to help revive the failed Irish Rebellion of 1803. At 8 o'clock on the evening of 4 March 1804, John Cavenah set fire to his hut at Castle Hill as the signal for the rebellion to begin. While the fire was not seen by the convicts at Green Hills (today's Windsor), on the Hawkesbury River, Cunningham activated the plan to gather weapons, ammunition, food and recruits from local supporters and the government farm at Castle Hill. With Cunningham leading, about 200 to 300 rebels broke into the Government Farm's buildings, taking firearms, ammunition, and other weapons. The constables and overseers were overpowered and the rebels then went from farm to farm on their way to Constitution Hill at Parramatta, seizing more weapons and supplies, including rum and spirits, and recruiting others to join their cause. Their move had been informed by the intelligence gathered a year previously, when 12 convicts escaped from Castle Hill, seeking out friends and sympathisers in the surrounding districts. When captured, every convict had the same story: they were heading to China by crossing over the Blue Mountains. Initial government response When news of the uprising spread there was great panic amongst the colony of around 5,000 inhabitants. Officials such as Samuel Marsden fled the area by boat, escorting Elizabeth Macarthur and her children, because an informer had advised that an attack would be made on the Macarthur's farm so as to draw troops away from Parramatta. On receipt of the news of the uprising, Governor King set off alone for Parramatta to assume command, while Colonel William Paterson, the lieutenant governor, called out the guard. One hundred and forty men from HMS Calcutta, as well as the Sydney Loyal Association militia, took over guard duties, and a New South Wales Corps contingent of 56 personnel, including Lieutenant William Davies and Quartermaster Sergeant Thomas Laycock, were dispatched to march through the night to bolster the garrison at Parramatta. Meanwhile, the provost marshal, Thomas Smyth, was sent ahead to contact Major George Johnston at Annandale. The troops from Sydney arrived at 1:30 am and, after a quick inspection, an advanced guard was sent to the west of the town. Johnston arrived at Government House in Parramatta about four hours later, not long after King had declared martial law under the Mansfield doctrine of posse comitatus. King's proclamation of martial law applied to a wide area, extending from