capture of the caroline 1838 Britain Canadian rebels William Lyon Mackenzie British steamer
Caroline Affair was a series of events beginning in 1837 that strained relations between the United States and Britain. A group of Canadian rebels, led by William Lyon Mackenzie, seeking a more democratic Canada, had been forced to flee to the United States after leading the failed Upper Canada Rebellion in Upper Canada (now Ontario). They took refuge on Navy Island on the Canadian side of the Niagara River, which separates the two countries (between Ontario and New York) and declared themselves the Republic of Canada under MacKenzie's "general" Rensselaer Van Rensselaer (nephew of General Stephen Van Rensselaer). American sympathizers supplied them with money, provisions, and arms via the steamboat SS Caroline. On December 29, Canadian loyalist Colonel Sir Allan MacNab and Captain Andrew Drew of the Royal Navy commanding a party of militia, crossed the international boundary and seized the Caroline, towed her into the current, set her afire, and cast her adrift over Niagara Falls, after killing one black American named Amos Durfee in the process. His body was later exhibited in front of a recruiting tavern in Buffalo, New York. US illustrations in the press showed the burning ship going over the falls with men falling headlong into the chasm. In reality, the ship did not immediately go over the falls. She grounded and later broke up and the pieces went over the falls later on. It was falsely reported that dozens of Americans were killed as they were trapped on board; in fact the ship had been abandoned before being set adrift. Public opinion across the United States was outraged against the British. President Martin Van Buren protested strongly to London, but was ignored. On May 29, 1838, American forces retaliated by burning a British steamer SS Sir Robert Peel while it was in US waters. The tensions were ultimately settled by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty. President Martin Van Buren sent General Winfield Scott to prevent further American incursions
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