page_title: William Lyon Mackenzie
section_title: Attempted invasion from Navy Island
hierarchical_section_title: William Lyon Mackenzie / Upper Canadian Rebellion, 1837–1838 / Attempted invasion from Navy Island
caption_attribution_description: English: 1837 Proclamation for the arrest of William Lyon Mackenzie
context_page_description: William Lyon Mackenzie also spelt McKenzie and MacKenzie, was a Scottish-born Canadian-American journalist and politician. His strong views on political equality and clean government drove him to outright rebellion in 1837 after a career as mayor of Toronto and in the colonial legislative assembly of Upper Canada. He led the 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion and during its bitter end he set up a small rebel enclave named "Republic of Canada," where he served as president December 13, 1837 to January 14, 1838. After a period of exile in the U.S., he returned to Canada and served as an elected member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1851 to 1858.
context_section_description: The rebel leaders escaped to the United States, with Mackenzie arriving in Buffalo, New York on December 11, 1837.  On December 12, he delivered an address to the largest public meeting in the history of Buffalo, describing Upper Canada's desire for liberty and their oppression at the hands of the British, and asking for their help. The meeting ended with wild "cheers for Mackenzie, Papineau, and Rolph!" and Mackenzie thus began a recruiting campaign.  On December 13, he declared himself the head of a provisional government, entitled the "Republic of Canada".  He convinced Rensselaer Van Rensselaer (nephew of Stephen Van Rensselaer III, an American colonel during the War of 1812) to join in a scheme whereby volunteers would invade Upper Canada from Navy Island in the Niagara River.  Several hundred volunteers travelled to Navy Island in the next several weeks, as did shipments of food, arms, and cannon shot.  Recruitment was hurt, however, when the American government, headed by President Martin Van Buren, instructed the volunteers that they would be prosecuted as criminals if they participated in the planned invasion, and many volunteers returned home.
  On December 29, Canadian volunteers led by Col. Allan MacNab bombarded Navy Island, while British troops led by Capt. Andrew Drew of the Royal Navy cut loose the American ship SS Caroline from its moorings and set it alight, as it had been supplying Navy Island. The action was undertaken based on information supplied by Alexander McLeod.
  While this was going on, Mackenzie had travelled to Buffalo, seeking medical attention for his sick wife.  While there, he was arrested for violating American neutrality laws, but was released on bail and returned to Navy Island in January.  Van Rensselaer had grown disillusioned, however, and on January 14, 1838, he and his volunteers withdrew from Navy Island to American soil whereupon they were arrested for being in breach of American neutrality.
caption: A proclamation posted on December 7, 1837 offering a reward of one thousand pounds for the capture of William Lyon Mackenzie.
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