Mi'kmaq
11-09-2015, 02:11 AM
IN 1866, one of the strangest armies in American history marched off to war.
Made up of Irish-born Civil War veterans from both northern and southern states, this unlikely brigade was united with a single goal in mind – to break the British stranglehold over their native Ireland.
To make good on their objective, the leaders of this bizarre movement, known as the Fenian Brotherhood, planned to unleash a legion of Irish expats on Great Britain’s Canadian colonies. The transplanted patriots hoped to use the captured territories as a bargaining chip in negotiations with London for the independence of their ancestral homeland.
On paper, the Fenian scheme looked feasible enough. The Brotherhood could draw from up to 17,000 combat-hardened, Irish-born Civil War veterans. Surplus arms and equipment were stockpiled at secret depots around the country. Financial backing from scores of Irish Americans was pouring in and a provisional government was ready and waiting in New York. The Fenians believed they could even count on tacit support from the U.S. government, which was still irked by Britain’s sympathy for the southern rebellion. To the Brotherhood, the campaign to seize Canada seemed entirely plausible. Unfortunately for them, things just didn’t work out that way.
https://exhibits.library.villanova.edu/files/3113/0097/9054/The%20Fenian%20Brotherhood%20VDL.jpg
Made up of Irish-born Civil War veterans from both northern and southern states, this unlikely brigade was united with a single goal in mind – to break the British stranglehold over their native Ireland.
To make good on their objective, the leaders of this bizarre movement, known as the Fenian Brotherhood, planned to unleash a legion of Irish expats on Great Britain’s Canadian colonies. The transplanted patriots hoped to use the captured territories as a bargaining chip in negotiations with London for the independence of their ancestral homeland.
On paper, the Fenian scheme looked feasible enough. The Brotherhood could draw from up to 17,000 combat-hardened, Irish-born Civil War veterans. Surplus arms and equipment were stockpiled at secret depots around the country. Financial backing from scores of Irish Americans was pouring in and a provisional government was ready and waiting in New York. The Fenians believed they could even count on tacit support from the U.S. government, which was still irked by Britain’s sympathy for the southern rebellion. To the Brotherhood, the campaign to seize Canada seemed entirely plausible. Unfortunately for them, things just didn’t work out that way.
https://exhibits.library.villanova.edu/files/3113/0097/9054/The%20Fenian%20Brotherhood%20VDL.jpg