[3] Rankin transferred to the 2nd Battalion of Provincial Volunteer Militia and, in 1838, took part in the Battle of Windsor, fighting to recapture Pelee Island from the Patriots.
Later that year, a group of patriots attacked Windsor, killing four militiamen, and setting fire to the British barracks, the steamer Thames, and several houses.
[1] After his discharge in 1843, Rankin organized nine Ojibwes from a reserve along the St. Clair River into a "wild west" show that toured the British Isles with a special performance for Queen Victoria.
[4] He sold his show to George Catlin in 1844 and returned to Canada where he established the Sandwich Wester Standard and Western District General Advertiser with himself as publisher and editor.
[1] Rankin returned to surveying and, in 1846, discovered a large copper deposit at Bruce Mines, along the north shore of Lake Huron.