Petition Urges Ottawa to Recognize Nine Canadians Killed in Combat During Fenian Raids

The 1866 Battle of Ridgeway, in current-day Fort Erie, was the first battle to be fought exclusively by Canadian troops under Canadian officers.

A parliamentary protection constable turns the pages of the Books of Remembrance during a ceremony to mark the opening of the Room of Remembrance in new welcome centre on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Feb. 5, 2019. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Nine Canadian militiamen who died fighting Irish nationalists in the 1860s while serving under Canadian command deserve to be recognized similarly to soldiers of other conflicts, a new petition urges.

The petition, created by Ottawa resident Joshua Benson, calls on Parliament to formally recognize the nine Canadian militiamen killed at the Battle of Ridgeway by adding their names to Canada’s Books of Remembrance. The battle took place near present-day Fort Erie, Ont., on June 2, 1866, during the Fenian Raids, a series of incursions into British North America by Irish nationalists based in the United States.

“Those who died during the campaign were among the first combat dead of what would become the Canadian Army,” says the petition, which was first covered by Blacklock’s Reporter.

Canada’s Books of Remembrance commemorate more than 118,000 Canadians who died while serving the country since Confederation. An eighth book, dedicated to those who died during the War of 1812, was added later and contains more than 1,600 names.

The one-day Battle of Ridgeway saw about 850 Canadian militiamen face several hundred Irish-American Fenians, many of whom were veterans of the U.S. Civil War. The Fenians crossed the Niagara River from the United States in an attempt to establish a foothold in Canada and use it as leverage for Irish independence.

The Canadian force advanced toward Ridgeway on June 2, 1866, where it encountered the Fenian army and came under heavy fire. The battle lasted several hours and ended with the Canadian force retreating, though the Fenians withdrew back into the United States shortly afterward.

Seven of the nine militiamen were killed in action, two died later of their wounds, 22 died of disease, and one was killed by friendly fire.

The battle exposed weaknesses in Canada’s military preparedness and helped strengthen support for Confederation and the creation of a more organized Canadian defence force, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia.

“It was the first industrial-era a battle to be fought exclusively by Canadian troops and led entirely by Canadian officers,” says the encyclopedia. “It was the last battle fought in Ontario against a foreign invasion force.”

In addition to the nine men killed during the battle, the petition asks Parliament to formally recognize other Canadians who died from wounds or diseases contracted during the 1866 Fenian Raids, by including their names in the Book of Remembrance, saying it “befits their sacrifice defending our nascent country.”

The first Canadian casualty of the Battle of Ridgeway was Ensign Malcolm McEachern of the Queen’s Own Rifles, whom an Irish sniper shot in the opening minutes of the battle.

The last Canadian survivor of the battle, militiaman William McElroy of Thorold, Ont., retired to Buffalo and died in 1938 at age 90. McElroy donated his medals to the Buffalo Historical Society.

“The service and sacrifice of those Canadians are not presently commemorated in Canada’s Books of Remembrance in the Memorial Chamber on Parliament Hill,” the petition says.

“Permanent recognition in Canada’s Books of Remembrance would ensure that the Canadians who gave their lives during the 1866 Fenian Raids campaign are appropriately honoured as part of Canada’s military history.”

The petition was sponsored by Conservative MP Fred Davies.