Had it succeeded, a 19th-century attempt to force the British out of Ireland by invading Canada would be remembered as the boldest flanking maneuver in military history. As it failed, the reader must decide if the Irish American invaders were naive or laudable for dreaming of an ancestral homeland free of colonial oppression.
Whatever the verdict, the story began in Chicago in 1863.
That November, the Fenian Brotherhood of America held its first convention in the fraternal organization’s hall at Randolph and Wells streets. Delegates from Irish American communities in North America adopted a constitution defining the organization’s purpose and loudly echoed it at their closing banquet.
“Whatever was said against England or English policy met with a vociferous and hearty response from every man present,” the Tribune reported. “Indeed, we could not help noting that this feeling of hatred of Britain and British rule was predominant.”
