The Rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada in 1837 and 1838 left many legacies. Few accounts of those who took part record the plight of the Patriotes who for their actions were exiled to penal colonies in Australia.

One of these was Francois-Maurice Lepailleur, a baliff from Chateauguay. Condemned to death by a court-martial of dubious legality, his sentence was commuted to transportation for life, and he sailed with 57 other Patriotes for New South Wales in September 1839. More than five years were to pass before they left the "Land of a Thousand Sorrows" for home.

Written secretly at Longbottom prison, Lepailleur's day-to-day journal is a unique document. As a camp sentry he observed conditions both inside and outside the prison. His daily record comments on beatings, thefts, marital relations, wages and prices. A detailed acount is given of corrupt officialdom and police brutality, of the hatred inspired by collaborators and the solace brought by religion and the kindliness of neighbours and the clergy. Above all, Lepailleur conveys the emotional dimensions of the experience and the gradual degeneration of the human spirit.

More than a moving testimony of prison life, the Journal gives unusual insight into the intimate concerns, character and mentality of the 19th century Canadien. It also reveals much about the personalities of the "popular" leaders of the Rebellions - a little known group in Canadian history.