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When the Irish Invaded Canada

The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland's Freedom

Audiobook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks
"Christopher Klein's fresh telling of this story is an important landmark in both Irish and American history." —James M. McPherson
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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    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Malcolm Hillgartner deftly navigates his way through this little known piece of history. He recounts the stories of Irish immigrants who fought in the American Civil War and who shortly after invaded Canada for the purpose of using the British province as a pawn in the quest for Irish independence from England. Because of the wide range of characters and nations involved, Hillgartner must employ English, American, Canadian, and, most importantly, Irish accents. The way he slips between the array of voices is seamless. Listeners find themselves on the front lines of these seemingly impossible invasions and battles. History buffs who are longing to learn something new about America after the Civil War will enjoy this engrossing audiobook. A.R.F. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

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