Battle of Ridgeway 1866 ( merged )

[Old Sweat]

There is an old saw to the effect that academic arguments are so bitter because they are so inconsequential. In that vein the Fenians have risen again in two venues. Both refer to the major event oof the 1866 invasion of the Niagara peninsula, the Battle of Ridgeway.

In the first, the local BIA (for non-Ontario members this stands for Business Improvement Association which is a voluntary committee of local merchants trying to improve neighborhoods) in Ridgeway has created a storm by using a contemporary Fenian propaganda picture showing three dead Canadian soldiers and a fourth cowering in terror before a Fenian soldier as the emblem on banners for downtown. The two regiments that fought at Ridgeway - the QOR and the RHLI - are outraged and their associations have sent the BIA a long, nasty letter asking them to change the banners. Now, it was incredibly stupid of the BIA to pick the image they did, which they admit, and local personalities got involved, but this should end well. I am on the side of the regiments in this one.

I am not real happy about the second issue which is a possible attempt to obtain a battle honour to both regiments for what was the first battle fought by the Canadian Army since it was created by the Militia Act of 1855. The rationale is that the accepted version of events (the appeareance of cavalry, the order to form square and the subsequent confusion leading to a panic stricken retreat) was concocted at the time to throw the regiments under the bus to deflect the justifiable criticism which was being directed at the British and Canadian colonial authorities for gross mismanagement and incompetence. In fact, while the fabled square was being formed largely from QOR companies that had fired off most of their ammunition and had been withdrawn, about half the force was engaged in a fierce battle with a superior Fenian force assaulting with fixed bayonets from commanding ground. They ultimately gave way and were driven back from the battlefield by the attackers. The difference is that in the conventional version no mention was made of the Fenian attack. To be blunt, the Canadian tactical ability displayed by the senior officers was horrible, but the troops also were without canteens, blankets, packs, reserve ammunition and medical support. The latter was the fault of the authorities, not the units involved. Casualties were about equal for both sides, which indicates it was not the rout of popular account. This may well be decided on emotion, not on merit, perhaps like the War of 1812 honours.

 

[tomahawk6]

Why should this be an issue ? How many regiments got battle honors for the non-battle at Ft Detroit ? >
I do add however,that it was a clear victory for the British as the US commander surrendered all US forces in the region. Technically battle honors are due. I would have preferred Gen Hull to have fought as he had more troops.Maybe he was afraid of the Indians, a real threat to be sure.

 

[Ex-SHAD]

There is an old saw to the effect that academic arguments are so bitter because they are so inconsequential. In that vein the Fenians have risen again in two venues. Both refer to the major event oof the 1866 invasion of the Niagara peninsula, the Battle of Ridgeway.

In the first, the local BIA (for non-Ontario members this stands for Business Improvement Association which is a voluntary committee of local merchants trying to improve neighborhoods) in Ridgeway has created a storm by using a contemporary Fenian propaganda picture showing three dead Canadian soldiers and a fourth cowering in terror before a Fenian soldier as the emblem on banners for downtown. The two regiments that fought at Ridgeway - the QOR and the RHLI - are outraged and their associations have sent the BIA a long, nasty letter asking them to change the banners. Now, it was incredibly stupid of the BIA to pick the image they did, which they admit, and local personalities got involved, but this should end well. I am on the side of the regiments in this one.

I am not real happy about the second issue which is a possible attempt to obtain a battle honour to both regiments for what was the first battle fought by the Canadian Army since it was created by the Militia Act of 1855. The rationale is that the accepted version of events (the appeareance of cavalry, the order to form square and the subsequent confusion leading to a panic stricken retreat) was concocted at the time to throw the regiments under the bus to deflect the justifiable criticism which was being directed at the British and Canadian colonial authorities for gross mismanagement and incompetence. In fact, while the fabled square was being formed largely from QOR companies that had fired off most of their ammunition and had been withdrawn, about half the force was engaged in a fierce battle with a superior Fenian force assaulting with fixed bayonets from commanding ground. They ultimately gave way and were driven back from the battlefield by the attackers. The difference is that in the conventional version no mention was made of the Fenian attack. To be blunt, the Canadian tactical ability displayed by the senior officers was horrible, but the troops also were without canteens, blankets, packs, reserve ammunition and medical support. The latter was the fault of the authorities, not the units involved. Casualties were about equal for both sides, which indicates it was not the rout of popular account. This may well be decided on emotion, not on merit, perhaps like the War of 1812 honours.

My guess would be is that the poster was originally intended to be shocking in its content to draw attention to the cause at hand, however like most "shock value" advertising it seems to rather than draw attention to an issue,product etc. instead draw the ire of the local community.

Now the use of dead soldiers and patriots(even in an artistic rendering) is disgraceful, and I would think that the Business Improvement Agency of Ontario could at the very least pull down the offending materials and issue an apology to the Royal Canadian Legion.

 

[Old Sweat]

At the request of the QOR and the RHLI the banners will be changed, or at least that is what I have been told via email. It appears that this was an honest error by people without very much, if any, military knowledge. The image was picked because of it was the more suitable of the two candidates because of clarity and composition. Unfortunately both were contemporary Fenian propaganda posters.

 

[Old Sweat]

If anyone is interested, there will be a free battlefield tour of the Ridgeway battlefield on Saturday 8 September.

Details may be found here:

http://www.ridgewaybattle.ca/tour/

The tour will be conducted by Dr Peter Vronsky. For what it is worth, he is the most knowledgeable person on the battle and the events of 1866 I know. WTF - I consider myself in second place, but a fair distance back.

 

[Old Sweat]

And a question has been answered. There had been a long standing local legend that a British soldier had died of "heat stroke" and was buried in Stevensville. His name and grave have now been deterimened.

Fort Erie Times is reporting this weekend:
http://www.forterietimes.ca/2012/11/09/historians-identify-the-unknown-soldier

In remembrance,
Peter Vronsky
http://www.ridgewaybattle.ca/casualties.htm

>>>>>>>>>>>

Forgotten 1866 British Army casualty identified in Stevensville

Historians Rick Doan and Peter Vronsky with Reverend Donald Glennie recently solved the mystery of the unknown military casualty buried in the St. John’s Church graveyard at Snyder in Stevensville.  Rick Doan, a local Ridgeway historian and Ryerson University investigative historian Peter Vronsky, the author of Ridgeway: The American Fenian Invasion and the 1866 Battle That Made Canada (Penguin Books) were corresponding on heritage issues in the Fort Erie and Ridgeway region related to the Fenian insurgent invasion in 1866 when their combined efforts suddenly solved the decades-long mystery subject of local lore in Stevensville.

In June 1866 approximately 1,000 Irish American Fenian guerrillas invaded Canada across the Niagara River from Buffalo, NY in an attempt to take Canada hostage in the name of independent Ireland.  On June 2, they were met in battle at Ridgeway by two Canadian battalions of militia, 2nd Battalion The Queen’s Own Rifles of Toronto (QOR) and 13th Battalion The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (RHLI) in what was Canada’s first modern battle, the first fought in the age of telegraph and steam power.  The nine QOR volunteers killed at Ridgeway, the ‘Ridgeway Nine’, including three University of Toronto students, are the current Canadian military’s first battlefield deaths.  Both the QOR and the RHLI (Rileys) are still active reserve regiments in the Canadian Armed Forces with distinguished combat histories from Ridgeway to Afghanistan.

This made the military grave at Stevensville all the more mysterious since none of the Canadian casualties were interred in the region and the fighting did not reach the Stevensville area.  Reverend Glennie who also served as a militia infantryman in the Lincoln and Welland Regiment and later as a Chaplain in the Canadian Armed Forces said, “I have tried unsuccessfully for the past four years (intermittently) to find this soldier’s identity. It is only in the past couple of years that the grave has been marked with a cross. The original wooden marker is long gone. I also bought a wreath through my Legion branch which is laid at the conclusion of our Remembrance Sunday service at St. John's.”

It was an innocuous e-mail from Peter Vronsky to Rick Doan that triggered the solution.  Vronsky says, “While writing my book on the battle of Ridgeway, over a period of five years I literally looked at everything written on the battle not only published material but as well documents hidden away in Canadian, British and American archives, letters, diaries, and also all the local small town press reports of the time.  In one local newspaper, the Grand River Sachem (June 20, 1866) I came across a one-sentence story that a British soldier while being deployed to action in the Ridgeway-Fort Erie region died of heat exhaustion on a forced march from Chippawa to Stevensville on the morning of June 2 while the battle was raging at Ridgeway.  His unit was supposed to join with the Canadians but never did because the Canadians were ambushed first by the Fenians on Limestone Ridge.  This obscure newspaper story stated that the citizens of New Germany (as Snyder was called in 1866) had erected a grave marker for the fallen British soldier buried there.  The soldier was identified as Corporal Carrington of the 47th Regiment of Foot from Lancashire, a British regiment stationed in Toronto in the 1860s. If anybody knew where this grave might be located it was going to be Rick Doan. ”

According to Rick Doan, “Dr. Vronsky sent me an e-mail one morning, mentioning that somewhere around Stevensville is a grave yard with possibly a marker for a British soldier who died during the Fenian Raids, the only British serviceman to die in the Fort Erie-Ridgeway region during the raid.  Did I ever in my research come across this marker?  I had not, but if there was such a thing, I had a pretty good guess as to where it might be located and quickly surveyed the site and contacted Reverend Glennie, who instantly knew what I was talking about.  Between the e-mail and my investigation, it took us acting together about five hours to resolve a mystery of the 146-year-old unknown military grave!”

The British authorities have been contacted about the forgotten military casualty and this coming Remembrance Day when the Legion wreath is laid at the lonely cross in the St. John’s Church cemetery, it will be no longer be the “unknown soldier” but identified as Corporal Carrington, British Army, 47th Regiment of Foot Lancashire, fallen on June 2, 1866 in the defence of Canada during the Fenian Raids.

For further information of the Battle of Ridgeway and its casualties, visit www.ridgewaybattle.ca

 

[Old Sweat]

The following is a press release I received today regarding the celebration of Decoration Day on June 2nd in Ridgeway, ON. Decoration Day originated in 1890 to honour Canada's war dead, specifically the nine men who died at Ridgeway on June 2nd, 1866. It was celebrated annually until 1931 when it was superseded by Remembrance Day on November 11th.

May 21, 2013
Ridgeway, Ontario

Canada’s first nine military casualties honoured on Decoration Day June 2 in Ridgeway, Ontario.

On Sunday morning June 2 soldiers from the Queen’s Own Rifles (QOR) of Toronto and the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (RHLI)—“The Rileys”—will return to the site where their regiments fought Canada’s first modern battle against an invading Irish-American Fenian insurgent army in the Battle of Ridgeway, near Fort Erie, Ontario on June 2, 1866.



A Decoration Day ceremony on the historic battlefield will commemorate the “Ridgeway Nine” - the first nine of over 115,000 Canadian soldiers killed in combat starting from the 1866-1870 Fenian Raids in Canada through to the North West Rebellion, the South African War (Boer War), the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War and the recent deployments in Afghanistan.



The nine militia volunteers from the QOR killed in the Battle of Ridgeway are Canada’s first modern military casualties:  the militia regiment in which they served has remained in continuous service in the current military since its founding in 1860, years before the Ridgeway Battle and even before Canada Confederation in 1867.  The RHLI which also fought in the battle celebrated their 150th anniversary in 2012.  Soldiers from these regiments have served in almost every conflict Canada engaged in over the last 150 years, including recently in Afghanistan.  The QOR and RHLI are Canada’s oldest fighting infantry regiments in continuous service since their founding.



The very first Canadian to fall was  Ensign (2nd Lieutenant) Malcolm McEachren, a thirty-five year old Toronto store clerk, a Sunday school teacher and a volunteer officer leading QOR Company 5.  The father of five children was shot during the opening moments of the battle and died twenty minutes later in the wood cabin that today stands at the Ridgeway Battlefield National Historical Site (moved there from its original location on Ridge Road in 1976.)  Eight more soldiers were killed that morning, including three young riflemen from QOR’s University of Toronto volunteer rifle company, college kids who were suddenly called out to defend Canada in the middle of their final exams, never to return to them.



In 1890 Ridgeway veterans forgotten and ignored by the Ottawa since the 1866 battle, organized as an act of protest Canada’s first ‘remembrance day’ on the June 2 anniversary of the Battle of Ridgeway.  The event became known as “Decoration Day” and afterwards was held annually in the spring or summer from 1891 until 1930 in many parts of Canada, usually on the weekend closest to the June 2 anniversary of Ridgeway.  Decoration Day eventually commemorated Canadian servicemen killed in the North West Rebellion 1885, the South African War (Boer War) 1899-1902 and the Great War 1914-1918, long before there was a November 11 armistice ending the war in 1918.



Decoration Day was traditionally marked by the laying of fresh flowers and bouquets at war graves and monuments (“decoration”) in the spirit of rebirth and renewal.  Held in warm sunny days of spring, Decoration Day was more a tender than solemn act of memorial, an affirmation of hope in the better future defended by Canadian soldiers with their lives; a bond of remembrance between the grateful and the dead in a promise that it was not in vain.



Until 1930 Decoration Day ceremonies honoured all Canadian soldiers killed in combat in the defence of Canada, at home and overseas, but in 1931 Ottawa moved the popular June memorial day to the cold gloomy austerity of November 11 Armistice Day and officially named it “Remembrance Day.”  Ottawa restricted Remembrance Day to only those soldiers killed overseas beginning from the South African War (Boer War), so as not to offend our American neighbours and new allies by  commemorating the deaths of Canadians killed fighting invasions from across the United States border.

   

With the stroke of a pen in 1931, the memory of Canada’s first casualties from the Fenian Raids (1866-1870) and the North West Rebellion (1885) previously commemorated were now forgotten, challenging to this day our promise to all of Canada’s military servicemen and servicewomen that “We will remember them.”  The Ridgeway Nine, along with 21 other Canadian soldiers who later died of their wounds or from disease while on duty during the Fenian Raids are not enlisted in our National Books of Remembrance in Ottawa, and on Remembrance Day they are not remembered, no wreaths are laid to their memory and no prayers are said for them.



On Sunday, June 2, 11:00 a.m., members of the Queen’s Own Rifles Association of Canada and the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry 13th Battalion Ceremonial Guard will gather for a brief service at the Ridgeway Battlefield National Historical Site on 3405 Garrison Road (Highway 3) in Ridgeway, near Fort Erie, Ontario, to commemorate and honour the memory of Canada forgotten “Ridgeway Nine.”  The public is invited to bring flowers and bouquets to lay at the Ridgeway Battlefield Cairn and on the battlefield itself.  After the service, Ridgeway Battle historian Peter Vronsky will take members of the regiments and the public on a guided walking tour of the battlefield perimeter.

For further information visit:  www.decorationday.ca 

 

[Old Sweat]

What follows is the text of an email I received regarding the event:

On Sunday, June 2, a Canada Decoration Day - Battle of Ridgeway - 147th Anniversary Memorial Ceremony was held at the Ridgeway Battlefield National Historic Site, with the participation of the Queen’s Own Rifles (QOR) and the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (RHLI).  It was wonderful to see both the Green and the Red returning together to the site of their regiments’ first battle in memory of the Ridgeway Nine, the first nine of over 115,000 Canadian soldiers killed in service of Canada from 1866 to the recent deployment in Afghanistan. (see  www.decorationday.ca  )

Fort Erie Mayor Doug Martin, Town Councillor for Ridgeway area John Hill, and historian Peter Vronsky delivered remarks to gathered spectators who came to attend the ceremony from the town of Ridgeway and Fort Erie and from the Toronto-Hamilton-Niagara-Lake Erie region.  The event was attended by both regimental commanding officers, Lt. Colonel Peter St. Denis of the QOR and Lt. Colonel Gary McQueen of the RHLI.  The 13th Battalion Ceremonial Guard of the RHLI commanded by Lieutenant Richard Moll, fired the traditional rifle volley salute to conclude the ceremony.  After the ceremony, Peter Vronsky conducted a battlefield walking tour along with local Ridgeway historian Rick Doan.

The Fort Erie and Ridgeway Battle Museum in Ridgeway opened its doors for visitors on June 2 while Mary Friesen’s Lakeside Books in Ridgeway held a book signing for Vronsky’s book on the battle, “Ridgeway: the American Fenian Invasion and the 1866 Battle That Made Canada.”

The Toronto Sun ran an editorial on June 2, “Our forgotten Remembrance Day”
( See: http://www.torontosun.com/2013/05/31/our-forgotten-remembrance-day )   

On Saturday, June 1, the Queen’s Own Rifles Association gathered at the battlefield where QOR historian Major (Ret'd) Erik Simundson gave a talk on the battle and demonstrated some of the historical aspects of it.  The QOR Association held a BBQ in the afternoon on the site and in the evening a dinner at the Ridgeway Legion Branch 230.  QOR Association’s Bob Dunk, David Lavery, Brian Budden, and the QOR’s Ridgeway weekend event organizer Jerry Senetchko, pledged to mobilize their membership in aid of “bringing home” the Ridgeway Nine to Canada’s national memorial heritage.

On Tuesday, May 28th Ireland Park Foundation hosted the first of planned annual Battle of Ridgeway Memorial Dinners, this year held at Hart House at the University of Toronto, where three of the Ridgeway Nine were students at the time of their death on June 2, 1866.  The goal of the gala $250-a-plate fund-raising dinner was to inaugurate a national campaign to lobby the Canadian government to re-instate the names of the nine soldiers killed at Ridgeway on June 2, along with 22 other soldiers to later die from wounds sustained or from disease during the Fenian Raids 1866, under the auspices of the Remembrance Day Act along with the inscription of their names into Canada’s National Books of Remembrance in Ottawa.

Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor David Onley accepted a ceremonial scroll with the names of the 31 Canadian Fenian Raid casualties (see: http://www.ridgewaybattle.ca/casualties ) with a petition that he aid in “repatriating” their names to Ottawa for inclusion in our national military memorial heritage by the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Ridgeway in 2016.  Along with the Lt. Governor who delivered the keynote address, speakers that night were the Ambassador of Ireland Ray Bassett; General John de Chastelain, who was seconded by Canada to oversee an international commission for the recent disarmament of paramilitary groups in Ireland under the Belfast Accords 1998; the current Honorary Colonel of the Canadian Army, Blake C. Goldring; Ridgeway battle historian Dr. Peter Vronsky; and the Chairman of the Ireland Park Foundation, Robert Kearns.

In the spirit of peace and reconciliation between the peoples of Britain and Ireland under the Belfast Good Friday Accords of 1998 and Her Royal Majesty’s acknowledgement in Dublin in 2011 with a wreath laying in memorial to Fenian, IRA and other Irish casualties in Ireland’s struggle for national independence, Robert Kearns presented a scroll with the names of known Fenian casualties in Ridgeway and Fort Erie battles to Ambassador Bassett for repatriation to Ireland.

University of Toronto’s Governing Council and the Student Council graciously voted to make an unprecedented exception for this event to their strict ban on all firearms on campus as a statement against gun violence, allowing the 13th Battalion Ceremonial Guard of the RHLI to perform outside of Hart House a demonstration of period close-order drill and to fire several rifle volleys in honour of the Ridgeway Nine.

The goal is to make the 150th anniversary in 2016 Canada’s Year of the Battle of Ridgeway and the Fenian Raids with the reinstatement of the Canadian Fenian Raid casualties into our national memorial heritage as they were  in the past acknowledged and commemorated prior to the 1931 Remembrance Day Act, their inscription into Canada’s National Books of Remembrance and the awarding of Battle Honours for Ridgeway to the two regiments that fought Canada’s first modern battle and sustained modern Canada’s first casualties, the 2nd Battalion Queen’s Own Rifles and the 13th Battalion Royal Hamilton Light Infantry.

“We will remember them.”

Please visit www.decorationday.ca and www.ridgewaybattle.ca for new on upcoming events.

For further information contact:  [email protected]

 

[Chispa]

For the hundred fiftieth anniversary of the Fenian Raids, 1866, I posted on my blog a prime source account of the day.

The Queen’s Own Rifles, University Company Suffered The Most During The Fenian Raids.


Ottawa June 6th 1866
My dear Father,

You no doubt have heard before this of the troubles which have been not only threatening but also actually occurring in this country. I do not know whether
you have had good reports of the raid conveyed to and therefore will send you this week’s “Globe” which will contain the whole affair. The excitement here
was tremendous all Friday, Saturday, Sunday and although very moderate on Monday yet again began to run high on yesterday (Tuesday). Now as to the
actual raid from all I can learn there seems to have been about 1500 Fenians engaged. This perhaps is a high figure but I have seen it confirmed from Buffalo
papers as well as from all reports by Canadian correspondents. The first thing that strikes one’s attention in the affair was the alacrity with which the
“Queen’s Own” battalion of volunteers started and arrived at the front. The Fenians crossed over from Buffalo and took Fort Erie about 1 A.M. on Friday and
by 6 A.M. the “Queen’s Own” were on the Steamer at Toronto and steaming out of the Bay. And this is more wonderful as they were not under active orders
and had never been on any service at the Front.

The “Queen’s Own” let me inform you is the pet regiment of the grand people of Toronto. Its companies have always taken the prizes for drill and target shooting.
Its men are the wealthiest of all the volunteers about Toronto or perhaps in the West of Canada and it corresponds with the “Victoria’s” of Montreal in the East.
It used to be the boast of the Toronto people the “Queen’s Own” were almost as well drilled as Regulars.

In it were the Highland Company each individual over 5 ft. 10 in. and arrayed in all the glory of the Kilt: four companies of the Merchants not only clerks but some
of the most substantial men in Toronto and whom it would be hard to replace. University Company whose members if killed could scarcely make a void in the
Country— for they have not yet taken positions in the battle of life — but on whose safety mothers from Sarnia to Ottawa would look with anxiety:-
the Trinity College Company taking the same place in the anxiety of the country as the University: and finally the Upper Canada College Company composed of boys
ranging in age from 12 to 18 who however were not sent to the front but merely placed as sentries about the City. The Lawyers, them Merchants, the students made
up this crack Corp of Toronto and no battalion in the Country presented more of the intelligence, talent and learning of the Country.

Well this Corp was the first ordered to the Front — the first to get there — the first to open fire on the Fenians — the last to fall back — and the saddest sufferers
in the Campaign. It appears the 13th battalion from Hamilton and this “Queen’s Own” with a company from York and Caledonia when marching from Port Colborne to
meet the regulars came upon the Fenians and immediately, people say rashly, without waiting to make a junction with the regulars commenced a fight. They first
drove the Fenians back 1½ miles and then failing in ammunition (they had only 40 cartridges each) were compelled to retreat which ‘tis reported they did in some
confusion. The University Company was out as skirmishers on the extreme left wing and were in consequence the last to receive orders to retire. Poor boys they
suffered the most of all the companies — three men were killed and eleven were wounded. Of the slain [I.H.] Mewburn, [William] Tempest and [Malcolm] McKenzie
I may tell you they were Honor and Scholar men and in the list of the wounded I noticed more than one medallist. Three killed and eleven wounded out of only 40 men
(for the Company could not be filled as many of the students had returned home) was not a small percentage when one considers the pettiness of the whole affair.
I tell you my Father when the newsboy came into our office with the telegram that the College boys had been so handled, that so many where killed and so many
wounded and against and by such foes I put my head on the desk and could have cried (had not shame hindered) with indignation but far, far more with sorrow.
They were just concluding their examinations— not altogether finished — and were looking forward to the Convocation and the return home when the bugles
sounded on Friday morning and they jumped out of their beds and pushed forward to the Front.

This brush at Ridgeway where the “Queen’s Own” and the 13th Hamilton Battalion were opposed to the Fenians and a fight between a company under Col. Dennis
who were guarding some Fenian prisoners and the Fenians which Col. Dennis and his Company had to run thirteen being wounded & killed and several taken prisoners
were all the battles that took place. The Fenians did not await the attack of the “Queen’s Own” and the 13th Battalion united with the regulars and the artillery
which was to have come off on Sunday morning but quietly departed on Saturday night leaving very nearly 90 prisoners in our hands. Twenty-one of these are at
Toronto and nearly 70 at Brantford. Of course in this City the most outrageous rumours were flying about.  People were ready to believe the worst and as the
Government were receiving telegrams every now and then they were inclined to credit the most alarming cowards? and rest satisfied that they were true and
had come through Government sources. Then the hurrying of the volunteers to the Front with all the speed possible and the rumors and reports that Fenians
are assembling at different points along the border naturally rendered the people unaccustomed to “alarum of arms” and young in war highly excited, and now
you see on every side drill associations and new companies springing up.

At Montreal the other day a drill association was formed and 1200 of the best men were enrolled and the Mayor immediately informed the Commander-in-Chief that
all the volunteer companies of Montreal could be spared for Frontier service as the Citizens were ready to garrison the City. In this City nearly 500 men were enrolled
last night for a similar duty and three new companies are today being formed. And these are the scenes all over the country which I believe is completely aroused
and perhaps dangerously excited. But the strongest feature of all is the apathy with which the sympathy and aid the Fenians have and are now getting from the
Citizens of the U. States are received among Canadians. When you would expect them to break out into a denunciation of the Americans and heap them with abuse
you are surprised to hear very little — some in the newspapers scarcely any in the street conversations or even in volunteer speeches. I have been examining this
break and am satisfied that a deep seated conviction was in the public mind of the Canadians that the American Authorities were not overly anxious to preserve
peace on our borders.

When one remarks surely the American Authorities were lax in preventing the raid Canadians merely remark “we never expected better of them” and rush on patiently
to prepare for war against the Fenians as if against a Constituted and recognized Power. They were surprised that the Fenians should have made the raid but scarcely
at all astonished that they should have escaped the vigilance of the American Authorities. So assured are they that the American Authorities are lukewarm in the matter
that they place no reliance on their efforts and good naturely laugh at everyone who expresses confidence in the honest abilities of our neighbours. These remember
are my observations not my sentiments. In fact they who admire the Americans most and who have upheld their character amid reproaches now feel stronger resentment
towards them for their late, lax measures than those who always had a hard word for them. This peculiarity is even observed among the newspapers for example the
Toronto “Globe” the great champion and defender of the Americans here now denounces and reproaches them the most bitterly for their remissness at Fort Erie.

I have not heard any thing yet about my examination but will inform you as soon as I am able.

• P.S. Will write you shortly again.
• Your affectionate Son, A.J. Christie.

Main Source LAC: [Transcription: Alexander James Christie and Family fonds, MG24-I102, 10 pages]


The Queen’s Own Rifles, University Company Suffered The Most During The Fenian Raids. http://wp.me/p55eja-DG


THK U FR YR TME

Joseph

 

[Old Sweat]

Thanks for posting that. In case you are not aware, the 150th Anniversary of the two fights collectively known as the Battle of Ridgeway will be commemorated by a symposium/conference on 1-3 June in Fort Erie. (I am one of the speakers.)

I can throw some light on the reason the University Company suffered the highest casualties during the fight on the Limestone Ridge. The Fenian plan was to give way against the Canadian advance until it enticed them forward in a trap. The majority of the Fenians were concentrated on the crest of the ridge north of Bertie Road facing SW down the ridge. When the Canadian skirmishers crossed the road, they believed they were winning as the Fenian skirmishers had fallen back under pressure. By this time, as the writer noticed, they were short of ammunition. The Fenians launched a counterstroke and the Company (less than 30 in strength) was the first to face a charge by several hundred Fenian veterans of the Civil War. Note that the Canadians had no real depth to their deployment and were highly vulnerable, so the results were predictable.

The conventional accounts of the battle you will read was more or less a fabrication, or at best  selective interpretation of events, by people in CYA mode. Furthermore, Lieutenant Colonel William G Durie, the Assistant Adjutant General for Canada West, conducted an investigation immediately after the battle than included walking the ground and interviewing participants and local residents. His report has languished largely unread in the archives since then and only a few historians have read it, and fewer even realized its import. He concluded that the Fenians advance imparted panic to the Canadian troops who broke and ran. See LAC, RG 9 IC 8, vol 8. Durie to Macdougall, 30 June 1866. 

 

[Chispa]

Thanks for posting that. In case you are not aware, the 150th Anniversary of the two fights collectively known as the Battle of Ridgeway will be commemorated by a symposium/conference on 1-3 June in Fort Erie. (I am one of the speakers.)

I can throw some light on the reason the University Company suffered the highest casualties during the fight on the Limestone Ridge. The Fenian plan was to give way against the Canadian advance until it enticed them forward in a trap. The majority of the Fenians were concentrated on the crest of the ridge north of Bertie Road facing SW down the ridge. When the Canadian skirmishers crossed the road, they believed they were winning as the Fenian skirmishers had fallen back under pressure. By this time, as the writer noticed, they were short of ammunition. The Fenians launched a counterstroke and the Company (less than 30 in strength) was the first to face a charge by several hundred Fenian veterans of the Civil War. Note that the Canadians had no real depth to their deployment and were highly vulnerable, so the results were predictable.

The conventional accounts of the battle you will read was more or less a fabrication, or at best  selective interpretation of events, by people in CYA mode. Furthermore, Lieutenant Colonel William G Durie, the Assistant Adjutant General for Canada West, conducted an investigation immediately after the battle than included walking the ground and interviewing participants and local residents. His report has languished largely unread in the archives since then and only a few historians have read it, and fewer even realized its import. He concluded that the Fenians advance imparted panic to the Canadian troops who broke and ran. See LAC, RG 9 IC 8, vol 8. Durie to Macdougall, 30 June 1866.

Hi, my pleasure, found while compiling on Cdn Cadet Corps, inserted a series from the olden days using only archived documents of the day. Thanks for the heads-up and certainly not aware, “Fort Erie,” or for that matter, unfortunately just aware of 30% of the recycled status quo accounts. I have files, books; in the near future will conduct a comprehensive understand separating the facts from folklore.

Christie’s, LAC’s PDF: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/008001/f2/letterfrom-aj-transcript-en.pdf

This is the Link to the original letter: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/008/001/008001-119.01-e.php?&document_id_nbr=15&ts_nbr=8&brws=1&&PHPSESSID=dc4is8d4el3lo41rd6e1irl7o4


I have the below on file, how accurate is this account?
The Fenian Raids of Fort Erie: With an Account of the Battle of Ridgeway, June, 1866.
George Taylor Denison 1 January 1866.

For all those interested Free PDF:      https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=W7INAAAAQAAJ&rdid=book-W7INAAAAQAAJ&rdot=1


“The conventional accounts of the battle you will read was more or less a fabrication, or at best  selective interpretation of events.” You got that right; generally, your comment applies too many, Canada at War accounts, documents, letters, newspapers narrative of the day, at times misleading, while sometimes getting it right. Note the latter applies to history as a whole, I believe?

C.U.

Joseph

 

[Old Sweat]

I have the below on file, how accurate is this account?
The Fenian Raids of Fort Erie: With an Account of the Battle of Ridgeway, June, 1866.
George Taylor Denison 1 January 1866.

For all those interested Free PDF:      https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=W7INAAAAQAAJ&rdid=book-W7INAAAAQAAJ&rdot=1

Denison's account is very good. He arrived in the area on the evening of June 2nd with the troop of cavalry he commanded (now the GGHG) and actually bumped Fenian pickets on the outskirts of Fort Erie later that night. He admitted he was conflicted writing the account of the battle on Limestone Ridge, but went with the conventional account. I suspect he had considerable doubts about Booker's account, but Denison had chaired the formal enquiry into Booker's conduct that accepted his version of events in his findings.

So, his account of events before and after the battle are credible, but his relation of the actual events on the morning of June 2nd are fair, at best.

In the interests of full disclosure I grew up on the outskirts of Ridgeway until I joined the army shortly after my 18th birthday.

 

[Chispa]

Denison's account is very good. He arrived in the area on the evening of June 2nd with the troop of cavalry he commanded (now the GGHG) and actually bumped Fenian pickets on the outskirts of Fort Erie later that night. He admitted he was conflicted writing the account of the battle on Limestone Ridge, but went with the conventional account. I suspect he had considerable doubts about Booker's account, but Denison had chaired the formal enquiry into Booker's conduct that accepted his version of events in his findings.

So, his account of events before and after the battle are credible, but his relation of the actual events on the morning of June 2nd are fair, at best.

In the interests of full disclosure I grew up on the outskirts of Ridgeway until I joined the army shortly after my 18th birthday.

Hi thanks, appreciate the guidance, (I am one of the speakers), giving a lecture? After delivered can you post?



Cheers

Joseph

 

[Old Sweat]

I don't know what their rules are, but will see. My theme is on some alternate approaches. The Canadian and British authorities made absolutely no preparations despite lots of warning. One thing that could have been done was a reconnaissance of the area, including liaison with the local reeves and mayors and procurement of maps. There also were no arrangements for rations and medical support, no water bottles, haversacks, blankets and on the list goes. And of course, absolutely no tactical planning had been done! What if they had taken even these basic steps - they would have won or at least escaped disgrace.

The Fenians, on the other hand, had agents on the ground for several months and had procured maps and located sources of supplies and horses for their troop of mounted scouts. Only the presence of a US gunboat prevented them from reinforcing their initial landing as there were 5000 Fenians in Buffalo waiting to cross. Imagine what an unholy mess a force that large could have created.

And last, a small force was sent by ship around from Port Colborne to blockade the Niagara River to prevent Fenian reinforcement or withdrawal. If the commander had had the common sense of a stapler, he would not have landed his force which was then overwhelmed by the Fenians. Thus the way was clear for the Fenians to return to Buffalo on the night of 2-3 June; in doing so, their ship was intercepted by the US gunboat and they were taken into custody. If they could not have embarked, on the next day (3 June) they, already short of ammunition, would have been faced by an overwhelming force of three British and five Canadian infantry battalions with artillery and cavalry. The result would have been inevitable and history would have been very different.

That is basically my theme, one presentation of many scheduled.

 

[Chispa]

I don't know what their rules are, but will see. My theme is on some alternate approaches. The Canadian and British authorities made absolutely no preparations despite lots of warning. One thing that could have been done was a reconnaissance of the area, including liaison with the local reeves and mayors and procurement of maps. There also were no arrangements for rations and medical support, no water bottles, haversacks, blankets and on the list goes. And of course, absolutely no tactical planning had been done! What if they had taken even these basic steps - they would have won or at least escaped disgrace.

The Fenians, on the other hand, had agents on the ground for several months and had procured maps and located sources of supplies and horses for their troop of mounted scouts. Only the presence of a US gunboat prevented them from reinforcing their initial landing as there were 5000 Fenians in Buffalo waiting to cross. Imagine what an unholy mess a force that large could have created.

And last, a small force was sent by ship around from Port Colborne to blockade the Niagara River to prevent Fenian reinforcement or withdrawal. If the commander had had the common sense of a stapler, he would not have landed his force which was then overwhelmed by the Fenians. Thus the way was clear for the Fenians to return to Buffalo on the night of 2-3 June; in doing so, their ship was intercepted by the US gunboat and they were taken into custody. If they could not have embarked, on the next day (3 June) they, already short of ammunition, would have been faced by an overwhelming force of three British and five Canadian infantry battalions with artillery and cavalry. The result would have been inevitable and history would have been very different.

That is basically my theme, one presentation of many scheduled.

Hi thank's for that, when I get my feet wet in this matter, any confusion will post and ask, need too look over the below listed:

W.C. Chewett & Company, The Fenian Raid Into Canada (Fenian Raid at Fort Erie) compilation of newspaper articles on the Fenian raids, published August 1866. https://archive.org/details/fenianraidatfor00cogoog

Somerville, Alexander. Narrative of the Fenian Invasion of Canada. Hamilton, C.W. [Ont.] : Joseph Lyght, 1866. investigative history, published September 1866. https://archive.org/details/narrativefenian00somegoog

Correspondence respecting the recent Fenian aggression upon Canada, Great Britain. Colonial Office. 1867
http://eco.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.34299/3?r=0&s=1

O'Neill, John.  Official Report of Gen. John O'Neill President of the Fenian Brotherhood on the Attempt to Invade Canada and A Report of the Battle of Ridgeway, Canada West, New York: J.J. Foster, 1870.
https://archive.org/details/officialreportg00onegoog

THK U FR taking the time.

Joseph.

 

[Old Sweat]

Be careful with Somerville. A few years after the event he admitted in writing to Booker, the commander of the Port Colborne column and CO of the 13th Battalion, that his book had been commissioned and financed by a cabal of 13th Battalion officers who were out to get Booker. If fact, he stated some of his text was altered by them to make Booker look even worse.

Keep that in mind when considering some of his supposedly more egregious actions.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

So your saying the political interference, lack of training and adequate supplying of our troops is nothing new....

 

[Old Sweat]

So your saying the political interference, lack of training and adequate supplying of our troops is nothing new....

I wrote in my study of the battle published in 2000 that "Booker's two battalions were probably typical of the militia as a whole: they were deficient in nearly everything except enthusiasm - maps, military boots (many were wearing civilian shoes), water bottles, mess tins, rations, haversacks, stretchers, transport and - most important of all - adequate training for active service."

I concluded my study with "There are two major lessons to be learned from the battle of Ridgeway in 1866. First, wishful thinking and amateurism disguised as ardour are no substitute in combat for detailed preparation, hard training and clear-headed thinking. Second, and more important, a government that structures its defences to achieve social and political, not military, ends should not be surprised when its forces fail the test of war."

 

[Chispa]

I wrote in my study of the battle published in 2000 that "Booker's two battalions were probably typical of the militia as a whole: they were deficient in nearly everything except enthusiasm - maps, military boots (many were wearing civilian shoes), water bottles, mess tins, rations, haversacks, stretchers, transport and - most important of all - adequate training for active service."

I concluded my study with "There are two major lessons to be learned from the battle of Ridgeway in 1866. First, wishful thinking and amateurism disguised as ardour are no substitute in combat for detailed preparation, hard training and clear-headed thinking. Second, and more important, a government that structures its defences to achieve social and political, not military, ends should not be surprised when its forces fail the test of war."

I believe by this point you had four failed Governments, and the mess with Bas Canada, could be of some contributing factor and a lesson on what happens when a state etc are unstable.


Hi Old Sweat, it’s appreciated you lighting the lantern, on "egregious actions," therefore accounts with “yellow journalism” per-say, no worries
I cross-reference and compare, too other accounts, especial embellished. What I posted, links, etc., I have more accumulated on 5 files, 3 I'm still
looking for and have, minutes, from 1st and 2nd. I looked at old notes last night, taking time off from AG Bell’s papers on AEA and CAC, while refreshing
on Fenian Brotherhood Raids. It reminded me of the Upper and Bas Canada’s 1837-38 rebellion, with the Hunter Brotherhood, aka Les Frères chasseurs.
I have in my notes: in the first raid, organised for days, “hundreds on 1st June boarded barges at Buffalo paddling across the NF River, you also have the
April attempts from Main to New Brunswick, the status quo states 5 raids in total.

Therefore the first initial push from  Buffalo on NFR was ca 200?
Within 14 hours a total of 1000-1300 according too mainstream?
I have 5 killed as illustrated in the painting with 28 injured in total?

Certainly, clearly you have done the proper leg work, and quite refreshing by your narrative, separate the facts from historian folklore without issue.
Just in case you haven’t seen, fallow the link for 1st June accounts from the "Committee of Safety" holding its first assembly the afternoon of the 1st.
http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/explore/online/fenians/willson.aspx#minutes

The minutes provide a blow-by-blow account interspersed with reports of the scouts. The minutes report information on movements of Fenians, Canadian militia,
and regulars as well as detailed information on the dispatch and posting of Committee of Safety scouts and patrols to various locations:-
At 3:20 a.m. “A train has just passed up with soldiers to Port Colborne from St. Catharines.” “B. Diffin [?] scout to Point Abino returned…
The Fenians have all left Fort Erie. They are at the Newbury [?] farm 2½ miles below Fort Erie…They took 40 or 50 head of horses…”


House Documents, Volume 1; Volume 270 By USA Congress House of Representatives: For all those interested see page 374, Free book download.
https://books.google.ca/books?id=yc9gAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA374&lpg=PA374&dq=Fenian+Raids+documents&source=bl&ots=PYULg6zkAf&sig=Eq8wZZsQuDFbFU_Yl6ZLaoHl_i8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi0t9SO_5rMAhVCOD4KHW4-BGsQ6AEIUTAJ#v=onepage&q=Fenian%20Raids%20documents&f=false


THK U FR YR Time

Joseph

 

[Chispa]

F.A.Q. 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Ridgeway.

What is this? A three-part event to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Ridgeway.
When is this? Saturday, June 4th, 2016 from noon - 6:30 p.m.

Where is this?
There are three components at three different locations:
• Parade (noon) from Crystal Ridge Arena, up Ridge Rd. to Hwy. #3, to Ridgeway Battlefield Park.
• Ceremony (1 p.m.) at Ridgeway Battlefield Park
• Festival (3 p.m.) at Crystal Ridge Arena

Where is the Crystal Ridge Arena?
89 Ridge Road S. The Festival will take place outside in the park surrounding the arena.

Where is Ridgeway Battlefield Park?
3388 Hwy. #3 (also called Garrison Road), Ridgeway, ON.

How do I get there / where do I park?
• Highway #3 will be closed from Gorham Road to Ridgemount Road from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
• Free parking and shuttle bus service will be at the Crystal Ridge Arena (Rebstock Road entrance to the park beside the arena.)
• Buses will run from there to Ridgeway Battlefield Park from 10:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.
• Buses will run from Ridgeway Battlefield Park back to the Arena from 2:30 p.m.
• Bicycles are encouraged and can be parked and locked to the fence surrounding the All Nations Fellowship Church across from Ridgeway Battlefield Park.

Who is putting this on?
The Town of Fort Erie along with The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada and The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment). It is being coordinated by
Fort Erie Museum and Cultural Services and the Fort Erie Community and Gaming Development Corporation.

What is the cost?
Admission is free to all three events.

What is happening during the Parade?
• Approximately 200 soldiers from The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada and The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, along with their regimental band, will march
up Ridge Road from the Crystal Ridge Arena to Ridgeway Battlefield Park.
• They will stop at Ridgeway Village Square where the Mayor of Fort Erie will grant each regiment “Freedom of the City”.
• Several community and youth organizations will line the sidewalks in downtown Ridgeway to greet the soldiers.
• This Is a marching parade, not a parade with floats etc.

What is happening during the Ceremony?
• A parachute drop (unfurling a Canadian flag) to mark the opening.
• Period music (The Orono Cornet Band) http://oronocornetband.com
• Plaque unveilings (A bronze plaque in memory of the soldiers who died as a result of being deployed to this battle; a Memorial to the Ridgeway Nine,
the 9 soldiers who died at the battle; and a Heritage Tree plaque for the Ironwood Tree that stood on the battlefield in 1866.)
• Book launch (First Hand Accounts of the 1866 Fenian Raid and Battle of Ridgeway, published by Fort Erie Museum Services.)
• Tributes to the soldiers who lost their lives as a result of this battle through speeches, wreath laying, honour guards, taps, and a gun salute.

What is happening at the Festival?
• Tactical demonstrations by The Queen’s Own Rifles Pioneers and Skirmishers and The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Ceremonial Guard (Wentworth Regiment).
• Modern and historic weapons and uniform displays by the Canadian Armed Forces.
• Artifact displays by the Fort Erie Historical Museum, The Queen’s Own Rifles Museum, The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Armoury, and various collectors.
• Music by the Orono Cornet Band and the Military Regimental Band
• Interactive children’s activities (try on a soldiers uniform, arts and crafts projects)

Are there washrooms at the Ceremony at Ridgeway Battlefield Park and at the Festival at Crystal Ridge Arena?
Yes, there will be outdoor portable toilets at both locations.

Will there be food at the Ceremony at Ridgeway Battlefield Park?
Yes, there will be a food truck which will also sell soft drinks, up until the ceremony begins at 1:00 p.m.

Will there be food at the Festival?
Yes, the Lions Club of Ridgeway and Fort Erie, along with their partners and sponsors will be selling food including hamburgers, hot dogs, pop and beer. This will
take place on the pavement area next to the Crystal Ridge Community Centre, which is adjacent to the Crystal Ridge Arena.

Will I have time to watch both the Parade and the Ceremony?
Yes, you can watch the end of the parade from Hwy.#3 which is also where the ceremony will be taking place. The parade will turn right from Ridge Road onto Hwy.
#3 and then the soldiers will march into Ridgeway Battlefield Park. If you chose to watch the parade from downtown Ridgeway, you would have to drive yourself to
one of the side streets that run off of Highway #3 and walk to the ceremony. Those roads will probably be filled with cars by the time the parade starts, so parking
will be very limited. Another option is to station yourself at Ridgeway Battlefield Park and watch the parade on your cell phone. The parade will be live streamed on
the Town's YouTube channel. Please ensure you can access this link before arriving: <https://www.youtube.com/user/thetownofforterie>;

Is this event accessible?
• Yes, there will be an accessible parking area, accessible shuttle bus, accessible washroom and accessible seating at the ceremony.
• The dignitaries’ speeches given at the ceremony will be translated into French and available at the Fort Erie Historical Museum following the event.

What is the Battle of Ridgeway and the Fenian Raid?
• The Fenian Raid took place throughout Fort Erie on June 1-3, 1866.
• The Fenian Army invaded here from Buffalo, with hopes to capture the Province of Canada and trade this piece of British North America for Ireland’s freedom.
• The Fenians were veterans of the American Civil War, but acted independently from the US government
• Approximately 800-1,200 Fenian soldiers invaded and were met by approximately 800 Canadian soldiers at the Battle of Ridgeway.
• The Battle of Ridgeway was the 1st battle fought on Canadian soil by the modern Canadian Army (formed in 1854); and it was the place where the 1st
soldiers of the modern Canadian Army died.
• There were 12 Canadian casualties as a result of this battle.
• While the Fenians won both the Battle of Ridgeway and skirmish at the Fort Erie dock, they did not realize their goal of capturing the Province of Canada.
They retreated back to Buffalo.
• The Battle of Ridgeway was a catalyst to Confederation, with Canada being formed one year later.

Who do I contact if I have questions?
The Fort Erie Historical Museum
• 402 Ridge Road, Ridgeway, ON, L0S 1N0.
• 905-894-5322
• [email protected]
• www.museum.forterie.ca


C.U. Joseph