Battle of Ridgeway Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
The Battle of Ridgeway was contested near Ridgeway, Ontario on June 2, 1866, between British troops and an irregular army of Irish-American invaders, the Fenians, whose ultimate goal was the establishment of a free Irish Republic.The Fenians were an Irish-American brotherhood founded in New York in 1858 who aimed to work with related groups in Ireland to force Great Britain into negotiating toward the formation of an independent Irish Republic. Their leaders believed that even a marginally successful invasion of Canada, then British North America, would provide them with leverage in this effort. After an aborted invasion near the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River, they met in Cincinnati, Ohio and hatched a new plan, for an invasion into Ontario from Buffalo, New York.
The Fenians took advantage of the ready supply of arms in the United States after the recently concluded Civil War, and of the ample number of unemployed young men who had emerged from that conflict with some degree of military training. It was still however a ragtag army which assembled on the American shore of the Niagara River during the last weeks of May, 1866. They made little attempt at secrecy, and both American and British authorities were aware of an imminent military operation. Despite halfhearted American attempts to prevent the river crossing - the United States was loath to go out of their way to help the British after the latter's support of the Confederacy in the Civil War - the Fenian troops secured boats and transfered some 1500 men across the Niagara, landing just above Fort Erie, Ontario on June 1, 1866. They spent the night trying to rally the local citizenry to their cause and to commandeer supplies for their mission.
Meanwhile, the British were mobilizing both local militias and regular troops to defend against the impending invasion. When the Fenians, led by "General" John O'Neill, marched north along the river on the morning of June 2, they crossed Frenchman's Creek and clashed with British militia near the present town of Ridgeway. Both armies and their commanders were inexperienced, and the skirmish which ensued was marked by confusion and ill-timed retreats by each side. In the end, after a battle described by various observers and participants as lasting between one and three hours, the Fenians fell back in haste toward Fort Erie. British casualties included nine dead and thirty seven wounded. No good record of Fenian losses exists, but Fort Erie residents saw their forces return in haste to the United States - on logs, on rafts, or by swimming - without having furthered their goals.
Ironically, though not having advanced their own cause of independence, the Fenian raid and the successful efforts of largely local troops to repulse it, helped to galvanize support for the free Canada which would soon emerge.
This is an Article on Battle of Ridgeway. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Battle of Ridgeway