Laura Dexter letter, commenting on the McLeod murder trial, October 5, 1841

Alexander McLeod was Deputy Sheriff of the Niagara District during the Rebellion of 1837-38 in Upper Canada. On December 24, 1837, he became aware of a scheme by the rebels to use the American steamboat Caroline to provide supplies to William Lyon Mackenzie and his followers on Navy Island in the Niagara River. McLeod notified the authorities in Upper Canada about the situation. A few days later, on December 29, Commodore Andrew Drew led a band of men, including McLeod, to the American side, where the Caroline was moored at Schlosser’s Wharf. A scuffle ensued, in which American Amos Durfee was killed. The Caroline was then released from its moorings, set on fire, and drifted downstream before sinking. Many Americans viewed the incident as a violation of their sovereignty. Tensions between the United States and England were already strained over a boundary dispute between Maine and New Brunswick, and the situation with the Caroline further escalated the tension. McLeod was subsequently arrested in November, 1840 in Lewiston, NY and indicted for arson and murder. The British foreign secretary, Lord Palmerston, insisted that McLeod be released and could not be held personally responsible for the incident, as he was acting on orders from authorities in Canada. Eventually, McLeod was acquitted.

A letter addressed to Mr. Edward North, Patterson, New Jersey, from Laura Dexter, dated at Whitesborough [New York], October 5, 1841. The letter makes reference to the McLeod murder trial, commenting that “McLeods trial is the all absorbing topic of the day. Our quiet, peacible village, has been under military guardianship for many weeks, by orders of our good & careful whig Governor, an armed band have patrolled our streets, breaking at intervals the still watches of the night. I am thankful that thus far the law has taken its course & McLeod is unmolested, but I fear the result if he be acquitted as many curses, both loud & deep, have gone forth against him. And a war with England instead of being deprecated, seems with some to be the great desirable.”