Patriot War
The
Patriot War was a short-lived campaign in the eastern
Michigan area of the
United States and the
Windsor, Ontario area of
Canada. A group of men of
Irish descent on both sides of the border, calling themselves "Patriots", formed small militias in
1837 with the intention of seizing the peninsula of Canada between the
Detroit and
Niagara rivers. They based groups in Michigan at Fort Gratiot (present
Port Huron),
Mount Clemens,
Detroit, and
Gibraltar. In the winter of
1837 they attempted to seize the arsenal at Fort Gratiot but were stopped by state militia.
In December, the Patriots crossed into Canada by steamboat and engaged in an unsuccessful battle at Windsor. In 1838, Michigan militia were stationed at the United States Arsenal in Dearborn, and were used to track down remaining groups of Patriots in the area. This conflict led to the reorganization of the Michigan militia because its structure was found to be insufficient to deal with such rebellions.
These events occurred contemporaneously with the Upper Canada Rebellion and the Patriotes Rebellion further east in Canada.