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Who knew??

"We are the Fenian Brotherhood, skilled in the arts of war,

And we're going to fight for Ireland, the land we adore,

Many battles we have won, along with the boys in blue,

And we'll go and capture Canada, for we've nothing else to do."

-Fenian soldier's song

"Depending on your point of view, it was part of a raid or an invasion. Whatever its nomenclature,the June 2, 1866, encounter at Ridgeway between Canadian militia and the Fenian Brotherhood's force of Civil War veterans left enduring marks upon the history of Canada, the United States, and Ireland. Regiments of a self-styled "army of liberation" crossed an international border and fought British subjects in behalf of the Irish Republic."

One may ask, "ahem friendo, why would the Irish invade Canada?"

Here's why:

"Organized for the purpose of winning Ireland's independence by physical force, the Fenians revealed Irish-American nationalism in its finest flowering and full ambiguity. Rooted more in the hard life of the immigrant than in his Irish origin or his religion, the Fenian Brotherhood created its own sustaining myths and founded its own government within the United States. A member of Commons rightly called the Brotherhood, "a new Irish nation on the other side of the Atlantic, recast in the mould of Democracy, watching for an opportunity to strike a blow at the heart of the British Empire." It is the only organization in US history which armed and drilled publicly, and invaded Canada for the purpose of using seized land as a stepping-stone for the invasion and liberation of Ireland."

For those who think it seemed insane, here is the rationale:

"A Fenian invasion of Canada was not a ludicrous proposition in 1866. There were large numbers of unemployed ex-soldiers available for Fenian recruitment. Toleration of Fenian activities during the Civil War when the Brotherhood had been permitted to construct its own military framework within that of the US, their purchase of war surplus arms, and the federal government's silence toward their filibustering plans were all interpreted as governmental approval. The Fenians also took comfort in America's case of Anglophobia, generated by Britain's recognition of the Confederacy's belligerent rights during the Rebellion. Even under stable political conditions, this widespread negativity toward England and the weight of Irish ballots would have encouraged Congress and the Executive to handle Fenians with care, but with these two branches of government at loggerheads over Reconstruction, the political importance of the Irish vote was greatly exaggerated. Finally, a majority of Americans were then "continentalists" who anticipated Canada's future annexation."

The Irish approach:

"We are likely outnumbered twenty to one," O'Neill said. "I find that encouraging. A force that size ought to be unwieldy enough to make life easy for us." He tapped the crude map before him. "The redcoats are camped here, near Chippawa, and surely they will know it the instant that we begin marching toward them. They'll expect us to go north along the river bank and that area will have the heaviest guard. We will indeed go toward Chippawa along the Niagara." The Colonel heard a gasp of dismay and looked up to see some expressions of sudden pained surprise. Untroubled, he went on, "and as we do, the redcoat reinforcements will be sent in that direction. Once they've begun to move toward our force along the river it should be difficult for them to redirect themselves. As they start in motion, we will swing back inland, march straight for Port Colborne, cutting through anyone we might find. We will block the Welland Canal unhindered and still have our escape over the lake at hand. Questions?"

"What if another army is waiting for us besides the forces we know of?"

"Ask me that again when we get to the canal. Other questions?" O'Neill glanced around. No one spoke. "Good. Let's get to it, then!" O'Neill smiled and added, "They're falling into our hands." Word suddenly circulated through camp that they were to pull up and take to the road again after dark, leaving all fires burning. The Fenian colonel sensed the news flashing among his men and grinned. "Let them think their colonel's a genius, and they may make him into one."

The Battle:

"The time of the engagement is impossible to determine. Some men swore it was thirty minutes, others insisted three hours. The 13th Hamilton companies joined the fray before the Canadian line managed to drive the Fenians back from their bullet-screens on the Bertie Road. Companies #9 and #10 of the Queen's Own were then fighting on the extreme Canadian right, atop Lime Ridge. Queen's Own companies #7 and #8 were fighting on the extreme Canadian left, supported later by the York and Caledonia rifle companies. Hamilton companies #1, #2, and #3, along with QOR #6 were generally described as having followed the Fenian retreat from the Bertie Road. Whether O'Neill was purposely falling back in order to draw the Canadians into a trap is impossible to say, but, at one point, the bulk of the Canadian force held the Bertie Road and elements and moved a few hundred yards further up the Ridge Road.

Lieutenant Colonel Booker had been relaying commands by way of a bugler during the fighting, and many men later asserted these bugle calls became confused, giving conflicting messages. Then the bugle ordered countermeasures to resist cavalry. Indeed, some mounted men had been dashing along the Fenian lines, and the warning about enemy cavalry brought unthinking reaction from groups of the Canadian soldiers. They stopped pressing the Fenians and some started to withdraw. Still other men began forming a square -- four lines backing into each other to meet a swirling cavalry attack -- on the Ridge Road between the Bertie and Garrison Roads. At least one square was broken up by officers before it was fully formed, but these units could not be put back into line before routing Canadians and charging Fenians struck them. Some men were trampled in attempting to stop the rout. There was consensus at a later military inquiry that a group of 100-200 Canadian soldiers covered the rout but the composition of this group was never clearly determined. With this turn of events, tables turned and the entire Canadian force began moving back to Ridgeway, closely followed by Fenians. "

A personal account of the Canadian retreat into Ridgeway here:

"...Soon after, I saw that some of our men had taken possession of the buildings on the corners at the first cross road north of the village, then owned by old Joseph Danner, and were gallantly trying to hold the enemy in check. How I wished there were even a few veterans, tested in battle, among them to hold them steady. But it was not long until I saw wavering among them, and soon they broke and continued their retreat.

Being now in the line of fire, I hastened to the left and made a circuit around the contending forces to the rear, and while in the fields I heard shouting and firing but paid no attention to these ordinary noises of battle until I heard bullets whistling over my head. I observed the Fenians were hailing and trying to halt me and call me in. I was soon among them and a prisoner. I was surprised to see that the only ones among them in any kind of uniform wore that of the US Army. A captain among them wore the full fatigue dress of his rank. When I asked why he had that on over here, he said he had not taken it off since the war. I told him it was time he did, as this was no place for it, and that I thought too highly of that uniform to see it worn in such a cause, as I had worn it myself for three years.

The Canadian soldiers retired through the village and on to Port Colborne, and we saw them no more. The Fenians took possession of the village and anything else they wanted."

O'Neill realizes the impossibility of the plan:

"Though victorious in all tests of arms, John O'Neill soon began to realize his situation was hopeless. The Niagara River was achurn with the USS Michigan, her sentry tugs Harrison and Farrar, and the US revenue cutter Fessenden. There would be no reinforcements even if Buffalo was teeming with them. Colonel Peacocke's force was nearby, though scouts reported it camped for the night on the Bowen farm, near the point where O'Neill had first landed. It was just a matter of time before a new column moved toward him from Port Colborne."

Aftermath

On June 6, 1866, a Fenian force led by US Army general Samuel Spear crossed into Quebec and held ground north of St Albans, Vermont, until surrendering to US forces on June 8. No more than fifteen lives had been extinguished on either side during the early June 1866 actions, including one woman who accidentally wandered into Canadian line of fire during the Quebec affair...

... The captive Fenian suspects were held in Toronto and about a third of these 117 individuals were put on trial during the Fall of 1866. Twenty-one were found guilty of participation in the illegal invasion of Canada, and seven were sentenced to be hanged on December 13, 1866. A Roman Catholic priest, Father John McMahon, was among the seven. None of the death sentences were carried out, however, though Father McMahon was the last prisoner to be released.

John O'Neill was appointed a general in the Fenian military organization and soon rose to its presidency. He led two more raids into Canada -- May 1870 and October 1871 -- neither of which were successful but did demonstrate that Canada had improved its ability to respond to such threats.

The federal government did not press any action against the Fenian officers at the Canandaigua circuit court. Seeking to manipulate the Irish vote, politicians and government officials assumed many odd positions. On December 4, 1866, for example, the crew of the USS Michigan returned weapons confiscated June 2 from O'Neill's men. The ghastly-looking Michael Bailey, slowly dying due to the hole made in his chest at Fort Erie, led a sort of Fenian victory parade away from the US gunboat. Bailey finally succumbed to his raid wound during January, 1868.

The Fenian Brotherhood attempted to achieve its objectives during the political and social turmoil following the Civil War. Though unsuccessful, they certainly cannot be faulted for not trying. General "Fightin' Tom" Sweeny often said, "If I had done this in some other country, I would be a hero. But here, here I am just one of the boys, prowling the night with the other highwaymen." ...

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The link has the whole story which included the usual internal splits and disagreements and how those affected the attacks, details of the complete military campaign and the wider picture.

A good read. Worth taking the time to check out~

.

admire friends, along with me

Irish devotion to be free

brave men they are

both near and far

they push ahead to victory

men among men, they fight 'til the end

their bravest soldiers do they send

they forge ahead

despite their dead

until freedom rings along the wind 

Leon Uris wrote in "Ireland: A Terrible Beauty" about the Easter Rebellion:

"For several months there had been a split in the command of the Volunteers... (between) Eoin MacNeill... (and) members of the secret Brotherhood led by Padraic Pearse... and James Connolly...

With orders out for nationwide Volunteer "manuveurs" on Easter Monday, MacNeill issued a countermanding directive, which was published in newspapers across Ireland.

...Because of the confusion in orders only half, some 1500 men showed, and only half of those were armed...

A series of classic foul-ups, the specialty of Irish rebellions , ensued. One group attacked the Magazine Fort in Phoenix Park containing the ammunitions dump, but blew up the wrong building, causing scant damage. A second unit entered Dublin Castle unopposed, but withdrew to a biscuit factory nearby...

James Connolly and Padraic Pearse, fully aware they were engaged in a suicide mission, marched up the main street with a column of 150 men, halted before the General Post Office, rushed in, seized it, and barricaded themselves. After some confusion they sent back to Liberty Hall for a flag which arrived in a brown paper bag... Padraic Pearse went outside and read a proclamation to a mystified and somewhat indifferent crowd of onlookers.

Support risings around the country failed to materialize. The rebels withstood brutal artillery fire until they ran out of food and ammunition. With central Dublin severely shelled and hundreds of casualties drawn on both sides, Pearse issued a surrender order a week after the Rising..."

You cannot conquer Ireland. You cannot extinguish

the Irish passion for freedom. If our deed has not

been sufficient to win freedom, then our children

will win it by a better deed.

Pádraig Pearse