My particular concern in this book has been to give a clear and detailed account of the events leading up to the rebellions in Lower Canada. While there have been many books written about the rebellions, their authors have, in general, been anxious to get to the actual events and have given only brief summaries of the causes. I found the whole pattern of events quite fascinating and have followed as many of the threads as I could.
When I was teaching Canadian history, I did not find it easy to explain how conditions at the time led to such an outbreak of violence. I would find it much easier to explain now, and I hope this book will be read and used by teachers to help them with their explanations!
As with the other two books, the fiction is woven through the historical account of the time. I have done my best to stay with the known facts in as much detail as I have them, to give myself and you as clear an understanding as possible of what did happen.
I have deliberately used as much historical material as possible in its original form:
The Papineau correspondence is my translation of the originals, only slightly cut, and E.B. O'Callaghan did send the letter quoted to Mr. Papineau, as well, of course, as the long letter included in the Sourcebook. I translated Ovide's letters to his brother-in-law, cut them to slightly but took very few liberties with the text, except, of course, for any reference to Julie. Ovide's journal, on the other hand, is my creation from a number of different sources, one of them being Romuald Trudeau's Day Book.
Frederick Elliot's letters were a wonderful find. I have changed them in no way except to cut them slightly. They give a remarkable account of the events and personalities of the time, far better than anything I could have invented.
The account of the Chambers Gang is my translation and adaptation of the material published in 1839 by the actual reporter of those days, François-Xavier Angers, under the title Révélations d'une crime.
Bellingham's letter in the summer of 1837 is my creation but the information contained in it comes from his report of The Events of 1837 and My Part in It, written in 1901, not long before his death. His account of the Battle of St. Charles comes from the same document. The descriptions of that battle are taken entirely from historical material. In the case of the other two battles, I have tried to base my story as completely as possible on the accounts of the time. Niall's Journal, for example, during his stay in St. Eustache draws heavily from the diary of Curé Paquin.
Lord Gosford's correspondence with Sir John Colborne and also with Col. Wetherall are historical documents, and finally, all the correspondence with Samuel Neilson and the affair of Catherine James Neilson are authentic - Samuel's letters, Miss Keogh's letters, John Neilson's replies, the few letters from Catherine, with the one exception of Samuel's Christmas letter to Kate. I would never have dared to invent such a story about an historical character!
The chapter about Wm. Lyon Mackenzie is based on a letter he wrote to E.B. O'Callaghan which somehow came to the attention of the newspapers who reproduced it in both French and English. His disillusionment with Mr. Papineau may explain, at least partly, the lack of coordination between the rebels of Upper and Lower Canada.
Most of the material in the Sourcebook comes from documents in the Archives which I transcribed using my Macintosh Notebook. None of it is readily available and I found it all very interesting. Teachers of the history of the period should find much of it useful.
There is a wealth of material about the rebellions from both primary and secondary sources. As before, I have relied heavily on the newspapers of the time, the Papineau and Neilson collections at the National Archives, and other files rom the National and Quebec Archives. In addition, I consulted with Prof. Fernand Ouellet regarding Mr. Papineau's activities during the period. I am particularly indebted to the work of Elinor Kyte Senior regarding the sequence of events, troop movements, maps, etc.
Miss Helen Neilon has been consistently helpful and supportive. I particularly appreciate the photograph copy of Samuel's portrait which hangs in her living room. I do want to emphasize that, while Samuel and John Neilson, Sr. are drawn as close to life as I could come, with all their views documented by their writings, Agnes is totally fictional, except for the dates of her birth and death, and Margaret and John are largely fictional.
In the list of characters, only those in italics are entirely fictional. All the others did, in fact, live, though in several cases I have redesigned them to suit my purposes!
Niall of course is wholly fictional as is my recreation of Kate and the other women in the story. I have taken the liberty of looking in to the mind and heart of Ovide Perrault and creating his romantic connection to Julie. Ovide did marry a few months before he was killed, but I know nothing about his actual wife.
I have had a great deal of support from my family and friends over the past twelve years of the project. My husband Bob who has been consistently supportive. My daughter, Keira has done a remarkable job of editing, with a particular emphasis on the story and readability of the book. Several people have read and commented on various drafts: in particular, my daughter Carla, Fay Arnold, Helen Neilson, Eric Kierans, and Michael Oliver. Françoise Mathieu has been French advisor and proof reader, along with Kay Flanagan. As with the previous books, my son Christopher and his coworkers at Chantecler Press were responsible for setting up the text and getting the books published.
I have been pleased and reassured by the supportive reviews and comments of a number of historians. I hope they find this book useful. I also hope, of course that readers will enjoy the story!
Jan Morgan grew up in the
Bellingham/Filion house in Arundel. She has had a long career in education,
which included high school teaching and administration, work at the Quebec
Ministry of Education organizing English-language CEGEPs, administration at
McGill and Carleton universities, and finally five years at Kativik School
Board for Arctic Quebec as Director of Education Services.
As a teacher of
Canadian history, she had trouble explaining to her students the reasons for
the rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada, especially when, after their failure,
almost all that the rebels had struggled for was given by England to the new
united colony of Canada.
Twelve years ago, Mrs Morgan returned to Arundel and
to her preoccupation with the period of the 1830s in Lower Canada, researching
and writing a series of books under the title, A Chronicle of Lower Canada. The
first book, Welcome Niall O'Donell, Emigrant!, came out in 1992; the second, A
Dangerous Direction, was published in 1993. A Damned Rebellion! is the third in
the series.
Read...Book One Introduction
Read...Book One Chapter One Book One
Read...Book Three Chapter Thirteen Book Three
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