Date Published:
February 2005

L’Encyclopédie de l’histoire du Québec / The Quebec History Encyclopedia

Battle of Montgomery's Tavern

Montgomery's Tavern, Battle of. This was an engagement which took place on December 9, 1837, immediately north of Toronto, between the rebels under Colonel Anthony Van Ugmond and William Lyon Mackenzie and the loyalist militia under Colonel Fitzgibbon and Allan (later Sir Allan) MacNab. The rebels had congregated at Montgomery's tavern, on Yonge street ; and here they were attacked by a column of loyalist militia which had proceeded north on Yonge street, supported by two flanking columns. The loyalists greatly out-numbered the rebels, and the engagement lasted only a little over a quarter of an hour. Hardly had the loyalists opened fire when the rebels began to scatter. Van Egmond and numerous other rebels were captured; but William Lyon Mackenzie made good his escape. So far as can be ascertained, only one of the combatants was killed, a rebel named Wideman. There were no casualties on the loyalist side. See J. C. Dent, The story of the Upper Canadian rebellion (2 vols., Toronto, 1885) and W. S. Wallace, The family compact (Toronto, 1915).

Source  : W. Stewart WALLACE, ed., The Encyclopedia of Canada, Vol. IV, Toronto, University Associates of Canada, 1948, 400p., p. 323.