The Destruction of the Caroline, 1837

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted August, 2004

Photo Source - Canadian Heritage Gallery

Plaque Location

The Region of Niagara
The City of Niagara Falls
In a parking area on the east side of the Niagara Parkway
2.5 km south of the bridge over the Welland River in Chippawa

Coordinates: N 43 03.343 W 79 01.577

Plaque Text

On the night of December 29-30, 1837, some 60 volunteers acting on the orders of Col. Allan Napier MacNab, and commanded by Capt. Andrew Drew, R.N., set out from Chippawa in small boats to capture the American steamer "Caroline". That vessel, which had been supplying William Lyon Mackenzie's rebel forces on Navy Island, was moored at Fort Schlosser, N.Y. There she was boarded by Drew's men, her crew killed or driven ashore, and after an unsuccessful attempt to start the engines, her captors set the ship afire and left her to sink in the Niagara River. This action almost precipitated war between Britain and the United States.

Related Toronto plaque
William Lyon Mackenzie 1795-1861

More
Information

More
Rebellion of 1837

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