The Woodstock Riots

July 12,1847

The Orange Order has been part of the life of New Brunswick since the late
eighteenth century.
The earliest record of an Orange lodge in the British North American
colonies was in Parrtown(St. John) in 1783. This lodge met under charter
issued in London , England in 1694. The name on the charter was `Colonial
Patent N0.6,` and it was brought to New Brunswick by Lieutenant Andrew
Stockton. This lodge met in St.John until 1815 under this warrants authority
which granted the bearer the right to hold an Orange Lodge meeting anywhere
in British America. The first `official` Orange lodge to meet in the
Maritimes(the four Atlantic provinces) met in the city of St.John in 1818 ,
under a warrant brought from Ireland by soldiers serving in the 74th
Regiment. Another Orange lodge met in the same city in 1824 , again formed
by British soldiers stationed there.

The events which were to take place in St.John , New Brunswick , on July 12,
1849 , should not have come as any great surprise to anyone. There had been
warnings over the preceding dozen years that it was only a matter of time
before violence erupted on a large scale between Orangemen and Irish Roman
Catholics. There had been several clashes between the two opposing forces in
St.John on July 12 , and as early as 1837 both sides had clashed. There were
further confrontations throughout out the 1840`s and there had been other
serious outbreaks of violence in Fredericton and Portland in 1846 - 1847.
The major battle between the two sides which served as a warning that the
pattern of violence was escalating took place in Woodstock in 1847.

That year saw the Orangemen prepare for a July 12 parade and invite members
from outside their county to participate. Irish Roman Catholics then decided
to hold their own demonstration on that day and also invited outsiders to
join in. Both sides came into town openly bearing arms and seemed more
prepared for a battle than a parade. On the morning of July 12 the Orangemen
left their lodge hall at 10:00am. and formed up to march to the Baptist
Church in nearby Jacksontown. They thought that by taking this route try
would avoid any confrontation with the Roman Catholics - they seem to have
forgotten that it takes two sides to avoid trouble.

Three hundred marchers , many of them armed with muskets , set out for the
three mile walk to Jacksontown , closely watched by the Roman Catholic crowd
, which by this time numbered two hundred. With the Orangemen out of
Woodstock , the Roman Catholics staged their own parade , marching through
the town gathering numbers as they went. They then waited beside the road
into the town to wait on the Orangemen returning. This was a deliberate
challenge and it was obvious there was going to be trouble. The local
sheriff , Winslow , brought sixteen British soldiers with him to try and
prevent trouble. Five magistrates then informed the crowd that it was
illegal to carry firearms in public. The Roman Catholics quickly pointed out
that the Orangemen were also armed. The magistrates the said that they would
also prohibit them from bringing their guns into town on their return march.

They then went and told the Orange leaders the same thing and they agreed to
Co-operate on the following terms. They would not march back to Woodstock ,
but would walk back in single file. They agreed not to carry their arms ,
but they would place them in a wagon at the rear of the marchers. With this
agreement the parade started on its way home thinking that there would be no
trouble. Unknown to Sheriff Winslow and the magistrates , the Roman
Catholics had broken their word and were now openly disregarding the
previous agreement. They had marched to the edge of the town and positioned
themselves along the road waiting to attack the returning Orangemen.

The magistrates returned to Woodstock and read the Riot Act to the Irish
Roman Catholics and gave them one hour to disperse. The British troops
meanwhile , stationed themselves on the road between the Roman Catholics and
the direction the Orangemen would come. They intercepted them and ordered
the magistrates to order them to disperse and confiscate their arms. The
Riot Act was then read to them also , but neither side was in any mood for a
compromise on that day. The Orangemen refused to disband and disarm
themselves fearing they would be murdered one by one by the armed Roman
Catholics lining the road just a few hundred yards ahead. They continued
their parade until they were in direct confrontation with the Irish Roman
Catholics. The British troops , under the command of lieutenant Wickham
stayed at the side of the road behind the Orangemen. When the Orangemen had
almost reached their lodge hall they were fired upon by the crowd that had
been shadowing them all of the way into Woodstock. The Orangemen quickly
armed themselves and charged the Irish lining the roadway. When they saw the
Orangemen charging toward them instead of running away as they had expected
, the Irish quickly broke ranks and ran in all directions.

Orangemen on horseback chased them through the fields , bayoneting some of
them and capturing over twenty of them. The Irish Roman Catholics had
suffered a disastrous defeat and they were to pay heavily for their
treachery. They had stood on a hill overlooking the road and fired on the
Orangemen who at the time were unarmed and walking in single file , and yet
had lost the battle. In the weeks following the riot , scores of Irish were
arrested , with many more escaping to the United States.

Many Orangemen were issued with government arms and were prominent among the
local special constabulary that was appointed during the time leading up to
the trial. Throughout the summer a campaign of terrorism was aimed at
Protestant homes in the area. Known Orangemen were shot at and homes and
barns were burned. The actual death toll at Woodstock was never accurately
arrived at by officials. Most of those killed during the riot were quietly
buried and their deaths never reported , however government officials
surmised that the number of combatants killed could have been as many as
ten.

On September 08,1847, eighty-eight Irish Roman Catholics were charged with a
variety of offences. They all pleaded not guilty and on September 20, after
laying a further fifty-one charges against the Irish , Judge Parker
postponed the trial until January 1848. The trial however did not resume
until June 29 , because in the meantime Attorney General Peters had died.
Over half of the Irish never showed up for trial. They had been released on
their own recognisance and had proceeded to move out of the county. Of those
that stood trial there were sixty-three convictions , ranging in length of
sentence from one month in the county jail to one year in the provincial
penitentiary. No Orangeman was ever charged or convicted of any offence
connected with the Woodstock riot. This riot was to set the pattern for the
disastrous events which were to occur just two years later at York Point.

written by Alex Rough Ontario CANADA