Following the bloody Battle of the Windmill, the Canadian colonial public wanted blood in return, and the Upper Canada government eagerly gave it to them. Just four days after the smoke cleared, Lt-Governor Sir George Arthur, 54, laid the groundwork for a series of trials in Kingston. The colony’s solicitor-general, Lt.-Colonel William Draper, 37, took charge as Judge-Advocate with a goal to try all prisoners before the end of December. So certain was Draper of guilty sentences, he allowed almost no time for prisoners to prepare.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Bill Johnston: 12. Arrest, Trial, and Escape
Bill Johnston spent two days and nights on roof tops in Ogdensburg observing the Battle of the Windmill. He hardly ate. Twice he scoured the town in a vain effort to encourage men to cross in boats to take men off. It tore at him cruelly to be safe while his friends faced peril. And worse, some people called him a coward for not being in the battle. Some wind went out of his mighty sails that week.
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