When the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland's Freedom

Klein (Strong Boy: The Life and Times of John L. Sullivan) has written a very readable history of the attempts by 19th-century Irish American nationalists (the Fenian Brotherhood) to invade, or at least threaten, Canada. After the American Civil War, U.S.-based Irish nationalists wished to take advantage of recent military training and the ease of availability of arms supplies and find a way to "strike a blow for Irish freedom." The author details how, with involvement from Irish nationalists in America and Ireland, the idea emerged to attack Canada, at the time a British colony. More than one effort—mostly planned from New York and executed across the northern borders of Maine and Vermont—failed quite dramatically, never getting more than a few miles across the international border. A last attempt in 1871 didn't even manage to reach Canadian territory. These incidences make for dramatic history, though, featuring well-known figures including American actor James Stephens and Irish author John Mitchel.