The Rebels Prepare
The rebels quickly expanded to the areas of Rouse Hill and Kellyville, recruiting or impressing against their will the convicts along the way. During this phase they obtained almost one third of the entire colony’s armaments. However with their courier having defected, the callout messages to Windsor, Parramatta and Sydney failed, and the uprising was confined to the Castle Hill area; the planned concentration of 1,100 fell far short of its target. After fruitlessly waiting for a signal of a successful internal takeover of Parramatta, and the non-appearance of several hundred reinforcements Cunningham, having already declared his hand, and deprived of both surprise and overwhelming numbers, had no recourse but to withdraw to the Hawkesbury to pick up his missing forces on the way to add to his mere 250.
Read more about this topic: Castle Hill Convict Rebellion
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