Turning Back the Fenians: New Brunswick's Last Colonial Campaign
In the early 1860s, Irish immigrants in the United States were eager to help the Fenian brotherhood overthrow the British in Ireland. The American Fenians mission: to invade British North America and hold it hostage. New Brunswick, with its large Irish population and undefended frontier, was a perfect target. The book tells how, in the spring of 1866, a thousand Fenians massed along the St. Croix River and spread terror among New Brunswickers. When the lieutenant-governor called in British...
Search in google:
On the night of April 14, 1866, an armed band of men terrorized customs officer James Dixon and his family on Indian Island, an important trading depot on the Maine-New Brunswick border. Brandishing revolvers, the invaders threatened the frightened family, and demanded the British flag which flew over the customs house. The armed intruders were members of a revolutionary movement called the Fenian Brotherhood, which sought to drive the British from Ireland. In the early 1860s, many Irish immigrants in the United States were eager to help the Fenians. Their mission: to invade British North America and hold it hostage. New Brunswick, with its vast, undefended border and large Irish population, was a perfect target. In Turning Back the Fenians: New Brunswick's Last Colonial Campaign, military historian Robert L. Dallison tells the intriguing story of this pivotal moment in Canadian history, when these marauders massed along the St. Croix River, alarming the people of New Brunswick. The quick-thinking lieutenant-governor called in British soldiers, the New Brunswick militia, and a squadron of warships. The crisis was averted and the Fenians turned their attention to Upper Canada. At a time when the issue of border security once again looms large between Canada and its closest neighbour, Dallison elucidates this largely forgotten moment in history.
