Rebels on the Niagara

The Fenian Invasion of Canada, 1866

Lawrence E. Cline

• Publisher: Excelsior Editions
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9781438467528, 9781438467511
• eBook ISBN: 9781438467535
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Irish History
• Index: History

In what is now largely considered a footnote in history, Americans invaded Canada along the Niagara Frontier in 1866. The group behind the invasion—the Fenian Brotherhood—was formed in 1858 by Irish nationalists in New York City in order to fight for Irish independence from Britain. At the end of the American Civil War, Fenian leaders attempted to use Irish Americans, many of them combat veterans, to seize Canada and make it the "New Ireland" as a means to force the British from "old" Ireland. New York State was both the epicenter of Fenian leadership and a key support base and staging area for the military operations. Although relatively short-lived and with some of its military operations being somewhere between farce and tragedy, the Fenian Brotherhood had a very important impact on nineteenth-century New York and America, but remains largely forgotten. In Rebels on the Niagara Lawrence E. Cline examines not only the Fenian operations and their impact on Canada, but also the role the United States and New York played in both the initial support for the Fenian movement and its subsequent collapse in America.

Chapter 1

The Fenian Brotherhood in New York and the US

Irishmen still, thank God, leave their country with the hatred of England lying deep in their souls. For them there is no pretence [sic] of union of hearts, nor of anything but war with England, for which they are at all times willing to supply the sinews.1

—John O’Leary, recollections of Fenians and Fenianism

The genesis of the Fenian Brotherhood was the Emmet Monument Association that was established in the United States for the ostensible purpose of erecting a monument to Robert Emmet, who was executed by the British after leading an Irish rebellion in 1803. Although the group publicly had relatively narrow goals, there was a somewhat coded message in its very name. While Emmet was at trial, his closing speech included the words:

Let no man write my epitaph; for as no man who knows my motives dare now vindicate them, let not prejudice or ignorance, asperse them. Let them and me rest in obscurity and peace, and my tomb remain uninscribed, and my memory in oblivion, until other times and other men can do justice to my character. When my country takes her place among the nations of the earth, then and not till then, let my epitaph be written.

At least among the Irish community, this implied that any group devoted to establish such a monument must also be involved in the nationalist struggle. This certainly was the case with the Emmet Monument Association, which had a secret wing devoted to armed action against Britain. In support of this goal, it reportedly entered into secret talks with the Russian government for an alliance during the period of the Crimean War, but these talks came to nothing.2 Also note that during every period in which relations were strained between the Russians and the British, the Fenians made similar approaches to Russian officials, but there never were any practical advantages for the Fenians. The major organizers of the Emmet Monument Association were Colonel Michael Doheny, Chairman of the Committee; John O’Mahony (also spelled O’Mahoney in several contemporaneous sources), Pat O’Rourke, Captain Michael Corcoran, Thomas J. Kelly, Oliver Byrne, James Roache, and John Reynolds. Both Doheny and O’Mahony were veterans of the 1848 uprising in Ireland. Most of these figures became key members of the emerging Fenian Brotherhood.

The American members began trying to link with the nationalist movement in Ireland itself. Joseph Denieffe, a member, had to return to Ireland in June 1855 to visit his ill father. At that time, he was instructed to meet with Irish nationalist leaders. The Association had considerable confidence in itself. When Joseph Denieffe departed, he was told: “You may assure them … the time [for armed uprising] will be September. We have thirty thousand men ready now, and all we need is money, and arrangements are under way to provide it. We propose to issue bonds and some of the wealthiest men of our race are willing to take them.”3 At the same time, to give some indication of how shaky the Irish nationalist network actually was at this time, Denieffe did not know who to meet with in Ireland.

Denieffe finally met with James Stephens, a veteran of the 1848 uprising. Stephens had fled to Paris after the failure of that movement, where he had associated with John O’Mahony, who also had been in the 1848 movement before emigrating to the US and working with the Emmet Association. This led to links being established between Stephens and the erstwhile leaders of the Emmet Monument Association, which essentially had died by this time. They sent Owen Considine to Ireland with a letter offering help in fall 1857. The principal immediate request by Stephens was for funding for the nationalist movement in Ireland. By Denieffe’s account, there were considerable problems in fundraising, with many Irish Americans disillusioned with the Irish nationalist movements, if not necessarily with the concept of Irish independence. It took him two months to raise 400 dollars. When he returned to Dublin in 1858 with the money, Stephens formally founded the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) on March 17, 1858.4 At about the same time, O’Mahony and others formally established the Fenian Brotherhood, which replaced the Emmet Monument Association. The American Brotherhood reportedly started with forty members, all in New York City.5 Very quickly, both branches of the movement became known as the Fenians, taking its name from an ancient Irish militia. The group was headquartered in New York City. Along with O’Mahony, Michael Doheny, James Roche, and Oliver Byrne formed the nucleus of the new group. Although the American Fenian Brotherhood was a very distinct organization, its leaders pledged allegiance to Stephens as the overall leader of the Irish nationalist movement.

O’Mahony was the undisputed leader of the American branch of the Brotherhood for the first few years of its existence. He was born in County Limerick and had family members who had been involved in the Irish uprising of 1798. He was well educated and noted as a scholar before emigrating to the US in 1854. One senior Fenian claimed—while extolling O’Mahony’s virtues—that he had suffered a temporary “fit of insanity” early in life, but that “I am confident O’Mahony was quite sane during the rest of his life.”6 In reality, although briefly institutionalized well before his involvement in the Brotherhood, this appeared to be more as a result of exhaustion rather than psychological problems. During the Civil War, O’Mahony organized and served as the colonel commanding the 99th New York State Militia, which did not serve in combat, but was assigned to guard Confederate prisoners.

The description by the New York Times (which consistently over the years denigrated the Fenians) of the early days of the Fenian movement in New York may represent the prevailing opinion of outsiders of the group at the time: “It was first a weak organization of ambitious Irishmen, who sought by combination to extort office from the Democratic party.”7 Likewise, when James Stephens, leader of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, visited the US, the New York Times argued, “There need be no apprehensions, however, that the Fenian leader will disturb the peace of this country, or embroil us in a foreign war, after he gets here. He may agitate for a while, as Kosuth and other exiles have done in other times; but he will be quite certain to subside very soon into a quiet and respectable citizen, obtaining his livelihood by honest labor of one kind or another, in Wall-street or the Bowery. …”8 Very quickly, however, the Fenians proved themselves to be very serious politically, and with very broad aspirations.

The Fenian Brotherhood Organization

The Fenian Brotherhood was organized in the form of “circles.” The actual number of Fenian circles was fluid, with contemporary sources claiming somewhere between 500 and 900 circles at its peak.9 Each circle reportedly had between 100 and 500 members, but in many cases these figures were prone to exaggeration. A good snapshot of the state of the Fenian Brotherhood circles was provided during the 1865 Cincinnati convention. The movement had not been particularly open about its strength previously, but as part of the convention report a full listing of the circles was published. As of that date, the existing circles included:

Massachusetts: 38 (including 2 “in bad standing”); Rhode Island: 5; Maine: 1; Connecticut: 6 (1 in bad standing); New Hampshire: 7; Vermont: 4; NYC: Manhattan: 20; New York State: 27 (with Rome being in bad standing); New Jersey: 3; Pennsylvania: 16 (with 4 in bad standing); Ohio: 17 (one in bad standing); Illinois: 24 (one in bad standing); District of Columbia: 1; Iowa: 14 (two in bad standing); Wisconsin: 10 (one in bad standing); Michigan: 7; Minnesota: 2; Indiana: 23 (3 in bad standing); Missouri: 5; Tennessee: 3 (one in bad standing); Kentucky: 4 (one in bad standing); Kansas: 3; Oregon, Utah, Nevada, and Idaho: 4; California: 13; British Provinces: 2.10

For obvious reasons, the Fenian circles were focused in Northern-controlled and border states during the Civil War. Interestingly, though, at the 1863 convention O’Mahony stated that the New Orleans circle had continued some communications with New York.11 Union forces had occupied New Orleans prior to this convention, so it is unclear if O’Mahony was referring to a “Union” or a “Confederate” circle. If the latter, it is possible that there were some quiet Fenian circles in Confederate-held areas. In either event, shortly after the war ended, Fenian circles were established (or reestablished) in Southern states, with many former Confederate soldiers and officers as members of the Brotherhood.

It should be noted that the plurality of circles was in New York State, with sufficient strength in New York City itself that it was viewed as a separate Centre. Likewise, at least anecdotally, the New York circles had some of the highest number of members in each circle. The total number of members of the Fenians has been subject to considerable argument, but a realistic estimate would likely be in the range of 50,000 members by the end of the Civil War, with followers and supporters of varying commitment numbering more than 200,000.

It might also be noted that along with the Brotherhood, there also was a Fenian Sisterhood, which provided various fund-raising and support services. According to The Belfast News of February 28, 1865, the first public meeting of the Sisterhood took place on February 1, 1865, in New York City. According to this report, “… members must be attentive and obedient; that each candidate must ‘solemnly pledge her sacred word of honour’ that she will ‘labour to foster and extend feelings of harmony, and intense and intelligent love of country, among Irish men and women.’” The Sisterhood was to be organized with a head directress and each branch with a directress, secretary, and treasurer. The first Head Directress was a “Miss O’Shea.” During a later period, women also were reputed to being used as low-level smugglers of messages and weapons into Ireland because they were much less likely to be searched by the authorities than were men.

Membership in the Fenian Brotherhood was open to anyone, although certainly most welcoming to Irish Americans and Irish immigrants. A person had to pay one-dollar initiation fees and in 1863, at least five cents a week dues, increasing to a dime a week by 1865. These fees were established in the national constitution, which authorized local circles to charge higher fees.12 Although seemingly not a major sum, this should be compared to the daily wage for a nonfarm laborer or for a skilled carpenter in 1870 (which had seen considerable inflation from the earlier period): $1.04 and $1.70, respectively.13 As such, the dues alone represented a relatively high degree of financial commitment by individual members. Each member also had to agree to attend weekly meetings to remain in good standing.

Fenians and Society

Early Fenian public events seemed to be a cross between political rallies, state fairs, and circuses. In many ways, they were a microcosm of nineteenth-century society. A somewhat lengthy excerpt from an early description of the Fenian national fair held in Chicago in 1864 will give a flavor of these events:

Among the articles contributed by Ireland to the fair are three photographic portraits by the venerable Archbishop McHale; “a Whole Irishman” sends a moire antique gent’s vest; others send a piece of Lord Edward Fitzgerald’s coffin; a pocket-handkerchief … a jar of whisky which had not paid the excise duty; a bog-oak neglige; a copy of a letter from France on Irish bravery; a sword picked up on Bunker’s Hill by an Irish-English soldier; a pistol used in ’98; a lump of stone, on which the broken treaty was signed by the illustrious Sarsfield; a bird’s-eye view of the Protestant Reformation; a pair of lady’s boots worked with a ’98 pike; a Scotch claymore taken in Wexford in ’98; a large doll, dressed as the Tipperary man’s dark-haired Mary; a sod of Wolfe Tone’s grave; a watch-pocket, worked by lady who hopes that it will be worn next a manly heart … a gross of pies “specially manufactured for the fair.”14

A description of a second event, held in Bergen, New Jersey on August 3, 1865, further describes some of the social side of the Brotherhood at a local level. It relates the “First Grand Annual Pic-Nic [sic] of the Fenian Brotherhood of the New Jersey Department,” involving about 700 members:

From Jersey City ferry the body marched to the grove in the following order:

Manahan’s Band, 20 instruments; Fenian Brotherhood, 350 strong; the 90th New York State National Guard, 100 men; Fenian Brotherhood, 350 men. … On the route windows were thrown up, handkerchiefs waved, and loud cheers greeted them as they passed. … The Fenian sisters received their patriotic brethren at the grove, and with true sisterly affection dispensed some of the daisies which they had provided for the occasion. The perspiring and patriotic brothers were cooled off by draughts of fresh lager, or the more sparkling soda water. … The blind Irish fiddler … was there, and the ring was formed around him, and the Irish jig, hornpipe, and reel went on. …15

All this was followed by speeches from Brotherhood leaders. These examples of some of the social side of the Fenians are not presented to belittle the seriousness of the group. Rather, they should be reminders of how intertwined the Fenians became with the larger Irish American community, particularly in the cities in New York and surrounding states. Again using modern terminology, whether intentional or socially instinctive, the Fenian Brotherhood in the US clearly won the hearts and minds of the surrounding Irish people. In a real sense, the Brotherhood became synonymous with the local communities. Particularly for local and state governments, dealing with the Fenians meant dealing with the overall Irish American community.

More broadly, the Fenians were somewhat a variant of two major trends in nineteenth-century society. The first was the virtual explosion in private associations, such as lodges, workers’ associations, gentlemen’s clubs, and local service groups. Members joined on the basis of occupation, religious affiliation, social status, or ethnicity. None of these were mutually exclusive: it was common to have groups combining aspects of several or all these reasons for participation. Most males in society were “joiners” with memberships in several social, ethnic, and occupational groups. Although most represented a “man’s world,” virtually all of them had associated women’s auxiliaries.

The second pattern was that of active membership in local militias. Virtually all towns and particularly cities in New York ha...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Maps
• Foreword
• Chapter 1 The Fenian Brotherhood in New York and the US
• Chapter 2 The American and Irish Fenians
• Chapter 3 The Fenians, American Society, and the American Government
• Chapter 4 “The Great Schism”
• Chapter 5 The Campobello Island Raid
• Chapter 6 Preparing for Invasion
• Chapter 7 The Invasion in the Niagara
• Chapter 8 The Other Fenian Invasion Wings
• Chapter 9 The Aftermath
• Chapter 10 The Interregnum
• Chapter 11 1870: Invasion Redux
• Chapter 12 The Withering of the Fenian Brotherhood: The Birth of “Fenianism”
• Appendix 1 The Fenian Constitutions of 1863 and 1865
• Appendix 2 A Fenian Soldier’s Account of 1866
• Appendix 3 General Sweeney’s Proclamation to the Canadians in 1866
• Notes
• Bibliography and Suggested Readings
• Index
• Back Cover