Feel free to ignore the lack of concern about this event by the Federal Government. Truth is very few people anywhere even know about it or the nature of our history in general. This really isn’t a scandal or surprising but sometimes the Rebel is like that. This is being shared more in the spirit of “Did You Know”. Just goes to show…. the Irish are a dangerous lot. We will remain however, eternally vigilant.
Anyways… just so you know I’ve got my eye on you Quinn. And that unruly lot you hang out with at the Shamrock. Don’t think you can try and pull something like this again. We have not forgotten!
God Save the Queen!
Who mourns the fallen soldiers of Ridgeway? Most Canadians have probably never heard of the Battle of Ridgeway, waged 150 years ago near Fort Erie, Ontario but what’s the Trudeau government’s excuse?
The 1866 battle saw Canadian patriots up against an invading force of about 800 Irish-Americans known as the Fenian Brotherhood who hoped to temporarily take Canada hostage to force the UK out of Ireland.
The Fenians were met by volunteer militias like the Queen’s Own Rifles and the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry. They were shopkeepers, school teachers, university students and farm boys facing heavily-armed, battle-hardened Civil War Vets.
It was the first modern industrial-era battle fought by Canadians and the last one fought in Ontario against foreign invaders.
It proved enormously significant to Canada’s formation when the colonies realized they could defend themselves rather than rely on Britain. Canada was born just 13 months after the battle.
Not everyone forgot.
About 5,000 participated in the sesquicentennial events in Fort Erie earlier this month. It was a grand affair with several dignitaries attending, including Mayor Wayne Redekopof, NDP MPP Wayne Gates, and CPC MP Rob Nicholson.
Absent were any representatives of the Federal government.
The snub by the Trudeau Liberals was shocking. Given the importance of this battle to confederation, one would’ve expected perhaps the PM or at least the Minister of Defence to be there but they were AWOL.
I contacted Peter Vronsky, author of “Ridgeway: The American Fenian Invasion and the 1866 Battle That Made Canada”. He said not only did no federal minister attend but financial support from the Confederation celebration fund was refused on the grounds that commemorations will focus on “multiculturalism”, not military events, prompting Vronsky to quip:
“I guess the Irish invading Canada is not multicultural enough for them.”
Watch as I explain both the official excuses and the unspoken speculation for why the Liberals weren’t there.
Whatever the reason, celebrating men who made the ultimate sacrifice at Ridgeway should transcend politics. T
That didn’t happen with the ruling Liberals and that’s a disgrace, especially for those who died 150 years ago fighting for this country.
It’s absolutely staggering that: A) the liberal Federal government snubbed the event, B) that money from the Confederation Celebration fund can only be used for commemorations that promote multiculturalism and not for military commemorations even if the commemoration celebrates an event that was highly influential in the formation of the country, C) that every citizen in Canada is not aware of the historic battle and that the event is not taught in schools throughout Canada, and at a young age. Oh, scratch that last one. That’s too nationalistic and doesn’t celebrate multiculturalism and diversity.. Maybe Canada didn’t have any Muslims in 1866 and they find that to be an embarrassment. Multiculturalism will be the death of us all.
I am hoping my friend Anne sees this (in Ireland) and gives some interesting and informed commentary.
A detailed, yet concise, report here;
http://www.fenians.org/battle-of-ridgeway.htm
Background: Ireland and the Fenian Brotherhood
“Beginning in 1169, Ireland was subjected to several centuries of English influence, conquest and control. In 1798, Protestant and Catholic Irish temporarily forgot their hatred of each other to launch a rebellion aimed at a united, independent Ireland. Despite receiving support from then-revolutionary France, the rebellion was put down. The potato famine of 1845-1846 resulted in widespread death – by starvation and disease – as well as massive emigration to Australia, Canada, the United States and other countries with large Irish immigrant populations.
Another rebellion in 1848 prompted Irish nationalists to continue the call for a free Irish republic. In addition, many dispossessed Irish felt that action, not just talk, was needed to bring about independence for Ireland. In 1858, the Fenian Brotherhood was founded in America, followed shortly thereafter by the creation of its Irish counterpart, the Irish Republican Brotherhood. The Fenian founder, exile John O’Mahony, named his group after the Fianna, a mythical group of Irish nobles who were associated with Irish folk hero Finn McCool. They perfectly fit O’Mahony’s romantic vision of a new generation of warriors who would rise up and free the “old sod” from the rule of England.
When the American Civil War commenced, nearly 150,000 ethnic Irish-Americans joined the Union Army. [Figures for the Confederate Army are sketchy, at best. However, a 2013 book “The Green and the Grey” extrapolates 20,000 Irish immigrants enlisting in Confederate ranks.] Fenian organizers did their best recruiting during the war itself, forming new Circles in many Eastern cities and even in the Union armies (they were particularly successful in the Federal Army of the Cumberland in the western theatre of the war). Their experiences in that war would provide a basis for the Fenian leadership to take its next bold step.
In the fall of 1865, the Fenian Brotherhood held a series of meetings in Cincinnati, OH to plan a bold stroke: the invasion of British North America (aka Canada). [Canada was not yet a nation as such, but the Fenian invasion would spur the process along. But I’m getting ahead of myself…] Strategy was discussed and plotted. Unfortunately, their security arrangements could be characterized as extremely lax, as American and British authorities learned about their plans very quickly.
The Fenians launched fundraising efforts in major American cities. Their most successful money-extraction scheme involved the sale of bonds in the name of the non-existent “Irish Republic.” The bonds were to be redeemed six months after the recognition of the independence of Ireland. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Irish immigrants gave their hard-earned money to the Fenian cause.”
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rest of above article here —- http://www.burnpit.us/2015/06/battle-ridgeway-fenian-raiders-defeat-canadian-militiamen
In other words you are saying Canadians are as dumbed down as Americans when it comes to history.I had never heard of it either.
bb,
It’s becoming that way although I think this skirmish is somewhat overrated in its importance. The whole thing reminds me of a soccer game gone wild somewhere in the UK. I think the casualty count is roughly the same….