Fenian raids

The Fenian raids were a series of incursions carried out by the Fenian Brotherhood, an Irish republican organization based in the United States, on military fortifications, customs posts and other targets in Canada (then part of British North America) in 1866, and again from 1870 to 1871. A number of separate incursions by the Fenian Brotherhood into Canada were undertaken to bring pressure on the British government to withdraw from Ireland, although none of these raids achieved their aims.

Fenian Raids

Depiction of the Fenian charge during the Battle of Ridgeway
DateApril 1866 – October 1871
Location
Eastern Canada and Minnesota
Result Anglo-Canadian victory
Belligerents
 Canada
 United Kingdom		 Fenian Brotherhood
Commanders and leaders
John A. Macdonald
George-Étienne Cartier
J. Stoughton Dennis
William O. Smith		 John O'Mahony
Thomas Sweeny
John O'Neill
Samuel P. Spear
Owen Starr
Strength

Prior to invasion:

10,000-14,000 local volunteers (March 1866)
Start of war:

 United Kingdom

In 1870:

  • 13,000+

Start of war:
850+ (May 1866)
In 1870:

  • 600~

In 1871:

  • 40~
Casualties and losses
13 killed in action
53 wounded
54 captured
22 died of wounds
Total:
142		 24 killed in action
48 wounded
59 captured
1 cannon seized
Total:
131
  1. Raids that were carried out in 1866 took place in the Province of Canada and the colony of New Brunswick; prior to Confederation in 1867.

In Canada, the incursions divided its burgeoning Irish-Canadian population, many of whom were torn between loyalty to their new home and sympathy for the aims of the Fenians. Protestant Irish immigrants were generally loyal to the British and fought with the pro-Union Orange Order against the Fenians.

While authorities in the United States arrested the men and confiscated the arms of the Fenian Brotherhood, there was speculation that some in the U.S. government ignored the preparations undertaken by the Fenians due to anger over British assistance to the Confederacy during the American Civil War. The Fenian raids were one of the factors that led to Canadian Confederation, as the provinces united to face the threat of the Fenian invasions.

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