Another very good source would be the online British Library Collection of 19th Century Newspapers, which you should be able to access through your local library [in UK only], where you can find contemporary reports of Luddite and similar activity in 1812. The reports aren't sympathetic to the frame breakers and mill burners, but you can get a very good idea of just how unsettled many parts of the country were from some local and national newpaper accounts. If you can find the reports of trials you may see some limited accounts of what people said in their defence.

For example the Leeds Mercury of May 2 1812 not only reports the "Atrocious Murder" of William Horsfall, but also several other attacks on factories, mills and on manufacturers themselves, and mentions an earlier riot in Sheffield.

Worth checking out - but it is very easy to get lost following other fascinating stories!

Matthew