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Aaron Dresser Jr
Aaron
Dresser, third Aaron in a series in this Dresser family, was born on 24
April 1816 and died on 18 May 1855, leaving a wife and three young
children. Aaron was also one of the prisoners of the Battle of the
Windmill and was eventually sent to exile on Van Dieman's Land,
otherwise known as Tasmania. He is buried in the Old Theresa Cemetery
in Jefferson County, NY.
His sentence was for seven years, but he and a partner helped capture a violent escaped prisoner after about five years had been served and earned a "passage home" and commutation of their sentence as a reward. "Home" was identified as England, which may have been home to the jailers but was certainly not home to the jailed.
Aaron Dresser and his fellow ex-prisoners made it to London, but Aaron's health was broken. The American Ambassador (Edward Everett, I believe) kindly nursed them in his own home and used their stories of life in Van Dieman’s Land to argue for release of the other exiled Patriots.
He was also able to arrange passage for the two back to New York City, where they were met with a heroes welcome.
A letter written by the two was published in the New York daily newspapers and is said to have helped pressure the American government to renew efforts for the return of the prisoners.
| The Conflict | The Patriots |
|---|---|
| Overview | Participant List |
| Introduction | Aaron Dresser |
| Background | John W. Little |
| The Rebellion | Nelson Truax |
| Burning of the Steamer Caroline | |
| Towns and The Hunter Lodges | |
| The Hunters' Lodges | |
| The Canadian Invasion | |
| The Invasion Fails | |
| The Way Home |