The Fenian Raids

The Fenian Raids

Bibliography

Where

Who

Why

The Fenian Raids happened in many locations between the borders of United States and Canada.

- Campobello Island Raid (1866) (New Brunswick)

- Niagara Raid (Ridgeway and Fort Erie) (1866)

- Pigeon Hill Raid (1866)

- Missisquoi County Raid (1870)

The Fenian Brotherhood

The Fenian Brotherhood was a group of Irish-American men, who wanted to take back from the English by taking over Canada, bit by bit.

Thomas D'arcy McGee

On April 13th, 1825, Thomas D’arcy McGee was born ,in Canada. Although his background was Irish, he was against the Fenian Brotherhood, a father of Confederation and part of the Conservative Party of Canada. At age 17, he was asked to join the Boston Pilot, which was a Catholic newspaper, and soon became the editor. He was against the Fenian Brotherhood, and tried to convince other Irish Canadians to be against them as well. McGee died on April 7 1868 after being shot by James Patrick Whelan.

Colonel John O'Neill

Fenian John O’Neill was born on March 8th 1834. He led two successful invasions, once in 1866 and in 1870. in 1875 he was enlisted by the second US Cavalry and was sent on an expedition into the West. During the Civil War, he was a lieutenant in the 5th Indiana Cavalry. He led the Fenian brotherhood for the Battle of Ridgeway and the last two Fenian Raids. He died January 7th 1878.

For many years, Ireland was ruled over by England, but not by choice. England would take resources from them and give nothing in return. When it came to the Great Potato Famine, Ireland was left to deal with it on their own, yet still had to remain loyal to England. Later on, people were leaving Great Britain to make colonies in canada and the United States, which included the Irish. A brotherhood of Irishmen was formed there called the Fenian Brotherhood. They had raids and attacks on Canada, hoping to take charge and get some land for themselves.The reason behind why all these Fenian Raids, as they were called, happened was because they were tired of being unfairly ruled by England, and wished to action and gain some independence. This affected confederation, becasue it was the joining of all the colonies. The Fenian raids would be from different angles, and no one was save if the colonies were seperate. They had to join the colonies for everyone in their land to be safe from the Fenian brotherhood.

http://www.historynet.com/fenian-raids-invasions-of-british-ruled-canada.htm

"Fenian Raids: Invasions of British-ruled Canada." History Net Where History Comes Alive World US History Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.

http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~dbertuca/155/FenianRaid.html

"The Fenian Raid and Battle of Ridgeway June 1-3, 1866." Fenian Invasion of Canada, 1866. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.

http://canadianmilitary.page.tl/Fenian-Raids.html

http://www.canadahistoryproject.ca/1850/1850-08-fenians.html

"Canada A Country by Consent: Road to Confederation: Fenian Raids 1866." Canada A Country by Consent: Road to Confederation: Fenian Raids 1866. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2015.

http://irishrepublican.weebly.com/fenian-raids.html

"FENIAN RAIDS." IrishRepublicanHistory. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2015.

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/fenian-raids/as

"Fenian Raids." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2015.

James Patrick Whelan

Suspected Fenian James Patrick Whelan, was born in 1840 (exact date unknown). At the age 14, he was a the apprentice of a tailor. After many years, he ended up being a tailor for Gibb and Company. Whelan was suspected to be part of the Fenian Brotherhood, as he killed Thomas D’arcy McGee, who was against the Fenians. As result of this crime, he was hung on February 11th 1869.

1866

1870

1865

1871

1841

Thanks for Watching

What

When

How

Before we conclude this presentation, we would like show you a collage we made about the Fenian raids.

The fenain raids were during the 1841- 1871 but the important years were 1866- 1871

Campobello Island Raid (1866)

• Occurred on Campobello Island, New Brunswick in April during 1866
• During this raid, the fenians went to the Campobello island to take it away from the British

Niagara Raid (Ridgeway and Fort Erie) (1866)

• The Niagara Raid happened in the town of Fort Erie across from Niagara river and Buffalo

Pigeon Hill Raid (1866)

• This raid took place at Pigeon hill, New Brunswick in June 1866
• After being unsuccessful in capturing Canada west, the fenains went to capture Canada east where they attacked by canadian soldiers and surrendered the raid on Pigeon hill

Missisquoi County Raid (1870)

• This raid occured in 1870
• The Canadian forces with the help of Thomas Billis Beach's information were able to turn the raid around

Pembina Raid (1871)

• It occurred on the U.S. and Canadian border of Manitoba in 1871
• The raid started in the U.S. but was unsuccessful from the beginning
• The treaty was signed by Riel (Metis) and the British

The Fenian Raids connect with the forming of the Dominion of Canada in a way because the Irish (Fenians) were attacking in many different points of Canada, when parts of Canada had low defenses their land would be taken over. This is one reaosn why confederation took place, in order to be a more secure country. A connection that the Fenian raids has with Confederation is that in 1870, the Fenians made another attempt on invading Canada. The last act of Fenians came in October 1871 when O’Neil crossed the Manitoba border. At this time, Confederation had already taken place and the new Canadian government called up 13,000 people to protect Ontario and Quebec. The next day, Canadian soldiers from Winnipeg learned that the US Army had arrested O’Neil and his men. This ended the Fenian raids for good. I think after the Fenians raided on Manitoba, they decided to join Canada’s confederation and decided to become a stronger province in the Dominion of Canada in 1870.

What did they do? Their struggles, evidence of their accomplishments (positive & negative - POV)

• After the American Civil War, the Fenian Brotherhood were seeking for Ireland’s independence from Britain, by capturing Canada and using it as a hostage.
• Between 1866 and 1871, they raided (attacked) Canadian provinces from New Brunswick to Manitoba.
• A factor that lead to an idea of confederation, was a series of attacks on the Canadian border by Fenians during the summer of 1866.
• Since the North American colonies were the closest they could attack Britain, they decided to raid on several areas of the Canadian border.
• Ireland, at the time, was under British rule. They were not happy about this and this is why they wanted to raid on Britain.
• The Fenians’ attacks made Canada realize how vulnerable they were and helped them lead to confederation.
• Although, in the end, the Fenians didn’t achieve their goal, their raids revealed leadership, and the making of the Canadian militia.
• Most importantly, the threat of the Fenians towards British North America, led to Confederation and the formation of the Dominion of Canada (in 1867).

By: Vidhi, Bryan, Allison, and Meera