The 1837 rebellion was not successful mainly because the rebellions weren’t very organized which led to miscommunication and caused them to panic.

First of all as Norton who is a fellow patriot says; “Of course we were but crudely armed, our arms consisting of rifles, shotguns, old muskets and pistols, knives, swords, and dirks. We had no drill or discipline.” None of the rebellions followed the manual of arms therefore, this gave them a disadvantage because they were less organized. At the first shot all the rebellions just ran away.

Mackenzie, also a member of the patriots mentions how the riflemen in front fired but, instead of stepping aside to make room for those behind to fire, they fell flat on their faces and did the same thing on the second shot. “I was rather in front when the firing begun, and stood in more danger from the rifles of my friends than the muskets of my enemies. I stepped to the side of the road and made them stop firing, and it appeared to me that one of our own people who was killed was shot in this way by our own men. Certainly it was not by the enemy.” Mackenzie realized one of his men was shot but another one of his own men. The men who joined the rebellion weren’t as brave as the British. The ones in the back row thought the riflemen who fell down in the front row were killed therefore, they ran in the other direction. Mackenzie also states that 800 of the men who ran away went where no one pursued and ran the wrong way.

Sydney Bellingham a member of the British army mentions how the rebellion fired too high. He also talks about how after some of the rebels had fallen comrades threw their arms up in the air and fled in all directions. Therefore the major did not fire and called a halt of his men. Then his noble charger fell dead at his masters feet.

Robert Marsh recollects that he doesn’t need to explain how the rebellions failed that so much was said about their failure.“Our men had failed to accomplish anything at or near Toronto, on Yonge-Street, through a misunderstanding in some of their leading men, and some other hindrances which I need not attempt to explain here, as there has been so much said upon the subject of their failure, there, and at the west, which obliged a great many to leave the province.” Another patriot;

Thomas Storrow Brown says that if the rebellions would have succeeded victory against the Bureaucrats the province would have only had to wait a few months to develop a government based upon “the well-understood wishes of the people.” Therefore they would have immensely saved the British Government, if they would’ve won that is. However, because they didn’t win the province had to wait a few years to have a government which, granted the wishes of the people.