The Fenian Raid (1866)
In 1866, a brigade of Fenians (Irish Republicans) used the ruins of the old fort as a base for their raid into Ontario. The Fenian Brotherhood invaded Canada on June 1, 1866 with more than 500 American Civil War veterans by crossing the Niagara River a little north of Fort Erie. Their first order of business was to occupy the town of Fort Erie and demand food and equipment from the local population. The invaders offered Fenian bonds as payment but were refused by the townsfolk.
The Fenians then marched north to try and capture the town of Chippewa at the Niagara River exit of the Welland Canal. Before reaching their goal, and discovering a British and Canadian force had reached the town before them they turned to face a weak Canadian militia brigade that was approaching Fort Erie from the west, routing it at the Battle of Ridgeway. The Fenians returned to Fort Erie where they defeated a second small force of local Canadian militia, including a naval detachment from Dunnville. Unable to get reinforcements across the river and concerned over the approach of a large number of Canadian Militia and British regulars, the Fenians retreated from Fort Erie for Buffalo.
Around the same time visitors to the ruins included the Prince of Wales and Mark Twain. As the 20th century approached, the Old Fort was used as a park and picnic area by local families.
Read more about this topic: Olde Fort Erie
Famous quotes containing the words fenian and/or raid:
“Saint, do you weep? I hear amid the thunder
The Fenian horses; armour torn asunder;
Laughter and cries. The armies clash and shock,
And now the daylight-darkening ravens flock.
Cease, cease, O mournful, laughing Fenian horn!”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“John Brown and Giuseppe Garibaldi were contemporaries not solely in the matter of time; their endeavors as liberators link their names where other likeness is absent; and the peaks of their careers were reached almost simultaneously: the Harper’s Ferry Raid occurred in 1859, the raid on Sicily in the following year. Both events, however differing in character, were equally quixotic.”
—John Cournos (1881–1956)