Fenian raids

The Fenian raids were a series of incursions carried out by the Fenian Brotherhood, an Irish republican organization based in the United States, on military fortifications, customs posts and other targets in Canada (then part of British North America) in 1866, and again from 1870 to 1871. A number of separate incursions by the Fenian Brotherhood into Canada were undertaken to bring pressure on the British government to withdraw from Ireland, although none of these raids achieved their aims.

Fenian Raids
Depiction of the Fenian charge during the Battle of Ridgeway
Date April 1866 – October 1871 Location Eastern Canada and Manitoba Result British Empire/Canadian victory[1]
Belligerents
Canada[lower-alpha 1]  United Kingdom	Fenian Brotherhood
Commanders and leaders
John A. Macdonald George-Étienne Cartier J. Stoughton Dennis William O. Smith	John O'Mahony Thomas Sweeny John O'Neill Samuel P. Spear Owen Starr
Strength
Prior to invasion: 10,000-14,000 local volunteers (March 1866)[2] Start of war: 20,000 Canadian Militia (May 1866)[2]  United Kingdom 900 British Regulars (May 1866) [2] 13 armed patrol steamboat's [2] In 1870: 13,000+[2]	Start of war: 850+ (May 1866)[2] In 1870: 600~[2] In 1871: 40~[2]
Casualties and losses
13 killed in action 53 wounded 54 captured 22 died of wounds Total: 142[citation needed]	24 killed in action 48 wounded 59 captured 1 cannon seized Total: 131[citation needed]
Raids that were carried out in 1866 took place in the Province of Canada and the colony of New Brunswick; prior to Confederation in 1867.

In Canada, the incursions divided its burgeoning Irish-Canadian population, many of whom were torn between loyalty to their new home and sympathy for the aims of the Fenians. Protestant Irish immigrants were generally loyal to the British and fought with the pro-Union Orange Order against the Fenians.

While authorities in the United States arrested the men and confiscated the arms of the Fenian Brotherhood, there was speculation that some in the U.S. government had ignored the preparations undertaken by the Fenians because of anger over British actions that were construed by some as assistance to the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, most notably British blockade runners carrying arms supplies, the construction of commerce raider CSS Alabama, and tolerating the presence of Confederate Secret Service activities in the UK and its colonies in Canada and the Bahamas. The Fenian raids were one of the factors that led to Canadian Confederation, as the provinces united to face the threat of the Fenian invasions.