The memory of the unsuccessful Fenian invasion across the Maine border and the fear it created along the New Brunswick frontier has been all but forgotten. The participants in the crisis are long departed and so too are their stories, both factual and embellished. There is no historic site or marker in New Brunswick to recount these stirring events. However, the legacy of the Fenian crisis left a mark on both the province and Canada.
Lieutenant-Governor Gordon was proud of the performance of the volunteers during the Fenian crisis, a performance that justified the effort that he and his staff had made to revitalize the New Brunswick militia. Gordon’s contribution was acknowledged in the Saint John Morning News: “We cannot too highly commend the energy displayed by our Commander-in-Chief.” Gordon visited the volunteer units to pass on his compliments personally and acknowledge his pleasure publicly in the Militia General Orders:
His Excellency desires to express the gratification he has experienced in finding the officers, noncommissioned officers and men composing the Force engaged in protecting those points of the Frontier most threatened by attack, deserving of his entire confidence. His Excellency is fully aware that upon them developed duties of a particular difficult nature, the discharge of which was occasionally attended with a greater degree of hardship than His Excellency had anticipated or desired, but which have been accomplished to His Excellency’s full satisfaction.
In addressing the opening of the June 1866 session of the legislative assembly, Gordon acknowledged the support received from Britain, “You will, I doubt not, concur with me in the expression of gratitude for the promptitude with which the aid of Her Majesty’s Navy and military force was rendered on that occasion, and the magnitude of the scale on which it was afforded.” Gordon soon learned that he had been promoted to the governorship of Trinidad; he sailed from Saint John on October 1, 1866, to assume his new appointment in the British West Indies.
The Fenian crisis posed an external threat, which gave the people of New Brunswick a common and shared military experience, enhancing their sense of community and loyalty. In particular, it heightened public interest in defence matters and the volunteer movement flourished across the province. The Camp of Instruction held in July 1866 at Camp Torryburn, outside Saint John, was another major success. The camp emphasized training officers and officer aspirants in order to address the shortage of trained militia officers experienced during the Fenian crisis. It became a fixed feature of Canadian defence policy that the militia would be based on a small but active volunteer force. This concept, which saw Canada through two world wars, is the military legacy inherited from Lieutenant-Governor Gordon and the Fenian crisis.
The memory of the Fenians waxed and waned. Thirty years later, in January 1899, Joseph Chamberlain, the British Colonial Secretary, announced that “Her Majesty the Queen has been graciously pleased to approve” a commemorative medal for the Fenian Raids and the Red River Expedition of 1870. This decision sparked renewed public interest in the Canadian military and pride in the loyalty and dedication shown by its volunteers. Since the medal was issued only to survivors, identifying and locating those entitled to “the coveted trophy” presented a problem; the search engendered considerable public and media interest. In time, ceremonial parades were held at which the medals were presented, amid a wave of patriotism that was sweeping the country as a result of the South African War. Twelve years later, and forty-six years after the departure of the Fenians, the crisis again became front page news. The federal government offered surviving veterans of the Fenian Raids or their widows a one hundred dollar cash bonus. The Fenian Raid Volunteer Bounty Act, proclaimed in April 1912, provided the bounty for anyone enlisted in the militia and called out in 1866, and an amendment provided the bounty to the widows of qualified deceased veterans. It was widely considered a crass ploy by Sir Robert Borden’s Conservative government: using public money to gain votes. Be that as it may, it kept the memory of the Fenian crisis and the role played by the volunteers alive in the public’s mind.
The Canada General Service Medal with Fenian 1866 bar was awarded to Private James Von Buren Spinney of Captain James Bogue’s Company, 2nd Battalion Charlotte County Militia. Courtesy of the George Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion
However, it was the political impact of the Fenian crisis that left the most enduring legacy. The debate over Confederation had been raging in British North America for a number of years when, on January 30, 1865, the premier of New Brunswick, the Honourable Samuel Leonard Tilley, dissolved the legislative assembly. A hotly contested election followed over the question of whether New Brunswick should join Confederation. Tilley and his pro-Confederation party were humiliated and suffered a major defeat. On March 6, Tilley resigned and handed the government over to Albert James Smith, who left no doubt that his goal was to keep New Brunswick out of Confederation. Nor did Lieutenant-Governor Gordon support Confederation, favouring instead a union of the Atlantic provinces.
The whole concept of a British North American union was in serious jeopardy, but times and men change. The British government made it clear that it, and Queen Victoria herself, considered Confederation desirable, and overnight Gordon became a strong advocate. Pressure from Gordon and the inability of the anti-Confederates to form a cohesive party to tackle such pressing problems as reciprocity, railway policy and the Fenians rendered the Smith government unsustainable. On May 9, 1866, it resigned and Gordon dissolved the provincial parliament. With the Fenian crisis as a backdrop, the opposing parties fought an election during May and June. Tilly and the pro-Confederates campaigned on the issues of loyalty to the British Crown, the blessings of the British connection and the dangers of American republicanism. Hanging over all was the Fenian crisis and the defence question. All of the discussion over the past five years concerning imperial defence had acquired pertinence. The St. Croix Courier summarized the situation:
If there is one argument in favor of Union stronger than another, it is the necessity that exists for a good and efficient system of mutual defense. We have sometimes regarded this as one of the weaker points in favor of Union, invasion or trouble seemed to be at so great a distance, but now when we see how soon sudden danger can threaten us, and how our enemies may concentrate within a gunshot of our doors, the man must be blind, infatuated or prejudiced who can fail to recognize its force.
For the pro-Confederates, the Fenian crisis was a blessing. Tilley and his party won a sweeping victory, taking all counties except Gloucester, Kent and Westmorland, areas where the Fenian scare had appeared remote. He won sixty percent of the vote and thirty-three seats to Smith’s eight. Thanks to the intervention of the Fenians, New Brunswick was firmly set on the path to Confederation. Without New Brunswick, there would have been no Confederation, and without Confederation there could be no modern Canada. Canada is the real legacy of the Fenian crisis of 1866.