Christopher Klein

The long Irish struggle for freedom has spawned many interesting books. “When The Irish Invaded Canada” chronicles little known blows organized and struck in North America. In the wake of the American Civil War Irishmen turned in their Blue and Grey uniforms to join Fenian patriots in the movement for Irish independence. From 1865 to the early 1870s a series of invasions of Canadian territory were launched in quixotic attempts to free Ireland.

Author Christopher Klein has skillfully woven Irish history into the American-Fenian saga. The tale is more complex than might be expected. At the end of the Civil War American policy was ambivalent toward Canada. Still lusting after Canadian territory and smarting from British outfitting of Confederate sea raiders, the American government was not above permitting the Fenians to upset the status quo in ways that may have evolved to America’s advantage. The United States interfered with, but did not totally obstruct, Fenian preparations and invasions, and sold them arms, so long as it was not done too obviously. Canada was in a time of transition. The British were pulling out, Canadians were assuming responsibility for their own affairs, including defense and British North American the colonies were considering, and achieved unity, partly in response to the Fenian threat. As we know the United States did not absorb Canada but it did negotiate a settlement of the Alabama claims against Britain arising out of damage to American shipping caused by the Confederate Navy vessel of that name.

This tome answers the obvious question of “How did Irish-American Fenians expect to obtain Irish independence by invading Canada?” Their goals were diverse. The invasions may have drawn British troops to Canada, thereby diminishing the numbers available to suppress insurrections in Ireland. They hoped to gain a foothold in Canada in which they would establish their own country that could issue letters of marque and could be traded for Irish independence. But how did they expect a few hundred or, even optimistically thousands, to achieve victory? There were lots of Irish and Catholic French Canadians in Canada who, the Fenians expected, would rise up at the news of an invasion. But why pick Canada as the target rather than Ireland itself? The United States permitted a greater degree of freedom in which to plan the invasions than Ireland and, for many, Canada was the only British territory within reach.

I am interested in Irish and Irish-American history so I was predisposed to like the subject of this work. I could not have anticipated how well Klein would weave his account into the centuries of Irish resistance to English rule. This story is typical of the Irish freedom fighters. They fought among themselves, were infiltrated by informers, had missed communications, unrealistic expectations, failures in organization, and yet raised money and established a government in exile that seem incredible. This story fits right into the continuum of insurrections including the 1798 “Year of the French”, the Young Irelanders of 1848, the 1916 Easter uprising and the Civil War that followed. I recommend “When The Irish Invaded Canada” to anyone with an interest in the history of Ireland, Canadian-American relations or just in search of a great story.… (más)

When the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland's Freedom by Christopher Klein is a history of a little-known war. Klein is a writer specializing in history, travel, and sports. He is a frequent contributor to the Boston Globe and History.com, the website for the History Channel and the author of three other books.

To many people, Ireland is a country whose struggle has been limited to British rule. The Irish, as a people, were involved in many western hemisphere conflicts. Bernardo O'Higgins led the effort for Chilean independence. John Riley and the St. Patrick Brigade fought with the Mexican army in the Mexican-American War while other Irish earlier fought to defend the Alamo. The Irish have a history of fighting for causes they believe in. One cause has always been freedom from British rule.

After the Civil War, Irish men on both sides of the lines joined in a plan to gain Independence from England by seizing Canada. The soldiers' connection to Ireland was much stronger than the color of the uniform they previously fought in. The circumstances of the times allowed this invasion plan to progress. Many believed that the potato famine was a result of a British plot which added to their determination. Americans were leary of England because of their support of the South in the Civil War. Americans also remembered the British came through Canada and burned Washington DC. Furthermore, the great influx of Irish to America created a powerful voting block influencing politics.

The attack obviously was not successful in freeing Ireland or overtaking Canada, but it did allow for a seemingly impossible event to occur and create new heroes in the Irish Independence movement. Klein writes a smooth flowing and well-documented history of the events leading to the invasion, the invasion, and its aftermath. Klein's writing style and the obscurity of the event almost seems like alternative history. It was an almost perfect storm of events and circumstances that created this chapter in history.… (más)

Several years back I first heard about how Irish revolutionaries attempted to invade Canada from the United States and thought to myself "That would make a good movie!" But I never knew the details until I read this history book.

The invasions, known as the Fenian Raids, occurred from 1866 to 1871 with attempts by Irish Republicans to cross the border from Maine to New Brunswick, Vermont and northern New York to Quebec, Buffalo to Ontario, and the Dakota Territory into Manitoba. The purpose of these raids was to capture territory of the United Kingdom in hopes of drawing supporters to the cause and perhaps even exchanging Canada for Ireland's independence.

Klein sets the stage for the Fenian Raids by establishing the 19th-century perspective that Americans had on borders. The practice of filibustering, private military expeditions across borders, was well known at the time, especially with Mexico. The United States and Canada also had many border conflicts and Manifest Destiny looked north as well as west, with many Americans assuming that all or parts of Canada would one day become the United States. Finally, there was resentment against Great Britain for tacitly supporting the Confederacy during the Civil War which made it possible that some people within government might turn a blind eye to incursions across the Canadian border.

Ireland had suffered the potato blight and Great Hunger of the 1840s and 1850s which caused the death of over a million and the emigration of at least a million more. The survivors within Ireland used the cavalier indifference of the British to their starvation as impetus to revive the fight for independence. The Young Ireland movement of the 1840s was succeeded by the secret society of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. With so many Irish immigrants in the United States, it became a place where Irish Republicans could raise money and organize freely. The Fenian Brotherhood was founded in New York City in 1858 where they established headquarters and a government-in-exile.

Or I should say, two headquarters, because much like Irish Republican movements throughout history, the Fenian Brotherhood was divided by infighting. One of the contentious issues was whether to invade Canada or to focus solely and supporting an uprising in Ireland. Klein notes that both Fenian branches would succumb to popular pressure and support raids in to Canada at different times.

Irish-born soldiers made up a large proportion of the men who fought on the front lines on both sides of the Civil War. Some of them specifically enlisted in order to gain the military experience they could then use to fight for Ireland's liberation, and in the early raids, the officers and troops were predominately Civil War veterans. The Irish invaders had success early on at the Battle of Ridgeway, across the Niagara River from Buffalo, on June 2, 1866 where they defeated reservists and militias from Toronto and Hamilton. This proved to be the only victory in the cause for Irish independence in-between the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and the Irish War of Independence in 1919.

The raids more typically were a comedy of errors. The Fenian Brotherhood faced as much trouble with the United States government enforcing the Neutrality Act as they did with British and Canadian military forces. But hubris and lack of organization were their biggest obstacles. Again and again, the Fenians gathered together a small band to strike into Canada with the optimistic belief that once they start fighting people would flock to their cause, and they'd even gain support from French Canadians and the American government. On one of the last raids with the supposed goal of linking up with the Métis in Manitoba, the Fenians not only failed to make any allies but they also didn't even manage to cross the border.

One of the great ironies is that Fenian Raids did help bring independence to a country, but not for Ireland. There was division among the provinces of Canada before the raids, but the fear of invasion lead many people to support Canadian Confederation in 1867. The Fenian Raids also played their part in the longer struggle for Irish independence, especially the key role of Irish Americans as fundraisers and organizers which persists to this day. Klein's book takes an historical curiosity and fleshes out a story of a campaign that consumed decades of the lives of many Irish Republicans. He demonstrates how invading Canada seemed a plausible and compelling idea as well as showing why it ultimately failed. And yes, this would still make a great movie.… (más)

A detailed history of the Fenian Raids, exploring the men who lead the Fenian Brotherhood movement in the US, and the events that led to multiple attempts to invade Canada with the goal of holding it hostage so that Britain would free Ireland.

This particular aspect of Canadian history has always been one of my favourite anecdotes. The hubris of attempting to invade a country as large as Canada with a force as small as what the Fenians assembled is laughable. However, Klein treats his subject with all seriousness and crafts a respectful history of the movement, the men who lead it, and the context in Ireland, the United States, and Canada. A little bit more military history than I expected, I still recommend the work if this particular aspect of history intrigues you.… (más)