Why the Irish Fenians Tried to ‘Capture Canada’ in 1866

Depiction of the Fenian charge (L) under Gen. John O'Neill against the Canadian Militia at the Battle of Ridgeway near Fort Erie, Ont., on June 2, 1866. Public Domain

Commentary

It was 1866 and in the aftermath of the American Civil War, thousands of Irish immigrants who had fought in both the Union and Confederate armies were of a mind to invade Canada. They were followers of the Fenian Brotherhood, a group formed in the United States in 1858 to advocate for an independent Irish republic free from British rule.