Ancaster Treason Trials proceedings, 1814 [photocopy]

The commission was charged with indicting those individuals who had committed acts of treason during the War of 1812. The commission appointed Thomas Scott, William Dummer Powell and William Campbell to preside over the proceedings. The grand jury met at Ancaster, Ont. over 18 days in May and June of 1814 to hear the testimony of those charged with treason as well as any pertinent witnesses. On June 21, 1814 the commission indicted 15 individuals and ordered them to be hanged and quartered. This commission came to be commonly known as the Ancaster Bloody Assize of 1814.

Trial of Brig. Gen. William Hull : for treason, cowardice, neglect of duty, and unofficial-like conduct with the sentence of the court, and remission thereof by the President of the United States

Printed for Russell, Cutler and Co.

Letters to Secretary General Drummond from Thomas Scott, July 1814

Thomas Scott (1746-1824) was a politician and judge originally from Scotland. He came to Canada in 1800 after accepting the appointment of Attorney General of Upper Canada, and in 1806 was promoted to Chief Justice of Upper Canada. The declaration of war in 1812 brought into question the loyalty of the colony’s population, who were largely born in America. As concerns over allegiance intensified, the government sought out traitors in an attempt to make an example of them and deter others. The subsequent trials of citizens accused of treason resulted in 15 convictions, including Jacob Overholser. These trials were intended to assert the authority of the state, but also to demonstrate clemency. Only 8 of the convicts were executed, with the rest being banished from the colony. Scott supported these measures, although they were largely initiated by Attorney General John Beverly Robinson. Thomas Scott retired in 1816 and died in 1824.