Lower Canada Rebellion Story: "The Patriotes"

By Shawna Audet

This story is about the first battle of the Lower Canada Rebellion. Although the characters are fictional, the events that took place are true.

Maurice Audette was sitting on the barn floor, staring intently at a drawing. It was a portrait that his brother, Jean-Paul had drawn. The picture was of a man named Papineau. Every French household in St-Denis knew Papineau's name. Jean-Paul said that Papineau was going to be the man to change their world. Maurice knew that Jean-Paul must be right. Jean-Paul was seventeen, and Maurice was sure that he knew almost everything. Maurice had been looking at the picture for a long time. There was something about it that didn't seem right. Jean-Paul was an excellent artist and he had a knack for capturing people in his drawings. It was the eyes. Something was wrong with the eyes. The eyes of the man in the portrait looked determined, but their was a softness in them that made Maurice wonder if he was up to the job.

Maurice wanted to be just like his older brother. People already said that they looked alike. Jean-Paul had dark brown hair and eyes that burned with intensity. He wasn't tall, but life on the farm had made him strong.

Even though they looked similar, the two brothers had very different personalities. Jean-Paul always said what was on his mind and he never backed down from a challenge. Maurice was the shy one in the family. Jean-Paul loved to talk about ideas and debate. Maurice loved to spend time with the animals in the barn, reading books that Jean-Paul borrowed from friends.

Jean-Paul was the one who had taught Maurice to read. Jean-Paul always talked to Maurice like he was a grown man (even though he was only eleven). Jean-Paul would talk to him for hours about politics. Maurice would take it all in as he listened quietly.

At the moment, Jean-Paul was not at home. He had left St-Denis to go to a Son's of Liberty meeting in Montreal. Maurice was getting worried because Jean-Paul had said that he was going to return home on November seventh. He was now one day late. This was strange because Jean-Paul was usually responsible.

Maurice looked at the picture of Papineau one more time. "You better take care of my brother," he told Papineau.

Maurice tucked the picture back into his pocket and headed for home. It was almost dinner. When he left the barn, he saw that it was getting dark. The small farmhouse looked cozy. It was lit up by a cooking fire and a single candle on the table. Inside, Maman was warming the food on the fire while Papa read The Vindicator, the patriote newspaper.

"On October 24, 5,000 people came out to hear Papineau speak in St-Charles," read Maurice's father.

Maurice's father often read to his mother before dinner. Maman loved to hear the news. Maman could read a little, but it was an effort that she spent only on the bible.

"That many people!" said Maman in surprise. "Vive Papineau."

Maurice sat down beside his father. He had already read the whole paper but he liked to hear his father read. His deep voice was captivating.

"It says here that Papineau spoke for two and a half hours," continued Papa. "Many speakers called on the people to defend their rights with arms if needed."

"Jean-Paul makes it sound like we will need to fight," said Maman grimly. "I wish that Jean-Paul would get home. I'm worried sick."

At the moment, as if on cue, the front door swung open.

"Jean-Paul!" cried Maman in surprise.

"Where have you been?" scolded his father. "You worried your mother. Come inside. Why are you standing in the door?"

"I'm sorry, Maman," said Jean-Paul. "There was some trouble. Don't get upset."

Jean-Paul stepped into the light of the room and closed the door. His mother gasped when she saw his face. His eye was swollen shut and his left cheek was bruised. The bottom part of his lip was split. His coat was covered in dried blood.

"Dear God in heaven!" said Maman, rushing forward to hold Jean-Paul.

Papa dropped the paper in surprise. "What happened, Jean-Paul?"

Maman removed Jean-Paul's coat and led him to a chair beside Papa. Maurice sat down on the floor beside his brother.

"I'm okay, Maman," Jean-Paul said reassuringly. "I just have some cuts and bruises. I'm okay."

"What happened to you?" asked Maurice.

"Well I went to the Sons of Liberty meeting. It was a good meeting. Lots of people showed up. People made speeches about how it is time to rebel." Jean-Paul's face glowed with excitement as he spoke. "Amédée, Papineau's son, was there of course. He made some good points. We talked about how it is wrong for the government to try to force us to use public money to build canals. We talked about how it is wrong for the Chateau Clique to run the show. Everyone agreed that Lord John Russell is crazy to think that we will stand for his 10 Resolutions."

"Are people saying that there will be a rebellion soon?" asked Papa.

"No one set a date, but a bunch of people starting shouting, `Agitate! Agitate! Agitate!' during the meeting," said Jean-Paul. "I think that things are going to explode very soon."

"But how did you get hurt?" asked his mother impatiently.

"You can talk about politics later."

"Sorry, Maman," said Jean-Paul. "Of course I'll tell you. The Doric Club ambushed us after the meeting. They were screaming things that I will not repeat in front of you, Maman. In an instant, I found myself fighting for my life. There were so many of them. Some of them had clubs. Most of us had nothing but our fists, but you can be sure that we used them well."

"Tell us about how you fought," said Maurice, enthralled.

"Well one Doric Club guy grabbed me by the shirt and hit me in the side of the face. I pulled away from him and then started pounding him in the stomach. I was doing pretty well until two of his friend's came over to help him. One of them held me and the other two started punching. That's how my face got so messed up. Luckily, Amédée was nearby. He saw what was happened and he knocked two of the guys down. The third one got scared and ran away."

"My poor boy!" said Maman with concern. "Thank God that Amédée was there to help you. I hope that you thanked him."

"I did even more than that, Maman. I got a chance to help him too. A group of the Doric guys recognised Amédée. They wanted to hurt Amédée because he was Papineau's son. A bunch of us rallied round him so that it would be a fairer fight. Things got rougher. We finally convinced Amédée to go home because he was such a target. We escorted him home and then stood outside his house talking for a few minutes. Suddenly, we heard the noises of the Doric mob coming down the street. It was lucky that we heard them before they had a chance to see us. We only just had time to hide ourselves before they reached the house. The mob surrounded the Papineau house and started screaming for them to come out. They hurled insults, and then they hurled rocks. The Papineaus were held prisoners in their own home until the troops arrived and told the mob to go home. They left the Papineau's house, but they didn't go home. Instead, they vandalized The Vindicator office. "

"I am so glad that you are safe," said Maman. She stroked Jean-Paul's hair.

The family had a late dinner and Maurice stayed up to listen to Jean-Paul and his parents discussing the rebellion.

***************

Life went back to normal at the Audette household for a week. Then, on Tuesday November 14, a neighbour came to the Audette's to tell them that there was going to be a town meeting. They learned that Wolfred Nelson was calling a meeting and he wanted everyone to be there

"Can I go to the town meeting, Papa?" asked Maurice.

"No," said Papa. "You should stay here with your mother." "But, Papa," protested Maurice.

"It's my town too. I want to be there."

Papa had a surprised look on his face. Maurice rarely spoke against his father's wishes.

"I think that you should let him come," Jean-Paul piped in. "He is almost twelve now. He's almost a man."

Maurice looked at his brother gratefully. Papa weighed the decision in his mind and then sighed.

"All right, Maurice, you can come," he said gravely. "It's true that you are growning into a man."

Maurice ran out to hitch the team of horses to the wagon. He was excited to be included in the action. As they drove to town, they picked up neighbours who were waiting on the side of the road. Soon the wagon was filled.

A huge crowd had already gathered by the time that they reached the town. The meeting was already in progress. Nelson was standing at the front of the crowd. He shouted when he spoke, but the people at the back still had to ask the people in the front to repeat things. Maurice left his father's side and wriggled through the crowd so that he could get close to the front.

"There is a warrant out for my arrest," Nelson told the crowd. "They want to arrest me for high treason!"

The crowd burst into an angry roar. Maurice shouted too.

Nelson motioned for the crowd to settle down. "We must be ready to procure arms!" he shouted.

The crowd roared in agreement. Maurice was a little frightened at the noise and anger all around him. People were shouting that they would not let the arrests happen. People were shouting that it was time to fight. Some people were just shouting.

"We need arms!" a man near Maurice was saying.

"We need money," answered a man beside him.

"We can ask the priest to lend us money from the parish fund!" said the first man.

"Let's go get money from Fr. Demers!" he shouted.

The two men headed towards the parish, shouting their intentions as they went. Before they reached their destination, about three hundred people had joined them. The throng pulled Maurice along. He looked desperately for his father and Jean-Paul but he could see neither.

The priest came out to meet the crowd but refused to give them money. Maurice respected him for standing up to such a crowd of people. When it was clear that the priest was going to stand his ground, the crowd lost steam and started to disperse. Maurice went back to Nelson's house to find his family. Jean-Paul and his father were talking to some neighbours. In front of Nelson's house, there was now an armed guard.

"How can we fight the British army?" one man was saying.

"We can do it if every man does his part!" Jean-Paul told him.

"We need money to get arms!" the man said. "Think logically."

"I am thinking logically," Jean-Paul said. "You need to think more creatively. We could issue our own money for example."

"It would be easier to just break into the parish and to get money," said the man scornfully.

"That's not a bad idea either," said Jean-Paul thoughtfully, "of course we would return the money later."

"Your son is talking like a crazy man," the man said to Papa.

"My son is talking like a patriote," said Papa with pride. "It is time to go home," said Papa.

Maurice took one final look at the Nelson home before he left. He saw a face peak out of one of the upstairs windows. He snatched the picture out of his pocket and compared the two faces. They looked the same. Maurice told himself that he must be mistaken. Papineau was not in St Denis and he certainly wasn't in Nelson's house. He decided not to mention the incident because he knew that he must be wrong.

*****************

The next two weeks were filled with tension. The Audette's went about their daily chores, but nothing seemed the same. Jean-Paul went into town almost every night and brought back news. People were now talking about the rebellion as a fact.

On Friday, Jean-Paul learned that Nelson was going to issue $300,000 in paper money. After the rebellion, people could cash the money in.

The next Monday, Jean-Paul was ecstatic when he came home from town. He told Maurice that Papineau was at Nelson's home. Jean-Paul said that Papineau mixed with the crowd and he actually shook Jean-Paul's hand.

On Tuesday, Jean-Paul learned that six armed men in masks had broken into the parish and taken money. The event happened on Monday night. The burglars left a note saying that the money would be repaid after the rebellion.

On Thursday, Maurice did not need to wait for Jean-Paul to go to town to get the news. Instead, the news came to him. It was about 9:00 a.m. Maurice had already finished taking care of the animals and he was on his way out to the field to mend a fence. Papa and Jean-Paul were working in the barn. Suddenly, Maurice heard the sound of guns. The boom of a canon followed the gunfire.Without thinking, Maurice dropped his tools and ran towards the sound. He crossed the field and headed for the woods. The guns were not too far away. He followed the sounds and it led him towards the town.

Suddenly, Maurice saw the fighters in the distance. Maurice ducked behind a tree and watched the scene unfold. A group of British troops were in the process of charging a group of patriotes. The British troops stood out like sore thumbs in their bright red tunics. The patriotes were harder to spot. They didn't have uniforms and they used the trees for cover. Some of the patriotes were in an even better position because they were inside two buildings. Maurice watched with glee as the patriotes pushed the British back. Then, with horror, Maurice realized that the British were being pushed back towards him. He crouched behind the tree and covered his eyes in fear. Soon, he could hear the sound of horses running nearby. Gunfire fell all around him. Maurice prayed that he would not be killed.

When Maurice finally opened his eyes, he found that he was caught between the two lines. The British soldiers were now just behind him. They were so close that Maurice could see the expressions on some of their faces. A patriote fired at the British line. The line was about thirty meters at Maurice's left. Maurice watched a British soldier fall to the ground. The man was shot in the chest. The soldier was in great pain and he was disoriented. He began crawling towards the patriotes' line instead of his own. He was just beside Maurice's tree when he collapsed.

Maurice cowered behind the tree. He could hear the man breathing, just feet away.

"I should kill him," thought Maurice. "This is war and he's the enemy."

Maurice tried to summon all of his courage. He peaked around the tree to watch the man. He was lying on his back with his eyes closed. His breath was coming out in gasps and he was moaning. His gun was lying on the ground beside him. It was actually touching Maurice's tree.

A bullet whistled by Maurice's head and he jumped back under cover. The British troops were falling back even further. The commander was shouting orders and riding back and forth among the troops. He could see that the charge had failed and he was angry.

"Let's try to go around the town!" he shouted. "Regroup!"

Maurice took a big breath, reached around the tree, and snatched the gun. For a second he held the gun against his chest, still hiding behind the tree. He peaked around at the fallen soldier. The man was still moaning, but softer. Maurice moved away from the tree and bent down on one knee. He pointed the rifle at the soldier and put his finger on the trigger. It would all be over in an instant.

"Just pulled the trigger," Maurice told himself. "Just shoot the gun."

Maurice looked closely at the soldier. The man was tall and sturdy. His hair was blond and Maurice guessed that he was about the same age as Jean-Paul.

"Just pull the trigger," Maurice told himself. "Just shoot the gun."

Maurice wondered if the soldier had a little brother. How would his little brother feel tomorrow? Maurice crept forward until he was right beside the soldier. The man sensed his presence. He opened his eyes and saw Maurice staring down at him. He saw the gun too, but he didn't look scared. He opened his hand. Trembling, Maurice took the hand in his own. It was the strong callused kind of hand that one gets from farmwork. The soldier groaned in pain and clenched Maurice's hand. His chest heaved upwards and Maurice saw a trickle of blood escape from his mouth. His face was clenched in pain.

"Please do it," whispered the soldier.

Maurice did not understand the soldier's English words but he knew their meaning. Maurice was filled with conflicting emotions. He felt terror, pity, and confusion, but not hatred. Maurice let go of the man's hand. He thought about his own brother as he picked up the gun. He thought about how much he wished he had stayed at home fixing the fence when he first heard the shooting. He thought about nothing as he pulled the trigger.

Afterword

After a failed charge and two unsuccessful attempts at going around the town, the British retreated. At the end of the battle, nine patriotes were dead and others lay wounded. News of the patriote victory at St Denis spread quickly and the French Canadiens flocked to join in the cause. Papineau did not take part in the battle at St. Denis. Instead, he stayed at Nelson's home. He left the town before the fight was over.