A new book, written by Dr John C. Carter tells the story of the armed war in St. Clair Township. The book chronicles the narrative of the armed raid on the Sombra area by the United States Patriot Army in 1838.
Novelist and historian, Carter tells the story of an armed struggle on the shores of St. Clair Township that has largely gone unreported. He stated that this aspect of the Upper Canada Rebellion’s history is poorly documented and that it is rarely taught in schools. In what was known as the Patriot War, armed invaders from the United States attacked the Sombra area in 1838.
Between December 1837 and December 1838, bands of raiders raided the British colony of Upper Canada more than a dozen times along the Canada–United States boundary, resulting in the Patriot War. This so-called battle was a war of ideas fought by like-minded people against British soldiers, not a conflict between nations. Members of the Hunter’s Lodge, a secret organization created in the United States in support of the 1837 Rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada, took part in the battle. Dr. Charles Duncombe and Donald McLeod, heads of the short-lived Canadian Refugee Relief Association, and William Lyon Mackenzie, a Scotsman, led the charge, with support coming from all around North America and Europe.
The first edition is only available in 120 copies and costs $45 each. Payments will be processed through the Municipal Office of St. Clair Township, and pickups will be scheduled on an individual basis.
To see a copy in person, go to the Lambton County Archives.
