands, we contained half the number of persons who still spoke with a Yankee twang, was will fight ourselves free without any ex- publicly known, and avowedly to be, ene- “To convince the people at 58 the most able and ambitious of the pense to them.” mies of the government and allowed to be three judges. Domineering and sardonic In 1811, Niagara journalist Joseph Will- at rest.” of the country that in manner, he believed in strict justice for cocks, still a sitting member for the 1st rid- After the fall of Fort George at the end of treason will meet with traitors. ing of Lincoln, was reported to have said May, more than 500 militia, most of whom that “the province would soon be overrun, had been nowhere near the battle, turned its merited reward.” Jacob Overholser that there was not one man in 10 who themselves in to the Americans for a pa- Lieutenant-General Which is what this recent American im- would defend it except for a few old Tories role that relieved them of the obligation to migrant got: he was branded a traitor on and that the Indians would soon put them bear arms for the Crown. Gordon Drummond the word of suspiciously hostile neigh- aside or cut them off.” When the Americans advanced as far as announced that eight of bours, despite favourable testimony from Shortly after war was declared, Isaac Stoney Creek at least one witness identi- five witnesses including two Niagara mag- Brock, military governor of Upper Cana- fied the army’s guide as Joseph Willcocks; the traitors would die. istrates. Guilty. Assize continues // A13

C M Y THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR l THE SPEC.COM SATURDAY, JULY 19, 2014 A13

THE LARGEST MASS HANGING IN CANADIAN HISTORY

REV. CANON R.L. BROWNLIE, COURTESY CANADIAN ART CARDS Sentencing of the Traitors, a painting by Rev. Canon R.L. Brownlie depicting the sentencing at the Ancaster Assizes.

Assize continued from // A12 rauders’ headquarters. Guilty. Noah Payne Hopkins The gavel then passed to the third judge, Confessed to stealing flour and acting as Justice William Campbell. A 55-year-old a commissary for the Americans. Guilty. ANCASTER BLOODY ASSIZE BICENTENNIAL native Scot, Campbell had served in a Highland regiment during the American THE AFTERNOON of the last trial, the Revolution and captured at Yorktown. 15 convicted men assembled one by one, to COMMEMORATIVE EVENTS this weekend A staunch supporter of the British con- hear the chief justice pronounce the most stitution who viewed American Republi- fearsome mandatory sentence for High at Fieldcote Memorial Park and Museum canism as verging on mob rule, Campbell Treason: “Each of you be taken to the place was known generally to be lenient in his from whence you came thence you are to ALL EVENTS will be on the Fieldcote grounds, with the exception of the film, Shipwrecked sentencing. Under Campbell: be drawn on Hurdles to the place of Exe- On A Great Lake, which will take place at Ryerson United Church. Parking will be available at cution whence you are to be hanged by the the adjacent Ryerson United Church lot or other nearby lots. The Fieldcote parking lot will Robert Lounsbury, 47 neck but not until you are dead for you be reserved for handicapped parking. A 20-year resident of Upper Canada. must be cut down while alive and your en- Acquitted. trails taken out and burnt before your fac- SATURDAY Aaron Stevens, 52 es. Your heads then to cut off and your 1 TO 5 P.M. EXHIBIT: NOOSE, KNIFE AND FIRE Formerly employed by the Indian De- bodies divided into four quarters to be at The Bloody Assize. Display explores Ancaster’s experience during the War of 1812 with partment, confessed he had been a spy, the King’s disposal. And God have mercy emphasis on the Bloody Assize. surveying the works and garrison at Bur- on your Souls.” DUSK (8:30 P.M.) ZOOID AERIAL THEATRE PERFORMS lington Heights and conveying the infor- The judges then delayed the sentences The Hangman’s Reprise: It’s July 1814, and eight local men are sentenced to hang at mation to the Americans for cash pay- for 30 days to allow supplications for Burlington Heights for the crime of high treason. As the curious onlookers gather on ments. Also “constantly with the enemy mercy. hanging day, a travelling sideshow arrives to entertain the crowd and maybe make a buck. when they possessed Ft. George and often Within days, petitions from family Donations encouraged. seen with them in arms.” Guilty. members, businessmen, magistrates and Garrett Neill even jurors began reaching Drummond in SUNDAY A recent immigrant from the U.S., Yo rk . 2 P.M. FILM: SHIPWRECKED ON A GREAT LAKE “made prisoners of the King’s subjects in Samuel Hatt, one of the associate judges Based upon the sinking of the Hamilton and the Scourge in 1812, this film tells the story the London district and gave them to the at the trials, Richard Beasley, justice of the from the viewpoint of Ned Myers, one of the few survivors of the wreck. Free admission. enemy. Fully proved by three witnesses.” peace and militia officer George Chisholm Guilty. pleaded for the life of John Johnston on be- 7 P.M. 1812 OVERTURE WITH BORIS BROTT FESTIVAL John Johnston half of his wife and six children. The orchestra will perform Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture to commemorate the 200th Four witnesses testified he was actively Ten prominent citizens from London Anniversary of the Bloody Assizes as well as Beethoven’s Wellington March. The concert taking prisoners in the London and Niag- and Niagara, including magistrates and will be preceded by a short play entitled Eliza’s Journey presented by Binbrook Little ara districts. Guilty. officers of the court did not dispute the Theatre. Bring your own lawn chair or blanket. Samuel and Stephen Hartwell conviction of Adam Crysler but cited the These brothers had returned to the U.S. suffering of his wife and eight children. on the outbreak of war and been taken Polly Hopkins, wife of Noah Payne with Hull at Detroit, returned to Canada Hopkins, pleaded her 11 years of marriage Drummond announced that eight of the ing each body with a cut to symbolize dis- and paroled. Charged with taking prison- and four children. traitors would die, and seven — “the least embodiment. Their heads were chopped ers and delivering them to the Americans. No petition for clemency, however, ex- guilty” — would be reprieved. off and displayed on poles. The bodies Surrendered voluntarily. Guilty. ceeded that submitted on behalf of Jacob Aaron Stevens, Benjamin Simmons, were buried in an unmarked grave close to Dayton Lindsey Overholser. Ninety-five residents of Bertie George Peacock Jr., Noah Payne Hopkins, the gallows. One of the ringleaders in the London Township signed, citing their neighbour Dayton Lindsey, John Dunham, Adam Two days later a body of New York Mili- district, active in taking militia officers as “an honest peaceable Sober and indus- Crysler and Isaiah Brink had reached the tia and Canadian Volunteers destroyed prisoner and the destruction of Port Do- trious inhabitant” with a wife and four end of the line. the village of St. Davids. Five days after, ver. Guilty. children. Heading the list of signatories British and American armies fought to a Isaiah Brink was that of prominent Niagara magistrate ON JULY 20, 1814,the condemned men bloody standoff at Lundy’s Lane. Taken in open rebellion. Guilty. John Warren Jr. were brought from York in manacles Those granted clemency were trans- Benjamin Simmons Meanwhile the judges, the prosecutor aboard two heavy wagons to the British ported first to York and then Kingston Active in kidnapping militia officers and the civil administrator struggled to military camp on Burlington Heights. pending Royal approval from Whitehall, and the destruction of Port Dover. Guilty. determine how many should die. They Just west of Locke Street in what is prob- not expected until the spring of 1815. George Peacock Jr. agreed that not all the guilty should be ex- ably the current Inchbury neighbour- Over the winter, typhus broke out in the A ringleader, active in the destruction of ecuted. hood, a rough set of gallows had been overcrowded Kingston jail and three of the Port Dover. Guilty. Clearly, the authorities were leaning to- built. convicted men who had been spared death Robert Troup ward leniency, hoping to strike a balance The prisoners were accompanied by a on the gallows — Garrett Neil, Jacob Over- Suspicious conduct but not proved. between strict justice and mercy. But ev- Moravian missionary, Brother Christian holser and Isaac Petit — died over a 10-day Acquitted. erything changed on July 3 when the U.S. Denke and a sizeable military guard. period in early March. The surviving four Adam Crysler, 40 Army launched its third major invasion of Standing on boards laid across the back received a pardon conditional on their A farmer originally from New York, Niagara, overrunning Fort Erie and three of the wagons, the men were driven under abandoning the province and all British served briefly in 2nd Lincoln militia, taken days later dealing General Phineas Riall’s the gallows and fitted with nooses, loosely possessions for life. in “open rebellion” in the London district. division a severe defeat at Chippawa. This knotted to ensure a slow death. From a 21st century perspective it’s per- Guilty. sealed the fate of the worst offenders. An eyewitness reported seven seemed haps inconceivable that the province we Cornelius Howey, 32 resigned to their end but one cried and know of today could have been birthed An American farmer from Caistor pleaded for mercy saying he acted only out amid such brutality. Township and the son of a Loyalist. Had of hospitality. Perhaps under a back garden or front been on rolls of the 2nd Lincoln Militia. Standing on boards laid On the order of the district sheriff, yard on Inchbury or Kinnell streets in Pleaded Guilty. across the back of the Thomas Merritt, the wagons were driven downtown Hamilton, are some remains of Isaac Petit off and the condemned men, in the words the eight who in the chaos of war or high Had taken some part in the marauding wagons, the men were of Brother Denke “launched into eternity.” blood of passion forfeited their lives to the but refused to accompany them and had driven under the gallows The witness reported a struggle so vio- Bloody Assize. been branded a coward. Guilty. lent that it shook loose a heavy brace that John Dunham and fitted with nooses, struck and instantly killed a man. James Elliott is a Hamilton-based writer and Kidnapped several militia officers and loosely knotted to ensure a Contrary to the strict wording of the journalist. His most recent book, Strange Fatality: inhabitants in the London area and sent sentence, the sheriff allowed each man to The Battle of Stoney Creek, won the 2011 Talman them to Buffalo. His house was the ma- slow death. die before cutting them down and mark- Prize for best book on Ontario history.

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