CANADA MILITARY NEWS: PAGE 3/Sep12-CAMP ALDERSHOT-NOVA SCOTIA/Afghanistan/CANADA'S MILITARY HISTORY/Canada formed by Christian Religious Wars-Catholics versus Protestants/WW1/background of who we are/September 11

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CANADA MILITARY NEWS: PAGE 1/Sep12-CAMP ALDERSHOT-NOVA SCOTIA/Afghanistan/CANADA'S MILITARY HISTORY/Canada formed by Christian Religious Wars-Catholics versus Protestants/WW1/background of who we are/September 11
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CANADA MILITARY NEWS: 11 September 2013-Tribute n photos of Canadians Sept. 11 2001-World Trade Center-New York USA/Photos and Memorial 2 Canadians sacrificed Afghanistan- We Remember Always

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Canada WW 1










CAMP ALDERSHOT

Kings County Museum-Kings County Vignettes-HMCS Kentville
by Daniel Sanford
When the Second World War broke out in September of 1939, the town of Kentville
quickly mobilized its resources to aid the Canadian government in the fighting of
the war. Many local men joined local military units such as the King's Canadian
Hussars (disbanded early on in the war) and the West Nova Scotia Regiment.
Thousands of troops were trained at Camp Aldershot, just outside of Kentville. The
people who remained at home contributed by purchasing Victory Bonds and
sending both scarce raw materials and aid packages to Great Britain. As a result of
this and other contributions throughout the country, the Canadian government in
1942 decided to present small Canadian towns with the honour of having a warship
of the Royal Canadian Navy named after it. The following story gives a brief history
of the ship that was named after the town of Kentville, the H.M.C.S. Kentville.
The H.M.C.S. Kentville was a Bangor class mine-sweeper that was launched from
the Port Arthur shipbuilding yards on April 18, 1942. It was commissioned on
October 10, 1942 and sent to Sydney to become a coastal escort vessel which
entailed the escorting of all vessels that moved in local waters. It was not terribly
exciting work but work that was important regardless. As a result of this duty, the
H.M.C.S. Kentville called at the ports of Halifax, Sydney, Louisbourg, Saint John,
Bay Bulls, St. John's, Argentia, Cornerbrook, Port Aux Basques, Boston, and New
York.
As well as convoy escort duty, the H.M.C.S. Kentville also had the obvious role of
minesweeping (for which it had been originally designed) and the role of an
emergency rescue ship. The H.M.C.S. Kentville fulfilled this latter function twice
during the war when it rescued the freighter Imperial Monarch from heavy seas and
the ship Foundation Franklin which had struck a mine off the Grand Banks. There
was little excitement for the crew of the H.M.C.S. Kentville but things heated up in
January of 1945 when a convoy that the H.M.C.S. Kentville was escorting came
under attack, losing two ships. This would be the only time that the H.M.C.S.
Kentville saw combat.
The H.M.C.S. Kentville was connected to Kings County in more ways than in name.
Many future H.M.C.S. Kentville sailors took leave in Kentville to rest and relax. J.E.
Schinbein of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, who served on the H.M.C.S. Kentville
recalled, "I remember Kentville, not only the ship but spending leave at the
Cornwallis Inn as a young, adventurous, ordinary seaman. The town of Kentville
certainly welcomed those under training at H.M.C.S. Cornwallis with open arms.
One member of the H.M.C.S. Kentville, Lieutenant James McGilian, made a closer
connection to the area by marrying Lillian Rood of Berwick who was Queen
Annapolisa IX. They met at the 1943 festival and married in 1944.
At the end of the war in 1945, the H.M.C.S. Kentville went into "strategic reserve"
which was basically putting the ship into mothballs where it stayed until 1952 when
the Royal Canadian Navy decided to reclaim her. This was done and the H.M.C.S.
Kentville was commissioned again on May 10, 1954. This reactivation by the Royal
Canadian Navy was only temporary because in September 1954, the H.M.C.S.
Kentville was paid off into the Reserve and put into mothballs again at Port Edward
Naval Base.
In 1957, it was decided that a number of ships including the H.M.C.S. Kentville
would be transferred to the Turkish navy under the program of Mutual Aid which
would fulfil part of Canada's obligation to N.A.T.O. This was done in late November
of 1957 and the H.M.C.S. Kentville was renamed Bartin and remained in service
with the Turkish navy until 1972. All that remains of the H.M.C.S. Kentville are the
memories of those who served aboard her and the ship's bell which is on display at
the Old Kings Courthouse Museum.
The H.M.C.S. Kentville did not have a glamorous service record but did an
important job nontheless. One could say that the H.M.C.S. Kentville represented
the war effort as it was practised by the town of Kentville and Kings County for that
matter; nothing flashy but still vital. The people of Kentville should be proud to
have had a ship named after them that did indispensable work in time of war and
peace.







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CAMP ALDERSHOT,Nova Scotia,Canada




A Brief History of the West Novas

The West NSR is one of the oldest Canadian Militia units. The West NSR was formed from both the 69th (Annapolis Regiment, 1717) and the 75th (Lunenburg Regiment, 1870) in 1936. Both Regiments descend from the 40th Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales Volunteers), which was raised on 23 August 1717 at Fort Anne, Annapolis Royal, NS.

The West NSR also perpetuates the 112th and 219th Battalions of Infantry, Canadian Expeditionary Force, which were formed for service in World War I. When World War II broke out the West NSR was mobilized as an active service force battalion on 1 September 1939 with the statement in the Regimental War Diary, "The unit had been ordered to mobilize. The unit has been designated for the C.A.S.F." A second battalion of the Regiment was then recruited for home defense.

In September, 1939 the Regiment had no transport at all, four Lewis guns, and a large shortage of rifles and boots. What equipment was available was 1918 vintage. When the War broke out at least 1600 men tried to enlist. The CQSM of A company, C.F. Whynacht, came up with an unorthodox method of issue: The first man enlisted in the morning got a cap, the next man a tunic, the next a pair of trousers, and so on.

The active service battalion left from Halifax, disembarked at Gourock, Scotland and immediately entrained for Aldershot, England just after Christmas in 1939. It was at this time that the Regiment was presented with a Nova Scotia flag by the Premier of Nova Scotia, Angus L. MacDonald.

On June 15, 1943 The Regiment embarked on the Polish liner 'Batory' at Gourock, Scotland, in the first part of 'Operation Husky', the invasion of Sicily. The soldiers were issued tropical kit which they thought was a security ploy. On June 28 the convoy headed for the open sea and the Mediterranean.

On July 10, 1943 the Regiment landed in Sicily. They were completely ashore by 5 P.M. that day. On July 17, while moving forward to flank a position that the Carleton and York Regiment were attacking, they came under German mortar fire. The Regiment was under sporadic mortar and machine gun fire all day, and sustained its first casualty on active service, L/Cpl J.H. Warren of D Company.

The advance continued, and the Regiment went into action by moving in an encircling action to the east of Valguarnera, cutting Highway #117 and the German's line of retreat. They dug in and held out despite German demands for surrender. The advance continued and the Regiment fought in Adrano, Catenanuova, and Centripe. Sicily was in Allied hands by August 7.

Next came the invasion of the Italian mainland. The Allies crossed the straits of Messina and at 0630 hrs on September 3, A Company landed at 'Fox Amber', the first Allied soldiers to invade the continent of Europe.

In September, a combined arms Battle Group was formed with the West Novas providing the core. The Group was codenamed "Boforce" after LCol Bogart the Commanding Officer. In sixty hours Boforce advanced 75 miles from Villapiana up highway #92 to Potenza, where the Germans had decided to make a serious stand, but were denied this by the rapid advance. For the Canadian Army at that time this was a somewhat innovative approach and it's remarkable achievements were a direct reflection of it's dash and daring.

Other important battles that the Regiment fought in Italy were the Gully (on the approach to Ortona) and the breaking of the Hitler Line:

A, B, and C Coys totalling 160 all ranks with three tanks in support attacked the enemy strong points area 317128 and north. This was a sharp brisk encounter, which had as its objective flushing the enemy from area of bridge to enable R 22e R who had a clear field of fire on this to 'mow them down' so to speak. Some enemy were flushed and accounted for by the R 22e R, but this was found to be a strongly defended position (approx 1 Bn) and the Bn after suffering approx 22% casualties withdrew to its former position. Four officers wounded, one officer killed.

The Hitler line was an elaborate defensive position that had been in preparation since December 1942 as a second line of defence behind the Gustav Line. The original plan was a two-brigade attack on the left of the line, the 2nd Canadian Brigade on the right and the 3rd Canadian Brigade on the left. The 2nd Brigade's attack was not successful and General Vokes delayed the attack by 3rd Brigade until it became apparent that 2nd Brigade was not going to succeed. An initial breach by the Carleton and York Regiment was made and with support from a tank squadron of the Three Rivers Regiment, the West NSR launched its assault.

A and B companies lead the assault, with C and D close behind. They "leaned on the barrage" in front of them which caused some casualties, but it was worth the risk as they surprised the 3rd Battalion of the 361st Panzer Grenadier Regiment, and pushed through them. They then set up a position northeast of Pontecorvo, where they held despite repeated counterattacks against them.

The Regiment continued to fight in Italy until February 9, 1945, when LCol Hiltz received orders informing him that the 1st Canadian Corps would be transferred from Italy to Northwest Europe. The Regiment moved to Marseilles by sea and arrived in Germany on April 4. On the April 13 they were committed to a breakout of a bridgehead on the Ijssel River in Holland.

The Regiment continued it's advance into Holland and fought until April when it was realized that the last few days of the war had become a 'Phoney War' where the Regiment was not allowed to fire on the Enemy. The Germans surrender was effective 8 A.M. on May 5, 1945. Unfortunately, three hours prior to this an enemy patrol attacked D company and the Regiment suffered its last casualty on active service, Private G.S. Wamell.

The Regiment stayed in Holland for four more months and then left for Canada from Portsmouth on September 24, 1945. They arrived in Canada on October 1st, where The Premier of Nova Scotia, Angus L MacDonald, presented the Regiment with a new Nova Scotia flag to replace the one he had given them in England.

Stretching from Sicily to Holland, there are 352 graves of West Novas who paid the final sacrifice during the War. Added to this were 1084 wounded and missing.

Since World War II the Regiment has sent soldiers on UN Peace Keeping tours in countries such as Yugoslavia, Cyprus, and the Middle East and on active duty in Afghanistan. Soldiers have continued to participate in unit training both in Aldershot and Gagetown, and individually or in small groups across Canada, the united States and Great Britain.
http://www.wnsr.ca/history


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A MINI HISTORY OF PIPING IN KINGS COUNTY

Most people connect the bagpipe with Scotland; here in Nova Scotia we tend to think in terms of the pipes as synonymous with Cape Breton and the neighbouring counties of Pictou and Antigonish.

However, little old Kings County with its deep Acadian, Planter and Loyalist roots has a piping tradition all its own. In fact, bagpiping has been alive and well in Kings County for well over 100 years. When Camp Aldershot was established over a century ago, first near Aylesford in the 1880s and later at its current site, highland militia regiments regularly held exercises there during the summer. Traditionally, pipers were fixtures in militia units such as the Pictou Highlanders and the Cape Breton Highlanders and these units trained at the camp since day one.

Also, there's photographic evidence that pipers were part and parcel of civic ceremonies in Kings County more than 100 years ago. Among the dignitaries posing for a photograph when the Kentville Exhibition Building opened in 1890, for example, is a piper is full highland regalia. The photograph is on file at the Kings County Museum.

Flashing forward, Camp Aldershot was the training base of the Nova Scotia Highland Brigade during the First World War. Included in this unit was the 85th Highland Battalion. A pipe band, or at the very least regimental pipers, were part and parcel of these units; photographs taken at Camp Aldershot during the war years clearly show the presence of pipe and drum units.

The "piping presence" was maintained during the Second World War when Camp Aldershot became a major infantry training centre. Retired Kentville school teacher Gordon Hansford played in a pipe band that was established at Aldershot in 1940 or 1941 by order of the base commander, Colonel J. Jeffrey. The band was comprised of members of various militia units that trained there. Most of the pipers and drummers came from outside but among the drummers were local lads such as Hansford, Carl King and Alfred Graves who later became Kentville's chief of police.

Carl King would later take up the pipes and was destined to be pipe major of several local bands in this area. King and Blair Campbell of Kentville were behind the founding of a cadet pipe band in Kentville in 1950, carrying on a tradition that had started over half a century earlier. When the Black Watch arrived at Camp Aldershot in 1952 their pipe band came with them and remained for nearly a decade, further enriching the art of piping in Kings County.

In 1970, about a decade after the Black Watch had departed Camp Aldershot, a civilian pipe band was formed in Kings County. Some of the pipers of this band still perform at numerous civic and private functions in the county today.

About two decades ago, the Canadian government decided that since the pipes have been part of the military since colonial days, most army and air force bases would include a pipe major. This has been the case at 14 Wing Greenwood since the 1980s. Currently, the 14 Wing Pipes and Drums, which is mainly a volunteer group, keeps the Kings County piping tradition alive.

Kings County piping timeline:

1880s - Pipers present at Camp Aldershot with militia units on the Aylesford Plains.
1904 - Highland militia with their pipers trained at Camp Aldershot.
1914-1918 - Highland regiments with pipers trained at Aldershot.
1940-1945 - Standing pipe band at Camp Aldershot.
1950 - Cadet pipe band formed in Kentville.
1953-1959 - Black Watch and their pipe band based at Camp Aldershot.
1970 - Civilian pipe band organised in county.
1980s-2006 - Pipe band maintained at Greenwood air base. -
http://users.eastlink.ca/~columns/editorial/2006/e06jan20.html






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CAMP ALDERSHOT- NOVA SCOTIA-


World War I Veterans of Guysborough County


The year 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of World War I. The purpose of this blog is to share the stories of the war's Guysborough County veterans, while providing background information related to their experiences. I plan to make the stories of the county's 900+ veterans available in a series of releases, from 2014 to 2018. Please contact me if you have any information to contribute to this project.




Wednesday, 17 October 2012



   
The 85th Canadian Infantry Battalion - "Nova Scotia Highlanders"



During the twelve months following the outbreak of the First World War, Nova Scotians enlisted in several regiments, most notably the 17th, 25th, 40th and 64th Infantry Battalions.  While each included substantial numbers of "Bluenosers", none were exclusively Nova Scotian. The 17th Battalion, for example, contained members of the Seaforth Highlanders, a British Columbia regiment.  Others, such as the 40th (Halifax Rifles), were built upon pre-war militia units and did not recruit across the entire province.  Several existing battalions, such as the Royal Canadian Regiment, solicited recruits in the province.  However, none of the above  were exclusively Nova Scotian units formed during the war and raised through province-wide recruitment.

The 85th Canadian Infantry Battalion, officially authorized on September 14, 1915, thus became the first Nova Scotian regiment created specifically for overseas service, and the only one to enter combat as a distinct fighting unit.   Commonly referred to as "The Nova Scotia Highlanders", its Scottish connections were readily apparent.  The battalion included a pipe band, its official air was the Scottish tune "The Cock o' the North", and its motto was the Gaelic phrase "Siol Na Fear Fearail" ("Breed of Manly Men").  Under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Allison H. Borden, the 85th established its headquarters at Camp Aldershot, where Lady Borden, wife of its commanding officer, presented the regiment with its colours on September 25, 1915.



Camp Aldershot, NS
The battalion immediately launched a province-wide recruitment campaign, each of its four companies targeting different regions.  "A" Company was drawn from Pictou, Colchester and Cumberland Counties.  "B" Company covered the largest area, focusing on Lunenburg, Queens, Shelburne, Yarmouth, Digby, Annapolis, Antigonish, Guysborough and Inverness Counties.  Personnel for "C" Company was drawn from Halifax, Hants and Kings Counties, while the fourth - "D" Company - concentrated on the remainder of Cape Breton Island.

Within one month of its inception, headquarters were relocated to Halifax, where the battalion mobilized 200 men "over strength" on  October, 14, 1915.  "A" Company was billeted in the Armouries, while the remaining three companies were quartered in huts erected on the adjacent Common.  Throughout the fall and winter of 1915-16, recruits enthusiastically trained in anticipation of the call to front line duty.

In early 1916, recruitment efforts expanded to include an additional three regiments - the 193rd, 185th and 219th Battalions - as part of a "Nova Scotia Highland Brigade".  [For further information on the 193rd and Highland Brigade, refer to the June 15, 2012 blog post.]  The 85th remained the Brigade's senior unit.  As events unfolded, it was the only component to remain intact as the other three battalions were eventually dispersed amongst existing units.



HM Transport Olympic
The call to overseas duty finally came more than a year after the battalion's creation.  On October 13, 1916, the 85th and other Highland Brigade units boarded HM Transport Olympic - "sister" ship to the famous Titanic - at Halifax.  The four battalions safely crossed the North Atlantic, disembarking at Liverpool six days later.  The 85th consisted of 34 officers and 1001 "other ranks" at the time of its arrival in England.

The men of the 85th spent the fall and early winter training at Witley Camp, Surrey, eagerly awaiting orders for transfer to France.  Following the dissolution of the Highland Brigade in December 1916, the 85th was finally on the move, crossing the English Channel on February 10, 1917 and completing final training for service "on the line" at Gouy Servins, Bouvigny and Bouvigny Wood.  In April 1917, the call to the front lines finally came as the 85th moved into "reserve" positions in support of the Canadian Corps' assault on Vimy Ridge.

Prior to the attack, the 85th was officially designated as a "working unit".  With no combat experience, its role was to follow advancing troops, carry ammunition, construct dugouts. maintain communication trenches and clear entangled wire in the aftermath of the assault.  As the April 9 attack unfolded, the battalion's role changed significantly.  While advancing infantry units successfully captured most of their objectives along the well-fortified ridge, German positions at Hill 145 - the ridge's highest and most strategically important feature - withstood the assault, leaving the Canadian left flank exposed to devastating machine gun fire.



85th Battalion Cap Badge


The overall success of the attack hung in the balance as Canadian commanders decided on their next move.  By day's end April 9, two companies of the 85th Battalion - "C" and "D" - were chosen to participate in an assault on Hill 145.  The following day, the Companies advanced up the ridge without the cover of an artillery barrage and in the face of relentless machine gun fire.  Dwindling German supplies and lack of reinforcements combined with the determination of the assaulting troops to force the German position's surrender and solidify the Ridge's capture.  The performance of the "green" 85th personnel on that day clearly demonstrated their readiness for combat.  In 1936, the Vimy Memorial was erected on this strategic location.



The 85th served "in the line" on the newly captured ridge until relieved on April 14.  Having received its first combat experience, the unit remained in the front trenches near Lens throughout the spring and summer of 1917.  In October 1917, the battalion joined other Canadian personnel in the deadly Ypres Salient as the Corps prepared for its second major assault of the year, on German positions at Passchendaele.



Soldiers of the 85th participated in the final assault on the small Belgian village, carried out from October 28 to November 2, 1917.  In particular, "D" Company, consisting mainly of Cape Bretoners who had enlisted with the disbanded 185th (Cape Breton Highlanders), participated in a crucial counter-attack during the battle.  German infantry seized a strategic portion of the front line by launching an attack during relief operations.  "D" Company, the relieving unit, succeeded in recapturing the trench at a decisive point in the battle, helping ensure a final Canadian victory.  The costs at Passchendaele, however, were considerable.  Thirteen officers, 123 non-commissioned officers and "other ranks" were killed during the battalion's short stay in Belgium.



85th Battalion Christmas Card
The battalion's 1917 successes led other Canadian units to refer to the 85th as "The Never Fails".  The 85th went on to record distinguished service throughout the remaining months of the war, particularly at Amiens (August 8 - 11, 1918), Arras (September 2 - 5, 1918) and Cambrai (September 25 - October 2, 1918).  Its performance solidified its reputation as a formidable infantry unit and reliable component of the Canadian Corps.

With the conclusion of hostilities, the battalion remained in Belgium until May 1, 1919, at which time its personnel returned to England.  On May 3, the men of the 85th joined thousands of British and Imperial troops in the Great March of Triumph through the streets of London.  On May 31, 1919, the battalion departed England for Canada, arriving in Halifax on June 8.  An estimated 60 000 Nova Scotians crowded the capital city's streets to mark its homecoming parade.

While the unit was officially demobilized on the day of arrival, it took several days for all personnel to be discharged.  On June 15, 1919, the battalion's remaining members of marched its regimental colours to Government House, where they were surrendered for posterity to the province's Lieutenant-Governor.  On September 15, 1920, the 85th Battalion was officially disbanded by General Order, bringing to an end the story of one of Nova Scotia's most significant contributions to Canada's First World War efforts.


*****

Sources:

85th Battalion.  Canadian Expeditionary Force Study Group.  Available online.

85th History: 85th Overseas Battalion C. E. F..  Kintail to Cape Breton.  Available online.

Hunt, M. S. Nova Scotia's Part in the Great War - 1920.  Manotick, Ontario: Archives CD Books Canada Inc., 2007.

 Images of Camp Aldershot, HM Transport Olympic, and 85th Battalion Christmas Card courtesy of Sherbrooke native Winn (Manson) Campbell, Kingston, NS.

 For an extensive history of the 85th Battalion, refer to:

Hayes, Lt. Col. Joseph.  The Eighty-Fifth in France and Flanders.  Halifax: Royal Print & Litho Limited, 1920.

Lt. Col. Hayes was the regiment's Medical Officer and was named a member of the Distinguished Service Order (D. S. O.) in recognition of his valuable service to King and country.  The book's index lists the names and provides brief details on the service of every member of the regiment.

http://guysboroughgreatwarveterans.blogspot.ca/2012/10/the-85th-canadian-infantry-battalion.html



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Nova Scotia Overseas Highland Brigade




SIOL NA FEAR FEARAIL
"THE BREED OF MANLY MEN"
THIS WAS THE MOTTO FOR THE ENTIRE
HIGHLAND BRIGADE.


following History of the Battalions are exerpts from the Nova Scotia Overseas Highland Brigade Military Photo Album 1916
Undoubtedly the most unique feature in the story of recruiting Canada's Overseas Forces was the organization of the NOVA SCOTIA HIGHLAND BRIGADE which had its inception in the 85th battalion. This unit was authorized September 14, 1915, with Lieut.-Col. Allison H. Borden in command. In less than a month the Battalion was over strength, and enthused by this success Col. Borden conceived the idea of raising another highland regiment in Nova Scotia, from which grew the larger ideal of the Nova Scotia Highland Brigade, and same was authorised on January 26th, 1916.
An energetic campaign was simultaneously started in almost every part of the province, and in less than three weeks the 185th, 193rd, and 219th Battalions were recruited over strength. This record is unsurpassed in any part of the Dominion, and the credit belongs to the Officers, N.C.O.'s and men of the 85th, which Battalion also to a great extent officered and organized the other three units of the Brigade.
Early in June the Brigade mobilised at Aldershot Camp, and the training of the unit commenced in earnest. Inspections were held at the camp during the summer by the Governor General, H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught: Premier Borden and Sir Sam Hughs, Minister of Militia, and all expressed the highest praise for the efficiency of the battalions and the manly character and bearing of the Officers and men. His Royal Highness the Governor General stated in his remarks to the Brigade that he had never before seen a finer body of men.
Shortly after encamping at Aldershot, Col. Borden obtained the co-operation of the Officers commanding the four Battalions in the work of having each officer and man of the Brigade photographed, primarily for the purpose of compiling a complete photographic record of the personnel of each unit, and ultimately to have the material for a Brigade edition. The work practically formed part of the daily routine of the battalions, and it was only at the end of the summer than the last of the men had been paraded to the studios erected for the purpose, in the grounds, and the complete set of photographs obtained, numbering approximately five thousand.
When it is realized that almost every home in Nova Scotia has a father, brother, husband or friend in the Brigade, the foresight and energy of the Officers commanding will be thoroughly appreciated by the people of the Province in making possible so complete a record of the heart and soul of Nova Scotia. The Brigade embarked for England on the OLYMPIC, which sailed out of Halifax at dusk on the 13th of October, 1916.
Nova Scotia Overseas Highland Brigade



http://bdbarry.tripod.com/id102.htm




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Military History

Explore the lives of your military ancestors with resources on unit history, military ships, veteran memorials, costumes, battlefield plans and home front activities. For example:


Battlefields of Canada, by Mary Beacock Fryer. 1986.

The C.E.F. Roll of Honour: Member and Former Members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force Who Died as a Result of Service in the Great War, 1914-1919, by Edward H. Wigney. 1996.


The Home Front: Wartime Life in Camp Aldershot and in Kentville, Nova Scotia, by Don F. Ripley. 1991.




The Home Front: Wartime Life in Camp Aldershot and Kentville, Nova Scotia [Paperback]
Donald F. Ripley (Author)




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Religion in Canada



Religion in Canada (2011 National Household Survey)[1]
Christianity (67.3%)
Non-religious (23.9%)
Islam (3.2%)
Hinduism (1.5%)
Sikhism (1.4%)
Buddhism (1.1%)
Judaism (1.0%)
Other religions (0.6%)
Religion in Canada encompasses a wide range of groups and beliefs.[2] The preamble to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms refers to "God", and the monarch carries the title of "Defender of the Faith". However, Canada has no official religion, and support for religious pluralism (Freedom of religion in Canada) is an important part of Canada's political culture.[3][4] The 2011 Canadian census reported that 67% of Canadians claim adherence to Christianity, followed by no religion at 24%,[1] but rates of religious adherence have been steadily decreasing.[5]
Pre-colonization Aboriginal religion was largely animistic. This included an intense reverence for spirits and nature.[6] French settlement beginning in the 17th century established a Roman Catholic francophone population in Acadia, now Nova Scotia and Lower Canada, now Quebec, followed by English settlement that brought Anglicans and other Protestants to Upper Canada, now Ontario. The religious, cultural, and political antagonism between Canadian Protestants and Catholics remains a central theme of Canadian history.[5]
It has been recently suggested that with Christianity on decline, having once been central and integral to Canadian culture and daily life;[7] Canada has come to enter a post-Christian period in a secular state,[8][9] with irreligion in Canada on the rise.[10] The practice of religion is now generally considered a private matter throughout society and within the state.[11] Additionally a majority of Canadians consider religion to be unimportant, but still believe in God.[12]


History[edit source]

See also: History of freedom of religion in Canada

To 1800[edit source]





Le Grand Voyage du Pays des Hurons, Gabriel Sagard, 1632.
By 1667 the Jesuits had established a station near present-day Green Bay, Wisconsin. Before the arrival of Europeans, the First Nations followed a wide array of mostly animistic religions. See also Native American mythology. The first Europeans to settle in great numbers in Canada were French Latin rite Roman Catholics, including a large number of Jesuits dedicated to converting the natives; an effort that eventually proved successful.[21]

The first large Protestant communities were formed in the Maritimes after they were conquered by the British. Unable to convince enough British immigrants to go to the region, the government decided to import continental Protestants from Germany and Switzerland to populate the region and counterbalance the Roman Catholic Acadians. This group was known as the Foreign Protestants. This effort proved successful and today the South Shore region of Nova Scotia is still largely Lutheran. After the Expulsion of the Acadians a large number of New England Planters settled on the vacated lands bringing with them their Congregationalist belief. During the 1770s, guided by Henry Alline, the New Light movement of the Great Awakening swept through the Atlantic region converting many of the Congregationalist to the new theology. After Alline's death many of these Newlights eventually became Baptists, thus making Maritime Canada the heartland of the Baptist movement in Canada.[22][23][24]

The Quebec Act of 1774 acknowledged the rights of the Roman Catholic Church throughout Lower Canada in order to keep the French-Canadians loyal to Britain.

The American Revolution brought about a large influx of Protestants to Canada. United Empire Loyalists, fleeing the rebellious United States, moved in large numbers to Upper Canada and the Maritimes. They comprised a mix of Christian groups with a large number of Anglicans, but also many Presbyterians and Methodists.

19th century[edit source]

While Anglicans consolidated their hold on the upper classes, workingmen and farmers responded to the Methodist revivals, often sponsored by visiting preachers from America. Typical was Rev. James Caughey, an American sent by the Wesleyan Methodist Church from the 1840s through 1864. He brought in the converts by the score, most notably in the revivals in Canada West 1851-53. His technique combined restrained emotionalism with a clear call for personal commitment, coupled with follow-up action to organize support from converts. It was a time when the Holiness Movement caught fire, with the revitalized interest of men and women in Christian perfection. Caughey successfully bridged the gap between the style of earlier camp meetings and the needs of more sophisticated Methodist congregations in the emerging cities.[25]





St. Paul's Church, Halifax. The oldest Anglican Church in Canada still standing, built in 1750
In the early nineteenth century in the Maritimes and Upper Canada, the Anglican Church held the same official position it did in England. This caused tension within English Canada, as much of the populace was not Anglican. Increasing immigration from Scotland created a very large Presbyterian community and they and other groups demanded equal rights. This was an important cause of the 1837 Rebellion in Upper Canada. With the arrival of responsible government, the Anglican monopoly was ended.[26]

In Lower Canada, the Roman Catholic Church was officially pre-eminent and had a central role in the colony's culture and politics. Unlike English Canada, French-Canadian nationalism became very closely associated with Roman Catholicism.[27] During this period, the Roman Catholic Church in the region became one of the most reactionary in the world. Known as Ultramontane Catholicism, the church adopted positions condemning all manifestations of liberalism.[28]

In politics, those aligned with the Roman Catholic clergy in Quebec were known as les bleus (the blues). They formed a curious alliance with the staunchly monarchist and pro-British Anglicans of English Canada (often members of the Orange Order) to form the basis of the Canadian Conservative Party. The Reform Party, which later became the Liberal Party, was largely composed of the anti-clerical French-Canadians, known as les rouges (the reds) and the non-Anglican Protestant groups. In those times, right before elections, parish priests would give sermons to their flock where they said things like Le ciel est bleu et l'enfer est rouge. This translates as "Heaven/the sky is blue and hell is red".

By the late nineteenth century, Protestant pluralism had taken hold in English Canada. While much of the elite were still Anglican, other groups had become very prominent as well. Toronto had become home to the world's single largest Methodist community and it became known as the "Methodist Rome". The schools and universities created at this time reflected this pluralism with major centres of learning being established for each faith. One, King's College, later the University of Toronto, was set up as a non-denominational school. The influence of the Orange Order was strong, especially among Irish Protestant immigrants, and comprised a powerful anti-Catholic force in Ontario politics; its influence faded away after 1920.[29]

The late nineteenth century also saw the beginning of a large shift in Canadian immigration patterns. Large numbers of Irish and Southern European immigrants were creating new Roman Catholic communities in English Canada. The population of the west brought significant Eastern Orthodox immigrants from Eastern Europe and Mormon and Pentecostal immigrants from the United States and Ireland

20th century[edit source]

In 1919-20 Canada's five major Protestant denominations (Anglican, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist, and Presbyterian) cooperatively undertook the "Forward Movement." The goal was to raise funds and to strengthen Christian spirituality in Canada. The movement invoked Anglophone nationalism by linking donations with the Victory Loan campaigns of the First World War I, and stressed the need for funds to Canadianize immigrants. Centred in Ontario, the campaign was a clear financial success, raising over $11 million. However the campaign exposed deep divisions among Protestants, with the traditional evangelists speaking of a personal relationship with God and the more liberal denominations emphasizing the Social Gospel and good works.[30] Both factions (apart from the Anglicans) agreed on prohibition, which was demanded by the WCTU.[31]

Domination of Canadian society by Protestant and Roman Catholic elements continued until well into the 20th century, however. Until the 1960s, most parts of Canada still had extensive Lord's Day laws that limited what one could do on a Sunday. The English-Canadian elite were still dominated by Protestants, and Jews and Roman Catholics were often excluded. A slow process of liberalization began after the Second World War in English-Canada. Overtly Christian laws were expunged, including those against homosexuality. Policies favouring Christian immigration were also abolished.

1960s and after[edit source]

The most overwhelming change occurred in the Quiet Revolution Quebec in the 1960s. In 1950, the province was one of the most traditional Roman Catholic areas in the world. Church attendance rates were high, and the schools were largely controlled by the church. In the 1960s, the Catholic Church lost most of its influence in Quebec, and religiosity declined sharply.[32] While the majority of Québécois are still professed Latin rite Roman Catholics, rates of church attendance have decreased dramatically.[33] Common law relationships, abortion, and support for same-sex marriage are more common in Quebec than in the rest of Canada.





 Inauguration of United Church at Mutual Street Arena, Toronto, on June 10, 1925
English Canada also underwent secularization. The United Church of Canada, the country's largest Protestant denomination, became one of the most liberal major Protestant churches in the world. Flatt argues that in the 1960s Canada's rapid cultural changes led the United Church to end its evangelical programs and change its identity. It made revolutionary changes in its evangelistic campaigns, educational programs, moral stances, and theological image. Membership declined sharply as the United Church affirmed a commitment to gay rights including marriage and ordination, and to the ordination of women.[34][35]

Meanwhile a strong current of evangelical Protestantism emerged. The largest groups are found in the Atlantic Provinces and Western Canada, particularly in Alberta, southern Manitoba and the southern interior and Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, also known as the "Canadian Bible Belt", as well as parts of Ontario. outside the Greater Toronto Area. The social environment is more conservative, somewhat more in line with that of the Midwestern and southern United States, and same-sex marriage, abortion, and common-law relationships are less widely accepted. This movement has grown sharply after 1960. The evangelicals increasingly influence public policy. Nevertheless, the overall proportion of evangelicals in Canada remains considerably lower than in the U.S. and the polarization much less intense. There are very few evangelicals in Quebec and in the largest urban areas, which are generally secular, although there are several congregations above 1000 in most large cities.[36]
---------------------------





AS U CAN SEE- MUCH OF CANADA'S EARLY HISTORY WAS WRITTEN BY PROTESTANTS-  US ROMAN CATHOLICS LIKE LOUIS RIEL DIDN'T GET MUCH OF A FAIR SHAKE....


Protestantism- CANADA

ARTICLE CONTENTS: The Shaping of Western Civilization  |  In Contrast to the Catholics  |  Distinctive Forms  |  Suggested Reading

 

Protestantism is the religious tradition of Western CHRISTIANITY that rejects the authority of the pope of Rome. Protestantism originated in the Reformation of the 16th century in Christian Europe, and Protestants have been said to share 3 basic convictions: 1) the Bible is the ultimate authority in matters of religious truth; 2) human beings are saved only by God's "grace" (ie, unearned gift); and 3) all Christians are priests; ie, are able to intercede with God on behalf of others and themselves, able to bear witness, able to confess their sins and be forgiven.
When a carefully engineered Catholic majority voted down certain reforms at the Diet of Speyer in Germany in 1529, the defeated minority earned the name "Protestant," derived from the Latin phrase meaning "to testify in favour of something." The rejection of Roman Catholic teaching and practice quickly became focused on rejection of the authority of the pope, often referred to as the "Anti-Christ" by Protestants. Repudiation of the papacy has been the only common characteristic of all Protestants at all times.


The Shaping of Western Civilization
 It has been said that Western civilization has been shaped decisively by the other 3 convictions of Protestantism. For example, the veneration of the Bible fostered literacy and popular education. The experience of God's gracious gift paradoxically moved Protestants to insist upon a stern standard of morality, and to work hard (the so-called "Protestant Ethic" described by sociologist Max Weber). The "priesthood of all believers" led to modern democracy, and to worldly activity that ironically favoured the growth of secularism (ie, a standpoint independent of the sacred). While scholars are seriously divided over the validity of these claims, most Protestants have been happy to assert them.

In fact, Protestant practice has often obscured the 3 disputed characteristics. If Protestants unite around the authority of the Bible, they frequently interpret it differently and usually give emphasis to different parts of it. Protestants have been known to speak of God's grace, but to act as if everything depended upon their own human effort. And respect for the ordained ministry of word, sacraments and pastoral care has undermined the priesthood of all believers.


In Contrast to the Catholics
 (see CATHOLICISM), Protestants generally celebrate only 2 sacraments (baptism and the Lord's supper) and they emphasize preaching and relative informality in their services of Sunday worship. Protestant congregations often sing in harmony. The high points of their religious calendar are Christmas, Easter and Pentecost (feast of the descent of the Holy Spirit and the founding of the Church). Only in some instances do Protestants (notably Anglicans) include bishops among their clergy, whose ranks usually include women, although not in large numbers. Lay people generally play significant roles in the life of the local congregation, which remains the basic and most characteristic unit of Protestant churches.

The early French explorers brought Protestant chaplains with them to Canada, and their violent disputes with Catholic chaplains established a pattern that recurred in the religious history of Canada. By 1659, however, it was clear that Protestants would not be tolerated in New France. Then the British CONQUEST shifted ascendancy to the Protestants and, until about the time of WWII, Protestants exercised hegemony over the culture and institutions of English-speaking Canada. That Protestant hegemony was finally dissipated by the presence of immigrants from Europe, many of whom were Catholics, Jews and Orthodox Christians, and by the secularizing of Canada. Today Protestants constitute 36% of the Canadian population, and just over half of those Protestants are members of the UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA and the Anglican Church of Canada (see ANGLICANISM).


Distinctive Forms
 Protestantism took a distinctive form in Canadian history. In continental Europe, Lutherans played a large part, but not in English-speaking Canada. In Britain, the Anglican Church was the established church, but in Canada Anglicans never achieved dominance. In the US, there were many Protestant denominations, but in English-speaking Canada church unions occurred more readily and a few denominations rose to pre-eminence. Until the 20th century with its non-Protestant immigration and secularization, Canadian Protestants had relatively little to protest.

We have seen that historians dispute what the heritage of Protestantism is. Today many wonder what its future will be. Protestants marry non-Protestants with increasing freedom and regularity; Canadian society is increasingly secularized; and religious life itself is more private that it once was. With the new attention that Canadian Catholics are paying to the study of the Bible, to the experience of God's grace in the CHARISMATIC RENEWAL and to the importance of lay ministry and vocations, the 3 alleged convictions of Protestantism seem less distinctively Protestant. On the Protestant side, the affection and respect which many have shown for some recent popes encourage speculation that the only consistent anchor of Protestantism may be working itself loose.

Author TOM FAULKNER


Suggested Reading
 David B. Marshall, Secularizing the Faith (1992); George A. Rawlyk, ed, The Canadian Protestant Experience 1760 to 1990 (1990).


http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/protestantism


----------------

CANADA'S HISTORY

The Path of Glory: The Plains of Abraham

 

The battle of the Plains of Abraham, likely the greatest turning point in our history, has given rise to what historian C.P. Stacey called a "luxuriant crop of popular legends." However much military history falls out of favour, that battle remains there in our imaginations, full of drama, tragedy and pathos. There is, of course, that famous romantic painting by Benjamin West depicting the "Death of Wolfe." It was for centuries one of the most popular images in the English-speaking world, but in historical accuracy, it is one of the worst.



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 One of the more enduring legends (for it is likely true) about the campaign is the one relating to Wolfe and Thomas Gray's poem "Elegy in a Country Churchyard." As his boat slips down the dark stream towards the Anse au Foulon (Wolfe's Cove), bearing him to death and immortality, the general recites the lines:

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r,
 And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
 Awaits alike the inexorable hour.
 The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
That little cove is one of the more celebrated bits of Canadian geography. We don't know exactly how Wolfe selected it. He might have been tipped off by deserters or he may have found it himself on his river reconnaissance. It was a risky choice. It lies about a kilometer west of the walls of Quebec and was dominated by an artillery battery and a camp of French soldiers. It would have to be approached at night. The French general, the Marquis de Montcalm, had no worries about an attack from there: "I swear to you that 100 men, well posted, could stop the whole army [there]," he declared.

In the event, a French sentry did challenge the British when they landed in the early morning of September 13, 1759. A Scottish Highlander who spoke French was one of the first people in Canada to prove the advantages of bilingualism. When asked his identity he replied "la France et vive le roi." The advance party scaled the cliffs, dragging two brass six-pounder cannon behind them. When the French woke it was to the shock of seeing the redcoats neatly lined up on the heights.

The background to the battle used to be known to every school child. By late June 1759 the British forces controlled the St Lawrence across the river from the walled fortress of Quebec, sitting impregnable atop a 70-metre cliff. Repeated efforts to force the French into an open battle failed and winter was approaching. This was to be Wolfe's last desperate gamble.

When Montcalm got news of the breach, he had a difficult decision. Should he wait for the return of nearby reinforcements? Or should he attack immediately, before the British could dig in? He could not simply sit behind the fortress walls and let the winter dissipate the siege. Wolfe's army now lay right across the French supply lines. The French would starve before the British.


Benjamin West's painting is among the most famous historical paintings of all time, although as a historical record it is among the worst. Although it contains numerous inaccuracies its depiction of heroic death on a foreign battlefield remains a powerful image (courtesy NGC/8007).

Montcalm formed up the militia, the First Nations allies and his crack regular troops. At about 10 A.M. he ordered the forward march and the drums began to roll. The mixture of militia and regulars is often blamed for the disorder of the advance. Some men fired too soon. Others broke ranks. Meanwhile, the scarlet line stood unmoved and held their fire until the enemy was within 40 yards.

One of the legends of the battle is the single crashing volley, "the most perfect ever fired on a battlefield." That may be simplistic but against the precision fire the French line quickly broke into a total rout. At this moment Wolfe met his fate. He had exposed himself recklessly on high ground. He was shot in the wrist and then in the chest. Only moments later Montcalm received his mortal wound. He rode painfully into the city and died the next morning. While Montcalm was buried in a shell hole, Wolfe received all the honour and prestige of a great military hero. He shares a monument in Westminster Abbey with Elizabeth I, Richard II and Mary Queen of Scots.

After the battle Quebec capitulated and all Canada was soon in British control. The battle had enormous consequences for all of North America. It may be of less historical moment, but the debate over the two fallen leaders continues unabated. The verdict on Montcalm is fairly clear. He was a gallant and attractive figure, but he made a fatal miscalculation. He attacked prematurely and his order of battle was flawed. History has been less and less kind to Wolfe. True, he was sadly ineffective in strategy before the battle. His ordered a campaign of terror in the French countryside. He had terrible relations with his subordinates. But how far can we degrade success? He may have rolled the dice and he may have been inordinately lucky, but he won.

James H. Marsh is editor in chief of The Canadian Encyclopedia.
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/featured/the-path-of-glory-the-plains-of-abraham




----------------



NEWS CANADA


September 3, 2013

Horses as healers for veterans

Lisa Conrod and her partner Don Wood, a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder, participated in a three-day equine therapy workshop in Alberta



http://www.cmaj.ca/site/earlyreleases/3sept13_horses-as-healers-for-veterans.xhtml

Equine-assisted psychotherapy may sound like yet another health fad. But the uptake tells another story. There are now more than 600 equine-assisted psychotherapy and learning programs worldwide, including more than 20 in Canada, that help clients deal with conditions ranging from autism to addiction, eating disorders to depression. Most recently, soldiers with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are attending equine programs, and Veterans Affairs Canada is providing funding for efficacy research to one such program.

Can Praxis, an Alberta-based collaboration, is developing specific instruments to measure the acquisition of strength-based life skills and reduction in symptoms of PTSD among its veteran clients.

Can Praxis' equine-assisted learning program was developed by Steve Critchley, a Canadian Forces veteran and conflict manager, and Jim Marland, an experienced psychologist. So far this year they have conducted five pilot workshops involving 23 veterans and 20 spouses.

Don Wood and Lisa Conrod flew from Shearwater, Nova Scotia, to Rocky Mountain Horse, Alberta, to participate in one of the three-day workshops. Don got a diagnosis of PTSD in 2008 and has been undergoing psychotherapy through the military for five years. When Conrod first told Wood about the workshop, she says he was skeptical, but through telephone conversations with Critchley, Wood began to see the potential value in a program designed for both him and his spouse.  

In reflecting on what made the Can Praxis program unique, Wood highlights the peaceful setting, which is "not anything near anything military,"  the self-mediation skills he was taught and the horses: "When you're frustrated, they get nervous and scared. They sense your stress, even though you try to hide it."

The Can Praxis program is delivered at zero cost to participants. Initial sessions have been sponsored by Wounded Warriors, a nonprofit organization that helps Canadian Forces members who have been wounded or injured in service.

In May 2013, Veterans Affairs Canada pledged $25 000 to Can Praxis to help them evaluate the effectiveness of animal-assisted interventions that support veterans' recovery. Veterans Affairs Canada provides services and benefits to 211 675 individuals, which includes 16 206 people who receive a disability pension or award for a mental health condition. Of the latter, 11 617 are related to PTSD. Media Relations Officer Simon Forsyth says, "The pilot will develop and test measurement tools that will assist in future research on the effectiveness of animal-assisted interventions."

Dr. Randy Duncan is a co-investigator on the project and played a lead role in writing the funding proposal to Veterans Affairs Canada. To measure the outcomes of the program, which include acquisition of skills and knowledge as well as improvement in symptoms of  PTSD, Duncan said they have developed two instruments: the Horses Relieving OperationaL Stress Through Experiential Relationships (HOLSTER) and the Benefitting from Experiential Learning Together (BELT) tools.

Can Praxis has applied for up to $50 000 in additional funding through the Horses and Humans Research Foundation to continue pilot testing into 2014. Duncan hopes to provide an acceptable sample size for the required analyses and validation process by having approximately100 participants - both veterans and their spouses or partners - through the program.

Other research has found that horse-assisted therapy in general, yields results. For example, a 2012 Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health report concluded that it was effective in children who have experienced family violence, patients with schizophrenia and children with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). Of the three studies included in this report, only one measured the effectiveness of equine-assisted psychotherapy sessions with a therapist; the other two used therapeutic horseback riding.


DOI:10.1503/cmaj.109-4578

- Erin Russell, CMAJ
http://www.cmaj.ca/site/earlyreleases/3sept13_horses-as-healers-for-veterans.xhtml

-------------------





IN CANADA- LIKE IRELAND-  IT'S ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT US CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANTS...





Protestant Reaction in Upper Canada
to the "Popish Threat"
by
FRANKLIN ARTHUR WALKER, M.A.
While it would seem to serve no object to revive the rancours of religious
enmities, now happily in great measure forgotten, nevertheless it is not possible
to understand important elements in Canadian political history without studying
the religious attitudes of the settlers in this province. Religion in the first half of
the nineteenth century played a role in political agitation hardly to be imagined
today and it must, therefore, be considered a serious oversight for historians to
neglect the significance of the popular religious literature of the period.
Protestant thought in Upper Canada is influenced directly by three major
factors. In the first place it is a reflection of the exciting intellectual and religious
stirrings in Great Britain; secondly it displays a worried consciousness of the
large and increasing French Catholic population in Lower Canada, and finally
there is that element which so aroused Protestantism in the United States: a
growing Catholic immigration, mostly Irish, which meant an extension of
Catholic churches and convents in Protestant areas and the eventual fury of the
separate school controversy. The nativist and Know Nothing movements in the
United States have a counterpart in the political activities of the Orange Order
in Upper Canada.
It is not my intention in this paper to review the more widely publicised
aspects of the disputes in Upper Canada, such as the Catholic school question
in the 1850's and the Gavazzi riots in 1853. On the contrary I shall present the
lesser-known Protestant views of the Roman Catholic Church which I have
gleaned from an examination of Protestant periodicals available in the Toronto
Public Library. Although obviously far more detailed research and considerably
more space would be required for an adequate handling of a topic so broad, yet
it is hoped that this cursory survey will be of use in bringing to the fore problems
which may be of interest to the Catholic historian.
The sensitivity of Upper Canadian opinion to developments in Great Britain
is to be expected, and it is entertaining to view these events as seen through
colonial eyes. It should be remembered that the religious revival, which very
roughly coincides with romanticism and the struggle against revolutionary
France and against liberal secularism, was by no means confined to a narrow
minority within the more soulful of the intellectuals nor to the more enthusiastic
of Methodist factory hands. Without doubting the "widespread irreligion" with
which the masses are accused in every age, without denying the predilection for
paganism among the restless in the upper classes and even without blinding
- 92 -
ourselves to the avaricious hypocrisy or to the benign, utilitarian rationalism on
the part of the vigorous middle class, it is still evident from reading
contemporary sources that religious opinion was a motive so strong in the lives
of men and in the actions of governments that in the problem of historical
causality it shares a proud place with economic urges.
If Protestant magazines in Britain were concerned with the implications of
Catholic emancipation in 1829 and with the recurring unrest in Ireland, so too
were Protestants in the colonies. The agitation in 1845 over the Maynooth
endowment was not overlooked here, and the 'papal aggression" of 1850 which
saw the appointment of Dr. Nicholas Wiseman as Cardinal Archbishop of
Westminster, was regarded by many Protestant writers here as a dreadful symbol
of Roman Catholic plans for world domination. Most alarming of all, many
Protestants felt, was the Tractarian Movement within the Church of England, in
which some saw Jesuitism in its most insidious function. Dr. Edward Pusey and
his associates during the 1830's and 40's received constant drubbings, and the
eventual adherence to Rome by John Henry Newman and his distinguished
followers was regarded as the logical termination for weak-minded and
evilly-disposed men.
The Protestant press in Upper Canada does not always provide pleasant
reading. At the same time, however, we should not allow ourselves the luxury
of righteous indignation over the publication of an absurd picture of Catholic
doctrine and practices without appreciating the positive aspects of Protestant
thought during this period. The contributions made by the genuine and edifying
piety of the Wesleyans and Presbyterians outside the Church of England and the
Evangelicals and High Churchmen within that body are part of an inheritance
which we all enjoy. We may deplore the distorted view which so many Protestant
writers held of the Church of Rome, but it is only right to acknowledge that the
damning of the Pope played a minor role in Upper Canadian periodicals; the
larger portion of the columns in Protestant magazines here were devoted to
positive expositions of Christian belief. And it is consoling to realise that the
alarms sounded at the present time by a Mr. Blanchard or by certain extremists
in our own country are insignificant as compared with the anti-Catholic effusions
of a hundred years ago.
In an age which demanded less originality from its publishers, periodicalls
were composed in large measure of clippings from other journals. Protestant
magazines here contained, therefore, many articles from British papers which
reported anti-Catholic meetings in England in which Catholic theology was
misrepresented; reprints of nasty little poems in which Catholics were said to
have been obliged to "buy" absolution, or, more often, news stories of the many
alleged "conversions" of Catholics to the true Protestant faith, or, at times,
stories of the regrettable "perversions to Romanism." Writings and addresses of
apostate priests were given a wide circulation.
On the one hand we are told that the day of Roman tyranny is drawing to a
close. With the spread of the Scriptures in Ireland, Spain, southern Germany and
The Cottager's Friend, and 1 Guide of the Young. vol. 1, No. 7, August, 1854, p.
168.
2 The Canadian United Presbyterian Magazine, Toronto, vol. 3, No. 5, May 1,
1856, p. 97.
3 Ibid. vol. 2, No. 4, April 1, 1855, p. 126.
4 The Canadian Christian Examiner, and Presbyterian Magazine, Niagara, vol.
4, No. 5, May, 1840, p. 139.
- 93 -
Italy, people are beginning at last to walk in the light, as Protestantism joins with
liberalism to destroy the common enemy. On the other hand, somewhat
inconsistently, the Pope is spreading treacherous forces everywhere, but most
noticeably in the Protestant strongholds of England and America. It is, then, of
consequence that Protestants awaken to the threat if they wish to avoid
repetitions of the Spanish Inquisition or the Marian executions.
Such was the view expressed by someone calling herself "Caroline," who
offered the following verse to the public in the August, 1854, issue of the
Toronto Methodist magazine The Cottager'' Friend, and Guide of the Young:
Popery
O Antichrist, thou art a fearful thing!
What desolation in thy track appears!
What records foul and stain'd can memory bring, -
Of blood, and death, and wounds, and groans, and tears,
Wrought by thy ruthless sway through slow-revolving years!1
The term "Antichrist" was used commonly here as elsewhere to denote the
Roman Church and, more specifically, the Pope. The Canadian United
Presbyterian Magazine published in Toronto in May, 1856, contains a serious
article discussing the exact date when the Pontiff would fall so that the
Revelation prophecy of the fall of the "wild beast" Antichrist would take place.
The anonymous contributor suggests the year 2000 AD as the most probable
date.2
In similar vein, the same magazine in 1855 declared that the promulgation
of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception might put an end to the "coquetry
of Semi-Protestants with the mother of Harlots."3 Fifteen years earlier another
Presbyterian magazine published at Niagara, in a horrified rejection of any
possibility of the use of Catholic externals in church building, told its readers
that: "Protestants ought not to have crosses in their places of worship... the cross
is the sign of the beast, the armorial bearings of Popish Rome. Surely all good
Protestants ought to avoid the badge of that corrupt and persecuting church."4
"Semi-heathenish" was the expression used to describe the Catholic Church
by the Wesleyan Methodist Magazine of Canada, published in Toronto, 1862:
Wesleyan Methodist Magazine 5 of Canada, Toronto, vol. 1, July, 1862, p. 241.
6 The Wesleyan, Toronto, vol. 2, No. 16, April 20, 1842, p. 121.
7 The Canadian Quarterly Review and Family Magazine, Hamilton, vol. 2, No.
4, April, 1866, p. 455.
- 94 -
The decay and languishing condition of Romanism is one of the present signs
which betoken its semi-heathenish character. It, too, is going the way of all the
earth. The nations that have long bowed to its sway, under its dogmatic
pretensions to a Divine authority, are beginning to wake up to a sense of its
impious impositions and pernicious results.5
Far stronger was an article by James Douglas printed in The Wesleyan, Toronto,
1842. Here Catholics as a body are treated rather roughly:
instead of the true church, which is a spiritual body with Christ for its head,
Popery is but a putrifying and noisome carcass - a collection of unregenerate
men, the doers of every evil work with those who love and those who make a
lie, with the Pope, not the Saviour, for their head.6
In one unusual article the Pope is obliged to share his office as the
embodiment of all iniquity with such unlooked-for companions as American
democracy and free trade. The Canadian Quarterly Review and Family
Magazine edited at Hamilton in April, 1866, by George D. Griffin, has this to
say of society in the United States:
St. John, (Rev. 16, 13) further describes the threefold source of all their
wickedness, under the type of three unclean spirits. The first emanating from
the dragon, that is, republicanism or false principles of government in church
and state, a bottomless pit of themselves. The second from the beast or Roman
Catholic church, because the Pope or head and the priests thereof not only
profess to forgive sins against God and man, but to be authorised to sell for
money Indulgences to commit sins against God and man, they are therefore
messengers of the bottomless pit.
The third unclean spirit is out of the mouth of the false prophets and includes
all those who teach the infidel doctrines of free governments, free trade and
free thinking, and say that there is no God, or that God has ceased to take note
of or to control the nations of the earth.7
Often, however, Roman Catholicism was isolated in its position as
scapegoat. Protestant periodicals, while sometimes denouncing heavy drinking
in England, tended to forget the misery of agricultural and industrial classes in
the United Kingdom as they contrasted the poverty of Roman Catholic countries
with the pretended enlightenment and prosperity in Protestant lands. Ireland in
particular was the concern of Protestant writers, who thought that only the mass
rejection of Catholicism in favour of Protestantism could revive that unhappy
8 The Ecclesiastical and Missionary Record, for the Presbyterian Church of
Canada, Streetsville, vol. 4, No. 5, March, 1848, p. 75.
9 For example, see The Gospel Tribune, Toronto, vol. 1, No. 3, July, 1854, p. 83.
10 The Canadian United Presbyterian Magazine, vol. 3, No. 11, Nov. 1, 1856, pp.
345, 346.
11 The Canadian Christian Examiner, and Presbyterian Magazine, vol. 4, No. 5,
May, 1840, p. 141.
- 95 -
island. The Ecclesiastical and Missionary Record for the Presbyterian Church
of Canada, published at Streetsville, in March, 1848, contained this appealing
passage from the English Presbyterian Messenger:
O Ireland! haSt thou never heard that "righteousness exalteth a nation," and
that "godliness is profitable for all things?" Whereas Popery is damnable for all
things, both for this life and that which is to come. The Gospel alone can
remedy what coercion bills, and poordaws, and railroads, and tenant right, and
repeal, and all outward institutions and measures, never can reach, the moral
degradation and mental prostration of Ireland, through the curse of Popery,
with its degrading idolatry and corrupting priesthood. Popery, body-debasing
and soul-destroying Popery, is the root of Ireland's misery.8
To give empirical evidence to support this attitude, it was common to print
statistics to prove that serious crimes were committed in a higher ratio in
Catholic countries than in Protestant areas.9 There is little recognition granted
to Catholic culture; a picture is drawn of priest-ridden provinces where crime
accompanies illiteracy and commercial stagnation. It is a grotesque view, but it
is one portrayed with such frequency that it must have been a basic assumption
in the thinking of the average Upper Canadian Protestant. An explanation of
Catholic degeneracy given in The Canadian United Presbyterian Magazine,
Toronto, 1856, is typical. Here the Catholic clergy are exposed as men with "an
inveterate enmity against the liberal education of the people... because general
knowledge has ever been fatal to their unrighteous claims, and to their
anti-Christian impositions." Therefore, the article continues, "in those fine
countries ... where Popery is dominant, the people, with some exceptions, in
connexion with the profession of Protestantism, remain in debasing ignorance,
involved in degrading superstition, as they are not possessed of the Holy
Scriptures, nor permitted to hear the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ."10
Such was the customary bent of much of Protestant writing throughout the
whole history of Upper Canada and Canada and Canada West. For example in
1840 The Canadian Christian Examiner, and Presbyterian Magazine used this
language to warn of the activities of Catholic priests: "For certain very important
ends, important to them, they have sunk the minds of men into the grossest
ignorance, and have turned religion into show and fancy ... Within the circle
which the priest draws, the intellect and the heart cannot enter."11
The Canada 12 Evangelist, Amherstburg, vol. 3, No. 2, Feb., 1853, p. 23.
13 Ibid, vol. 1, No. 8, August, 1851, p. 125.
- 96 -

http://www.umanitoba.ca/colleges/st_pauls/ccha/Back%20Issues/CCHA1951/Walker.pdf

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 Fenian Raids.










Contents
  [hide] 1 Preface
2 Fenian Raid of 1866 2.1 Chapter I.
2.2 Chapter II.
2.3 Chapter III.
2.4 Chapter IV.
2.5 Chapter V.
2.6 Chapter VI.
2.7 Chapter VII.
2.8 Chapter VIII.
2.9 Chapter IX.
2.10 Chapter X.
2.11 Chapter XI.
2.12 Chapter XII.
2.13 Chapter XIII.
2.14 Chapter XIV.
2.15 Chapter XV.
2.16 Chapter XVI.
2.17 Chapter XVII.
2.18 Chapter XVIII.

3 The Fenian Raid of 1870 3.1 Chapter I.
3.2 Chapter II.
3.3 Chapter III.
3.4 Chapter IV.
3.5 Chapter V.
3.6 Chapter VI.
3.7 Chapter VII.
3.8 Chapter VIII.


Preface[edit]

One of the most dangerous and critical periods in the history of Canada was that which closely followed the termination of the Civil War between the Northern and Southern States of America in the year 1865. It is a strange fact that Canadian authors and historians do not seem to have fully realized the gravity of the situation that then existed, as the event has been passed over by them with the barest possible mention. Thus the people of the present generation know very little of the Fenian troubles of 1866 and 1870, and the great mass of the young Canadian boys and girls who are being educated in our Public Schools and Colleges are in total ignorance of the grave danger which cast dark shadows over this fair and prosperous Dominion in those stormy days. It was a period of great peril to this rising young Nation of the North, which might possibly have ended in the severance of Canada from British dominion. But happily this was prevented by the prompt measures that were taken to defend our soil, and the quick response that was made by the resolute Canadian Volunteers when the bugles sounded the call to assemble for active service on our frontiers.

The fierce conflict which had been waged in the United States of America for four long years between the North and the South was terminated by the subjugation of the latter in the spring of 1865, and the tattered battle flags of the Confederate forces were furled forever. Over a million of men, veteran soldiers of both armies, were still in the field when the Civil War ended, and when these mighty forces were disbanded, hundreds of thousands of trained warriors were thrown upon their own resources, without occupation or employment. While the majority of these soldiers quickly resumed their old business or farming pursuits, yet there remained idle a vast number of turbulent and restless spirits who were ready and willing to embark in any fillibustering expedition that might present itself. These men were all trained and seasoned veterans of both the Union and Confederate armies--soldiers who were inured to the hardships and rigors of many campaigns and fierce battles, and thousands of them readily enrolled themselves under the Fenian banners in anticipation of a war being inaugurated against the British nation, with the invasion of Canada as the first step.

The defence of our extensive Canadian frontier depended mainly upon the volunteer militia force of the scattered Provinces, and to their patriotism and gallantry in springing to arms when their services were needed to defend their native land, may be ascribed the glory of frustrating the attempts of the Fenian invaders to establish themselves on Canadian soil. True, there were some British regular troops on duty in Canada in 1866 around which to rally, and they did their duty nobly, but in the operations on the Niagara frontier especially, it was the Canadian volunteers who bore the brunt of battle, and by their devotion to duty, courage and bravery under hostile fire, succeeded in causing the hasty retirement of the Fenian invaders from our shores, and again, as in days of yore, preserved Canada to the Empire, as one of the brightest jewels in the British Crown.

Having personally seen active service on the Niagara frontier during both of the Fenian Raids of 1866 and 1870, and retaining vivid recollections of the situation of affairs at the front during these two campaigns, I will endeavor in the succeeding Chapters of this book to give the reader a faithful account of what occurred on these stirring occasions. I have not relied on memory alone to present these facts, but have corroborated my personal knowledge by reference to official records, and reports of officers, which may be found in the archives of the Militia Department at Ottawa, and the Ontario Bureau of Archives at Toronto.

I have endeavored to fully cover the subject, and put on record the splendid service which our gallant volunteers rendered to their country in 1866 and 1870. Hoping that the reader will find these pages interesting, and at all times be ready to emulate their example,
I am yours faithfully. JOHN A. MACDONALD.41 Macdonell Ave., Toronto, May, 1910.
Fenian Raid of 1866[edit]

Chapter I.[edit]

UNHAPPY IRELAND SEETHING IN SEDITION--THE FENIAN BROTHERHOOD--HATCHING THE PLOT--THE MOVEMENT OF '65--A SPLIT IN THE FENIAN CAMP.

Every student of history is aware that for centuries the condition of affairs in Ireland has not been altogether happy, owing largely to the revolutionary schemes which have from time to time been hatched by so-called "patriots" to "free Ireland from the yoke of the oppressor," as they termed it in their appeals to the people to incite rebellion, but more properly speaking to bring about a repeal of the union between Great Britain and Ireland and establish an Irish nation on Irish soil. Many brave but misguided men have been led to their death by joining in such rebellious conspiracies against constitutional government in years gone by, and still the spirit of discontent and hatred of British rule is kept smouldering, with occasional outbursts of revolt as succeeding leaders appear on the scene to inflame the passions of the people.

Of the Irish troubles of earlier years it is not the purpose of the writer to speak, but rather to deal with events which occurred immediately prior to and during the period involving the Fenian invasions of Canada.

For some time previous to the year 1865 the leader of the revolutionary movement in Ireland was James Stephens. He was a man of considerable influence among his compatriots, possessed of good executive ability, and had great capacity for organization along revolutionary lines. Being an energetic worker and a forcible speaker, he quickly enlisted the cooperation of other "patriots" in promoting the establishment of the Fenian Brotherhood, of which he was chosen the "Head Centre" for Ireland. This organization spread with such rapidity throughout Ireland and America that it soon became one of the most dangerous and formidable revolutionary forces ever known in the history of any country. Its members were oath-bound to use every means to bring about the emancipation of Ireland from the rule of Great Britain, and to encompass the downfall of "the bloody Sassenachs" on every hand. After thoroughly planting the seeds of sedition in Ireland, Head Centre Stephens and his coadjutor General John O'Mahony visited America for the purpose of invoking the aid of their compatriots on this side of the Atlantic. Their idea was to make an attempt to emancipate Ireland by striking a blow for freedom on the soil of the Emerald Isle itself, and if successful to establish their cherished Republic firmly, become recognized as a nation by the different nations of the earth, and thereafter govern their own affairs. On their arrival in the United States the Irish envoys received a most enthusiastic welcome from their countrymen, and receptions were arranged in their honor on their visits to all of the principal cities in the Union. The speeches delivered at these gatherings were of the most fervid and enthusiastic nature, and the hopes of the Irish people rose high in the belief that an Irish Parliament would soon hold a session in Dublin. Money and men were asked for from America by Head Centre Stephens, both of which were freely promised "for the sake of the cause." In due course of time the Irish-Americans contributed over $200,000 in cash, besides an immense quantity of war material, towards making the proposed insurrection a success. Volunteers for active service on Irish soil were numerous, and everything looked rosy for Head Centre Stephens when he left America for Ireland to direct "The Movement of '65." But, alas, his high hopes were doomed to be shattered. The initial steps in the campaign had barely been taken when "dark clouds in the horizon" began to loom up. A small vessel, called the "Erin's Hope." had been despatched from America with a cargo of rifles, ammunition and other war supplies for the use of the Fenians in Ireland. A company of adventurous patriots were on board to assist their brethren in "the rising," and all were brave and confident of success. They had hoped to run into a secluded bay on the coast of Ireland during the favored hours of night, and land their expedition and supplies. But on arrival at the chosen point the ship was hailed by a British man-of-war and captured without resistance. The officers and crew were consigned to a British dungeon, and the ship and cargo confiscated. A British spy had kept the authorities informed, and the war vessel was at the designated point of landing to gather in the "forlorn hope" of the invaders. Other Irish-Americans who were constantly arriving as passengers by the ocean steamships to take part in the conflict were promptly arrested as they landed on the quays, and the rebellion of 1865 was nipped in the bud. Much dissension and dissatisfaction then arose within the Fenian Councils. A great deal of money had been spent and the attempt had proved a failure. The vigilance of the British authorities was so keen, and arrests so numerous, that the available prisons were soon filled, and the hopeful warriors who so valiantly boasted that they would quickly unfurl the "Sunburst of Erin" on the walls of Dublin Castle were obliged to retire into strict seclusion until an opportunity occurred to be smuggled out of Ireland by their friends and stowed away on ships bound back for America.

The failure of the rising in 1865 caused a serious division among the adherents of the cause in both America and Ireland, and the Fenian Brotherhood was split into two hostile camps thereby. It was considered that Stephens' policy of carrying on the rebellious operations in Ireland was an impossible and suicidal one to the success of the cause. Many Irish-Americans were languishing behind the bars of British prisons, with an uncertain fate awaiting them when they were arraigned for trial, and their comrades in the United States bitterly blamed Stephens and O'Mahony for the fiasco. Consequently the majority in America revolted, and seceded from the Stephens faction, claiming that he had woefully misrepresented the state of affairs that existed in Ireland, both as regarded preparations for a successful issue, and also the enthusiasm that was said to sufficiently dominate the people there to induce them to take up arms when the American contingent arrived.

Col. Wm. R. Roberts, of New York, was the leader of the American secessionists, who declared their belief that "No direct invasion or armed insurrection in Ireland would ever be successful in establishing an Irish Republic upon Irish soil, and placing her once more in her proper place as a nation among the nations of the earth." The forces of Col. Roberts gathered strength daily, and soon usurped control of the Fenian forces in America, much to the chagrin of Stephens and his followers.

Gen. O'Mahony, who Head Centre Stephens had placed in supreme charge of the affairs of the Fenian Brotherhood in America, was charged by Colonel Roberts and his colleagues with having dipped too deep into the treasury and by extravagance and other questionable methods dissipated the funds of the Brotherhood. This widened the breach, and Roberts became the popular idol with the majority of the American Fenians. Yet O'Mahony held on to office with a ragged remnant of his old retainers to support him, until finally Roberts triumphed and became the star around which all of the other Fenian "planets" revolved.

Chapter II.[edit]

THE FENIAN CONVENTION AT CINCINNATI--THE BIRTH OF THE IRISH REPUBLIC--"ON TO CANADA!"--GEN. SWEENY'S PROGRAMME.

The seceders from the Stephens faction met in Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, in September, 1865, a very large number of delegates being present from all of the States in the Union. After the usual preliminary oratory and the adoption of several resolutions, the delegates formed themselves into a body which they termed "the Senate Wing of the Fenian Brotherhood." They ridiculed the idea of invading Ireland successfully, and changed their base of operations. "On to Canada" became their slogan, and the idea was so popular that they quickly secured the allegiance of thousands of disappointed Irishmen who were anxious and ready to strike a blow at England in any quarter In order that there should be some recognized source from which all orders, proclamations and edicts could be officially promulgated, it was resolved to form an Irish Republic (on paper), as the Fenians were without territory until they captured it. This was accomplished by the adoption of a constitution framed on the model of that used by the United States. Its provisions included the usual regulations (both civil and military) for a Republican form of government, and its unanimous acceptance by the delegates was received with glad acclaim. Col. Wm. R. Roberts was chosen as President of the new Republic, and Gen. T. W. Sweeny (who was then commanding officer of the 16th United States Infantry) as Secretary of War. The other Cabinet port-folios were handed out to "lesser lights" in the Fenian fold.

As even Republican governments cannot be maintained, or military campaigns conducted without the expenditure of money, the Irish Republic could prove no exception to the rule, and therefore the work of collecting funds and gathering munitions of war for the invasion of Canada was immediately commenced. Fenian "circles," or lodges, were organized in every possible corner of the United States for the purpose of stirring up the enthusiasm of the Irish people and securing money to purchase arms and ammunition. Military companies and regiments were formed wherever practicable, and drilling and parading was pursued openly during the fall of 1865 and winter of 1866, getting ready for the coming fray.

Funds were raised in various ways--by voluntary subscriptions, by holding picnics, excursions, fairs, bazaars and other methods. But the largest source of revenue was derived by imposing upon the credulity of the sons and daughters of Erin by the sale to them of bonds of the Irish Republic, a chimerical dream which was painted in such glowing colors and presented with such stirring appeals to their patriotism that hard-earned dollars were pulled out from every nook and cranny in many Irish homes to invest in these "securities" and thus help along the cause. The following is a copy of the bond, which will serve to show its wording:--
  No. ...... No. ......
  It is Hereby Certified that
  The Irish Republic is indebted to ....... or bearer
  in the sum of TEN DOLLARS, redeemable six months after
  the acknowledgment of THE IRISH NATION, with interest
  from the date hereof inclusive, at six per cent, per
  annum, payable on presentation of this Bond at the
  Treasury of the Irish Republic.
  Date ......
  [Stamp. Office of the Treasury.]
  JOHN O'NEILL,
  Agent for the Irish Republic.

In the light of subsequent events, when the dreams of the visionary enthusiasts have been so rudely dispelled, the sight of one of these bonds must present as much sadness and pathos to the beholder as the vision of an old Confederate bank note does to the erstwhile defenders of the "Lost Cause" of the Southern States.

As the coffers of the Irish Republic began to fill rapidly, the Fenian leaders became more hopeful and bombastic, while enthusiasm among the rank and file continued to be worked up to fever pitch. President Roberts gathered a select coterie about him at his headquarters in New York to assist in upholding his dignity, and incidentally help to boost the cause. Plots and plans of all kinds were hatched against Great Britain, and loud-mouthed orators were kept busy for several months fanning the embers of Irish patriotism into flame.

General Sweeny was very active during the winter of 1865 and 1866 in getting his "War Department" fully organized and his field forces ready for the spring campaign against Canada. His staff was composed of the following officers, all of whom had seen active service in the Civil War:--


   Chief of Staff--Brigadier-General C. Carroll Tavish.
    Chief of Engineer Corps--Col. John Meehan.
    Chief of Ordnance--Col. C. H. Rundell.
    Engineer Corps--Lieut.-Col. C. H. Tresiliar.
    Assistant Adjutant-General--Major E. J. Courtney.
    Ordnance Department--Major M. O'Reilly.
    Quartermaster--Major M. H. Van Brunt.
    Aide-de-Camps--Capt. D. W. Greely and Capt. Daniel O'Connell.

This galaxy of officers strutted majestically around Headquarters garbed in the gorgeous green and gold uniforms of the Fenian Army, looked wise, and promised all enquirers that important movements would be made in the spring. Secret meetings were held almost daily at Headquarters, when the plan of campaign would be discussed over and over again, and amendments made wherever necessary. Finally the following plan of operations was given out in March, 1866, as the gist of one evolved by the Council, which is said to have embodied Gen. Sweeny's whole strategic programme:--

"Expeditions for the invasion of Canada will rendezvous at Detroit and Rochester, and at Ogdensburg and Plattsburg, and at Portland. The forces assembled at the two first-named points are to operate conjointly against Toronto, Hamilton, and the west of Upper Canada. From Ogdensburg and Plattsburg demonstrations will be made against Montreal, and ultimately Quebec; Kingston will be approached by Cape Vincent, while Portland will be the general place of embarkation for expeditions against the capitals of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia."


 THE BASES OF OPERATIONS.

"The Canadian and provincial borders once crossed, bases of operations will be established in the enemy's country, so that international quarrels with the Washington Government may be evaded. There are to be lands chosen at the head of Passamaquoddy Bay, Saint John's, on the Chambly, close to the foot of Lake Champlain; Prescott, on the Saint Lawrence; Wolfe Island, at the foot of Lake Ontario; Hamilton, Cobourg Goderich, and Windsor, in Upper Canada. These places are all within convenient distances of the United States, and afford by water an easy retreat, as well as cunning receptacles for fresh American levies."


 THE FORCES AT THE DISPOSAL OF THE FENIANS.

"The Irish Republic calculates to have, by the first of April, fifteen millions of dollars at its disposal in ready cash. This will give transportation and maintenance for one month to thirty thousand men, a greater number than were ever before mustered to the conquest of the Canadian possessions. Of this force, eight thousand will carry the line of the Grand Trunk road west of Hamilton; five thousand, crossing from Rochester to Cobourg, will be prepared to move either east, in time to act jointly with three thousand men from Wolfe Island, upon Kingston, or to take part with the western detachment in the capture of Toronto. All this, it is believed, will be the work of two weeks. Thus entrenched securely in Upper Canada, holding all the routes of the Grand Trunk, sufficient rolling stock secured to control the main line, the Fenians hope to attract to their colors fifty thousand American Irishmen, and equip a navy on Lakes Huron, Erie and Ontario. The avenues to return so being secured, thirty thousand men, under General Sweeny, will move down the Saint Lawrence, upon Kingston, simultaneously with ten thousand men by the lines of the Chambly, and these will converge upon Montreal; in the meantime isolated expeditions from the rendezvous at Saint Andrews will reduce Saint John and Halifax, these furnishing depots for privateers and ocean men-of-war to intercept British transports and effectually close the Saint Lawrence. Quebec will thus fall by the slow conquest of time; or, if the resources of the garrison should be greater than the patience of the invaders, the same heights which two Irishmen have scaled before, will again give foothold to the columns of the brotherhood."


 THE PLAN OF INVASION IN DETAIL.

"At Chicago the Fenians already possess five sailing vessels, a tug, and two steam transports; at Buffalo they are negotiating for vessels; at Bay City, Michigan, and at Cleveland they have other craft in process of refitting; these will simultaneously raise the green flag and stand ready to succor the land forces. Goderich, Sarnia and Windsor will be simultaneously occupied; all the available rolling stock seized, and the main line of the Grand Trunk cut at Grand River, to prevent the passage of cars and locomotives to Hamilton. The geographical configuration of the western half of Upper Canada will permit of a few thousand men holding the entire section of the country between Cobourg and the Georgian Bay. These are connected by a chain of lakes and water courses, and the country affords subsistence for a vast army. Horses sufficient to mount as many cavalry as the Brotherhood can muster, quartermasters' teams in quantity, and a vast amount of lake shipping, will at once be reduced to a grand military department, with Hamilton for the capital, and a loan advertised for. While this is being negotiated, Gen. Sweeny will push rapidly forward on the line of the Grand Trunk, in time to superintend the fall of Montreal, where ocean shipping will be found in great quantity. With the reduction of Montreal a demand will be made upon the United States for a formal recognition of Canada, whose name is to be changed at once to New Ireland. While this is being urged, the green flag will scour all the bays and gulfs in Canada; a Fenian fleet from San Francisco will carry Vancouver and the Fraser River country, to give security to the Pacific squadron, rendezvousing at San Juan, and the rights of belligerents will be enforced from the British Government by prompt retaliation for the cruelties of British courtmartials."


 ABILITY OF THE FENIANS TO HOLD CANADA.

"The population of the British provinces is little above two and a half millions, and the military resources of the united provinces fall short of sixty thousand men. Of these nearly ten thousand are of Irish birth or descent. The States will furnish for the subjugation of these, eighty thousand veteran troops. With the single exception of Quebec, it is believed the whole of the British provinces will fall in a single campaign. During the ensuing winter diversions will be put in motion in Ireland, and while it is believed the Brotherhood can defy the Queen's war transports to land an army in the west, arrangements will be developed to equip a powerful navy for aggressive operations on the sea. Before the 1st of June, it is thought, fifty commissioned vessels of war and privateers, carrying three hundred guns, will be afloat, and to maintain these a tremendous moral influence will be exerted upon every Irish-American citizen to contribute the utmost to the general fund for the support of the war.

"By the tempting offer of a surrender of Canada to the United States, Mr. Seward, it is hoped, will wink at connivance between American citizens and the Fenian conquerors, and by another summer it is thought the dominion of the Brotherhood north of the St. Lawrence will be formally acknowledged by the United States, Russia, and each of the American republics. The third year of Irish tenure in Canada will, it is believed, array two of the great powers against Great Britain. John Mitchell, at Paris, will organize the bureau of foreign agents; and Ireland, maintaining a position of perpetual revolt, will engage for her own suppression a considerable part of the regular British levies."


 EUROPEAN OPERATIONS.

"At the present time a bureau of operations is being quietly organized in Paris, where the opposition press has already proclaimed for Irish nationality. It is Mr. Mitchell who sees that the funds of the Brotherhood are distributed in Ireland; he also is in correspondence with liberal statesmen in Great Britain, and conducts the disintegration of the British army by touching the loyalty of the Irish troops, who constitute one-third of the Queen's service."


 THE CUNARD STEAMERS TO BE SEIZED.

"Among the earliest aggressive operations will be the overhauling of a Cunard steamer between New York and Cape Race, with her usual allotment of specie. In like manner the British lines of steamers proceeding from England to Quebec, Portland, Boston and Halifax, will be arrested and their funds secured."


 THE WAR IN IRELAND.

"Military operations in Ireland must, of necessity, be confined to the interior. Three military departments will be organized--the Shannon, the Liffey, and the Foyle--and the campaign will be entirely predatory or guerilla in its conduct. The British Coast Guard stations will fall easy conquests, their number and isolation contributing to their ruin; while from the Wicklow Mountains, through all the rocky fastnesses of Ireland, the cottagers will descend upon the British garrisons, maintaining perpetual and bloody rebellion till the better news comes across the sea or the patience of England is quite worn out."

This was a mighty and stupendous programme truly, but oh how visionary! It embraced the extreme aspirations of the boldest and most sanguinary Fenian's, and its publication no doubt served to bring more money into their treasury. But, alas for human hopes, its execution never happened. Yet it fired the hearts of the soldiers of the Irish Republican Army, and they eagerly awaited the summons to march "On to Canada." All through that winter drilling and preparation continued, and the enthusiasm of the men was kept warm by fervid oratory appealing to their patriotism, while they boldly chanted their song:--


   "We are a Fenian Brotherhood,
         skilled in the arts of war.
    And we're going to fight for Ireland,
         the land that we adore.
    Many battles we have won,
         along with the boys in blue.
    And we'll go and capture Canada,
         for we've nothing else to do."

Meanwhile the Canadian Government deemed it prudent to place troops at some of the exposed points along the border, and on the 15th of November, 1865, the following volunteer corps were called out for Frontier Service, and were stationed at the following places, the whole force being under the command of the Lieutenant-General commanding Her Majesty's Forces in North America:--

At Prescott--The Ottawa Garrison Battery of Artillery; Capt. A. G. Forrest. First Lieutenant W. Duck, and Second Lieutenant Albert Parson.

The Morrisburg Garrison Battery of Artillery; Capt. T. S. Rubidge. First Lieutenant Peter A. Eagleson, and Second Lieutenant G. S. L. Stoddart.

At Niagara--Quebec Rifle Company; Capt. D. Gagnier, Lieut. Elzear Garneau, and Ensign Thos. H. A. Roy.

Montreal Rifle Company; Capt. P. J. M. Cinqmars, Lieut. J. O. Labranche, and Ensign G. d'O. d'Orsonnens.

At Sarnia--Toronto Rifle Company; Capt. Wm. D. Jarvis, Lieut. Farquhar Morrison, and Ensign W. C. Campbell.

Woodstock Rifle Company; Capt. Henry B. Beard, Lieut. John Matthewson, and Ensign James C'oad.

At Windsor--Hamilton Infantry Company; Capt. Henry E. Irving, Lieut. Robert Grant, and Ensign J. J. Hebden.

London Infantry Company; Capt. Arch. Macpherson. Lieut. Edward W. Griffith, and Ensign George Ellis.

At Sandwich--Port Hope Infantry Company; Capt. A. T. H. Williams, Lieut. James F. McLeod, and Ensign Francis E. Johnson.

Major C. F. Hill, of the First Prince of Wales Regiment (Montreal), was in command of the forces stationed at Sandwich, Windsor and Sarnia. These troops were kept on service for several months, and their presence at the points named and the constant vigilance maintained, had an effect in warning the Fenians that Canada's sons were alive to the duty of the hour, and were resolved to guard and protect their homes and firesides from desecration by invading foes or sacrifice their lives if necessary in performing that sacred duty.


 THE BROCKVILLE RIFLES.

While the above detachments were on service at the points named, the danger was equally great at other places, especially along the St. Lawrence frontier. The town of Brockville was particularly exposed to attack, as during the winter months the river is usually frozen over, which would afford the Fenians an easy way of crossing on a solid bridge of ice. At this time the town was exceptionally fortunate in having a most excellent volunteer military corps as one of its most popular local institutions, which was known as the Brockville Rifle Company. This command figured so prominently in the service of the Volunteer Militia Force of Canada in the early days that it deserves special mention in the records of the country.

The Brockville Rifles was one of the first companies organized under the Volunteer Militia Act, being promoted in the spring of 1855 by Capt. Smythe (who was afterward captain of a company in H. M. 100th Regiment, which was raised in Canada in 1857 and 1858 for service in the British Army, and who subsequently became commanding officer of that regiment).

As Brockville and vicinity was first settled in 1783 and 1784 by the U. E. Loyalists (all of whom had borne arms in defence of the British Crown), their descendants have always been noted for their unswerving loyalty and fealty to the Mother Country. Therefore when the opportunity was offered to its citizens to exemplify their patriotism by serving their Queen and country, they promptly obeyed the call, and in a short time the ranks of the Brockville Rifles were filled up, and drilling commenced. The muster roll was sent in to Militia Headquarters, and the Company was formally gazetted on September 5th, 1855. Among the names that appear on the first roll of this Company are those of William H. Jackson and Wilmot H. Cole, both of whom are still living at this date, and are supposed to be the only two survivors of the old corps. Each of these gentlemen took a great interest in military affairs, and after duly qualifying themselves, were gradually promoted in the service until they attained high commands--the former being appointed one of the first Brigade Majors under the Militia Act of 1862 (and subsequently becoming a Deputy Adjutant-General, who discharged important duties at Brockville, London, Winnipeg and Ottawa), while Wilmot H. Cole, after serving through all the grades, rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel of the Forty-first Battalion (of which the Brockville Rifles was always No. 1 Company), the duties of which position he filled with great ability and credit for twenty-seven consecutive years, retiring on July 1st, 1898.

The Brockville Rifle Company was selected by the Government as one of the units to form the regiment organized in 1864, under command of Lieut.-Col. W. Osborne Smith, to guard the St. Clair and Detroit River frontiers (extending from Sarnia on the north to Amherstburg on the south) for the purpose of preventing raids from Canadian territory on the United States by organized gangs of desperate men from the Confederate States, who had come north for that purpose.

The Canadian regiment had its headquarters at Windsor, with detachments posted at that point, and at Sarnia, Chatham, Sandwich and Amherstburg. To the latter point the Brockville and Belleville Rifle Companies were sent in command of the following officers:--

Brockville Rifle Company--Major James Crawford, Lieut. W. H. Cole, and Ensign Edmund W. Windeat.

Belleville Rifle Company--Capt. Charles G. Le Vesconte. Lieut. James Brown, and Ensign Mackenzie Bowell.

The two companies at Amherstburg improved their time by engaging in constant drill, and by the maintenance of strict discipline and close attention to the duties required of them, they became very efficient. After five months of frontier service the regiment was relieved on the 4th of May, 1865, and returned to their homes.

In the fall of 1865 the Fenians began to get very active, and the feeling prevailed among the people of Brockville that some provision should be made for the protection of that town. The Brockville Rifles at that time was in a very efficient condition, having four officers and 85 rank and file, as follows:--Major James Crawford in command, Lieut. W. H. Cole, Ensign E. W. Windeat and 65 non-commissioned officers and men, with an additional gun detachment composed of one officer and 20 men, equipped with a 6-pound brass field gun, under command of Lieut. Robert Bowie, who had been at Amherstburg with the company the year previous. (Lieut. Bowie was born a soldier, his father having held an important command in the Tower of London, and had private quarters there with his wife when Robert, his only son, was born.)

Major Crawford called his officers together, and after a discussion of what might happen to Brockville in its unprotected condition, it was decided to make the following offer to the Militia Department:--As the Company was now 85 strong, they would enlist 15 more men, making a total of 100. The men would be called out at 6.30 p.m. every day, given a two hours' drill; an officer's guard to be mounted, to consist of one sergeant, one corporal and 24 men; sentries to be posted at seven of the most exposed places, including one at each of the two banks; the non-commissioned officers and men to be paid 25 cents each per day, the officers giving their services free, and if the Department would furnish the necessary bedding the Company would have 60 of the remaining men sleep in the Armory every night, to be ready for any emergency. This would enable the men to attend to their usual daily avocations and not interfere with the business requirements of their employers. This patriotic offer was at once accepted by the Government, and orders were issued to have the duties carried out as above stated, which was done in every detail from the 15th of December, 1865, to the eventful day in March, 1866, when the first general call was made on the Volunteer Force for service on the frontier.

Chapter III.[edit]

THE FIRST ALARM--CANADIAN VOLUNTEERS PROMPTLY RESPOND TO THE CALL OF DUTY--THE CAMPO BELLO FIZZLE--FENIANS GATHER ON THE BORDER--OPERATIONS ON THE NIAGARA FRONTIER.

Early in the month of March, 1866, considerable activity was observable among the Fenians in both the United States and Ireland, and it became known to the authorities that a "rising" was contemplated, to occur on St. Patrick's Day. That a simultaneous raid on Canada had been planned was evident, and as the Government maintained a force of secret service agents in the principal American cities to keep watch on the movements of the Fenians, reliable information was furnished which was regarded of sufficient importance by the Canadian authorities to warrant prompt action in putting the country in a state of defence. Accordingly on the 7th of March a General Order was issued by Col. P. L. Macdougall, Adjutant-General of the Canadian Militia, calling out 10,000 volunteers for active service. The summons was flashed across the wires to all points in the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, and fourteen thousand men promptly responded to the call. By 4 o'clock on the following day these forces were all assembled at their respective headquarters, awaiting further orders. So eager were the young men of Canada to perform their duty in those trying times that a force of 50,000 could have been raised as easily as the number called for. Most of the companies and battalions were reported "over strength" when the returns were received at headquarters, and the Government decided to retain the whole 14,000 on service pending developments of the enemy's movements. Lieut.-General Sir John Michel (then commanding Her Majesty's forces in North America) was placed in supreme command, with Major-Gen. James Lindsay in command of the troops in Canada East, and Major-Gen. G. Napier, C.B., in charge of the forces in Canada West.

On the 8th of March, the following companies were ordered to report for duty to Major Crawford at Brockville for the purpose of forming a Provisional Battalion:--


   Perth Rifle Company--Capt. Edmund Spillman.
    Gananoque Rifle Company--Capt. Robert McCrum.
    Carleton Place Rifle Company--Capt. James Poole.
    Perth Infantry Company--Capt. Thomas Scott.
    Almonte Infantry Company--Capt. James D. Gemmill.
    Brockville Infantry Company--Capt. Jacob D. Buell.

The above units promptly reported, and the organization of the Battalion was effected by a mergement of them with the Brockville Rifles, which was placed on full service and divided, the right half forming a company of 50 men under Capt. W. H. Cole, and the left half (50 men) placed in command of Lieut. Windeat. Lieut. Robert Bowie was appointed Adjutant of the new Battalion thus created.

Thirty Spencer rifles were issued to the Brockville Rifles, and given to Capt. Cole's company. That officer compiled a drill manual which instructed the men armed with the repeating rifles to act on the same words of command issued to those who had the muzzle-loading Enfields, which was so excellent in practice that he was afterwards highly complimented by Major-General Lindsay when the Battalion was inspected by him in the following May. This Battalion remained on duty at Brockville until about the 16th of May, when they were released from further service and permitted to return to their homes.

For several weeks the country was kept in a state of feverish, excitement, as all sorts of rumors of intended raids at different points were prevalent. Constant drilling and vigilance was maintained, and all the avenues of approach to the frontier towns and exposed points were closely guarded. The weather was very severe that winter, especially during the period the troops were on duty, and many of the survivors of those eventful days will doubtless remember the frost-bites they received while pacing their dreary beats on guard duty, and the many other discomforts which fell to their lot.

The 17th of March passed without the anticipated attacks being made, however, and the fears of the people were gradually allayed. The Fenians had evidently reconsidered their plans so far as Canada was concerned, as the Frost King held sway with rigid severity, and decided to delay their invasion until early summer. On the 28th of March the force on active service was reduced from 14,000 to 10,000 (the original prescribed number), and on the 31st of March all were relieved from permanent duty with the exception of the advanced frontier posts, but were required to parade and drill on two days of each week at local headquarters.

Meanwhile the Fenians kept up their drill and warlike preparations. Immense quantities of arms and ammunition were purchased and shipped to various points in the United States contiguous to the Canadian frontier, where they could quickly be obtained by the invaders when wanted.

During the early part of April a number of Fenians gathered in the towns of Eastport and Calais, in the State of Maine, with the avowed purpose of capturing the Island of Campo Bello, a British possession at the mouth of the St. Croix River, on the boundary line between the Province of New Brunswick and the United States. This expedition was under the direction of "General" Dorian, Killian, who was one of the leading lights of the O'Mahony faction of the Fenian Brotherhood. This move was made contrary to the fixed policy of the Stephens-O'Mahony wing of the Fenian organization, but something had to be done to satisfy the impatient people who were providing the funds to inaugurate the war and were clamoring for immediate action. So after considerable deliberation and hesitation, General O'Mahony gave his consent to the proposed invasion, and preparations were hurriedly made. A vessel was chartered at New York, and being loaded with arms and ammunition, sailed for Eastport, Maine. The rank and file of the Fenian force gathered quietly at Eastport, Calais and adjacent towns, and awaited the arrival of their armament. In the meantime the Canadian military authorities were getting ready to meet the filibusters, and strong forces of volunteers were posted along the New Brunswick frontier to watch events and be prepared for action as soon as the Fenians attempted to make a landing. Three British war vessels steamed quietly into the St. Croix River, ready for instant service, and a couple of American gunboats were also on guard to prevent a crossing. General Meade, with a battalion of United States troops, arrived at Eastport, with orders from the American Government to see that a breach of the Neutrality Act was not committed. On the same day the vessel with arms for the Fenians sailed into Eastport harbor and was promptly seized by the United States officials. This was "the last straw" to break the hopes of the Fenians, and they left for their homes without accomplishing anything, utterly dejected, hungry and weary, and bitterly cursing their leaders, and the American authorities particularly, for preventing them from crossing the line. This fiasco was a mortifying blow to General O'Mahony and his supporters, and the cohorts of Roberts and Sweeny gained more confidence and support as the star of the Stephens faction grew dimmer.

The remainder of April and the month of May passed away quietly, and the people of Canada had almost dismissed the Fenian "bugaboo" from their minds, and were enjoying a period of peace and prosperity, when again the Demon of War loomed up on the border more terrible than ever. This time it was the Roberts-Sweeny section of the Fenian Brotherhood who were bent on making trouble for Canada, and if possible carry out their elaborate plan of campaign for conquering our Provinces. All during the winter and spring the Fenian leaders had been secretly and sedulously at work making preparations for simultaneous raids on Canada at different places, and towards the end of May the Irish Republican Army began massing on the border for that purpose. At strategic points all along our extensive frontier the Fenian forces were quietly gathering, evidently with the purpose of trying to work out the wide scheme of Gen. Sweeny to capture Canada and hand us over body and bones to the United States.

At St. Albans, Vermont, and adjacent villages, a large force gathered for the purpose of making a raid from that quarter, in the possible hope that with the reinforcements they expected, they might be able to hold that section of country and operate against the City of Montreal with some degree of success, in conjunction with two other columns which were expected to carry the St. Lawrence line.

At Malone, New York, another strong force assembled under the command of the Fenian Gen. M. J. Heffernan, who announced his intention of making an attack on Cornwall. Gen. Murphy and Gen. O'Reilly, both veteran officers of the Union Army in the Civil War, were attached to this column, and were very assiduous in their efforts to make it an efficient fighting force.

At Ogdensburg, New York, Gen. Sweeny personally supervised the mobilization of a large contingent of his warriors. This column was organized for the purpose of attacking Prescott, Brockville, and other points along the St. Lawrence, and after taking possession of the Canadian shore and the Grand Trunk Railway, be available for his plan of sweeping the whole country east as far as Montreal, and join with the other columns (which were to start from Malone and St. Albans) in capturing that city.

Cape Vincent, Oswego, Rochester and other points along the Upper St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario were places of rendezvous for the Fenian troops who were steadily arriving from the interior of New York State, while the Western and Southern contingents gathered at Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Erie and Buffalo.

As the Niagara frontier possesses many attractions for an invading force (as in the days of 1812 and 1814), it was decided to again make that historic territory one of the arenas for hostile operations. Gen. Sweeny fondly nursed the hope that while our forces were busily engaged there, that he would be able to make crossings at two or three other points along the border. As the scene of the first active operations was presented on the Niagara Peninsula, I will relate those events first, and then return to a description of what was occurring on the St. Lawrence and Vermont borders.

For some days previous to the 31st of May large numbers of mysterious strangers were noticed to be gathering in some of the towns and cities adjacent to the Niagara frontier. In Buffalo particularly this mobilization of men with a purpose was observable, but so reticent were they, and so careful of their movements causing comment, that suspicions were partially disarmed. Yet these strangers were all Fenian soldiers, who were silently and quickly gathering from various States of the Union with a determined intention to make a quick dash on Canada, which they hoped to capture, and set up their standards upon our soil. All preparations for the coup had been made, and yet the people of Canada seemed to dream not of their peril.

Towards midnight on the 31st of May those strangers in Buffalo were noticed to be assembling in groups, squads and companies, and moving as if by a pre-arranged programme in the direction of Black Rock, two or three miles north of the city, on the Niagara River. Suspicious-looking waggons and furniture vans were also moving in the same direction. These were loaded with arms and ammunition for the use of "the Army of Conquest," but no attempt was made by the United States authorities to stop the expedition, although it was a clear breach of the Neutrality Act then in force between the two countries. At the hour of midnight, when the peaceful citizens on the Canadian side of the Niagara River were slumbering in their beds, the Fenian hordes were steadily gathering on the other side of the shimmering stream and making preparations to effect a crossing. Two powerful tugs and several canal boats had been chartered to convey the Fenians across to Canada, and these were quickly and quietly loaded with men and munitions of war, As the grey dawn of day was breaking on the morning of the 1st of June, the Fenian transports started across the river. The troops consisted of one brigade of the Irish Republican Army, under command of Gen. John O'Neil, a veteran soldier who had seen much active service and hard fighting in the American Civil War. This brigade was composed of the 13th Regiment (Col. O'Neill), from Tennessee; 17th Regiment (Col. Owen Starr), from Kentucky; 18th Regiment (Lieut.-Col. John Grace), from Ohio; the 7th Regiment (Col. John Hoye), from Buffalo, N.Y., and a detachment of troops from Indiana. The whole number was estimated to be about 1,500 men, who were principally veteran soldiers of the Northern and Southern armies.

This was the "forlorn hope" who were expected to make the first landing and hold the country until sufficient reinforcements could be rushed across the border to enable them to make a success of the campaign. Buffalo was full of Fenians and their sympathizers at that time, and thousands were coming into the city every day to take part in the invasion.

It was an opportune time for such a movement, as the popular feeling of the American people was not altogether amicable or friendly to the British nation, and it was the hope of the promoters of the raid that something might occur which would give them the countenance and support of the United States. It is a well-known fact that under the political system of America the Irish vote is a dominant factor in elections, and all classes of citizens who aspire to public office are more or less controlled by that element. Consequently the vigilance of many of Uncle Sam's officials was relaxed, and they winked the other eye as the invaders marched towards Canada, instead of endeavoring to stop them from committing a breach of the law of nations in regard to neutrality.

It was asserted in the public press of the United States and proclaimed by the Fenians themselves at that time, that Andrew Johnson (who was then President of the United States) and Secretary of State Seward openly encouraged the invasion for the purpose of turning it to political account in the settlement of the Alabama Claims with Great Britain. In view of the fact that he held back the issuance of his proclamation forbidding a breach of the Neutrality Act for five full days after the Raid had been made, there was manifestly some understanding between President Johnson and the Fenian leaders, as the American authorities were perfectly cognizant of what was intended long before Gen. O'Neil crossed the boundary, and might have been prevented from doing so, had the United States officials at Buffalo exercised such due vigilance as Gen. Meade did in the Campo Bello affair.

Chapter IV.[edit]

THE LANDING IN CANADA--PRELIMINARY OPERATIONS OF THE FENIAN FORCES NEAR FORT ERIE--ADVANCE INTO THE INTERIOR.

About half-past three o'clock on the morning of June 1st the peaceful shores of Canada were reached by the invaders. The embarkation was made at Pratt's Iron Furnace Dock on the American side, and the landing took place at what was then known as the Lower Ferry Dock, about a mile below the village of Fort Erie. Just as the boats struck the shore, the color-bearers of Col. Owen Starr's 17th Kentucky Regiment sprang on to Canadian soil and unfurled their Irish flags amid terrific cheering by the Fenian troops. This was the first intimation that the people of the quiet vicinity received that an invasion had actually occurred, and it was a terrible awakening from peaceful slumber to most of them. There were no Canadian troops whatever within 25 miles of Fort Erie, and the invaders had it all their own way. The war material was quickly unloaded from the canal boats, and Gen. O'Neil at once began making dispositions of his force to hold his ground. The total number of troops that came over by the first boats was stated to be 1,340, with 2,500 stand of arms. This force was rapidly augmented during the day by reinforcements, so that by evening the strength of the Fenian army in Canada amounted to about 2,000 men.

After posting guards and throwing out pickets in various directions, Gen. O'Neil marched up to the village of Fort Erie with the main portion of his brigade, which he occupied without resistance. He then made requisition on the village authorities for meals for his men. He stated that he would do no personal injury to private citizens, but wanted food and horses, and these he proposed to take forcibly if they were not furnished willingly. Dr. Kempson, the Reeve of the village, in order to protect the citizens and prevent pillage, at once called a meeting of the Municipal Council, who decided to provide the food demanded. In some cases Fenian bonds were offered in payment for articles, but were not acceptable to the Canadian people, and were courteously and firmly refused.

Immediately after breakfast had been served and rations distributed, Gen. O'Neil made details of troops for various purposes. Guards were posted all along the river front, from the ruins of old Fort Erie to a point below Haggart's Dock, who were instructed to shoot any person who attempted to interfere with them. Detachments were sent to cut the telegraph wires and destroy part of the Buffalo and Lake Huron railway track (now the Grand Trunk), which was quickly done. A detail under command of Capt. Geary, of the 17th Kentucky Regiment, was despatched to burn Sauerwine's Bridge, on the railway track between Fort Erie and Ridgeway, and tear up the rails. This was only partially accomplished, as after the Fenians left some of the people residing in the vicinity rallied and extinguished the flames in the burning bridge before much serious damage was done. The railway track, however, was torn up for a considerable distance by the raiders.

An early morning train on the B. & L. H. Railway narrowly escaped capture by a detail of troops sent for that purpose. The train had just succeeded in transferring its passengers to the ferry boat "International" and was starting back westward empty, when the Fenians put in their appearance. The plucky engineer, seeing the danger, pulled the throttle of his engine wide open and saved the train from capture by a narrow margin.

After committing sundry other depredations in the way of cutting telegraph wires and destroying public property. Gen. O'Neil marched the main body of his troops down, the River Road to Frenchman's Creek, where they encamped in an orchard on Newbigging's Farm, about half, a mile north of the Lower Ferry. Here the Fenians began work on the construction of a line of breastworks and entrenchments, which kept them busily employed all afternoon.

A detachment of the 7th Buffalo Regiment, under command of Capt. Donohue, made a reconnaissance in the direction of Chippawa during the afternoon, and after discovering a party of mounted farmers, who they mistook for Canadian cavalry, fired a volley at them without effect and then retreated valiantly back to the Fenian camp, bombastically boasting that they had routed a strong force of British troops.

Other details had been busy seizing horses and food supplies, and mounted scouts galloped for miles in all directions, scouring the country seeking information as to the whereabouts of the Canadian forces, and at the same time distributing copies of the following proclamation:--


 "To the People of British America:

"We come among you as the foes of British rule in Ireland, We have taken up the sword to strike down the oppressors' rod, to deliver Ireland from the tyrant, the despoiler, the robber. We have registered our oaths upon the altar of our country in the full view of heaven and sent up our vows to the throne of Him who inspired them. Then, looking about us for an enemy, we find him here, here in your midst, where he is most vulnerable and convenient to our strength... We have no issue with the people of these Provinces, and wish to have none but the most friendly relations. Our weapons are for the oppressors of Ireland. Our bows shall be directed only against the power of England; her privileges alone shall we invade, not yours. We do not propose to divest you of a solitary right you now enjoy... We are here neither as murderers, nor robbers, for plunder and spoliation. We are here as the Irish army of liberation, the friends of liberty against despotism, of democracy against aristocracy, of the people against their oppressors. In a word, our war is with the armed power of England, not with the people, not with these Provinces. Against England, upon land and sea, till Ireland is free... To Irishmen throughout these Provinces we appeal in the name of seven centuries of British iniquity and Irish misery and suffering, in the names of our murdered sires, our desolate homes, our desecrated altars, our million of famine graves, our insulted name and race--to stretch forth the hand of brotherhood in the holy cause of fatherland, and smite the tyrant where we can. We conjure you, our countrymen, who from misfortune inflicted by the very tyranny you are serving, or from any other cause, have been forced to enter the ranks of the enemy, not to be willing instruments of your country's death or degradation. No uniform, and surely not the blood-dyed coat of England, can emancipate you from the natural law that binds your allegiance to Ireland, to liberty, to right, to justice. To the friends of Ireland, of freedom, of humanity, of the people, we offer the olive branch of peace and the honest grasp of friendship. Take it Irishmen, Frenchmen, American, take it all and trust it... We wish to meet with friends; we are prepared to meet with enemies. We shall endeavor to merit the confidence of the former, and the latter can expect from us but the leniency of a determined though generous foe and the restraints and relations imposed by civilized warfare.

"(Signed) T. W. SWEENY.

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Troublous_Times_in_Canada:_A_History_of_the_Fenian_Raids_of_1866_and_1870