Sydney failed, and the uprising was confined to the west of the Parramatta area. After fruitlessly waiting for a signal of a successful takeover of Parramatta, and with the non-appearance of reinforcements, Cunningham was forced to withdraw from Parramatta to Toongabbie to re-assess his strategy. Having already declared his hand and therefore deprived of surprise, as well as facing a superior and well disciplined detachment of the New South Wales Corps and enthusiastic militia force from the Loyal Volunteers, Cunningham had no recourse but to withdraw west towards the Hawkesbury, hoping to add to his forces by picking up more recruits and to meet his missing forces on the way. Knowing that going forward would only see more death and a possible routing, the rebels quickly moved westward, hoping to join up with those now heading east from Green Hills (Windsor) in the area of today's Rouse Hill and Kellyville, recruiting or impressing a number of convicts along the way. (Those later giving evidence stated they were press-ganged into service in hope of lessening their punishment.) During that phase, the rebels obtained around a third of the colony's entire armaments. However, their numbers had dwindled to several hundred, eventually totalling around 233, according to the Government controlled newspaper of the time. While at Constitution Hill during the short period of the rebellion, Cunningham was elected "King of the Australian Empire", and his followers declared the area "New Ireland". Battle Major Johnston's contingent, wearied by their night march, needed time to close with the retreating rebels, who were reported to number around 400 so, to implement delaying tactics, he rode after them with a small mounted party, while the rest of his party completed the march to Toongabbie. Initially, it was believed that the rebels were at Toongabbie, but on his arrival, Johnston was informed that they had moved to Constitution Hill. A small party under a corporal was sent to outflank that position, while an assault force of around a dozen men advanced on the summit, only to find it abandoned, with the rebels having moved off towards the Hawkesbury, about away. As the morning progressed, the heat of the day threatened to stymie the efforts of the marching troops who were poorly equipped for the pursuit. Nevertheless, about from Toongabbie, Johnston located the main rebel party of around 230 to 260 men near Rouse Hill, Johnston first sent a