- Frères chasseurs
The Frères chasseurs (French for "Hunter Brothers," though they were also referred to as the Hunter Patriots and Hunters' Lodges) were a paramilitary organization that fought in the Patriote Rebellion on the Patriote side, seeking to make
Lower Canada , nowQuebec , an independent and democratic republic. They appear to have somewhat resembledFreemason s structurally and were dedicated to the eviction of theBritish Empire fromNorth America and the "liberation" ofCanada . It is claimed that their lodges may have numbered as many as 60,000 members.After the failiure of the first uprising of
1837 , the Frères chasseurs organization was founded in1838 byRobert Nelson (the president),Cyrille-Hector-Octave Côté (the vice president), Edmond-Élisée Malhiot, Antoine Doré, Julien Gagnon, Louis-Guillaume Lévesque, François Mercure, François Lemaître, Célestin Beausoleil and David Rochon. In September, it was comprised of at least 35 lodges.The Hunters attacked
Windsor, Ontario in 1838 and were driven off and dispersed after a pitched battle (thePatriot War ). In November1838 , a force of about 1500 men started fromNew York to seal off theSt Lawrence River and thereby allow a hypothetical revolt to take place inUpper Canada . About 300 men actually occupied and held a stone windmill atPrescott, Ontario where the five dayBattle of the Windmill was fought against British regulars and Canadian militia.The Frères chasseurs attempted to invade Canada from the United States to defeat the British army and its volunteers. On
22 February 1839 , president Robert Nelson declared the independence of Lower Canada. BishopJean-Jacques Lartigue obtained information about the group and communicated it toJohn Colborne , who in turn used it to quell the Frères chasseurs. Members of the Frères chasseurs such asFrançois-Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier were executed at thePied-du-Courant Prison by English authorities for their actions.ee also
*
republicanism in Canada
*Quebec nationalism
*Quebec independence movement
*History of Quebec
*Timeline of Quebec history External links
* [http://history.cbc.ca/histoire/?MIval=EpisContent.html&lang=E&series_id=1&episode_id=7&chapter_id=4&page_id=6 The Frères Chasseurs (Hunters' Lodge)]
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