The rebellion failed because the rebels did not have adequate weapons compared to the British and they did not have drill or discipline.  In the documents the men talk about how nervous they were before the battles, and didn’t know if they would run or not.  They talked about how unorganized they were which would lead to them losing.  Their captain was an ordinary person from the town.  They did not have any military training or know any strategies to defeat the British.  They also talked about how they were never ready for battle and they never knew when the British were going to attack.