THE FENIAN INVASION OF CANADA
______Ireland was under the firm grip of the British in the 19th Century, and many Irish immigrated to America "to escape from under the boot of the oppressor." Some of the Irish-Americans joined together in 1858 in what was known as the Fenian Brotherhood.
______The Fenians originally planned to aid a rebellion in Ireland itself, providing officers, men, and muskets. But the outbreak of the Civil War caused them to turn their attention to the rebel enemy of their adopted country. Fenians joined the many Irish regiments of the Union Army, serving with distinction and gaining valuable combat experience.
______After the war ended in 1865 the Fenians decided to strike the hated British in Canada, or British North America as it was then known. The open border between the United States and Canada made clandestine transport to Ireland unnecessary. The U.S. territory would provide a base for invasion. And the U.S. government didn't seem to care that the Fenians wanted to invade Canada, any more than the British seemed to care that Confederates were launching raids from Canada into the U.S. during the Civil War. The Fenians intended to take over Canada and rename it "New Ireland." New Ireland, it was assumed, would then be used as a base to liberate old Ireland or as a bargaining chip for Eire.
______The Fenians organized themselves much as they had during the Civil War. Their units included the 13th Tennessee Regiment, the 17th Kentucky Regiment, 18th Ohio Regiment, The 7th New York Regiment, and the Indiana Detachment. Although these designations imply an organization of several thousand soldiers in reality the Fenians never invaded with more than a few hundred.
______The Fenian Invasion began in April 1866 at Campobello Island, a disputed piece of land at the mouth of Saint Croix. The small Irish group was forced by U.S. and British gunboats to withdraw back across the border in this fiasco. The next blow fell in Upper Canada but was forced back after initial successes. Another invasion, this time in Quebec, was defeated by Montreal militia, many of whom were Irish.
______The United States, concerned that the Fenians might get it involved in a new war with Britain, finally had to take notice of the raids and put an end to most of them (the last raid was in 1871). It didn't prevent the last gasp of the Fenians, however: the construction of a submarine in 1881 called the Fenian Ram. Even this came to naught and it would be another 50 years or so before Ireland finally earned its independence.
WHOSE SLAVE REVOLT ALMOST DESTROYED ROME?
