Canadians In The Civil War

[Odysseus]

after doing a little research, i discovered the 33000-55000 canadians fought for the union during the american civil war. at least 29 of them recieved the medal of honour. even the man who killed lincolns assassin was a union officer born in canada. i never new canadians had such an effect on the civil war.

this can be a place where you can discuss tales of canadians in the civil war, so i will start with a question. we have regiments like camerons highlianders, the irish brigade and the polish legion, but was there a regiment like that for canadians or people of canadian descent?

[Menelaos]

Well to be fair, about a million Irish fought for the union. The union army started to let the less important rabble fight for them endwar.

[Odysseus]

Well to be fair, about a million Irish fought for the union. The union army started to let the less important rabble fight for them endwar.

dont see what that has to do with the above topic but it is true, many brave irishmen fought in the civil war on both sides.

[Menelaos]

Well to be fair, about a million Irish fought for the union. The union army started to let the less important rabble fight for them endwar.

dont see what that has to do with the above topic but it is true, many brave irishmen fought in the civil war on both sides.

That the union army started outsourcing, they used immigrants as cannon fodder. Canadians being a good population of that fodder.

[Odysseus]

Well to be fair, about a million Irish fought for the union. The union army started to let the less important rabble fight for them endwar.

dont see what that has to do with the above topic but it is true, many brave irishmen fought in the civil war on both sides.

That the union army started outsourcing, they used immigrants as cannon fodder. Canadians being a good population of that fodder.

ok, yeah i understand. some immigrants actually, the union sent a few recruitment officiers to the british north american colonies to recruit (if my facts are straight)

[Xanderman]

The union hired mercenaries from all over America and Europe.

[Duuring]

They didn't 'heir mercanaries'. Foreigners from all different countries signed up and as regiments were often county based, they often served together.

The 25th Michigan had a large continent of Dutch soldiers 

[Bluehawk]

Canada, being a British territory and having its foreign affairs dictated by London, was a hotbed for Confederate agents and sympathizers who could operate north of the Union's borders - Montreal in particular had a sizable cell that launched a cavalry raid on Vermont that accomplished... nothing, one person was killed. Halifax at one point offered amnesty to a CSA-Navy ship being pursued by the USA Navy and basically passively aided one nation against the other. There was also a bizarre episode where Confederate agents hijacked a ship, but when the Union arrived, they allowed it to be returned to Halifax instead of taking it to Union waters or attacking it, and the colonial courts ended up acquitting the hijackers and never extraditing them or anything. The Union was cooperative in order to preserve diplomatic relations. Canada's relations with the two American factions is complicated and paradoxical.

It's true though that at least 33,000 British North-Americans served in the US Army during the Civil War of their own free-will. The basic opposition to slavery overpowered for many the purely self-serving British sympathies for the CSA. Supposedly at least 20 of these volunteers earned the Medal of Honor, but I have no idea how to confirm that.

[Odysseus]

being a haligonian, i know the tale of that confederate warship. halifax played a large role for union and confederate ships up north,mainly as a refuel/resupply post.

[Bluehawk]

Oh and here's a fun fact: Calixa Lavallée, the composer of "O Canada," was a veteran of the battle of Antitam as a 4th Rhode Island Regiment volunteer.

EDIT: I should say he wrote the music and not the lyrics.

[Odysseus]

Oh and here's a fun fact: Calixa Lavallée, the composer of "O Canada," was a veteran of the battle of Antitam as a 4th Rhode Island Regiment volunteer.

EDIT: I should say he wrote the music and not the lyrics.

yes i notcied that.
who'd have known that canadians had such a role in the american civil war

[Pinball Wizard]

German Americans have the Canadians beat on numbers 
A lot of different countries had an influece,  like the British trading with the Confederacy.

[Frederickson]

Oh and here's a fun fact: Calixa Lavallée, the composer of "O Canada," was a veteran of the battle of Antitam as a 4th Rhode Island Regiment volunteer.

EDIT: I should say he wrote the music and not the lyrics.

Makes me love our Anthem even more.