A comprehensive history of rebellions and U.S. invasions in Upper Canada, in 1837 and 1838, covering the skirmishes in eastern Ontario, Toronto, and southwestern Ontario. Lavishly illustrated with rare photos and maps, Volunteers is a popular narrative history that examines the lives and motives of the leaders of Upper Canada's rebellions; their U.S. allies; the British and Canadian administrators who played significant roles in the uprisings; and the Canadians who remained loyal to the Crown.
The book is also a careful and gripping study of the emotions and motives that burned inside of the men who led the rebellions; from Windsor in the west to Prescott in the east. A co-publishing venture with the Canadian War Museum, Volunteers is being released in conjuction with the sesquicentennial of the famour Mackenzie rebellion in Toronto.
Mary Beacock Fryer is a well-known expert on Upper Canadian history and has written many biographies, including a trilogy on the Simcoe family: Elizabeth Posthuma Simcoe, Our Young Soldier, and John Graves Simcoe. Among Fryer's other books are Bold, Brave, and Born to Lead and Buckskin Pimpernel. She lives in Toronto.