The "Battle of the Windmill" is also a fictional battle in the book Animal Farm.

The Battle of the Windmill was a minor conflict in the aftermath of the Upper Canadian Rebellion of 1837.

After the rebellion was put down, some of the leaders fled to the United States. Popular sentiment in the States was that the Canadians were eager to overthrow British rule and form a republic patterned after the US, and an organization known as the "Hunters" formed to assist the rebellion.

In November 1838, a group of Hunters decided that it was time to invade Canada and restart the rebellion. They chose as their point of attack the town of Prescott , on the north bank of the St. Lawrence River. On the night of November 12, a force of about 250 men attempted to cross the river. However, the British had infiltrated the Hunter organization, and had advance warning of the attack. With the element of surprise gone, and with the town militia ready to repel a landing, the Hunter forces were forced to retreat to American soil.

The Hunter forces regrouped, and on the night of November 13, they made a successful landing at the hamlet of Windmill Point. The windmill itself was a stone structure 60 feet high, on the top of a 30-foot rise. The height would prevent the British forces from moving up unobserved, and the thick stone walls were impervious to rifles and the small cannon that river patrol boats mounted. That evening, a force of 600 British troops from Fort Wellington clashed with the Hunters, leaving 13 British soldiers and 18 Hunters dead.

The next two days were a standoff. The British surrounded the windmill site, and waited for reinforcements. On November 16, with an additional 400 men and additional artillery and warships, the British forces attacked. After a short fight, the Hunter forces surrendered or fled.

In the aftermath of the battle, the majority of the Hunters were transported to Kingston for trial. 11 people, including the Hunter leader Nils von Schoultz , were executed; another 60 were sentenced to transportation to Australia. 40 were acquitted, and another 86 were later pardoned and released.

External links

• Canadian National Parks site on Windmill Point