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When the Irish Invaded Canada

Page 36

by Christopher Klein


  “The Fenian organization”: Buffalo Daily Courier, Feb. 3, 1868.

  Chapter 14: Blood in the Street

  Then, on March 9, 1868: Donald Mackay to Macdonald, March 9, 1868, LAC.

  “I’m a bloody Fenian”: Age, July 7, 2017.

  Fortuitously, the royal’s India rubber braces: Irish Times, Oct. 13, 2017.

  O’Farrell was not in fact: Australian, Aug. 5, 2017.

  By the time the news: Buffalo Express, April 25, 1868.

  “I hope that in this House”: Taylor, Hon. Thos. D’Arcy McGee, 40–43.

  Under the light of a full moon: Trial of Patrick J. Whelan, 1–12.

  The .32-caliber bullet: Bytown Museum exhibit.

  McGee’s glove and cigar: Trial of Patrick J. Whelan, 11.

  “If Thomas D’Arcy McGee”: Taylor, Hon. Thos. D’Arcy McGee, 47.

  “He who was with us”: Slattery, Assassination of Thomas D’Arcy McGee, 474.

  “He has been slain”: Taylor, Hon. Thos. D’Arcy McGee, 44–45.

  Born around 1840: Boyko, “Patrick James Whelan.”

  An estimated 80,000 people: Globe and Mail, April 13, 2013.

  “the dastardly, cowardly”: Wilson, Thomas D’Arcy McGee, 2:347.

  “McGee did as much”: New York World, April 8, 1868.

  During the solemn funeral Mass: New York Herald, April 14, 1868.

  “a deliberate decision”: Wilson, Thomas D’Arcy McGee, 2:346–47.

  “I shot that fellow”: Trial of Patrick J. Whelan, 39, 86.

  In his last hours on death row: Boyko, “Patrick James Whelan.”

  Fearing that some Irish Catholic: D’Arcy, Fenian Movement, 317–18.

  “the detectives detailed”: U.S. Congress, House Executive Documents, 40th Cong., 2nd sess., 288–91.

  Only one-third of the $167,450: Proceedings of the Senate and House of Representatives of the Fenian Brotherhood in Joint Convention at Philadelphia, Pa., 15–17.

  “General O’Neill moves”: Vermont Daily Transcript, Feb. 5, 1869.

  O’Neill conceded his expenses: Official Report of Gen. John O’Neill, 36.

  “I have never believed”: O’Neill to Gallagher, Jan. 4, 1870, ACHS.

  In order to cover: James Gibbons to the Officers and Members of the F.B., April 7, 1870, ACHS.

  In April 1869: Gibbons to the Officers and Members of the F.B., April 8, 1869, ACHS.

  On the opening day: New York Times, June 6, 1869.

  “Were it not for the almost insane”: D’Arcy, Fenian Movement, 318.

  “I am sick and tired”: O’Neill to Gallagher, Dec. 16, 1869.

  In truth, the only people: Le Caron, Twenty-Five Years in the Secret Service, 77.

  As O’Neill and Meehan: Official Report of Gen. John O’Neill, 7.

  According to the Canadian spymaster: D’Arcy, Fenian Movement, 326.

  “It should not be forgotten”: O’Neill to the Officers and Members of the Fenian Brotherhood, and the Friends of Irish Liberty Generally, Oct. 27, 1869, MHS.

  He summoned Le Caron: Cole, Prince of Spies, 48.

  The Fenian president then traveled: Irish-American, July 30, 1870.

  In spite of their efforts: Archibald to Thornton, Dec. 13, 1869, LAC.

  “I was painfully aware”: Official Report of Gen. John O’Neill, 5.

  “The right to fight”: O’Neill to the Officers and Members of the Fenian Brotherhood, Jan. 21, 1870, MHS.

  Chapter 15: One Ridgeway Would Never Be Enough

  “those who become members”: Catholic Encyclopedia, 5:689.

  “decreed and declared”: Belfast News-Letter, Feb. 8, 1870.

  Upwards of one thousand men: Rafferty, The Church, the State, and the Fenian Threat, 11.

  “What England failed to accomplish”: D’Arcy, Fenian Movement, 332.

  When a New York City priest: Commercial Appeal, March 25, 1870.

  “The Irish people”: Sayers, “John O’Mahony,” 348.

  Colonels Henri Le Caron and William Clingen: Burlington Free Press, April 25, 1870.

  “It was as much our object”: Daily Phoenix, June 4, 1870.

  Registering in hotels: Cole, Prince of Spies, 53.

  On a visit to Malone: Le Caron, Twenty-Five Years in the Secret Service, 75–76.

  Administering their own justice: Cole, Prince of Spies, 52.

  When New York’s governor, John Hoffman: D’Arcy, Fenian Movement, 334–36.

  A trained physician: New York Herald, March 1, 1870.

  A painful rift: John O’Neill pension file, 575.926.

  McCloud, removed the organization’s: Official Report of Gen. John O’Neill, 6–7.

  Listening from another room: D’Arcy, Fenian Movement, 342.

  A policeman who heard: New York Herald, March 1, 1870.

  “Frank, I hope this”: Irish-American, March 19, 1870.

  Although Keenan’s shot: New York Herald, March 2, 1870.

  After serving two years: Public Papers of John T. Hoffman, 489.

  Due to Keenan’s “insane” actions: Official Report of Gen. John O’Neill, 7.

  “in view of the lamented catastrophe”: O’Neill to the Officers and Members of the Fenian Brotherhood, March 1, 1870, MHS.

  “One Ridgeway is enough”: Gibbons to the Officers and Members of the Fenian Brotherhood, March 23, 1870, ACHS.

  The Fenian scare: Borthwick, History of the Montréal Prison, 221–22.

  With the British government: Nevins, Hamilton Fish, 1:388–89.

  Based on the intelligence reports: Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 258.

  “the peace of the country”: Chicago Tribune, April 15, 1870.

  “detectives and spies”: New York Herald, April 23, 1870.

  The Canadian government said: McGee, Fenian Raids on the Huntingdon Frontier, 27.

  Chapter 16: Secrets and Lies

  Henri Le Caron became a familiar face: Cole, Prince of Spies, 50–59.

  “no power on earth”: Le Caron, Twenty-Five Years in the Secret Service, 81–83.

  Only $2,000 of the $30,000: Official Report of Gen. John O’Neill, 44.

  “I did not deem it”: Ibid., 9.

  “Take no man who”: Le Caron, Twenty-Five Years in the Secret Service, 79–83.

  While the Buffalo Evening Post announced: Buffalo Evening Post, May 22, 1870; Cole, Prince of Spies, 58–59.

  Le Caron’s stay in Buffalo: Official Report of Gen. John O’Neill, 15.

  “Every precaution had been taken”: Daily Phoenix, June 4, 1870.

  “that the Canadians”: Le Caron, Twenty-Five Years in the Secret Service, 82.

  The second of thirteen children: Edwards, Infiltrator, 26.

  “wild mad thirst”: Le Caron, Twenty-Five Years in the Secret Service, 8.

  Beach told tall tales: Edwards, Infiltrator, 55; Le Caron, Twenty-Five Years in the Secret Service, 2–10.

  When Le Caron returned: Edwards, Infiltrator, 53–54.

  “I never sought Fenianism”: Le Caron, Twenty-Five Years in the Secret Service, 25.

  He worked closely: O’Brien, Blood Runs Green, 68.

  As the head center: Cole, Prince of Spies, 30.

  Although he wasn’t Catholic: Clark, “Spy Who Came in from the Coalfields,” 95.

  Le Caron spilled Fenian secrets: Cole, Prince of Spies, 45–57.

  In fact, John C. Rose: Le Caron, Twenty-Five Years in the Secret Service, 76.

  “would not hesitate”: Irish-American, June 18, 1870.

  Feigning indignation, the spy: Cole, Prince of Spies, 40–45.

  “Prominent leaders say”: New York Times, April 25, 1870.<
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  He expected that thousands: Tuttle, “Fenian Campaign,” 208–9.

  O’Neill’s plan called for: Official Report of Gen. John O’Neill, 16–17.

  He expected to encounter: Fenian Raid of 1870, 53.

  O’Neill told The Daily Phoenix: Daily Phoenix, June 4, 1870.

  The secret agent had: Le Caron, Twenty-Five Years in the Secret Service, 81–83.

  On May 22, a disguised O’Neill: Official Report of Gen. John O’Neill, 15.

  In the mill city: Ibid., 44–51.

  O’Neill emerged from his hiding spot: Ibid., 15.

  The Fenians had hired: New-York Tribune, May 25, 1870.

  Nearly every team: New-York Tribune, May 24, 1870.

  The Fenians paid farmers: St. Albans Messenger, May 27, 1870.

  Donnelly assured O’Neill: Official Report of Gen. John O’Neill, 54.

  Colonel E. C. Lewis reported: Ibid., 15.

  O’Neill watched as the 6:00 a.m. train: Ibid., 6–9.

  “Even if 800 arrived”: Daily Phoenix, June 4, 1870.

  “Every hour’s delay”: Le Caron, Twenty-Five Years in the Secret Service, 84.

  Rain fell on St. Albans: Burlington Free Press, May 25, 1870.

  From his lodgings: St. Albans Messenger, March 22, 1879.

  At a cabinet meeting: Nevins, Hamilton Fish, 1:393–95.

  “We cannot prevent”: Burlington Free Press, May 28, 1870.

  The persistent downpours: Fenian Raid of 1870, 39–40.

  Soldiers who had expected: Ibid., 6–7.

  That night, Queen Victoria’s seventh child: Boston Daily Advertiser, May 28, 1870.

  Chapter 17: A Burlesque of a War

  “no serious resistance”: Boston Daily Advertiser, May 26, 1870.

  His plans called for an army: Daily Phoenix, June 4, 1870.

  Five years his junior: Tuttle, “Fenian Campaign,” 210–11.

  After his young wife passed away: Howard, Strange Empire, 226, 353.

  O’Neill and Donnelly rode: Richard family scrapbook.

  As a reminder of the cause: Burnside, “Fenian Musket,” 30.

  To load their guns: Campbell, Fenian Invasions of Canada of 1866 and 1870, 39.

  They even prepared: Richard family scrapbook.

  Many now cloaked themselves: Joye, “Wearing of the Green,” 51.

  Reflecting their dual allegiances: Campbell, Fenian Invasions of Canada of 1866 and 1870, 39.

  Many of those experienced: Tuttle, “Fenian Campaign,” 211–12.

  Around 11:00 a.m., a carriage: St. Albans Messenger, March 22, 1879.

  end the “unlawful proceeding”: Roche, Life of John Boyle O’Reilly, 109.

  “expressed his contempt”: Macdonald, Troublous Times in Canada, 160.

  Foster told O’Neill: Irish-American, June 18, 1870.

  The general spoke a few quiet words: Roche, Life of John Boyle O’Reilly, 109.

  The general ordered: Le Caron, Twenty-Five Years in the Secret Service, 85.

  Before they could confront: Fenian Raid of 1870, 28.

  “The soft sweet breezes”: Le Caron, Twenty-Five Years in the Secret Service, 85–86.

  On its steep slopes: Sowles, “History of Fenianism and Fenian Raids in Vermont,” 30–31.

  The marshal assured Chamberlin: St. Albans Messenger, June 3, 1870.

  “men who were mere pirates”: Macdonald, Troublous Times in Canada, 166–67.

  “entirely at the mercy”: Westover to John Dougall & Son, March 6, 1866, BCHS.

  After helping themselves: Busseau, “Fenians Are Coming…,” 30.

  After confederation in 1867: Westover to John Dougall & Son, March 6, 1866, BCHS.

  Westover, whose grandfather: Smith, “War at the Border,” 19.

  Through frequent rifle practice: Reid, Diary of a Country Clergyman, 233–36.

  Even when the fierce winter snow: Busseau, “Fenians Are Coming…,” 30.

  Locals mocked the homegrown militia: Brief Account of the Fenian Raids, 9.

  Inspired by the crimson sashes: Westover to John Dougall & Son, March 6, 1866, BCHS.

  Having received word: Busseau, “Fenians Are Coming…,” 30–31.

  “They’re coming! They’re coming!”: Brief Account of the Fenian Raids, 21.

  “more courage ’n sense”: “Finian Raid Stories,” Missisquoi Historical Society, 51.

  Given that the sixty-two-year-old: Richard family scrapbook.

  In fact, when Richard purchased: Carole Richard interview.

  The families who lived: Busseau, “Fenians Are Coming…,” 30.

  Richard’s brother Stephen: Richard family genealogy.

  When the Irish Republican Army arrived: Burlington Free Press, July 23, 1958.

  “them ruffians up”: “Finian Raid Stories,” Missisquoi Historical Society, 51.

  “Soldiers, this is the advance guard”: St. Albans Messenger, May 27, 1870.

  Positioned at the front: Missisquoi County Historical Society, Fenian Raids, 1866–1870, 21.

  The valley crackled: Burlington Free Press, May 27, 1870.

  Up on Eccles Hill: Missisquoi County Historical Society, Fenian Raids, 1866–1870, 13.

  He remembered well: Burlington Free Press, June 4, 1870.

  Pell’s finger squeezed: Richard family scrapbook.

  The Fenians were greeted: Burlington Free Press, May 30, 1870.

  William O’Brien of Moriah, New York: Roche, Life of John Boyle O’Reilly, 110.

  When a Canadian shot: Burlington Free Press, May 27, 1870.

  Many of the other spectators: Aldrich, History of Franklin and Grand Isle Counties, 346.

  “could be distinctly heard”: Richard family scrapbook.

  In total, as many as fifty Fenians: Tuttle, “Fenian Campaign,” 213.

  The farmer was furious: Rutland Weekly Herald, June 2, 1870.

  O’Neill managed to dash: Missisquoi County Historical Society, Fenian Raids, 1866–1870, 13.

  “very ill directed”: Report of Brown Chamberlin, May 28, 1870, in Sessional Papers, vol. 4, no. 7, 70–72.

  “behind which twenty men”: Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, June 18, 1870.

  When Richard heard a noise: Burlington Free Press, July 23, 1958.

  Le Caron had proven: Edwards, Infiltrator, 87; McMicken to Macdonald, July 1, 1870, LAC.

  “Men of Ireland”: Official Report of Gen. John O’Neill, 20–21.

  “You must not do so”: Irish-American, June 18, 1870.

  As they passed through: St. Albans Messenger, May 27, 1870.

  The marshal kept his hand: St. Albans Messenger, May 1, 1893.

  “Clear the way!”: Ibid.

  “To have given the command”: Le Caron, Twenty-Five Years in the Secret Service, 88.

  Given the arrest: Roche, Life of John Boyle O’Reilly, 111.

  Around 3:00 p.m.: Senior, Last Invasion of Canada, 163.

  Donnelly traded sharp words: Brief Account of the Fenian Raids, 24–25.

  Under the command: Columbian Register, June 4, 1870.

  The shots landed: Busseau, “Fenians Are Coming…,” 38.

  Colonel Smith responded: Richard family scrapbook.

  Donnelly was struck: Burlington Free Press, May 26, 1870.

  “converted their retreat”: St. Albans Messenger, June 3, 1870.

  The body of Rowe: McKone, Vermont’s Irish Rebel, 496.

  Their resignation was complete: St. Albans Messenger, June 3, 1870.

  He urged townspeople to: Irish-American, June 18, 1870.

  “It’s all up”: Burlington Free Press, May 27, 1870.

 
“What did I tell you?”: Tuttle, “Fenian Campaign,” 211–12.

  Ahern cursed his officers: Irish-American, June 18, 1870.

  “most profane and abusive epithets”: Burlington Free Press, May 30, 1870.

  His arrest had been so humiliating: Burlington Free Press, May 27, 1870.

  O’Neill would claim: Burlington Free Press, May 30, 1870.

  After the Fenians departed: St. Albans Messenger, June 3, 1870.

  Soldiers posed next to the body: Tuttle, “Fenian Campaign,” 214.

  According to the St. Albans Messenger: St. Albans Messenger, June 3, 1870.

  As the sun faded: Burlington Free Press, May 30, 1870; Campbell, Fenian Invasions of Canada of 1866 and 1870, 43.

  “that Fenian shouldn’t rise again”: New-York Tribune, May 27, 1870.

  As a final insult: Missisquoi County Historical Society, Fenian Raids, 1866–1870, 76.

  While Spear claimed: Burlington Free Press, May 26, 1870.

  Spear appealed to Le Caron: Le Caron, Twenty-Five Years in the Secret Service, 89.

  He would earn: Vermont Life, Summer 1961, 40.

  “had to march back”: Burlington Free Press, June 3, 1870.

  “got up this movement”: Rutland Weekly Herald, June 2, 1870.

  Chapter 18: Another Fight, Another Flight

  As the reporter John Boyle O’Reilly: Roche, Life of John Boyle O’Reilly, 112.

  Down the road: Burlington Free Press, May 30, 1870.

  Born in 1844: Roche, Life of John Boyle O’Reilly, 3–4.

  O’Reilly imbibed the history: Schofield, Seek for a Hero, 6.

  O’Reilly joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood: Kenneally, From the Earth, a Cry, 19.

  Behind the iron-barred door: Roche, Life of John Boyle O’Reilly, 53–65; Evans, Fanatic Heart, 43–50.

  A year later, O’Reilly: Roche, Life of John Boyle O’Reilly, 80.

  He arrived in Philadelphia: Kenneally, From the Earth, a Cry, 138–56.

  Bringing to his new home: Evans, Fanatic Heart, 174.

  A budding journalist: MacManus, Story of the Irish in Boston, 207–9.

  “thousands of men”: Roche, Life of John Boyle O’Reilly, 108.

 

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