Fenian Invasion Mobilization Site - Malone, New York, USA
N 44° 51.006 W 074° 16.732
18T E 556984 N 4966551
This historical marker on the Franklin County Fairgrounds in Malone, New York, USA, denotes the marshaling/mobilization site for two Irish Fenian invasions of Canada.
Waymark Code: WMDH85
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 01/16/2012
Views: 21
The marker reads:
FRANKLIN CO. FAIR
Held here since 1852 and
described by L.I. Wilder in
Farmer Boy. Marshalling
site for two Irish Fenian
invasions of Canada.
ABOUT THE 1867 FENIAN RISING:
"The Fenian Rising of 1867 was a rebellion against British rule in Ireland, organised by the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB).
After the suppression of the Irish People newspaper, disaffection among Irish radical nationalists had continued to smoulder, and during the later part of 1866 IRB leader James Stephens endeavoured to raise funds in the United States for a fresh rising planned for the following year. However the rising of 1867 proved to be poorly organised. There was a brief rising in County Kerry in February, followed by an attempt an nation-wide insurrection, including the taking of Dublin in early March. Due to poor planning and British infiltration, the rebellion never got off the ground. Most of the leaders in Ireland were arrested, but although some of them were sentenced to death, none were executed. There followed a series of attacks in England aimed at freeing Fenian prisoners, including a bomb in London and an attack on prison van in Manchester, for which three Fenians, subsequently known as the Manchester martyrs, were executed. A series of raids into Canada by US-based supporters also accomplished little.
In Canada
The Fenian Brotherhood, the IRB's sister organisation, based in the United States, especially a faction of it under William R. Roberts, mobilised up to 1,000 Irish veterans of the American Civil War to launch raids on British army forts, customs posts and other targets in Canada in order to bring pressure on Britain to withdraw from Ireland, between 1866 and 1871.
While the U.S. authorities arrested the men and confiscated their arms afterwards, there is speculation that many in the US government had turned a blind eye to the preparations for the invasion, angered at actions that could be construed as British assistance to the Confederacy during the American Civil War. There were five Fenian raids of note. While they had some minor successes against Canadian forces, they were militarily and politically unsuccessful."
-- Source