Fenian Raids 1866 to 1871
On 1 June 1866, two thin lines of skirmishers clashed; a collage of colours (most with red or green prominent) delineated the fighters. Experienced battle-hardened troops engaged with a raw force composed of farm boys and small-town types.
The green was worn by Irish nationalists over their blue or grey uniforms. Their red coated adversaries were militiamen who fought for the British Empire. The latest instalment of Irish and English conflict was about to have its next chapter written in blood.
The strange thing is the Irish were the experienced troops, whilst their red coated opponents were the farm boys. Stranger again is the fact that the battle was not fought in Ireland, but rather Canada
Irish Nationalism produced two organisations in 1858. The American version was called the Fenian Brotherhood and the Irish version was named the Irish Republican Brotherhood.
O'Mahony and Stephens were both former members of the Young Irelanders, whose rebellion in 1848 had fizzled out in a Co Tipperary farm.
An "Gorta Mor" (great famine) spanning 1845 to 1849 triggered a mass exodus out of Ireland to the Americas. These emigres had brought with them a deep distrust of Britain, who they perceived as trying to destroy their religion, language, culture and history.
The Fenian’s original vision was one of fund raising. They aimed to raise money from the Irish in the US. In turn, they planned to send these funds back to Ireland to financially back another Irish rebellion.
This vision was upended by the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861. The war ran for 4 years, finally ending in 1865. The Irish had joined the US army in huge numbers (c150,000), but also the Confederates (c30,000) - this disparity owes to the majority of the New World’s Irish populace being domiciled in the North.
At war’s end, the Irish in America now possessed large numbers of experienced battle-hardened troops and officers. In addition to this, large numbers of firearms and ammunition were likewise available. By the start of 1866 the Fenians had up to 20,000 firearms and c10,000 experienced volunteers.
This new dynamic changed things dramatically within the Fenian organisation. A new faction led by General John O’Neil (formerly of US cavalry) called the “Senate” faction, now advocated for mission change. The Senate faction urged direct military action in the Americas. The target? Canada.
Their plan was to conquer Canada, force the British Empire to the negotiating table and proceed to trade Canada for a free Ireland. You could not accuse the Senate faction of thinking “Small”!
The Senate faction believed they would be successful for the following reasons:
1. US sentiment. The civil war in the US had strained relations between the US and the British Empire. Confederate warships were built in British shipyards, Canadian authorities had given haven to Confederate raiders and British ports had taken blockade ran cotton from the Confederacy. The US government were actively pushing for war reparations from the British.
2. The large Irish population in Canada were seen as source of recruits and supplies. In addition, the French speaking population of Quebec were seen as potentially friendly given the long history of animosity between the French and British.
In April 1866, O’Mahony, bowing to pressure, authorised a raid on Canada. After the invasion force had left New York heading for Maine and the Canadian border, O’Mahony changed his mind. He ordered the return of the weapons and ammunition. The raid turned into a farce, with some aimless raiding and burning. The fall out of the 1st raid was the ousting of O’Mahony.
The second effort, the most serious of the five, commenced on the 31st of May 1866. The invasion was planned by General William Sweeney called for a 5-pronged invasion starting from different points. As it turned out, only 2 prongs actually manifested.
Upwards of 1,300 Fenians invaded Canada via Buffalo New York. The crossing point was guarded by a USS gunboat, but the “Michigan” was disabled allowing for the initial column to cross. Unfortunately, and disastrously for the Fenian invasion, the gunboat was back in operation in 14 hours. The upshot of this was further reinforcements and, critically, supplies were cut off.
One day later. Canadian militiamen blundered into the Fenian force, and the battle of Ridgway began. The initial exchange of skirmisher fire had favoured the Canadians. After two hours of rifle fire, a determined bayonet charge by the Fenians routed the Canadians. The Canadians fled, leaving 13 dead/dying on the battlefield, as compared to 10 on the Fenian side.
The lack of supplies obliged the Fenians to fall back towards the border where the Canadians were again attempting to retake Fort Erie. A sharp firefight began and ended pretty quickly, as the Canadians were both outnumbered and taken by surprise. 34 dead Canadians with 50 odd taken prisoner, contrasted to 0 dead on the Fenian side.
The presence of the “Michigan” now began to be really felt. With supplies running low and no obvious signs of sympathethy from the local population, the Fenians recrossed back into the US.
6 days later, the second prong of the invasion pushed into Quebec aiming towards Montreal. 200 Fenians remained in Quebec for a day. With overwhelming Canadian forces now converging on their positions, they thought better of it and retreated.
The invasion was over, supplies were seized by the US government and General Sweeney was arrested. Sweeney was soon released and was allowed to rejoin the US army.
3 further Fenian raids were launched in the years following — the effort ended in 1871. These later raids were of a smaller nature in terms of numbers involved and were aimed out west as opposed to the more populous areas of Canada.
The Fenians had the laugh last. Padraic Pearse gave the graveside oratory at the funeral of Jeremiah O’Donovan “Rossa” uttering the immortal words
“The fools the fools, they have left us our Fenian dead”
These words sparked the final and ultimately successful drive for Irish Independence.