Grand Procession in Honor of the Fenian Exiles, in New York City, February 9, 1871
Printer Frederick Heppenheimer American
Publisher Haasis & Lubrecht American
Not on view
A procession of men on horseback lead carriages past New York's City Hall to honor members of the Fenian Brotherhood. The name of this Irish nationalist secret society derives from a legendary band of warriors, the Fianna Eireann, who followed Finn MacCumhaill (MacCool). Hoping to pressure Britain to grant Irish independence, the American Fenians mobilised Civil War veterans of Irish descent to raid Canadian forts and other targets in 1866 and 1870-71. None of these invasion attempts succeeded and their primary effect was to encourage Canadian nationalism and to cause friction between the governments of Britain and the United States.
