Troublous Times in Canada: A History of the Fenian Raids of 1866 and 1870MacDonald, John A. (John Alexander)
History
Troublous Times in Canada: A History of the Fenian Raids of 1866 and 1870
MacDonald, John A. (John Alexander)
Canada -- History -- Fenian Invasions, 1866-1870; Fenians
For the latter object, large bodies of men, sent by railroad from almost
all parts of the United States, were assembled at a place called Malone,
in the State of New York, and at Potsdam, also in the State of New York,
and with a view to the former, St. Albans and its neighborhood in the
State of Vermont was selected as the place of assemblage.
Large supplies of arms, accoutrements and ammunition were also attempted
to be forwarded by railroad to these points, but owing to the active
intervention of the authorities of the United States--as soon as it
became apparent that a breach of international law had been committed
by these persons--a very large portion of these supplies never reached
their destination.
It is not easy to arrive at a trustworthy estimate of the number of men
who actually arrived at their different points of rendezvous. It has
been reported at times that there were at Potsdam, Malone, and the
intervening country, as many as ten thousand men, and similar rumors
have been from time to time circulated of the force at St. Albans and
its neighborhood. From the best opinion I can form, however, I shall
be inclined to think that the number of Fenians in the vicinity of St.
Albans never exceeded two thousand men, and that three thousand would
be a fair allowance for those assembled at Potsdam, Malone, and the
surrounding counties. The men have been represented to me as having,
many of them, served in the late Civil War in the United States--to
have had a considerable amount of small arms of a good and efficient
description. I have not heard of their possessing any artillery, and I
am informed that they were deficient in the supplies of ammunition and
totally destitute of all the other equipments of an organized force.
They appear to have relied very much on assistance from the inhabitants
of the Province, as the force which invaded Fort Erie brought with
them--as I am told--a large quantity of spare arms to put in the hands
of their sympathizers whom they expected to join them. I have in
my former despatches noticed the measures which were adopted by
the Provincial Government in order to place at the disposal of the
Lieutenant-General commanding Her Majesty's forces, the Provincial
resources available for defence, both by land and water. The reports of
the officers of the army and volunteers, which I transmit, will acquaint
you with the manner in which these means were used by the officers in
command. I am happy to be able to bear my tribute to the energy and good
faith exhibited by the American Government and its officials in checking
all infractions of international obligations on the part of any portion
of its citizens from the moment that it became evident that an
invasion of the Province by the Fenians had actually taken place.
The determination of the Government of the United States to stop the
transportation of men and supplies to the places of assembly, rendered
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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