A Few Days of Disruption in Missisquoi County

Heather Darch, Musée Missisquoi Museum

“With the reduction of Montreal, a demand will be made upon the United States for a formal recognition of Canada, whose name will be changed at once to New Ireland."
The Fenian Manifesto

In the turbulent decade of the 1860s, a group of seasoned veterans of the American Civil War turned their attention to the conquest of Canada. They were Irish-American revolutionaries known as the Fenian Brotherhood. The Fenians believed that the first step to the liberation of Ireland from British domination was to invade Canada, thereby forcing the British to free their homeland.

The term “Fenian” comes from the Celtic Na Fianna for the mythical band of fierce warriors charged with protecting Ireland at all costs. British negligence during the Irish potato famine in the 1840s and the long history of British control over the Irish people had fuelled resentment and the rise of movements such as the Irish Republican Brotherhood in the 1850s. In 1858, outraged and displaced Irish immigrants in America found a voice and refuge for their frustrations in the newly formed “Fenian Brotherhood”. Rumours that the Fenians were in favour of armed rebellion were not unfounded, as they quickly gained arms, money, and popular support from the large Irish neighbourhoods in cities such as New York and Boston.

On June 7, 1866, a group of Fenians crossed the border into Quebec under the command of Samuel Spears. They faced no opposition from Canadian troops who had retreated earlier because of an over-estimation of Fenian military strength and panic in the local communities.

When three unidentified men were seen on the road near Eccles Hill, it was assumed they were an advance guard of the Fenians. The alarm "The Fenians are coming!” spread through the area with tales that they had captured a passenger train. Railway lines were torn up at Stanbridge Station by anxious farmers, and homes and farms were abandoned. When General Spears crossed the frontier with 1,000 men his victory was assured. The Fenians held Pigeon Hill, Frelighsburg, and St. Armand without any opposition and proceeded to intimidate the communities by damaging property and stealing supplies. A shocking incident was the death of Margaret Vincent, an elderly woman living near Eccles Hill. Perhaps heading to a nearby well, Miss Vincent failed to halt on the command of the picket guard of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Presuming she was a Fenian, the Fusiliers fired on Margaret and killed her instantly. It was later determined that she was deaf and did not hear the decree to stop.

On June 9, 1866, the Fenians received word that Canadian militia and volunteers were advancing, and in response they retreated. As they went many discharged their rifles into the air and carried their looted household articles. At the border they were met by U.S. troops who disarmed them and placed them under arrest.

Approximately 200 Fenians remained behind, eager to engage in a battle with the Canadian militia, but as troops approached, the Fenians fled toward the frontier. The militia charged the fleeing Fenians with drawn sabres and although a few shots were fired, no casualties resulted on either side. Again the U.S. regulars met them at the border.

The raid at Pigeon Hill was not the battle the Fenians had envisioned. However, it served to make their cause known and to boost their confidence that the invasion of Canada was possible. As a result of the confusion on the Canadian side, the local population lost confidence in the ability of their government to protect them and decided to organize a home guard for their own defence.

In May 1870, news came that Fenians were moving toward Missisquoi County under the command of John O'Neill, the president of the Fenian Brotherhood. As this incursion at Eccles Hill was not a surprise, people from the surrounding countryside began arriving in wagons to view the battle.

Asa Westover immediately called the volunteer home guards, the "Red Sashes" to take position. Had it not been for Captain Westover’s men, the Fenians might have held Canadian soil in this area. Although garrisons in Montreal and the 52^nd Battalion and the 60^th Battalion Volunteer Militia were alerted to the danger, it was the Red Sashes who were ready for the skirmish.

On May 25, 1870, the Fenians crossed into Canada. Two Fenians were shot and killed and the rest, numbering approximately 400 men, scattered into the woods. General O'Neill was forced to surrender to U.S. marshals after losing control of his men. An intermittent exchange of gunfire continued for three hours until the 60th Battalion and the Victoria Rifles arrived and captured the small Fenian cannon.

	The Red Saches at Eccles Hill 1870 with captured Fenian gun

The incursions of the Fenians provided enough of an external threat to keep the Red Sashes on high alert for most of the summer of 1870. The few days of disruption to the normally peaceful countryside resulted in years of re-telling the stories of the Fenian raids. As time progressed and memories gave way to exaggeration, the raids were referred to as the Fenian battles or wars. By 1871, the Fenians were a spent force and the fragments of what once had been an enthusiastic organization gave up the idea of invading Canada even though they never relinquished their fidelity to Ireland.