WHEN THE IRISH INVADED CANADA: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland's Freedom
Though the wave of surrenders in the spring of 1865 doused the flames of war, they did not totally dampen the martial ardor of Irish veterans, North and South. When The Irish Invaded Canada chronicles the little known quixotic campaign by Fenian patriots to strike blows for Irish freedom by attacking Canada.
Canada was in a time of transition. The British were pulling out, Canadians were assuming responsibility for their own affairs, including its defense, and the British North American colonies were considering--and achieved--unity partly in response to the Fenian threat.
The table was in some respects set by the ambivalence of American policy toward Canada after the war. Within that vacuum, the lust for Canadian territory that had sent Benedict Arnold to the gates of Quebec in 1775 was still alive. The British outfitting of Confederate sea raiders spawned still unresolved claims for compensation. Confederate raids from Canadian territory sparked smoldering resentment. American politicians lured Irish-American votes by pricking John Bull.
The American government was also not above permitting the Fenians to upset the status quo in ways that may have evolved to America’s advantage. The United States interfered with, but did not totally obstruct, Fenian preparations and invasions. Moreover, the government sold them arms, although careful not to be obvious. As is known, the United States did not absorb Canada, but negotiated a settlement of the Alabama claims against Britain arising out of damage to American shipping caused by the Confederate Naval vessel of that name.
Civil War veterans played roles in a series of invasions of New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba from 1866 to the early 1870s. The highest-ranking U.S. Army officer to join the Fenians was Brigadier General Thomas William Sweeney, who had lost his right arm at the Battle of Churubusco in 1847, “saved the day” (according to William T. Sherman) at Shiloh before successfully requesting a leave in order to serve as Fenian Secretary of War in which capacity he drew up invasion plans.
The most interesting scheme was the 1866 plan in
which 400 Fenians assembled in Eastport, Maine to seize Campobello Island (the
same one on which FDR later vacationed).
Five Royal Navy ships and 5,000 British and New Brunswick troops took
positions in the area. The apparent
violation of American neutrality was monitored by Secretary of State Seward,
Secretary of War Stanton, and General Grant who dispatched Gen. Meade to defuse
the situation.
How did Irish-American Fenians expect to obtain Irish independence by invading Canada? The purposes and goals were diverse. The invasions may have drawn British troops to Canada, thereby diminishing the numbers available to suppress insurrections in Ireland. Gaining a foothold in Canada might allow them to establish their own country that could issue letters of marque and that could be traded for Irish independence.
But how did they expect a few hundred or, even optimistically, thousands of troops to achieve victory? There were lots of Irish and Catholic French Canadians in Canada who, the Fenians expected, would rise up at the news of an invasion. That help did not materialize.
And why pick Canada as the target rather than Ireland itself? The United States permitted a greater degree of freedom than Ireland in which to plan the invasions and, for many, Canada was the only British territory within reach.
I am interested in Irish and Irish-American history, so I was predisposed to like the subject of this book. But I did not anticipate how well Klein would weave his account into the centuries of Irish resistance to English rule. This story is typical of the Irish freedom fighters: they fought among themselves because of unrealistic expectations, lack of organization, mis-communications, and infiltration by informers, Yet they raised money and established a government in exile that seem incredible. Thus, the Irish invasions of Canada fit right into the continuum of such insurrections, including the 1798 “Year of the French,” the Young Irelanders of 1848, the 1916 Easter uprising and the Civil War that followed.
I recommend When The Irish Invaded Canada to anyone with an interest in the history of Ireland, in learning about the actions of the Irish Veterans after the Civil War, in understanding Canadian-American relations, or in simply reading a great story.
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Jim Gallen is a St. Louis, Missouri attorney. He is Chairman of the Military History Club of the Missouri Athletic Club, a member of the St. Louis Civil War Roundtable (https://civilwarstlmo.org/), and member of the Ulysses S. Grant Camp of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.
