Montgomery's Tavern

Battle of Montgomery's Tavern

Sketch of the battle based on a contemporary English engraving.

Date	December 7, 1837
Location	(Yonge and Eglinton) Toronto, Ontario
Result	Government victory

Belligerents

Opposition rebels

Upper Canada

Commanders and leaders

Anthony Van Egmond

James Fitzgibbon

Strength

210 militia

1,000 regulars and militia
1 gun

Casualties and losses

3 dead
5 wounded

1 dead
5 wounded

National Historic Site of Canada

Official name

Montgomery's Tavern National Historic Site of Canada

Designated

1925

1 dead
5 wounded

The Battle of Montgomery's Tavern was an incident in the Upper Canada Rebellion. The abortive revolutionary insurrection inspired by William Lyon Mackenzie was crushed by British authorities and Canadian volunteer units near a tavern on Yonge Street, Toronto.

The site of Montgomery's Tavern was designated a National Historic Site in 1925.

When the Lower Canada Rebellion broke out in the fall of 1837, Sir Francis Bond Head sent the British troops stationed in Toronto (formerly York) to help suppress it. With the regular troops gone, William Lyon Mackenzie and his followers seized a Toronto armoury and organized an armed march down Yonge Street, beginning at Montgomery's Tavern (on Yonge St just north of Eglinton Avenue – the present-day site of Postal Station K) on December 4, 1837.

While marching down Yonge Street, Mackenzie and some fellow rebels encountered John Powell (Canadian politician) and Archibald McDonald while attempting to scout the city. Upon meeting them, Mackenzie took Powell prisoner and sent them to Montgomery’s Tavern. Although there were concerns over whether Powell and McDonald possessed arms, Mackenzie accepted their denials and said, “well, gentlemen, as you are my townsmen, and men of honor, I would be ashamed to show that I question your words by ordering you to be searched.” Despite such assurances, Powell had hidden a pistol and shot rebel Captain Anthony Anderson before escaping back to Toronto, thereby dealing a large blow to the rebel’s military expertise.

Colonel Robert Moodie attempted to lead a force of loyalists through the rebel roadblock to warn Governor Bond Head in Toronto. Moodie fired his pistol, apparently in an attempt to clear the way. A number of the rebels returned fire, killing him.

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