Lieutenant-Colonel John Maitland’s Coffin Plate
Date1839
Dimensions14 15/16 × 12 3/16 × 3/8 in. (38 × 31 × 1 cm)
Credit LineGift of Eldon House, London, Ontario, 1968
Object number1968.003.001
Label TextThis shield decorated Lieutenant-Colonel John Maitland’s coffin during his January 1839 funeral in London. Londoners lined the streets to watch the procession. A year earlier, they had watched as Maitland and his 32nd Regiment marched into the village to establish a garrison. These forces quashed cross border raids in the Western District that Dr. Charles Duncombe and others organized from the United States. In December 1837, Dr. Duncombe led the Upper Canadian rebellion in the London District. He and his followers hoped to overthrow the Upper Canadian political and religious establishment. Poor communications meant he had not heard that William Lyon Mackenzie’s uprising had fizzled in Toronto. They also meant fearful Londoners waited several days to hear Duncombe’s forces failed too.
NamePlate, Coffin
1891
