Robert Marsh
participated in three of the nine raids into Upper Canada during the Patriot
War, including the first and the last. In his 1848 memoirs—the short title is Narrative of a Patriot Exile—he
demonstrated an unflinching belief in American-style democracy and an unbending
dislike of British colonial rule. Despite seven years of hard times, he never regretted
his actions.
Born in New York State in 1812, Marsh was living in Chippawa, Upper Canada, delivering goods for his older brother's bakery, when William Lyon Mackenzie initiated his ill-fated rebellion. Mackenzie escaped to America and soon led a band of Canadians and Americans in the occupation of Navy Island in Canada's section of the Niagara River. The island was less than a mile from where Marsh lived.
Born in New York State in 1812, Marsh was living in Chippawa, Upper Canada, delivering goods for his older brother's bakery, when William Lyon Mackenzie initiated his ill-fated rebellion. Mackenzie escaped to America and soon led a band of Canadians and Americans in the occupation of Navy Island in Canada's section of the Niagara River. The island was less than a mile from where Marsh lived.
Late in
December 1837, a friend told Marsh that the British planned to attack and sink the steamer Caroline. Marsh discounted the news, believing an unarmed American ship would never be attacked in an American port. A day later,
he witnessed the raid. Like many Americans, the assault on American sovereignty
changed him from a concerned bystander to a participant.
Marsh Joins Rebels
Marsh crossed to Navy Island and joined Mackenzie's rebels on January 1, 1838. He wrote that
Mackenzie's army had 25 cannon and between 800 and 1000 men. (Other accounts
state the rebels had 24 cannon and never numbered more than 600, though with
coming and going, 1000 men may have participated.)
He describes
being in a trench through a nine-day British bombardment of the rebel
stronghold. The rebels viewed the intense but mostly fruitless military
exercise—just one rebel died and three were wounded—as humorous and worth a bit
of sarcasm.
Marsh wrote:
"They were very lavish with Her Gracious Majesty's powder and balls. I
recollect a man standing behind the breastwork where were four of us sitting as
the balls were whistling through the trees, 'Well,' says he, 'if this is the
way to kill the timber on this island, it is certainly a very expensive way, as
well as somewhat comical; I should think it would be cheaper to come over with
axes.'"
Marsh Heads to Western Front
Marsh left the
island January 13 when the rebel army evacuated. He walked five days through
the winter countryside to Sandusky, Ohio, near the western end of Lake Erie. There
he joined the growing Patriot fraternity and participated with Donald McLeod in the raid on Fighting Island in late February of 1838. (In his memoirs, Marsh confuses Fighting Island with Pelee Island.)
On December 3,
1838, Marsh joined with 163 other men (the number varies with the author) who commandeered a steamer and raided Windsor in the last assault of the Patriot War. Lead by Generals Lucius Bierce and
William Putnam, they approached the local militia barracks about 4 AM on the 4th.
A sentry fired at the Patriots and was immediately shot dead
in return. The men in the barracks returned fire from doors and windows. The
Patriots twice called for the militia to surrender as prisoners of war, wrote
Marsh, but they refused. One Patriot started the barracks on fire. The
defenders evacuated the building and surrendered. Having no means to keep 38
prisoners, Marsh said the Patriots took their weapons and let them go on the
promise that they would not "be found in arms against us."
As the
Patriots began to raise their flag, the first wave of militia from nearby
Sandwich arrived. Better trained than the rebels, they soon forced Marsh and his
companions into an orchard.
At this point
Marsh realizes they do not have enough men to hold their position. They were
promised 500 more from Detroit and 500 Canadians who would rise up to join
them. "If we had have known that help could not come, in time, we might
have re-crossed to the American shore that morning," he wrote.
In one
paragraph, he pinpointed the main weakness of the Patriot cause: "…the
failure of the Patriots in the years 1878-1838 … was not so much the fault of
those who actually took up arms and done as they had agreed, as it was of those
who failed to fulfill their promises…"
A second company reinforced the first wave of militia. The rebels retreated to a forest under heavy fire. Putnam fell
dead. The survivors in the woods determined they did
not have enough men to fight their way to the river and take boats. They agreed on an "every man for himself" approach and scattered.
Captured and Transported
Captured the
next day, Marsh spent the five months living in a series of unheated, lice
infested jails. He stood trial in London, Ontario, and witnessed men hang. Marsh and 17 others, including Samuel Snow, were carted to the jail in Toronto in April 1839. In June, they joined the ranks of Patriot prisoners at
Fort Henry. Marsh sailed away with the windmill prisoners to the penal colony in Tasmania
in September.
On January 27,
1845, Marsh departed Tasmania on the same whaling ship as Daniel Heustis, Samuel Snow and
other pardoned American prisoners. Marsh rejoined his family in New York State 14 months
later. The closing chapter of his 1848 book sums up his belief
that he fought the good fight.
"I am of
the opinion of many whom I have conversed with in Canada: that it could not be
a bad cause, when it has been the means of bringing about so much good to the
people of Canada; and although many have not lived to see it, and others have
suffered much in bringing it about, the good results will be distilled in the
minds of the rising generation."
Following the
book's publication, Marsh dropped out of the historical record. US census data
shows that he worked as a laborer and did not marry. The 1860 census shows him residing
in Livingston, New York, where his brother Charles then resided. The 1870 and
1880 census show Robert living in the household of his sister Mary (married to
William Moore) in Erie County, Pennsylvania. There is no further record of him.
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