Did Canada Start the American Civil War?


John Brown's body lies a moldering in his grave, John Brown's body lies a moldering in his grave, but his soul is marching on. Glory, Glory etc., as the Abolitionist song says. It became a great marching song for both the North and the South. The other version was "We'll hang the dirty traitor on a sour apple tree." You may wonder what we had to do with a war that was fought as brother against brother. It turns out that their Canadian cousins got involved in a big way on both sides. In 1858, the famous American abolitionist John Brown visited Canada. He chose Chatham, Ont. in Canada's West, as a safe base from which to develop his strategy, draw up a constitution for his planned provisional government, and drum up support for the abolitionist cause. It was here in Canada, that the attack on the Federal Arsenal at Harper's Ferry, responsible for the first shots of the Civil War, was planed. At further meetings in Chatham, the "Provisional Constitution and Ordinances for the People of the United States" was adopted and officers were elected to serve in a provisional government.

One Canadian Black, Osborne Anderson, took part in the disastrous raid on Harper's Ferry. Of the 21 men who fought with Brown, 10 died 6 escaped (of whom 5 reached Canada and freedom) and 5, including Brown, were later hanged. The Harper's Ferry raid made a big impression in Canada and many felt Brown was a hero.

When war became a reality both sides had spies and business Operations in Canada. Johnny Reb used Canada as a base for getting information and materials from Europe. The blockade made things most difficult for those serving under the Stars and Bars. There is a report of some Confederate agents appointed for "special duty in Canada": Here is a note from those days by a Southerner.

"The Queen's Hotel where we stopped fronted on Toronto Bay. It may be said we found Confederate headquarters here at this hotel...There was everything in the prospect at Toronto to make a sojourn enjoyable. The leading newspapers of Canada were published here and the South got a friendly comment on the course of events.

"Influence of the American Civil War Some little-known Stories"

Newton Wolverton / Sarah Emma Edmonds / Calixa Lavallée / Jock Fleming / Jerry Cronan
Source: Anxious for a little war: the involvement of Canadians in the Civil War of the United States by Tom Brooks and Robert Trueman. Toronto: WWEC, c1993. Source

Some 40 000 to 50 000 Canadians are estimated to have taken part in the American Civil War. The following are some of their stories.

Newton Wolverton
When Newton Wolverton, born at Wolverton, Ontario, was 15 years old and working as a teamster in Washington, he presented a petition for peace to President Lincoln from a committee of Canadians at the time of the Trent affair. President Lincoln said to him:

"Mr. Wolverton, I want you to go back to your boys and tell them that...as long as Abraham Lincoln is President, the United States of America will not declare war on Great Britain."

On July 20, 1861 Wolverton enlisted in the Northern army. He returned to join the Canadian militia to protect the border after the St. Albans Raid and during the Fenian War. He later became principal of Woodstock College and received an honorary doctorate from McMaster University in Hamilton.

Sarah Emma Edmonds of New Brunswick enlisted in the Union army under a man's name in 1861. Masquerading as a "he," she served as a nurse, spy and general's aide for two years. She fought in the cavalry at Antietam and went on to fight with the western armies until she became sick. She then lived in St. Louis, a city full of Confederate spies, whom she in turn spied upon for the North. She married and settled in the United States where her comrades-in-arms found out her true identity at a regimental reunion in 1884.

Calixa Lavallée, the composer of O Canada, was born at Verchères, Quebec, in 1842. He left for the U.S. in 1857 and lived in Rhode Island where he enlisted in the Northern army. During and after the war he moved between Canada and the United States developing his career in music. He died in Boston in 1891 and his remains were brought to Montreal in 1933.

Jock Fleming came from Halifax, Nova Scotia. As the pilot of the Confederate ship CSS Tallahassee he carried out an exploit that is still admired by pilots in the Bedford Basin. Along with his captain, he turned the blockade-runner Chameleon into one of the most feared raiders of the war. It operated out of Wilmington, North Carolina and in three weeks of August 1864 claimed 30 prizes. After the war he returned to Halifax where he spent the rest of his life.

Jerry Cronan
Private Jerry Cronan died of wounds suffered in the Battle of Spotsylvania. He is the only Canadian Confederate who is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Shortly after he was buried it became a cemetery for Union soldiers. Private Cronan has a dual claim to fame, as a Canadian and as a Confederate buried among the victorious enemy.

Canada was not exempt from slavery. The first Black slaves arrived in New France in 1608. By 1759 there were over a thousand slaves. After the defeat of New France by England many free Blacks settled in Nova Scotia. Blacks both free and bound came with the Empire Loyalist. In 1834 slavery was abolished in all British possessions. Canada gave a ray of hope for slaves attempting to find the dignity and personal freedom that was denied them in the "Slave States."

One of the great Canadian Ladies that understood the difficulties of escaping to Canada was Harriet Tubman who was born a slave in Maryland in 1820. She escaped in 1849 and made at least 19 return trips to the South to guide fugitives to the Northern states and freedom. In 1850 the Fugitive Slave Act made it dangerous for runaways to remain in the North. Harriet made 11 trips to Canada leading more than 300 Underground Railway "passengers" to Canada. They moved only at night, sheltering in barns, chimneys and haystacks. She allowed no dropping out or turning back. She drew a pistol on one discouraged fugitive, saying, "Move or die." He and the rest of the group reached Canada in safety.

I wonder why her statue is not on Parliament hill? Is there someone out there who will lobby the Honorable Sheila Copps to honor this great lady?The Honorable Sheila represents Windsor and it was a major terminal on the Underground Railway.
Source.


Harriet Tubman (left) with some of her charges. © Public DomainSource: Bettmann Archives Inc.

Canada is not merely a neighbor of Negroes. Deep in our history of struggle for freedom Canada was the North Star. Martin Luther King, Jr., CBC Massey Lectures, 1967

Much of this material is quoted from our great National Library of Canada Web Site (New and updated). Those wishing to understand our history would do well to Book Mark this site and expose your children to our exciting past with it's great cast of characters.

From these records it is clear that Slavery is an abomination and that for the Black Slaves in the USA Canada was their salvation until General Lee surrendered at Appomattox Virginia. For details on how the Civil war affected USA Slaves ...See: more info

Another report on Canadian Black History see: John Ware 'The Big Bad Black White Man.'



The Human Cost.
There are various estimates on the number killed on either side. Barry Crompton, a Civil War scholar, gives the best-estimated figures at 300,000 soldiers for each of the protagonists. The large number of civilian casualties is over and above that. Economic loss and property damage was likely more than the market dollar value of the slaves that were freed. The dollar value cost was more than offset by the human dignity that that was given to the Slaves. To this day, amongst the Red Necks (here and in the USA), there lingers a strange understanding of the word Freedom.

Few Canadians understand our involvement in this North ~ South War. We must continue to ensure equality of our citizens by learning from our history, and where possible encourage other nations to also support the UN Charter. If you do not contribute then you cannot bitch.

© J C Downey...www.canadianculture.com/geezer

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