When the Irish Invaded Canada

When the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland's Freedom- Christopher Klein
Doublday
Release Date: March 12, 2019

Rating:
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Synopsis: Just over a year after Robert E. Lee relinquished his sword, a band of Union and Confederate veterans dusted off their guns. But these former foes had no intention of reigniting the Civil War. Instead, they fought side by side to undertake one of the most fantastical missions in military history: to seize the British province of Canada and to hold it hostage until the independence of Ireland was secured.

By the time that these invasions--known collectively as the Fenian raids--began in 1866, Ireland had been Britain's unwilling colony for seven hundred years. Thousands of Civil War veterans who had fled to the United States rather than perish in the wake of the Great Hunger still considered themselves Irishmen first, Americans second. With the tacit support of the U.S. government and inspired by a previous generation of successful American revolutionaries, the group that carried out a series of five attacks on Canada--the Fenian Brotherhood--established a state in exile, planned prison breaks, weathered infighting, stockpiled weapons, and assassinated enemies. Defiantly, this motley group, including a one-armed war hero, an English spy infiltrating rebel forces, and a radical who staged his own funeral, managed to seize a piece of Canada--if only for three days.

When the Irish Invaded Canada is the untold tale of a band of fiercely patriotic Irish Americans and their chapter in Ireland's centuries-long fight for independence. Inspiring, lively, and often undeniably comic, this is a story of fighting for what's right in the face of impossible odds.

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An interesting, well-researched book, Klein tells the little known story of Irishmen fighting for Ireland's freedom in America. Plenty of context is provided to understand Irish and English feelings (both politically and personally), culminating in the Great Hunger when millions of Irish died and millions travelled to America to avoid the potato famine. Irishmen fought on both sides of the American Civil War, but many saw this battle as a training ground for a larger, more important, war- the war for Irish freedom from England.

As with any story of a large group of people, political and idealogical differences divided those planning to free Ireland. The focus here, as the title suggests, is the decision by Irish nationalists to hurt England by invading Canada. Three main invasion plans over a few years led to battles, the breaking of neutrality laws, political fighting, and eventually the largest unintended consequence of all: Canada as a separate nation. The political maneuverings were fascinating, with America working secretly (or not) to claim Canada for itself, Irish nationalists trying to hold land hostage to negotiate for Ireland's independence, and individuals searching for glory.

Klein does an excellent job showing the reader how the seemingly ridiculous plan to take Canada by a group of overly optimistic individuals directly influenced the twentieth century Irish rebellions and led to the country we know today. Fascinating and fast-paced, "When the Irish Invaded Canada" is a must read for anyone interested in nineteenth century America and Canada, let alone the evolution of the Irish national movement towards independence.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review