Battle of Eccles Hill
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Eccles Hill was part of a raid
into Canadian territory from the United States led by John O'Neill
and Samuel Spiers of the Fenian Brotherhood
. The army of the Fenian Brotherhood was defeated by local militia units based in Huntingdon
on May 25, 1870.
, assembled on May 25 to orchestrate a second invasion of the Montreal
region (a similar expedition under Spiers had met with defeat near the same site at the Battle of Pigeon Hill of 1866). Although O'Neill was arrested at the border crossing by an American police patrol, Spiers and the main body of Fenians slipped across the border intact and entered the province of Quebec
.
Partisans and government scouts spotted the invaders almost immediately. A force of militia (amongst which was Queen Victoria's son and a future Governor General of Canada
, Prince Arthur
) awaiting the Fenians at Eccles Hill put up resistance, resulting in firefights and skirmishing. Lieutenant-Colonel William Smith
hurried to the field with a battalion
of volunteer cavalry
and charged the Fenian positions. The Fenians fled, leaving behind their artillery
and their dead. The Canadians sustained no casualties during the engagement because of the information supplied by Thomas Billis Beach, an double agent
working against the Fenians from within their own organization.
Fenian raids
Between 1866 and 1871, the Fenian raids of the Fenian Brotherhood who were based in the United States; on British army forts, customs posts and other targets in Canada, were fought to bring pressure on Britain to withdraw from Ireland. They divided many Catholic Irish-Canadians, many of whom were...
into Canadian territory from the United States led by John O'Neill
John O'Neill (Fenian)
General John O'Neill was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood .He was born in Ireland, moved to the US, and served in the Union Army in the Civil War....
and Samuel Spiers of the Fenian Brotherhood
Fenian Brotherhood
The Fenian Brotherhood was an Irish republican organization founded in the United States in 1858 by John O'Mahony and Michael Doheny. It was a precursor to Clan na Gael, a sister organization to the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Members were commonly known as "Fenians"...
. The army of the Fenian Brotherhood was defeated by local militia units based in Huntingdon
Huntingdon, Quebec
Huntingdon is a small town in Huntingdon County in the Haut-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality and the Montérégie region of the province of Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 2,587...
on May 25, 1870.
Prelude
Fenian militants, operating from VermontVermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, assembled on May 25 to orchestrate a second invasion of the Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
region (a similar expedition under Spiers had met with defeat near the same site at the Battle of Pigeon Hill of 1866). Although O'Neill was arrested at the border crossing by an American police patrol, Spiers and the main body of Fenians slipped across the border intact and entered the province of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
.
Battle
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
, Prince Arthur
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a member of the shared British and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha royal family who served as the Governor General of Canada, the 10th since Canadian Confederation.Born the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and...
) awaiting the Fenians at Eccles Hill put up resistance, resulting in firefights and skirmishing. Lieutenant-Colonel William Smith
William Osborne Smith
Lieutenant-Colonel William Osborne Smith served as the first Acting Commissioner of the North West Mounted Police, from September 25 to October 17, 1873....
hurried to the field with a battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
of volunteer cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
and charged the Fenian positions. The Fenians fled, leaving behind their artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
and their dead. The Canadians sustained no casualties during the engagement because of the information supplied by Thomas Billis Beach, an double agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
working against the Fenians from within their own organization.
Further reading
- Senior, H. (1996). The last invasion of Canada: The Fenian raids, 1866–1870. Dundurn Press. ISBN 1-55002-085-4