The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-01-27
THE RAIDS INTO CANADA
THE WARLIKE EXPEDITIONS OF
THE FORMIDABLE FENIANs
Invasion of the Queens Dominion
Brief Description of the Little
Battle of Ridgway.

American border. The story of Fen
ian invasion was evidently started b,
English agents to put the Canadians L
drilling When the Canadian parlia
ment meets the Fenian scare will h
held up like a bug-a-boo, whenever an,
of the liberals attempt to speak againS
the transport OF more troops to tn
Iransvaal Ever If the French Cana
dams succeed in preventing the dis
patch of more soldiers the scare will
have operated to bring out all the mar
tial spirit of the real John Bull Cana
dams, and make them more bitter than
they might otherwise have been.
In this connection, the following ac
count of the Fenian invasion of Can
ada is given by the New York Tri
| bune, a pTo-Boer organ of the rankes
kind:
In 1865 the close of the civil wal
| left without occupation a large mum.
| Der Of American citizens of Irish birth
or parentage VINO mad seen much active
military service. Most of these were
imbued with a strong hatred of Eng
land and many of them had dfstin-
| guished, themselves not only by the
usual Irish gifts of physical courage
but also by the display of higher
qualities as leaders. Among the latter
was Colonel O'Neil, d graduate of
West Point. Circumstances seemed to
indicate to the bitterly antf-Brftish
Irish in this country the expediency of
great military organization in
1Urtharance of their political designs.
Seven years before, in 1858. the Fen
ian" movement, with a name taken
from one Of the legendary heroes of
the primitive Irish races. had begun
in Ireland The "Fenian Brotherhood"
now sprang into What was said to be
a thoroughly organized and equipped
existence in this country 1t was re-
ported at that time to have a following
of more than 10000 as well as a regular
government. with an office lin the
neighborhOOd Of Union square" It's
organization was certainly complete
enough to encourage it to attempt a
rising in Ireland. james Stephens, the
famous head center" landed in that
country, but was arrested and put in
jail. The Fenian rising of 1865 failed
and while Stephens remained incar-
cerated the leaders on this side fell
out amyng themselves.
OF the two factions in the Brother
hood, the credit of the first attempt to
raid British North America. with the
United States as base of operations.
belongs to the 20 Mahoneyites In
April, 1866 they assembled a force of
ceived $50 stands of arms, paid for
with the money of their secret sym
pathizers. Upon complaint of the
British consul at Eastport, the United
States government confscated these
arms. The British, on their side. hav-
ng been forewarned. sent troops from |
st. John to Campobello, n. b, the |
threatened point, and, on this side. |
General Mendi, with a body of |
'egular troops, kept watch at Calais. |
Ne. So ended the first attempt. re-
rendered among the supporters of
Fenianism as 'Killian's Raid"
Next month, however, Stephens him |
elf, having escaped from prison, ar
ived in New York. and his arrival was
he occasion Of something like q recon
iliation between the two factions.
whose animosities had been accentu-
ted by the failure of the Campobello
tempt. Stephens himself is said to
ave been opposed to another border
aid, but Roberts, the leader of the
nti-O' Mahoney faction, now tri-
mphant in the councils of the
was determined on such
plan. Neither their own dissensions
or the seizure of more than 1000 rifles
Y the United States government could
Urn them from their purpose The
enians from many states assembled
nd held a secret convention at
uffalo, and from Buffalo disquieting
lmors of a Fenian invasion crossed
lie Canadian border.
Between the middle of May and the
Id of that month there was great mill
Try activity in Canada Reinforce
ents of regulars, sent from England,
I'D already reached the Dominion, and
| along the Niagara river and the Dor
RS attachments were ready to resist
lie invaders. On May 81, however,
hen Colonel O'Neil, the officer select
by General Sweeney of the Bro I
erhood to carry out this enterprise.
ossed the river at Buffalo, he found
lrt Erie, on the British side, unoccu-
ed. The numbers of the force which 8
tually landed on Canadian soil have
en- variously estimated They prob 4
ly did not exceed 300 For more than (
day and night O'NeiPs little army 4
nged about the neighborhood of Fort !
lie, and it is said to the credit of their
tder that while they foraged upon the
labitants, after the manner oil regu-
: invaders, their conduct was gener- 4
Y free from excess. 4
Nhe actual collision did not take place 4
til June, when the Queen Own a
lunteers from Toronto and the Ham t,
IN militia met the invaders near the '
lage of RidgeWay. Details of the =
tile are not plentiful in history. The =
ses on the British side were put down \
nine killed and thirty wounded and !
" retired upon Ridgeway and Port /
horne. A Canadian tradition saws y
1t volunteer bugler sounded the Y
treat by mistake. At the same time 3
s certain that large number of ITe- =
ms were taken prisoners by the \
madam troops. If the defenders of =.
Dominion retreated, so did the in y
lers. Falling back on Fort Erie. l.
veil found that General Grant, hav- \
arrived at Buffalo that day, had
mptly stopped the forwarding Of
plies to the Fenian army across the
ar. Nothing was left for them but \
get out of Canadian territory as i
ky as possible, which they attempt l.
to do, though zoo of the entire force
e cut off by the United States gun
t Michigan.
eneral Barry, to whom had been +
gned by Grant the guarding of the 4
liter on this side, exacted from a \
,e number of the Fenian prisoners
r parole ito abandon our expedition :
inst Canada, destSt from any viola y,
OF the neutrality laws of the Unit n
states, and return Immediately to 4
respective homes" The number of
IN this parole was taken must have
uded hundreds who had not sue
ed in crossing the Niagara river.
70 weeks later a proclamation was
ed in Buffalo signed m. w. Burns.
adler General commanding Irish
y at Buffalo requesting the
'thers" to return to their homes.
proclamation bears witness that
extreme vigilance of the govern
[ of the United States frustrated
plans. 1t was the United States and I'M
England that impeded our onward
ch to freedom"
It in the meantime other alarms of
an invasion had disturbed the
ldian frontier. These were mostly
gerated, if not altogether ground
On June Z, the Fenial General
.ney was arrested at st. AIbans,
t,laich Ilo u --'