Peter Matthews, along with Samuel Lount, was executed for his role in the Montgomery Tavern incident of December 15,1837, also known as the Upper Canada Rebellion ( read a contemporary account ). From the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online : “Matthews’s party of about 50 left Pickering on 5 December and arrived at Montgomery’s Tavern on Yonge Street north of Toronto the next day. On the morni
Peter Matthews, along with Samuel Lount, was executed for his role in the Montgomery Tavern incident of December 15,1837, also known as the Upper Canada Rebellion ( read a contemporary account ). From the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online : “Matthews’s party of about 50 left Pickering on 5 December and arrived at Montgomery’s Tavern on Yonge Street north of Toronto the next day. On the morning of the 7th, Matthews and about 60 men were sent by Mackenzie to the bridge across the Don River east of the city. There they were to create a diversion which Mackenzie hoped would prevent government forces from attacking Montgomery’s until the reinforcements he was expecting had arrived there. Matthews’s party killed one man and set the bridge and some houses on fire before being driven off by loyalist forces. The rebellion failed that day and Matthews fled, but he was captured in a farmhouse in York Township. He pleaded guilty to a charge of treason and petitioned for mercy. Although evidence about his role was contradictory, the Executive Council decided that he had been a leading figure in the uprising and held him responsible for the fires and the death at the bridge. Despite appeals for clemency signed by thousands, Matthews was executed with Samuel Lount on 12 April 1838. His property was seized by the crown, but in 1848, after pardons had been extended to most of the rebels, it was returned to the family.” Creator: Unknown Date: 1913 Identifier: JRR 2800 Cab, T 16313, MTL 1858 Format: Picture Rights: Public domain Courtesy: Toronto Public Library. More information: (view details a
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