"That shot fired at Fort Sumter, on the 12th of April, 1861, had a message for the north as well as for the south…It was the signal gun of a new epoch for North America, which told the people of Canada…to sleep no more except on their arms [weapons], unless they desire to be overtaken and subjected." ~Thomas D'Arcy McGee, Canadian Father of Confederation, 1861
@@StardragonTheCanadian Glad someone else appreciates McGee. Usually I just get comments back saying he was a traitor. And you know about his poetry too 👏🤝. Patrick Whelan might not have pulled the trigger but he probably knew who did. Irishmen killing Irishmen. Sad state of affairs.
And the false flag & nobody killed in the 72 hour battle was killed & how is it a false flag to kick off Lincoln’s war against his own country? His letters to fox his friend he openly admits he wanted this war between the states. Look it up.
@@Tal-q3r to be clear, I don’t think Canada will take up arms against any force in the US. But Canada has always been to the left of the US. Even our Conservative Party, traditionally, has been closer to the Democrats than the Republicans in the US. That said, I seriously doubt there will be major violence in the US in the near future - let alone a second civil war. Both sides like to talk up the boogeyman on the other side.
I'm Canadian. In our family tree there is a fellow who went to the States and fought in the Civil War as a "Britisher". He settled down as a wagonwright in Montana and there is a whole other clan down there now.
Another thing Canada did was prepare itself for future conflict against the US. The very large US army at the time, paired with poor relations vis-a-vis the Trent Affair, paired with the Manifest Destiny doctrine, sparked official confederation discussions starting in 1864. Confederation would only be accelerated further following the Civil War, both with the US imposing sanctions on Nova Scotia in 1865 and with the Alaska Purchase in 1867.
I’d honestly love a video of you, Hilbert. Doing something about the Fenian raids. It’s already hard enough finding info on it even in the actual school system (In school I’m currently learning the 1860’s for history, and my teacher told me the Fenian Raids aren’t even in the curriculum) ALSO, The ship called “The Great Eastern” was a big part in a build of of troops for Canada due to the American civil war. It sailed from Britain to Canada, I believe it arrived at Quebec City?? It took a few DAYS, for it to be unloaded of troops and supplies as Canada prepared for a possible northern war during the time of the American Civil War.
My grandfather, born between Gananoque and Brockville on the St. Lawrence river in 1897, often mentioned the Fenian raids in that area. He was relating the stories told to him by his father, my great, great grandfather. Our ancestors came from the Wexford Ireland in 1835. They were not really Irish but Normans who had migrated from England centuries back as landowners and were, of course, Anglicans. Their migration to Canada wasn't so much a choice but a necessity to avoid violent ends. The Fenian raids must have seemed a deja vu of sorts Much of the area between Kingston and Montreal on the St. Lawrence was settled by Anglican rather than Catholic Irish or just Scots or British. All very loyal to the crown and a fitting target of Catholic Irish who had migrated to the U.S.
Not so fun fact: Jefferson Davis fled to Québec after the Confederacy lost the Civil War despite Québec having ended slavery decades ago at that point.
@@BlueGamingRage The funny thing about Americans who flee to Canada is they tend to ignore the very things they’re opposed to that Canada stands for. I don’t want to get political, but I see it *both* sides in every election: Americans who say they’re moving here even though they’re against single payer healthcare, the monarchy, taxes, g*n laws, etc. LOL
@@BlueGamingRageyes! Despite the slave trade having been banned in 1793 and slavery outright banned in 1833, Davis was welcomed in Toronto and Montréal more as a celebrity, or a famous american martyr.
He his sons actually attended the college near my university and he’d come to visit he was often invited to the university not by the staff but by the students who actually wrote songs cheering him for sticking it to the union. Apparently, the reason for this mindset my university was near the border with the states and during the build up of the civil war the locals hated each other and had lots of bad blood concerning issues of hunting, customs and values and this was ongoing since 1840. They never praised him for slavery in the songs I read but clearly didn’t view the union as being these paragons of virtue we Canada often view them now as. I just thought it was interesting as it shows that some Canadians didn’t support the union while also disliking the idea and act of slavery.
Im a descendant of one of the 30 confederates who ended up in halifax. Richard randoplh Stevenson my great great grandfather fled kentucky and ended up on the east coast
I read somewhere that around seven thousand Canadians died during the American Civil War which makes it Canada's Third bloodiest conflict after WW1 and WW2.
My great great grandfather, Andrew Provost, wrote a memoir about his life and in it he enlisted in the Union Army in Buffalo New York. He got to be part if the beige of Richmond and its subsequent fall. As a black soldier, his name is recognized in the African American Civil War Museum.
In this one Hilbert's accent moved from Irish to Newcastle to Dutch to Cockney, back to Newcastle back to cockney the Dutch again. All normal but not sure where the Oirish came from at the start
Having read a book on this topic I would say you did a fine job of covering it in a short video. There are many more stories that could be told but that would require a long video.
Well done for being an American who read a book. No wonder you felt the need to tell us all in a youtube content section. Now sod off and tell us when you do something important
you have to understand this from Canada perspective, canada was still salty from 1812 and now within 60 years. its had to fight this insane rouge state three times, so it makes sense why they did not like the "union side" but at the same time all the african americans fleeing to canada also showed how bad the "confederate side" was. so this made sense once you throw that into this,
Three times? I believe we’ve only fought in the American Revolution and the War of 1812. To add onto that “rogue state” bit, does that only apply to America back then? Or would you consider it a “rogue state” today?
@@housetheunstoppablessed4846 They are referring to the Fenian Raids. In which Irish Americans tried to capture Canada, and use it as a bargaining chip for Ireland's freedom. Also most Canadians have a distinct distrust of America. We have a real love/hate relationship with you guys. America being the black sheep of the family sort of deal. The unruly and impolite, but fun, brother. So I wouldn't say we view you as a rogue sate anymore. Just an untrustworthy one.
Jefferson Davis in Canada: “Gentlemen: I thank you most kindly for this hearty British reception, which I take as a manifestation of your sympathy and good-will for one in misfortune. It bespeaks the true instincts of your race. I trust you may ever remain as free a people as you now are, and that under the union of your provinces you will grow as great and prosperous as you are free. I hope that you will hold fast to your British principles, and that you may ever strive to cultivate a close and affectionate connection with the mother country. Gentlemen, again, I thank you.” ~ Jefferson Davis speaking in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, c. 1867.
Custer's adjutant at Little Bighorn was a Canadian who joined a New York cavalry regiment in 1863, and then 7th US cavalry in '66. W.W. Cooke was reputed to be a steady officer and a crack shot. And he had epic sideburns.. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_W._Cooke
Lt. Wm. W. Cooke a native of Brant, Co. ON, served with the 24th New York Cavalry during the American Civil War. A typical late-war Union regiment, more than one-third of its men were Canadian-born, another third, Irish-born. The shamrock & maple leaf were proudly displayed on regimental reunion ribbons & badges for more than three decades. There were four (4) Grand Army of the Republic posts (Civil War veterans posts) established in Canada, all attached to the Department of New York. One post at Hamilton, ON, was named after Cooke; the Colonel W.W. Cooke Post Post, No. 472, GAR. In May 1983, at my personal expense, I restored lieutenant Cooke's gravesite at Hamilton, ON, & had a new granite stone erected to replace to the worn disfigured marble marker. - George F. Kush, UE, CD, Fort Macleod, AB.
Actually the key moment was the issueing of the emancipation proclamation after the battle of Antietam. For Great Britain and its colonies, where slavery was vorbidden, it was imposible to join a war against a nation that declard the freeing of slaves their main war effort.
I suspect some of the Nova Scotian/Maritime antipathy to the union would have been because there was a substantial contingent of loyalists that moved there during the American revolution. The institution known today as Columbia University in New York was one of the original colonial colleges and was called Kings College before being renamed after the war. It shut down and relocated (including loyalist professors) during the war, splitting between New Brunswick (the law school) and Nova Scotia. Those two institutions still exist in the form of the University of New Brunswick and the University of King’s College in Halifax. So anyway, my suspicion is that in addition to seeing the opportunity to make a buck (which was and still is the Scottish Canadian way), there was an element of raising the middle finger to the Union by descendants of those who chose to leave during the revolutionary war.
And yet the Maritimes notoriously continued trading with New England when British North America was actively at war with the USA in the War of 1812, when the privations of the Loyalists was within their lifetimes. Don't mistake economic opportunism for some form of patriotism.
Tensions had settled between the Loyalists and the Americans leading up to the war of 1812, nearly 30 years after the revolutionary war had ended. Loyalists had moved onto Canada or back to Britain years before then as well. In fact, American antipathy that led to the war in the first place was directed at Britain due to her impressment of US sailors, ships and goods, claiming that the men and the properties had belonged to the British navy. Such captures were motsly within international unregulated waters but often were conducted within US waters as well, seriously aggravating the matters. Sometimes British claims were correct however proper rights of seizure were generally not adhered to and there were plenty of cases where Britain had no lawful claim to their bounty, men or goods. Despite years of protest from Adams and Jefferson, embargoes and other sanctions against Britain, president Madison finally declared war not on the non-federated colonies of Canada at the time but Britain. Of course, as territories of Britain, the annexation of Canada was the most direct and winnable victory for the new fledgling republic. Yet despite these brooding sentiments, many of the northern states were opposed to the idea of going to war, at least upon Canadian territory. Economic trade was crucial across the border and many saw this as a greater affront to their way of life than the unlawful impressment actions of Britain. I think their sentiments favoured retaliatory impressment of their own and perhaps an assault (perhaps aided once again by the French) upon Britain herself. The state of Pennsylvania even gave some degree of consideration to its own independence in protest of the war.
Secretary Seward’s Thought’s on Canada. “So I look upon Rupert’s Land and Canada, and see how an ingenious people, and a capable, enlightened government, are occupied with bridging rivers and making railroads and telegraphs to develop, organize and create and preserve the great British provinces of the north by the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence and around the shores of Hudson’s Bay, and I am able to say, ‘It is very well you are building excellent states to be hereafter admitted to the American Union.’" ~William H. Seward, 1861
No doubt Mr. Seward did not read his contemporary history of the War of 1812 where American stalwarts like Jefferson, Madison and several war hawkers declared the conquest of Canada to be a "mere matter of marching". It was not then nor would have it been post civil war. But more so, the horrors of the civil war, which had barely begun in 1861 and the chilling aftermath of the Lincoln assassination and the near assassination of secretary of war, Stanton, would surely have shown the fragility of egomanical warring imperialism.
@@MM22966 Hardly. One is likely to vote for Trump. The other wouldn't vote for Trump in a million years if it were eligible! Seek help Alaska. NOT Seig Heil!!
@@MM22966 Hardly! One if likely to vote Trump in the upcoming election. The other wouldn't vote for Trump in a million years if it were eligible! Seek help Alaska. NOT seig heil !!
What an interesting video. However one must also understand the geopolitical background leading up to the Civil War that many historians tend to forget. While the UK and the US mostly settled their issues in the war of 1812, there was still some nascent distrust between the two. On the side of the UK, they tried to keep the Republic of Texas independent as a US-Mexican buffer state, so as the US not to get too powerful on the American contingent. As for the Americans, they did not quite give up on territorial ambitions in Canada. Just as how the Southern elite of the US had the "Knights of the Golden Circle" at the expense of Mexico and the Caribbean, so there was a small (but quite influential) cohort of intellectual Northern Senators, businessmen and socialites that considered letting the south go due to "profound cultural differences" and in return incorporating the Canadian colonies that were more culturally similar to them as compensation. Funny enough Seward (yes, the guy who bought Alaska from the Russians), ran in those circles which makes you wonder about Lincoln's "one war at a time comment". And you see this circle of Northerners stirring the pot a couple of times between the US and Canada in incidents such as the Aroostook War (where the US wanted Maine to border at the St. Lawrence River), to the Oregon boundary dispute (where the US practically claimed all of British Columbia) which lead to the largely comical Pig War. Thankfully this circle's influence waned after the end of the Civil War, which interestingly led to an improvement of US-UK relations not after.
Minor correction. Oh Canada was sung to Lavalee's tune for the better part of a century before 1970. It was formally adopted as the national anthem in that year.
Newfoundland remained a British Colony until 1949. Newfoundland was more of a collection of fishing ports than anything else and played no roll in international affairs.
@capnceltblood5347 The Island of Newfoundland played a very significant military ROLE during WW2 both in regard to American financed and run naval bases and especially military airfields! These became increasingly important for the Allied forces during the Battle of the Atlantic, which lasted longer than any other element of WW2. Newfoundland also contributed fisheries products for the Allies and for the British civilian population; lumber for military and civilian uses; as well as iron ore and some other minerals. The Newfoundland Railway and its connecting ferry services also allowed provisioning of Canadian, British and American military assets through to the most easterly ports and harbours of North America, assisting naval convoy operations and aerial protective patrols. Some of this infrastructure was very beneficial to the post-war development of the new Province of Newfoundland, so was also significant for several decades beyond! 🌳 🏡 🌲 🌳 🐟 🛤 🐟 🌳 🏡 🌲 🌳 🌟 🤔 🌟 PS Howabout this for a future video topic Hilbert? 🤔
As a Quebecois who's been interested in the past to what was happening in Canada during the Civil War, I was surprised to learn that Montreal was an important base for Confederates activities. It was said that the Saint Lawrence Hall, a famous hotel who no longer exist, hosted so many Confederate agents that practically the whole building was rented by them. Concerning the Union, the British were so fearful that the Union army would launch an invasion of Canada after the South was defeated that they built a series of forts in the perimeter of Quebec city to protect it from an attack. Some of them still exist today, now called the Lévis forts. Fun fact : Among the several high ranking Confederates who took temporary refuge in Canada after the war was Jubal Early who settled in Toronto for some time. There he wrote a memoir talking about his experience during the war, published in 1866, which is considered the first book written by a major general who had fought during the Civil War. Great video and I would love to see a video about the Fenian raids!
Thanks for the brief profile of my Great-great grandfather, Anderson Ruffin Abbott. Only one small correction - Anderson Ruffin’s father, Wilson Ruffin Abbott was a free man of colour and shop keeper in Virginia (rather than a slave is Alabama) who left the south for Canada and rose to prominence and wealth as a property investor and municipal politician in Toronto. Anderson Ruffin was raised as a well educated, wealthy and powerful man of colour in Toronto and was able to use that to become well established in Washington D.C. society while working in the hospitals there during the civil war. As a result of his connection to the Lincoln family, Mary Todd Lincoln gifted Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration shawl to the Anderson Ruffin. It remains with our family today and is currently with my cousin outside of Peterborough, Ontario who is the eldest male heir of that branch of the Abbott family.
Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald on the American Civil War, c. 1861: “The fratricidal conflict now unhappily raging in the United States shows us the superiority of our institutions and the principle on which we are based. Long may that principle-the Monarchial principle- prevail in this land. Let there be 'No Looking to Washington." "We must however endeavour to take warning by the defects in the Constitution of the United States, which are now so painfully made manifest, and to form (if we succeed in a Federation) an efficient, central government."
@@TheUnknownCountry It is absolutely not debatable, here's another Sir John A. Macdonald c. 1870 "Sir, We are looking anxiously for your report as to Indian titles both within Manitoba and without; and as to the best means of extinguishing [terminating] the Indian titles in the valley of Saskatchewan. Would you kindly give us your views on that point, officially and unofficially? We should take immediate steps to extinguish the Indian titles somewhere in the Fertile Belt in the valley of Saskatchewan, and open it for settlement. There will otherwise be an influx of squatters who will seize upon the most eligible positions and greatly disturb the symmetry [organization] of future surveys." “I have reason to believe that the agents as a whole … are doing all they can, by refusing food until the Indians are on the verge of starvation, to reduce the expense,” Macdonald told the House of Commons in 1882. And he had quotes like that till his death, he was a vicious drunk bastard whose name lives on in infamy, here is another c. 1920 "I want to get rid of the Indian problem... Our objective is to continue until there is not an Indian that has not been absorbed into the body politic, and there is no Indian question, and no Indian Department..." If only the treatment of First Nations like this had ended with him and others of the Orange Order.
More to do with our own issues with civil unrest, the uprisings predating the American civil war were costly even with low blood cost, the central provinces needed the wealth of the the East-coast, leading to politicans opposing the forming of Canada.
An interesting idea, one worth further study. One would have thought that Canada might have confederated much earlier than 1867, such as after the War of 1812, when Canada (technically called upper and lower Canada, for present day southern Ontario and Quebec) repelled the American invasion. However most of the warring sentiment from the US came from the midwest / southern states. The northern states were largely opposed to the war. They feared economic disparity from loss of trade with the colonies. Pennsylvania abstained entirely from the war effort and gave some degree of consideration to dissolving its association within the union in protest! The War of 1812 was also retaliatory against British impressment as opposed to direct issues with Canada. Years of British capturing American sailors, ships and supplies ships deemed to have been associated with the British Royal Navy (though they often were not!) led to embargoes with Britain under Jefferson's terms before Madison declaring war. After this war, tensions had eased between the countries and there was little reason for the northern US to have continued any hostilities towards Canada. However with Canada representing some opportunities for rebel forces during the civil war and given the fact that the union side was highly critical of Britain's trading with the south, confederating Canada did make a lot of sense logistically speaking, even though the colonies were long since unified under British rule. In fact, I would contend that union animosity towards Canada and southern war hawking manifest destiny sympathies might have rallied the country together much quicker with them sharing a common enemy. Lincoln's highly charged statement of "One war at a time" I think was far more anti-war than a substantive warning, given the chasm needing repair within his own country. However an aggrieved nation having already expended itself to years of conflict is well warmed up to start a new war if sufficiently provoked. That was likely a major concern for Britain and Canada at this time and hence Canadian confederation just two short years after the end of the civil war.
Little known fact. My town in Niagara was the largest exporter of walnut in Canada during the American Civil War. To this day there are still walnut trees around here but most are not very old but likely are descendants of the trees chopped down in the 1860s. Walnut was used for gun stocks primarily. The union had very few men who could work doing logging and milling at that time so they outsourced to my town. I have plenty of photos of my town from the 1890s to 1920s and there are so many trees that are likely 20-30 years old and vast expanses where trees stood.
There were also a few adventurous Australians that joined the crews of Confederate commerce raiders when they put into ports like Melbourne; the most famous being the CSS Shenandoah
Another factor was that Ontario was settled by United Empire Loyalists. They were the Americans who did not side with the revolution and were either murdered or driven out with nothing which led them to hold a grudge. Even though it was almost a hundred years later, I heard local stories that some Ontarians joined the North's army just to get near the South so they could defect. I'm not sure if there are many official stories about that.
The History Chap did a video about the Fenian raids. Also the SS Great Eastern was used to transport troops to Canada. In case of a 2nd attempt to annex Canada.
One notable Canadian in the American Civil War was Willam Winer Cooke, a tall, imposing, and courageous man who was also a crack shot. After the war, he became an officer in the 7th Cavalry. "Queen's Own Cooke" was a favorite of George Armstrong Custer, and died fighting next to him on Last Stand Hill at the Little Big Horn, 6-25-1876.
Here are the true facts. Only about 24, 000 Canadians fought in the American Civil, some 19,000 serving with State of New York. The second largest contingent with the State of Michigan. Only about 2,000 fought for the southern Confederacy, mostly French-Canadians serving the State of Louisiana. Other, higher figures are completely unsupported by official records & largely inflated. My own great, great grandfather, John Wesley Miller enlisted in the 6th U.S. Cavalry at Rochester, NY, in 1861 shortly after the first Battle of Bull Run. Captured near Gettysburg, PA, in 1863 he was held s a POW at Richmond, VA, until he was exchanged in 1864. Returning to Canada after his discharge he enlisted in the Canadian militia & served through all of the Fenian troubles. He retired after 35 years of militia service @ Peterborough, ON, holding the rank of lieutenant-colonel, with the 53rd Battalion. He served again as a recruiting officer during the Great War. In 1938, he was one of only 3 Canadians among the 1800 veterans of the "blue & gray" invited to attend the 75th Anniversary of Battle of Gettysburg, where he met President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Canada's "last" Civil War veteran was one George S. Brooks. Born into slavery in Kentucky he joined the U.S. Colored forces in 1864 after his southern master was killed in action. He later served with the 10th U.S. Cavalry (the Buffalo soldiers) on the western frontier & again with an Illinois volunteer regiment in the Spanish-American war. Shortly afterward he immigrated to western Canada & in 1915 joined the 2nd Canadian Construction Battalion, serving briefly overseas. In 1946, Brooks was presented to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery while the latter was visiting Winnipeg. While shaking Brook's hand Montgomery commented, "It's wonderful to shake the hand of a real soldier." To date, most of the books published on Canadians & their role in the American Civil War, and there are several in print, are poorly researched & hardly work the cost of the ink & paper to produce them. - George Kush, UE, CD. Fort Macleod, AB.
Interesting that George Taylor Denison III drew parallels between the confederates and the revolutionary loyalists while the confederates themselves drew parallels with the patriots.
3:49 it’s Hilarious to hear that Canadas forces were week do to our proud history cuz at the end of WW2 we had the world 4or5 largest navy and were up there in army too and were generally known as a country that hit above our weight but since then our forces have been allowed to fall to pretty bad levels. Some things never change I guess.
Hello Hilbert. ACW again? Oh, Canada? Just this week I saw a video about the Irish Republican raid by former ACW Irish soldiers from another channel, which I do not usually watch. I had relatives in Windsor who worked in Detroit. I stayed a month in Thunder Bay with people who would go to Duluth for stuff. It is a bit like Netherlands and Belgium.
When I was in highschool in the suburbs outside of New York City, there was a larg house across the street that had been part of "The Underground Railroad" which escaped slaves used to flee to Canada. It puzzled me, since the prevailing thought was that "The North believed in equal rights and freedom", yet here was direct evidence that just crossing the border into The Union wasn't enough and these people had to continue the long, precarious journey up to and across the Canadian border before they could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Naturally, the school, located directly across the street, never mentioned this.
The British had about 3 good reasons to go to war with the USA or support the Confederates, but about 10 good reasons not to. In the end they were wise enough to know it would not be a good idea.
Hilbert, you should make a video on the role of the Lebanese, Thais, Chinese, Jews, Hawaiians, and Latinos in the US Civil War. The Channel Extra Credits, is a great source on their involvement.
Based on the book “Staking Claims to the Continent”, it seems the Canadian public was by no means pro-north. Especially in the maritimes, the average every day canadian was pro-Confederacy. The Maritimes were a deeply racist place at the time, and many former slaves were forced to leave there due to harassment.
Greetings from Tampa - have a mate in Liverpool (John "JP" Maxwell) that wrote a historical fiction novel about that city's ties to the Civil War, Water Street. Its sequel, The Americans of Abercromby Square, is out now - check them out!
I have ancestral ties to this video. When a child, my 3x great grandfather and his family had immigrated from Halifax and lived in New York. When the war began, he signed up, joining the 4th NY Heavy Artillery. His father signed up a few days later in the same regiment, lying about his age to get in (claiming to be 10 years younger). The 4th NY Heavy Artillery spent the first half of the war guarding Washington DC, but the last half pushing all the way to Appomattox. There is a family rumor that my 3x held a flag at the Gettysburg Address, but it is almost certainly false. He re-enlisted after his first 3 years. A large section of the 4th NY were captured at the Second Battle of Reams Station, but neither of my ancestors were present (my 4x great grandfather was showing his age by being in hospital in DC at the time, and my 3x was pounding Petersburg). Soldiers of the 4th NY were the skirmish line through which Lee's offer of surrender first passed as, with the exception of D company who were assigned to a battery of cohorns (and to which my 3x was assigned as an NCO-chief musician), the 4th NY was used as infantry. After the war, my 3x great grandfather ended up in Iowa, where he didn't become a US citizen until 1905 when he wanted a pension. He kept remarrying (one wife died, the other ran off) until 1912, meaning he had the dubious honor of having children stretched across enough history to have them serve in the Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, AND Korea. His last child, my 3x great uncle, lived til 2012 (I could have met him had I known). He was an interesting fellow with an enormous mustache.
This is surprising when you look at how many mercenaries from other nations volunteered to side on both sides of the US Civil War. Yes, no other nation joins the US Civil War but that doesn't mean mercenaries can join.
It's depressing when foreigners show more knowledge about the Confederate flag than the people directly involved. For crying out loud, even US milirary garrison policy doesn't always get it right... and they fought them!
There’s a Canadian medal of honor winner buried just north of port hope Ontario. Sgt Edward Dodds. The only medal of honour winner buried in Canada. NY Calvary awarded for actions at ashbys gap.
Canada was actually a Confederacy. The Fathers of Confederation, and the provinces and territories that joined Confederation. Which became the Dominion of Canada in 1867. Its not surprising that Canada supported the Southern Confederacy.
Actually OP knows what he's talking about. Judah Benjamin went to London after the war and was a barrister representing the Canadian provinces in the British courts. He won them many of the "states rights" the south had been fighting for.
FYI: There were Prussian military observers on both the Union and Confederate militaries. As a result of what they learned, it helped the Prussians gain the upper hand in the Franco-Prussian/German war. This resulted in helping create the country of Germany and France losing said war, resulting in France having to pay Germany a LOT of money. Thus resulting in the harsh conditions for Germany in the Treaty of Versailles.
Many European armies had observers - not just the Prussians. European officers had little respect for the US Army considering them little more than armed mobs.
The Fenian raids would be really nice to cover. This conflict was so weird, especially when you look at the number of dead in some of the battles like the Battle of Eccles Hill. How can you have armies of 600+ men fighitng together and only have two dead? Clearly, they were livinng in a peak of "shoot to scare but not to hit" tactic.
You forget in those years most Canadians didn't need training as they'd already have and use guns for hunting. The hunt in Canada stayed the number one most popular activity until after WW2 when restrictions had to be imposed to prevent the extinction of wild life. But before that, the average male in Canada was expected to bring home meat from hunting while the rest of the food was home grown. So everyone knew how to use a gun. It was made even more evident in WW1 as the average Canadian recruit were more accurate then most veteran British soldiers. This is what to the decision of forming Canadian only regiments and use them as elite shock troops. Modern Canadians however aren't as good with guns as they used to be.... Also i want to point out it wasn't the militia/army that repelled the American invasion of Montréal and Québec city. It was the civilians armed with their hunting riffles. The English army were late as they were busy in failing to defend York in Ontario. There is a reason York today is tiny compared to Montréal and Québec city: York was completely destroyed and never fully recovered while Montréal and Québec survived.
"That shot fired at Fort Sumter, on the 12th of April, 1861, had a message for the north as well as for the south…It was the signal gun of a new epoch for North America, which told the people of Canada…to sleep no more except on their arms [weapons], unless they desire to be overtaken and subjected."
~Thomas D'Arcy McGee, Canadian Father of Confederation, 1861
A great statesperson, and poet, murdered by a Fenian.
Although probably not the man who was hanged for it.
@@StardragonTheCanadian Glad someone else appreciates McGee. Usually I just get comments back saying he was a traitor. And you know about his poetry too 👏🤝. Patrick Whelan might not have pulled the trigger but he probably knew who did. Irishmen killing Irishmen. Sad state of affairs.
And the false flag & nobody killed in the 72 hour battle was killed & how is it a false flag to kick off Lincoln’s war against his own country? His letters to fox his friend he openly admits he wanted this war between the states. Look it up.
0:25 I'm sad to see you're still being possessed by the ghost of an Irishman.
hahaha
What an interesting topic to explore. Thank you for the new video Hilbert! You are the best.
Thank you for watching! Glad it hits the spot.
the first US civil war? 🤔
@@Tal-q3rthere’s only been one. if there’s another one, Canada would definitely back the side of democracy, should authoritarians try to force a coup.
@@rebeccawinter472 keep telling yourself that 🥱
@@Tal-q3r to be clear, I don’t think Canada will take up arms against any force in the US. But Canada has always been to the left of the US. Even our Conservative Party, traditionally, has been closer to the Democrats than the Republicans in the US.
That said, I seriously doubt there will be major violence in the US in the near future - let alone a second civil war. Both sides like to talk up the boogeyman on the other side.
I'm Canadian. In our family tree there is a fellow who went to the States and fought in the Civil War as a "Britisher". He settled down as a wagonwright in Montana and there is a whole other clan down there now.
Another thing Canada did was prepare itself for future conflict against the US. The very large US army at the time, paired with poor relations vis-a-vis the Trent Affair, paired with the Manifest Destiny doctrine, sparked official confederation discussions starting in 1864.
Confederation would only be accelerated further following the Civil War, both with the US imposing sanctions on Nova Scotia in 1865 and with the Alaska Purchase in 1867.
... and the pig war.
I’d honestly love a video of you, Hilbert. Doing something about the Fenian raids. It’s already hard enough finding info on it even in the actual school system (In school I’m currently learning the 1860’s for history, and my teacher told me the Fenian Raids aren’t even in the curriculum)
ALSO, The ship called “The Great Eastern” was a big part in a build of of troops for Canada due to the American civil war. It sailed from Britain to Canada, I believe it arrived at Quebec City?? It took a few DAYS, for it to be unloaded of troops and supplies as Canada prepared for a possible northern war during the time of the American Civil War.
There’s a good book by Christopher Klein called “When the Irish Invaded Canada.”
My grandfather, born between Gananoque and Brockville on the St. Lawrence river in 1897, often mentioned the Fenian raids in that area. He was relating the stories told to him by his father, my great, great grandfather.
Our ancestors came from the Wexford Ireland in 1835. They were not really Irish but Normans who had migrated from England centuries back as landowners and were, of course, Anglicans. Their migration to Canada wasn't so much a choice but a necessity to avoid violent ends. The Fenian raids must have seemed a deja vu of sorts
Much of the area between Kingston and Montreal on the St. Lawrence was settled by Anglican rather than Catholic Irish or just Scots or British. All very loyal to the crown and a fitting target of Catholic Irish who had migrated to the U.S.
Please do a video on the Fenian raids! That sounds so interesting! Love your stuff hilbert
I second this!!
Love from Canada Hilbert. Keep up the amazing work
Not so fun fact: Jefferson Davis fled to Québec after the Confederacy lost the Civil War despite Québec having ended slavery decades ago at that point.
There was a plaque mentioning that he lived there on the old Hudson Bay(?) building in Montreal until a few years ago.
Despite Quebec ending slavery?
@@BlueGamingRage The funny thing about Americans who flee to Canada is they tend to ignore the very things they’re opposed to that Canada stands for. I don’t want to get political, but I see it *both* sides in every election: Americans who say they’re moving here even though they’re against single payer healthcare, the monarchy, taxes, g*n laws, etc. LOL
@@BlueGamingRageyes! Despite the slave trade having been banned in 1793 and slavery outright banned in 1833, Davis was welcomed in Toronto and Montréal more as a celebrity, or a famous american martyr.
He his sons actually attended the college near my university and he’d come to visit he was often invited to the university not by the staff but by the students who actually wrote songs cheering him for sticking it to the union. Apparently, the reason for this mindset my university was near the border with the states and during the build up of the civil war the locals hated each other and had lots of bad blood concerning issues of hunting, customs and values and this was ongoing since 1840. They never praised him for slavery in the songs I read but clearly didn’t view the union as being these paragons of virtue we Canada often view them now as.
I just thought it was interesting as it shows that some Canadians didn’t support the union while also disliking the idea and act of slavery.
I am from Halifax and haven't heard about this before, thank you for the video!
Im a descendant of one of the 30 confederates who ended up in halifax. Richard randoplh Stevenson my great great grandfather fled kentucky and ended up on the east coast
I read somewhere that around seven thousand Canadians died during the American Civil War which makes it Canada's Third bloodiest conflict after WW1 and WW2.
As a Canadian reenactment I know it was actually over 7,000 killed and over 40,000 that served on both sides of the ACW
This is the information I didn't know I needed...
My great great grandfather, Andrew Provost, wrote a memoir about his life and in it he enlisted in the Union Army in Buffalo New York. He got to be part if the beige of Richmond and its subsequent fall. As a black soldier, his name is recognized in the African American Civil War Museum.
In this one Hilbert's accent moved from Irish to Newcastle to Dutch to Cockney, back to Newcastle back to cockney the Dutch again. All normal but not sure where the Oirish came from at the start
Having read a book on this topic I would say you did a fine job of covering it in a short video. There are many more stories that could be told but that would require a long video.
Well done for being an American who read a book. No wonder you felt the need to tell us all in a youtube content section. Now sod off and tell us when you do something important
ignore the asshole in the comments, what book did you read?
you have to understand this from Canada perspective, canada was still salty from 1812 and now within 60 years. its had to fight this insane rouge state three times, so it makes sense why they did not like the "union side" but at the same time all the african americans fleeing to canada also showed how bad the "confederate side" was. so this made sense once you throw that into this,
Three times? I believe we’ve only fought in the American Revolution and the War of 1812.
To add onto that “rogue state” bit, does that only apply to America back then? Or would you consider it a “rogue state” today?
@@housetheunstoppablessed4846
They are referring to the Fenian Raids. In which Irish Americans tried to capture Canada, and use it as a bargaining chip for Ireland's freedom.
Also most Canadians have a distinct distrust of America. We have a real love/hate relationship with you guys. America being the black sheep of the family sort of deal. The unruly and impolite, but fun, brother. So I wouldn't say we view you as a rogue sate anymore. Just an untrustworthy one.
@@housetheunstoppablessed4846 1774 the revaluation 1776 Quebec invasion and 1812 Ontario invasion
@@housetheunstoppablessed4846
1774 the American Revolutionary War.
1775 Invasion of Quebec War
1812. you know
5:18 -- This is an image of a Loyalist at Shelburne, Nova Scotia, dated roughly 80 years before the Civil War.
Jefferson Davis in Canada:
“Gentlemen: I thank you most kindly for this hearty British reception, which I take as a manifestation of your sympathy and good-will for one in misfortune. It bespeaks the true instincts of your race. I trust you may ever remain as free a people as you now are, and that under the union of your provinces you will grow as great and prosperous as you are free. I hope that you will hold fast to your British principles, and that you may ever strive to cultivate a close and affectionate connection with the mother country. Gentlemen, again, I thank you.”
~ Jefferson Davis speaking in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, c. 1867.
Custer's adjutant at Little Bighorn was a Canadian who joined a New York cavalry regiment in 1863, and then 7th US cavalry in '66.
W.W. Cooke was reputed to be a steady officer and a crack shot.
And he had epic sideburns.. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_W._Cooke
Lt. Wm. W. Cooke a native of Brant, Co. ON, served with the 24th New York Cavalry during the American Civil War. A typical late-war Union regiment, more than one-third of its men were Canadian-born, another third, Irish-born. The shamrock & maple leaf were proudly displayed on regimental reunion ribbons & badges for more than three decades. There were four (4) Grand Army of the Republic posts (Civil War veterans posts) established in Canada, all attached to the Department of New York. One post at Hamilton, ON, was named after Cooke; the Colonel W.W. Cooke Post Post, No. 472, GAR. In May 1983, at my personal expense, I restored lieutenant Cooke's gravesite at Hamilton, ON, & had a new granite stone erected to replace to the worn disfigured marble marker. - George F. Kush, UE, CD, Fort Macleod, AB.
Actually the key moment was the issueing of the emancipation proclamation after the battle of Antietam. For Great Britain and its colonies, where slavery was vorbidden, it was imposible to join a war against a nation that declard the freeing of slaves their main war effort.
This is valuable information, thank you Hilbert
I suspect some of the Nova Scotian/Maritime antipathy to the union would have been because there was a substantial contingent of loyalists that moved there during the American revolution.
The institution known today as Columbia University in New York was one of the original colonial colleges and was called Kings College before being renamed after the war. It shut down and relocated (including loyalist professors) during the war, splitting between New Brunswick (the law school) and Nova Scotia. Those two institutions still exist in the form of the University of New Brunswick and the University of King’s College in Halifax.
So anyway, my suspicion is that in addition to seeing the opportunity to make a buck (which was and still is the Scottish Canadian way), there was an element of raising the middle finger to the Union by descendants of those who chose to leave during the revolutionary war.
And yet the Maritimes notoriously continued trading with New England when British North America was actively at war with the USA in the War of 1812, when the privations of the Loyalists was within their lifetimes. Don't mistake economic opportunism for some form of patriotism.
Tensions had settled between the Loyalists and the Americans leading up to the war of 1812, nearly 30 years after the revolutionary war had ended. Loyalists had moved onto Canada or back to Britain years before then as well. In fact, American antipathy that led to the war in the first place was directed at Britain due to her impressment of US sailors, ships and goods, claiming that the men and the properties had belonged to the British navy. Such captures were motsly within international unregulated waters but often were conducted within US waters as well, seriously aggravating the matters. Sometimes British claims were correct however proper rights of seizure were generally not adhered to and there were plenty of cases where Britain had no lawful claim to their bounty, men or goods. Despite years of protest from Adams and Jefferson, embargoes and other sanctions against Britain, president Madison finally declared war not on the non-federated colonies of Canada at the time but Britain. Of course, as territories of Britain, the annexation of Canada was the most direct and winnable victory for the new fledgling republic.
Yet despite these brooding sentiments, many of the northern states were opposed to the idea of going to war, at least upon Canadian territory. Economic trade was crucial across the border and many saw this as a greater affront to their way of life than the unlawful impressment actions of Britain. I think their sentiments favoured retaliatory impressment of their own and perhaps an assault (perhaps aided once again by the French) upon Britain herself. The state of Pennsylvania even gave some degree of consideration to its own independence in protest of the war.
The 1800s were such a tumultuous time that gets overlooked so much.
Interesting topic. Please expand on it.
I'm a Haligonian, and I didn't really know any of this; thanks for the insight.
Why did you suddenly become a Dubliner at 0:25?
Fun video. I think it was about 40% stuff I knew and 60% new stuff or more information on things I had vaguely heard about.
A Fenian raid video would be cool as it's now somewhat forgotten even in Canadian history
Secretary Seward’s Thought’s on Canada.
“So I look upon Rupert’s Land and Canada, and see how an ingenious people, and a capable, enlightened government, are occupied with bridging rivers and making railroads and telegraphs to develop, organize and create and preserve the great British provinces of the north by the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence and around the shores of Hudson’s Bay, and I am able to say, ‘It is very well you are building excellent states to be hereafter admitted to the American Union.’"
~William H. Seward, 1861
This is likely part of the republican P25 dictatorship manifesto too!
Alaska, Canada...It's all the same thing, right?
No doubt Mr. Seward did not read his contemporary history of the War of 1812 where American stalwarts like Jefferson, Madison and several war hawkers declared the conquest of Canada to be a "mere matter of marching". It was not then nor would have it been post civil war.
But more so, the horrors of the civil war, which had barely begun in 1861 and the chilling aftermath of the Lincoln assassination and the near assassination of secretary of war, Stanton, would surely have shown the fragility of egomanical warring imperialism.
@@MM22966 Hardly. One is likely to vote for Trump. The other wouldn't vote for Trump in a million years if it were eligible! Seek help Alaska. NOT Seig Heil!!
@@MM22966 Hardly! One if likely to vote Trump in the upcoming election. The other wouldn't vote for Trump in a million years if it were eligible! Seek help Alaska. NOT seig heil !!
I have been enjoying your series on the foreign involvement in the Americans Civil War. Then again, I enjoy your videos.
thats very interesting i didn't know any of this. thank you.
Awesome topic, more please. ❤
aMAZING VIDEO LOVE THIS
Anderson Ruffin Abbot needs his own movie…that’s fascinating!
What an interesting video. However one must also understand the geopolitical background leading up to the Civil War that many historians tend to forget.
While the UK and the US mostly settled their issues in the war of 1812, there was still some nascent distrust between the two. On the side of the UK, they tried to keep the Republic of Texas independent as a US-Mexican buffer state, so as the US not to get too powerful on the American contingent. As for the Americans, they did not quite give up on territorial ambitions in Canada. Just as how the Southern elite of the US had the "Knights of the Golden Circle" at the expense of Mexico and the Caribbean, so there was a small (but quite influential) cohort of intellectual Northern Senators, businessmen and socialites that considered letting the south go due to "profound cultural differences" and in return incorporating the Canadian colonies that were more culturally similar to them as compensation. Funny enough Seward (yes, the guy who bought Alaska from the Russians), ran in those circles which makes you wonder about Lincoln's "one war at a time comment".
And you see this circle of Northerners stirring the pot a couple of times between the US and Canada in incidents such as the Aroostook War (where the US wanted Maine to border at the St. Lawrence River), to the Oregon boundary dispute (where the US practically claimed all of British Columbia) which lead to the largely comical Pig War. Thankfully this circle's influence waned after the end of the Civil War, which interestingly led to an improvement of US-UK relations not after.
Using the current Canadian Flag in your video, makes very little sense!
As a Canadian, I'll excuse it.
As a Canadian i won't@@darkspire6666
All good.🍁 The maple leaf (although not the red and white flag) was a symbol of Canada going way back.
Good work.
I’m Canadian American and very interested in the Civil War, so this video was a great find.
Minor correction. Oh Canada was sung to Lavalee's tune for the better part of a century before 1970.
It was formally adopted as the national anthem in that year.
The last Confederate General to surrender was Stand Watie a Cherokee.
Real question ¿what did the dominion of Newfoundland do in those years?
It wasn’t a dominion then, it was still a colony.
Newfoundland remained a British Colony until 1949. Newfoundland was more of a collection of fishing ports than anything else and played no roll in international affairs.
Newfoundland was a Dominion from 1907 to 1934.
Fish
@capnceltblood5347
The Island of Newfoundland played a very significant military ROLE during WW2 both in regard to American financed and run naval bases and especially military airfields! These became increasingly important for the Allied forces during the Battle of the Atlantic, which lasted longer than any other element of WW2.
Newfoundland also contributed fisheries products for the Allies and for the British civilian population; lumber for military and civilian uses; as well as iron ore and some other minerals.
The Newfoundland Railway and its connecting ferry services also allowed provisioning of Canadian, British and American military assets through to the most easterly ports and harbours of North America, assisting naval convoy operations and aerial protective patrols.
Some of this infrastructure was very beneficial to the post-war development of the new Province of Newfoundland, so was also significant for several decades beyond!
🌳 🏡 🌲 🌳 🐟 🛤 🐟 🌳 🏡 🌲 🌳
🌟 🤔 🌟 PS Howabout this for a future video topic Hilbert? 🤔
As a Quebecois who's been interested in the past to what was happening in Canada during the Civil War, I was surprised to learn that Montreal was an important base for Confederates activities. It was said that the Saint Lawrence Hall, a famous hotel who no longer exist, hosted so many Confederate agents that practically the whole building was rented by them. Concerning the Union, the British were so fearful that the Union army would launch an invasion of Canada after the South was defeated that they built a series of forts in the perimeter of Quebec city to protect it from an attack. Some of them still exist today, now called the Lévis forts.
Fun fact : Among the several high ranking Confederates who took temporary refuge in Canada after the war was Jubal Early who settled in Toronto for some time. There he wrote a memoir talking about his experience during the war, published in 1866, which is considered the first book written by a major general who had fought during the Civil War.
Great video and I would love to see a video about the Fenian raids!
I’m assuming the Confederates who robbed the bank in St. Albans, VT were based in Quebec.
Thanks for the brief profile of my Great-great grandfather, Anderson Ruffin Abbott.
Only one small correction - Anderson Ruffin’s father, Wilson Ruffin Abbott was a free man of colour and shop keeper in Virginia (rather than a slave is Alabama) who left the south for Canada and rose to prominence and wealth as a property investor and municipal politician in Toronto. Anderson Ruffin was raised as a well educated, wealthy and powerful man of colour in Toronto and was able to use that to become well established in Washington D.C. society while working in the hospitals there during the civil war. As a result of his connection to the Lincoln family, Mary Todd Lincoln gifted Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration shawl to the Anderson Ruffin. It remains with our family today and is currently with my cousin outside of Peterborough, Ontario who is the eldest male heir of that branch of the Abbott family.
That was really interesting - I would like to know more about the Fenian Raids!
There was a recent good doc by The History Chap on it, posted not a month ago!
You should do the battle of Red River as a follow up to this.
I just moved to Halifax so this is super interesting to me
Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald on the American Civil War, c. 1861:
“The fratricidal conflict now unhappily raging in the United States shows us the superiority of our institutions and the principle on which we are based. Long may that principle-the Monarchial principle- prevail in this land. Let there be 'No Looking to Washington."
"We must however endeavour to take warning by the defects in the Constitution of the United States, which are now so painfully made manifest, and to form (if we succeed in a Federation) an efficient, central government."
I take the words of a guy who carried out genocide with a HUGE grain of salt
@@CanadianWolverine that is debatable. If anyone truly did, it was Lincoln.
@@TheUnknownCountry It is absolutely not debatable, here's another Sir John A. Macdonald c. 1870
"Sir, We are looking anxiously for your report as to Indian titles both within Manitoba and without; and as to the best means of extinguishing [terminating] the Indian titles in the valley of Saskatchewan. Would you kindly give us your views on that point, officially and unofficially? We should take immediate steps to extinguish the Indian titles somewhere in the Fertile Belt in the valley of Saskatchewan, and open it for settlement. There will otherwise be an influx of squatters who will seize upon the most eligible positions and greatly disturb the symmetry [organization] of future surveys."
“I have reason to believe that the agents as a whole … are doing all they can, by refusing food until the Indians are on the verge of starvation, to reduce the expense,” Macdonald told the House of Commons in 1882.
And he had quotes like that till his death, he was a vicious drunk bastard whose name lives on in infamy, here is another c. 1920
"I want to get rid of the Indian problem... Our objective is to continue until there is not an Indian that has not been absorbed into the body politic, and there is no Indian question, and no Indian Department..."
If only the treatment of First Nations like this had ended with him and others of the Orange Order.
@@CanadianWolverine ya well, sorry not sorry. You all would still be conducting genocides and brutal massacres against yourselves anyway.
Nice to see one of the actual CSA flags used and not a unit battle flag that folk think is the flag.
Would like to now more about this .
I always assumed Canada just stayed out of it.
Canada was almost invaded by the US in the 1920's and 30's Just Google War Plan Red for details and how close we came to war.
The reason Canada exists is the American civil war. We confederated two years after the civil war ended, and its not a coincidence.
More to do with our own issues with civil unrest, the uprisings predating the American civil war were costly even with low blood cost, the central provinces needed the wealth of the the East-coast, leading to politicans opposing the forming of Canada.
An interesting idea, one worth further study. One would have thought that Canada might have confederated much earlier than 1867, such as after the War of 1812, when Canada (technically called upper and lower Canada, for present day southern Ontario and Quebec) repelled the American invasion. However most of the warring sentiment from the US came from the midwest / southern states. The northern states were largely opposed to the war.
They feared economic disparity from loss of trade with the colonies. Pennsylvania abstained entirely from the war effort and gave some degree of consideration to dissolving its association within the union in protest! The War of 1812 was also retaliatory against British impressment as opposed to direct issues with Canada. Years of British capturing American sailors, ships and supplies ships deemed to have been associated with the British Royal Navy (though they often were not!) led to embargoes with Britain under Jefferson's terms before Madison declaring war. After this war, tensions had eased between the countries and there was little reason for the northern US to have continued any hostilities towards Canada.
However with Canada representing some opportunities for rebel forces during the civil war and given the fact that the union side was highly critical of Britain's trading with the south, confederating Canada did make a lot of sense logistically speaking, even though the colonies were long since unified under British rule. In fact, I would contend that union animosity towards Canada and southern war hawking manifest destiny sympathies might have rallied the country together much quicker with them sharing a common enemy. Lincoln's highly charged statement of "One war at a time" I think was far more anti-war than a substantive warning, given the chasm needing repair within his own country. However an aggrieved nation having already expended itself to years of conflict is well warmed up to start a new war if sufficiently provoked. That was likely a major concern for Britain and Canada at this time and hence Canadian confederation just two short years after the end of the civil war.
Yeah, no. Canada was on the path to confederacy well before.
@@joeblog2672 Ontario and Quebec did combine in 1840.
Very interesting!
Great video, did you know the last shots of the American civil war, were off the coast of Alaska
Little known fact. My town in Niagara was the largest exporter of walnut in Canada during the American Civil War. To this day there are still walnut trees around here but most are not very old but likely are descendants of the trees chopped down in the 1860s.
Walnut was used for gun stocks primarily. The union had very few men who could work doing logging and milling at that time so they outsourced to my town. I have plenty of photos of my town from the 1890s to 1920s and there are so many trees that are likely 20-30 years old and vast expanses where trees stood.
So the guy who wrote the melody of O Canada was in the American Civil War? Would have never guessed that…
And he was a French Canadien too, that was a weird time to be north American.
Would love to see a video on the Fenian raids :D
I would like to see your videos based on the Fenian Raids.
There were also a few adventurous Australians that joined the crews of Confederate commerce raiders when they put into ports like Melbourne; the most famous being the CSS Shenandoah
Did you do a video about the hamlet of Town Line in New York that voted to join the confederacy?
Another factor was that Ontario was settled by United Empire Loyalists. They were the Americans who did not side with the revolution and were either murdered or driven out with nothing which led them to hold a grudge. Even though it was almost a hundred years later, I heard local stories that some Ontarians joined the North's army just to get near the South so they could defect. I'm not sure if there are many official stories about that.
Because its nonsense?
The History Chap did a video about the Fenian raids. Also the SS Great Eastern was used to transport troops to Canada. In case of a 2nd attempt to annex Canada.
One notable Canadian in the American Civil War was Willam Winer Cooke, a tall, imposing, and courageous man who was also a crack shot. After the war, he became an officer in the 7th Cavalry. "Queen's Own Cooke" was a favorite of George Armstrong Custer, and died fighting next to him on Last Stand Hill at the Little Big Horn, 6-25-1876.
Very even-handed and fair acount of history.
Here are the true facts. Only about 24, 000 Canadians fought in the American Civil, some 19,000 serving with State of New York. The second largest contingent with the State of Michigan. Only about 2,000 fought for the southern Confederacy, mostly French-Canadians serving the State of Louisiana. Other, higher figures are completely unsupported by official records & largely inflated. My own great, great grandfather, John Wesley Miller enlisted in the 6th U.S. Cavalry at Rochester, NY, in 1861 shortly after the first Battle of Bull Run. Captured near Gettysburg, PA, in 1863 he was held s a POW at Richmond, VA, until he was exchanged in 1864. Returning to Canada after his discharge he enlisted in the Canadian militia & served through all of the Fenian troubles. He retired after 35 years of militia service @ Peterborough, ON, holding the rank of lieutenant-colonel, with the 53rd Battalion. He served again as a recruiting officer during the Great War. In 1938, he was one of only 3 Canadians among the 1800 veterans of the "blue & gray" invited to attend the 75th Anniversary of Battle of Gettysburg, where he met President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Canada's "last" Civil War veteran was one George S. Brooks. Born into slavery in Kentucky he joined the U.S. Colored forces in 1864 after his southern master was killed in action. He later served with the 10th U.S. Cavalry (the Buffalo soldiers) on the western frontier & again with an Illinois volunteer regiment in the Spanish-American war. Shortly afterward he immigrated to western Canada & in 1915 joined the 2nd Canadian Construction Battalion, serving briefly overseas. In 1946, Brooks was presented to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery while the latter was visiting Winnipeg. While shaking Brook's hand Montgomery commented, "It's wonderful to shake the hand of a real soldier." To date, most of the books published on Canadians & their role in the American Civil War, and there are several in print, are poorly researched & hardly work the cost of the ink & paper to produce them. - George Kush, UE, CD. Fort Macleod, AB.
When speaking about Montreal, you forgot to mention that Jefferson Davis spent some time there when he fled after the South lost the war.
Interesting that George Taylor Denison III drew parallels between the confederates and the revolutionary loyalists while the confederates themselves drew parallels with the patriots.
3:49 it’s Hilarious to hear that Canadas forces were week do to our proud history cuz at the end of WW2 we had the world 4or5 largest navy and were up there in army too and were generally known as a country that hit above our weight but since then our forces have been allowed to fall to pretty bad levels. Some things never change I guess.
... and Canada's accomplishments in WW1 ...
@@wendigo53 yea but that doesn’t work with this point…
And now Canada isn't full of Canadians anymore.
Canadian here and history buff. This is all new to me.
I’d love to see a video about the Fenian Raids.
Hello Hilbert. ACW again? Oh, Canada?
Just this week I saw a video about the Irish Republican raid by former ACW Irish soldiers from another channel, which I do not usually watch.
I had relatives in Windsor who worked in Detroit. I stayed a month in Thunder Bay with people who would go to Duluth for stuff. It is a bit like Netherlands and Belgium.
as a Canadian I read that Victoria's price to join the south in the war was emancipation, the South did not want to pay that price.
When I was in highschool in the suburbs outside of New York City, there was a larg house across the street that had been part of "The Underground Railroad" which escaped slaves used to flee to Canada. It puzzled me, since the prevailing thought was that "The North believed in equal rights and freedom", yet here was direct evidence that just crossing the border into The Union wasn't enough and these people had to continue the long, precarious journey up to and across the Canadian border before they could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Naturally, the school, located directly across the street, never mentioned this.
The British had about 3 good reasons to go to war with the USA or support the Confederates, but about 10 good reasons not to. In the end they were wise enough to know it would not be a good idea.
Hilbert, you should make a video on the role of the Lebanese, Thais, Chinese, Jews, Hawaiians, and Latinos in the US Civil War.
The Channel Extra Credits, is a great source on their involvement.
0:37 anyone know where I can find this map in higher quality?
by the 1860s canada was really a bunch of self governing colonies.
0:57 Laura Secord ...great chocolate bars
Orange lollipops!
@@yeg466 Frosted Mint chocolat bar!
They sent America Wolverine and Sabertooth.
Could you do a video of the 30.000 Canadians who fought for the US during the Vietnam war and there involvement in it.
Based on the book “Staking Claims to the Continent”, it seems the Canadian public was by no means pro-north. Especially in the maritimes, the average every day canadian was pro-Confederacy. The Maritimes were a deeply racist place at the time, and many former slaves were forced to leave there due to harassment.
Where have the Scotian blacks come from then?
I wanna see the Irish Americans raids into Canada that you were talking about 🕵️♂️
Greetings from Tampa - have a mate in Liverpool (John "JP" Maxwell) that wrote a historical fiction novel about that city's ties to the Civil War, Water Street. Its sequel, The Americans of Abercromby Square, is out now - check them out!
I have ancestral ties to this video. When a child, my 3x great grandfather and his family had immigrated from Halifax and lived in New York. When the war began, he signed up, joining the 4th NY Heavy Artillery. His father signed up a few days later in the same regiment, lying about his age to get in (claiming to be 10 years younger). The 4th NY Heavy Artillery spent the first half of the war guarding Washington DC, but the last half pushing all the way to Appomattox. There is a family rumor that my 3x held a flag at the Gettysburg Address, but it is almost certainly false. He re-enlisted after his first 3 years. A large section of the 4th NY were captured at the Second Battle of Reams Station, but neither of my ancestors were present (my 4x great grandfather was showing his age by being in hospital in DC at the time, and my 3x was pounding Petersburg). Soldiers of the 4th NY were the skirmish line through which Lee's offer of surrender first passed as, with the exception of D company who were assigned to a battery of cohorns (and to which my 3x was assigned as an NCO-chief musician), the 4th NY was used as infantry.
After the war, my 3x great grandfather ended up in Iowa, where he didn't become a US citizen until 1905 when he wanted a pension. He kept remarrying (one wife died, the other ran off) until 1912, meaning he had the dubious honor of having children stretched across enough history to have them serve in the Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, AND Korea. His last child, my 3x great uncle, lived til 2012 (I could have met him had I known). He was an interesting fellow with an enormous mustache.
For a sec I thought those were the Canadian celebrities Terrence and Philip in the thumbnail.
This is surprising when you look at how many mercenaries from other nations volunteered to side on both sides of the US Civil War. Yes, no other nation joins the US Civil War but that doesn't mean mercenaries can join.
Note: Canada 🇨🇦 didn’t form a government until 1867.
It's depressing when foreigners show more knowledge about the Confederate flag than the people directly involved.
For crying out loud, even US milirary garrison policy doesn't always get it right... and they fought them!
WE CANADIANS LOVE YOU HILBERT!
There’s a Canadian medal of honor winner buried just north of port hope Ontario. Sgt Edward Dodds. The only medal of honour winner buried in Canada. NY Calvary awarded for actions at ashbys gap.
Canada was actually a Confederacy. The Fathers of Confederation, and the provinces and territories that joined Confederation. Which became the Dominion of Canada in 1867. Its not surprising that Canada supported the Southern Confederacy.
Your talking utter nonsense.
Russia is a Federation, and so is the U.S., therefore the U.S. supports Russia. Flawed logic. The two confederations shared nothing in common.
Actually OP knows what he's talking about. Judah Benjamin went to London after the war and was a barrister representing the Canadian provinces in the British courts. He won them many of the "states rights" the south had been fighting for.
None of that is even remotely true.
I wonder what we're going to do during their next one?
could you do a video about all the American (or American groups) who invaded (or tried to invade) Canada?
No, I did not know anything about Canadian involvement in the American Civil War before viewing this video.
Calica lavallee is my great,great,great,great grandfather.
FYI:
There were Prussian military observers on both the Union and Confederate militaries. As a result of what they learned, it helped the Prussians gain the upper hand in the Franco-Prussian/German war. This resulted in helping create the country of Germany and France losing said war, resulting in France having to pay Germany a LOT of money. Thus resulting in the harsh conditions for Germany in the Treaty of Versailles.
Many European armies had observers - not just the Prussians. European officers had little respect for the US Army considering them little more than armed mobs.
The Fenian raids would be really nice to cover. This conflict was so weird, especially when you look at the number of dead in some of the battles like the Battle of Eccles Hill. How can you have armies of 600+ men fighitng together and only have two dead? Clearly, they were livinng in a peak of "shoot to scare but not to hit" tactic.
Why are so many Dohertys named 'Pete'?
You forget in those years most Canadians didn't need training as they'd already have and use guns for hunting. The hunt in Canada stayed the number one most popular activity until after WW2 when restrictions had to be imposed to prevent the extinction of wild life. But before that, the average male in Canada was expected to bring home meat from hunting while the rest of the food was home grown. So everyone knew how to use a gun. It was made even more evident in WW1 as the average Canadian recruit were more accurate then most veteran British soldiers. This is what to the decision of forming Canadian only regiments and use them as elite shock troops.
Modern Canadians however aren't as good with guns as they used to be....
Also i want to point out it wasn't the militia/army that repelled the American invasion of Montréal and Québec city. It was the civilians armed with their hunting riffles. The English army were late as they were busy in failing to defend York in Ontario. There is a reason York today is tiny compared to Montréal and Québec city: York was completely destroyed and never fully recovered while Montréal and Québec survived.
They chilled.