Col. John
Prince (1796-1870) of Prince Grove (now the city-owned Prince Road Park) was possibly the
first man of fortune to settle in the Sandwich district.
He was a gentleman farmer, a soldier and a member of the Legislature. At the outbreak of the “Patriot”
uprising he was placed in command of the Sandwich garrison which consisted of two
companies of Col. Prince’s own volunteer battalion.
Vigilance was the order of the day and almost every inhabitant along the
expected points of attack who were not posted with the garrison acted as night patrol. Help from the regular forces to repel a serious
invasion was asked for but never did materialize. The
enemy were not called anything but “pirates” on the Canadian side and it was
decided that they would be treated as such.
The
“Patriots” first attempt at invasion was at Amherstburg. They seized ships and barges in Detroit and with
reckless enthusiasm sailed down to Amherstburg. But
the loyal Canadians were waiting for them and with their first volley cut the halyards of
the leading schooner “Ann” so that she drifted aground at Elliott’s Point,
where all on board were captured or killed. Col.
Prince’s men took part in the rout.
During the
winter the “Pirates” marched in strength over the ice to Fighting Island and
camped on the Island over night. But at
daybreak they were assaulted by infantry and artillery and driven back to the mainland in
confusion leaving behind an unknown number of dead and wounded. Col. Prince and his men were again in the thick of
the fray.
The next and
final assault was commanded by an American, Lucius Versus Bierce, of Akron, Ohio. In this attempt the steamboat
“Champlain” was captured from the foot of Rivard Street in Detroit and used to
land troops near the present site of Walkerville after midnight on December 4, 1838. This force marched quickly on Windsor and set fire
to the military barracks which was located on what is now the City Hall Square. Those who were not burned to death were shot as
they escaped from the burning building. Next
the steamer “Thames”, which was at the dock, was sent on fire.
News of this
marauding expedition from the American side was soon carried to Sandwich, but before Col.
Prince and his militia reached Windsor, surgeon, John J. Hume mounted his horse and rode
forward to render what aid he could to the wounded. He
was immediately shot dead. The militia
encountered the patriots in Francois Baby’s orchard near what is now the foot of
Dougall Avenue. They attacked from two sides
and one volley took all the fight out of the patriots, who broke and fled towards the site
of Walkerville closely persued by the militia.
All
“Pirates” captured bearing arms were ordered to be shot by Col. Prince. His summary shooting of the prisoners caused
considerable comment but it has been generally agreed that it did more to end invasion
attempts by the anti-British rabble than anything done by the government or the regular
troops.
The patriot
rebellion was in itself a puny affair, merely political filibustering. But when it became inflamed by Irish “hot
heads” and aided by misinformed Americans who were intent upon freeing the Canadian
people from the hated “Red-Coats and Indians”, they were long on oratory but
sadly lacking in organization and field tactics. The
affair did, however, serve a useful purpose - the home government of England sent over to
Canada, the Earl of Durham as Lord High Commissioner and Governor General, and gradually
reforms were introduced which paved the way for the establishment of a government which
would be truly responsible to the people of Canada.
Some eleven years later Col. Prince as admitted to membership of both
Thistle Lodge, Amherstburg and Rose Lodge, Sandwich.
Many others who played an active part in the battle of Windsor were later
identified with Canadian Masonry.
Doran,
V.W.B. William, P.G.S., A Masonic Story of Old Sandwich and Windsor, Ontario, 1962, p . 7
– 9
Photo
from a minature circa. 1830, Prince family.
“In the
Independence Manifesto Prince pointedly paraphrased Proverbs XXIV, 15 (‘He that is
surety for a stranger shall smart by it’), possibly referring to his father. Ironically, he had ignored this precept as
recentlly as 30 January, when he guaranteed the honesty of County Treasurer George
Bullock. Perhaps he did so on the tenuous
ground that Bullock was also proprietor of the Amherstburg hotel where the Masonic Lodge,
which Prince had recently joined, held its meetings.”
Douglas,
Alan, John Prince 1796 – 1870, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1980.
“What really troubled Prince was the news that George Bullock,
the Essex County Treasurer, for whom he had gone surety, was in default to the amount of
£1,800, Prince, of course, paid his share immediatley, but in consequence, for some
months he suffered severe financial embarassment.”
Douglas,
Alan, John Prince 1796 – 1870, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1980. p.
liv
Initiated: September 27, 1849
Passed: November 24, 1849
Raised: December 26, 1849