What do you think?
Rate this book
Canada Under Attack
Most history books make a joke of it, but Canada faced a serious military threat in the 1860s -- and came under multiple attacks by military forces based in the United States. It took the combined effort of British troops in Canada and the Canadian militia -- plus some good luck -- to repel the invaders and end the threat. The experience helped push Confederation to fruition in 1867.
Cheryl MacDonald offers a fast-paced account of these events. Irish-Americans who had fought in the US Civil War emerged from that war with new military skills. There was widespread unemployment. Many Irish immigrants were fervent supporters of the Irish independence movement. Irish leaders saw an opportunity to cause problems for the hated British authorities -- and to bargain for Irish independence -- by using their new military prowess to attack Britain's North American colonies. Many expected Canadians to welcome a defeat of the colonial rulers.
In this book, Cheryl MacDonald describes how the Fenians mounted their attacks into what is now Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick. Among the many colourful characters in her story are Canada's first spymaster, Gilbert McMicken, who organized a network of agents providing intelligence on the Fenians, and Thomas D'Arcy McGee, a one-time Fenian supporter who became a key colleague of John A. Macdonald -- until McGee's assassination in Ottawa by a Fenian sympathizer.
In the background. playing an ambiguous role, were key American politicians. They were torn: many vigorously supported US expansionism, and saw Canada as the next addition to the Union after the successful addition of Florida, Texas, California, and Louisiana -- with Alaska to come in 1867. After the disastrous Civil War, they were not ready to go to war with Britain and face its overwhelming naval power and its naval bases in Halifax and Victoria. A Fenian success, however, promised a possible back-door way to annexing Canada or some of its parts -- the West and B.C., for instance.
This book, which reflects the findings of recent scholarship on this tumultuous period, is a short, readable overview of the drama and conflict as Britain's colonies coalesced in the Canadian Confederation. These events place a different light on the atmosphere around the negotiations by politicians that led to the Confederation deal in 1866-67.
Cheryl MacDonald offers a fast-paced account of these events. Irish-Americans who had fought in the US Civil War emerged from that war with new military skills. There was widespread unemployment. Many Irish immigrants were fervent supporters of the Irish independence movement. Irish leaders saw an opportunity to cause problems for the hated British authorities -- and to bargain for Irish independence -- by using their new military prowess to attack Britain's North American colonies. Many expected Canadians to welcome a defeat of the colonial rulers.
In this book, Cheryl MacDonald describes how the Fenians mounted their attacks into what is now Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick. Among the many colourful characters in her story are Canada's first spymaster, Gilbert McMicken, who organized a network of agents providing intelligence on the Fenians, and Thomas D'Arcy McGee, a one-time Fenian supporter who became a key colleague of John A. Macdonald -- until McGee's assassination in Ottawa by a Fenian sympathizer.
In the background. playing an ambiguous role, were key American politicians. They were torn: many vigorously supported US expansionism, and saw Canada as the next addition to the Union after the successful addition of Florida, Texas, California, and Louisiana -- with Alaska to come in 1867. After the disastrous Civil War, they were not ready to go to war with Britain and face its overwhelming naval power and its naval bases in Halifax and Victoria. A Fenian success, however, promised a possible back-door way to annexing Canada or some of its parts -- the West and B.C., for instance.
This book, which reflects the findings of recent scholarship on this tumultuous period, is a short, readable overview of the drama and conflict as Britain's colonies coalesced in the Canadian Confederation. These events place a different light on the atmosphere around the negotiations by politicians that led to the Confederation deal in 1866-67.
128 pages, Paperback
First published August 11, 2015
165 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 12, 2024
An introduction, for sure.
Cheryl MacDonald's 'Canada under Attack: Irish-American Veterans of the Civil War and their Fenian Campaign to Conquer Canada' describes the Fenian Raids and its origins, flashpoints, the actors involved, outcomes, and impact on Canada.
Now I have to say that this was not a bad book. As someone interested in Canadian military history, I admit that I knew little of this part of my country's military history, but after reading this I learned a lot. It is a short, yet fair work of the conflict that one could finish in a week if consistent.
However, I have to say that there was room for improvement. For example, MacDonald's writing was choppy at times and had typos, as well that there could have been a map describing where the troop movements were and the battles in Canada. There was potential to make this better than it was.
Overall, it is an ok book. Informative, but not the best. If you are interested in Canadian history, Canadian military history, or Irish diaspora history, then I recommend this book.
Cheryl MacDonald's 'Canada under Attack: Irish-American Veterans of the Civil War and their Fenian Campaign to Conquer Canada' describes the Fenian Raids and its origins, flashpoints, the actors involved, outcomes, and impact on Canada.
Now I have to say that this was not a bad book. As someone interested in Canadian military history, I admit that I knew little of this part of my country's military history, but after reading this I learned a lot. It is a short, yet fair work of the conflict that one could finish in a week if consistent.
However, I have to say that there was room for improvement. For example, MacDonald's writing was choppy at times and had typos, as well that there could have been a map describing where the troop movements were and the battles in Canada. There was potential to make this better than it was.
Overall, it is an ok book. Informative, but not the best. If you are interested in Canadian history, Canadian military history, or Irish diaspora history, then I recommend this book.
September 24, 2015
This is an interesting story of Irish-American Civil War veterans, the Fenians, who decided to invade Canada to force England to free Ireland. I wonder how many pints it took to dream up that scheme (don't hate on me--I'm also Irish-American so I know of what I speak). I know I had relatives fighting for the Union during the Civil War so this topic was of interest to me.
The book states that the Fenians were not taken seriously in history books. However, the Canadians who fled their homes at the time and the dead and wounded from the numerous skirmishes would disagree.
The book was written by a Canadian but it didn't favor the Canada side. There are fascinating stories regarding one Canadian leader who purposely disobeyed his commander and also left his troops once the battle began. Both sides seemed drastically unprepared for battle. I admit I have never read military history before but there is a lot of descriptions of where in Canada the battles were held but no map in the book that would have helped me picture how close together the battles were. I also found some of the writing pretty dry. However, all the story was compelling enough to keep me reading. Overall, a 3.5 star book rounded up to 4.
I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway but that has not impacted my review.
The book states that the Fenians were not taken seriously in history books. However, the Canadians who fled their homes at the time and the dead and wounded from the numerous skirmishes would disagree.
The book was written by a Canadian but it didn't favor the Canada side. There are fascinating stories regarding one Canadian leader who purposely disobeyed his commander and also left his troops once the battle began. Both sides seemed drastically unprepared for battle. I admit I have never read military history before but there is a lot of descriptions of where in Canada the battles were held but no map in the book that would have helped me picture how close together the battles were. I also found some of the writing pretty dry. However, all the story was compelling enough to keep me reading. Overall, a 3.5 star book rounded up to 4.
I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway but that has not impacted my review.
September 18, 2015
A book about what could have been and did not happen, You can re-write the war of 1812 with the same questions, and push it a notch further... Wouldn't it have been better for everyone id the US had annexed all of North America? No more problems of dollars parity, no more discussions about policies.
But it did not work. In the same style, you may write any history book again with "what if".
But it did not work. In the same style, you may write any history book again with "what if".
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews