Lower Canada Rebellion
When news of the arrest of the Patriote leaders reached Upper Canada, William Lyon Mackenzie launched an armed rebellion in December 1837. In the meantime, filibusters from the United States, the Hunter Patriots, formed a small militia and attacked Windsor, Upper Canada, to support the Canadian Patriots. This resulted in the declaration of martial law by the Lower Canadian government.
Ringwood, Ontario
In the 1830s both Ringwood and Stouffville were centres of radical opinion. In Stouffville, reformer William Lyon Mackenzie hatched his plan for the Upper Canada Rebellion (1837–1838); the meeting was chaired by a Ringwood farmer, Ludwig Wideman, who became the first casualty of the insurgency in Toronto at Montgomery's Tavern. Wideman is buried in the neighboring hamlet of Dickson Hill. Architectural reminders of Ringwood’s small contribution to Canadian institutions defined by justice and liberty have all but disappeared.