Note: This “article” is taken from a speech I gave on the topic to the Westminster Historical Society in 2007 which was, in turn, based on a series of articles I wrote for Your Village News.
Members of the Westminster Historical Society, it is my honour to speak to you tonight about the Fenian Raids, which marked the last organized military invasion of Canada.
Some of you may ask: what is a Fenian? The term originates from the ancient Fianna Éireann, a legendary band of Irish warriors led by Finn MacCumhaill, protectors of the Irish High King. But the Fenians I speak of were members of the Fenian Brotherhood, a group committed to creating a free and independent Ireland. Beginning in the late 1860s, they set their sights on Canada as a stepping stone toward that goal.
Roots in Ireland and the United States
The devastation of the Irish Potato Famine (1845–1848) forced thousands to leave Ireland and settle in North America. It also inspired the Young Ireland Movement, a militant push for Irish independence. Following the failed Young Ireland Uprising of 1848—when some 6,000 Irish men and boys armed only with pitchforks and pikes confronted British troops—leaders like James Stephens and John O’Mahoney fled to the United States. There, they helped form the Fenian Brotherhood.
The movement officially launched with a ceremony outside Tammany Hall in New York in October 1858. It drew heavily from the large Irish immigrant populations of Boston, New York, and the Northeastern U.S., many of whom had gained combat experience during the American Civil War. Some 14,000 Fenians served in the Union Army, and nearly as many in the Confederate ranks. O’Mahoney himself had been a colonel in the famed 69th New York Irish Brigade.
By the end of the Civil War in 1865, discharged soldiers and volunteers flocked to the Fenian cause, believing another war was imminent—one that would liberate Ireland.
Factionalism and the Road to Canada
In October 1865, a Fenian Congress in Philadelphia determined their course of action. President O’Mahoney wanted to invade Ireland directly, while Vice President William Randolph Roberts advocated coordinated raids against Canada, aiming to seize the country’s transportation network to gain leverage against Britain.
The U.S. government largely turned a blind eye. In fact, Andrew Johnson assured Roberts that, should the Fenians capture Canada, their leaders would be recognized as an Irish Republic in exile. Meanwhile, F.F. Millen, a former lieutenant colonel in the Mexican Army, was dispatched to Ireland to instigate a mutiny among Fenians serving in the British Army. This plot failed—and decades later, Millen was revealed to be a British spy.
Campobello Island: The First Raid
The first Fenian “invasion” was as much a political maneuver by O’Mahoney as a military strike. On April 19, 1866, about 700 Fenians landed on Campobello Island, New Brunswick, near the Maine border. They hoped to exploit a border dispute between the U.S. and Britain and establish a staging point for a future expedition to Ireland.
The raid was a fiasco. American and British gunboats converged, supplies were seized, and the Fenians quickly retreated. They captured only a single customs officer, burned a few warehouses, and stole a Union Jack. While a humiliation for the Fenians, the raid contributed to New Brunswick joining Confederation in 1867.
The Niagara Raids and the Battle of Ridgeway
The focus then shifted west. On June 1, 1866, approximately 800 Fenians under former Union cavalry officer John O’Neill crossed the Niagara River near Fort Erie. They called themselves the “Irish Republican Army”—the first recorded use of the term—and initially numbered about 800 men, though desertions quickly reduced their strength.
Canadian militia and British regulars mobilized rapidly. Forces from Port Colborne and Chippawa converged on the Fenians at Ridgeway. On the morning of June 2, 1866, the largest engagement of the Fenian Raids unfolded. Despite initial success, confusion and lack of experience among the militia led to a retreat. O’Neill’s forces fell back to Fort Erie, where they clashed briefly with Canadian forces before retreating across the border. Canadian casualties numbered nine killed and 37 wounded; Fenian casualties were six dead.
The St. Albans Raid
A few days later, on June 7, 1866, another Fenian force moved into Missisquoi County, Lower Canada. Led by Samuel Spier, the Fenians captured several villages, plundering supplies. But with no reinforcements or ammunition from Vermont, morale collapsed. Spier ordered a retreat, and U.S. troops intercepted the Fenians, capturing many and returning others home. A skirmish at Pigeon Hill saw a small contingent of Canadian militia capture sixteen Fenians with no casualties.
Subsequent Raids and the Pembina Incident
The Fenian Brotherhood would attempt further invasions. In 1870, John O’Neill and Spier led a raid into Lower Canada at Eccles Hill. Canadian militia met them with prepared defenses, and the Fenians were forced to retreat. Two days later, Spier tried again near Trout River, but again Canadian forces forced a withdrawal.
In 1871, the Fenians moved west, hoping to ally with Métis leader Louis Riel. Instead, Riel raised a force of 200 Métis to protect the border, and Fenian officers were captured by U.S. authorities during the Pembina Raid—the final major Fenian incursion in North America.
Legacy of the Fenian Raids
Despite their failure to capture Canada or advance the cause of Irish independence, the Fenian Raids had a lasting impact. They united Canada’s diverse population, tested the loyalty of Irish and Catholic citizens, and highlighted the need for a strong, united nation capable of defending itself. Historians consider the raids a significant factor in the success of Confederation in 1867.
Perhaps the most tragic consequence of the Fenian movement was the assassination of Canadian politician Thomas D’Arcy McGee in 1868. McGee, a former Young Irelander, had opposed violent raids into Canada and was shot by Patrick James Whelan—the last public hanging in Canada.
In the end, the Fenian Raids failed in their military objectives, but they left an enduring mark on Canadian unity and identity.
johnmilner.ca 