Dixie & the Dominion: Canada, the Confederacy, and the War for the Union

256 Pages·2003·1.723 MB·English

by  Adam Mayers

D &
IXIE THE
D
OMINION
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D &
I X I E T H E
D
O M I N I O N
Canada,
the Confederacy,
and the
War for the Union
ADAM MAYERS
The dundurn Group
Toronto
Copyright © Adam Mayers, 2003
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or trans-
mitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except
for brief passages for purposes of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to pho-
tocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.
Copy-Editor: Andrea Pruss
Design: Jennifer Scott
Printer: Transcontinental
National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data
Mayers, Adam
Dixie and the Dominion: Canada, the Confederacy, and the War for the Union/Adam Mayers.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-55002-468-X
1. Canada — History — 1841-1867. 2. United States — History — Civil War, 1861-1865. 3. Canada —
Foreign relations — United States. 4. United States — Foreign relations — Canada. I. Title.
E470.95.M39 2003 971.04'2 C2003-903528-X
1 2 3 4 5 07 06 05 04 03
THE CANADA COUNCIL LE CONSEIL DES ARTS
FOR THE ARTS DU CANADA
SINCE 1957 DEPUIS 1957
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Councilfor our
publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canadathrough
the Book Publishing Industry Development Programand The Association for the Export of Canadian
Books, and the Government of Ontariothrough the Ontario Book Publishers Tax Creditprogram, and
the Ontario Media Development Corporation’s Ontario Book Initiative.
Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The author and
the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references or credit in subsequent
editions.
J. Kirk Howard, President
Printed and bound in Canada.e
Printed on recycled paper.
www.dundurn.com
Dundurn Press
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To Bruce Blackadar,
for his insights and encouragement,
and to my parents and grandparents,
whose stories made me realize that the
shared memories of history are important.
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“They coveted Florida and seized it; they coveted Louisiana
and purchased it ... they picked a quarrel with Mexico,
which ended by their getting California.... The acquisition of
Canada was the first ambition of [America].... Is it likely to be
stopped now, when she counts her guns afloat by thousands and
her troops by the hundreds of thousands?”
D’arcy McGee, Canadian cabinet minister
February 1865
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T C
ABLE OF ONTENTS
Prologue 11
Chapter 1: The Celebrated Stranger 17
Chapter 2: Spring Summons 21
Chapter 3: Arrival 33
Chapter 4: Northwestern Conspiracy 39
Chapter 5: The Irish Lord 45
Chapter 6: Failed Rebellion 55
Chapter 7: Peace Plans 63
Chapter 8: Canadian Coalition 71
Chapter 9: The Lake Erie Raid 79
Chapter 10 Confederates in Charlottetown 91
Chapter 11 The St. Albans Raid 105
Chapter 12: Nation Builders at Quebec 117
Chapter 13: Diplomatic Crisis 127
Chapter 14: Firebombing New York 137
Chapter 15: The Confederation Road Show 147
Chapter 16: John Wilkes Booth 153
Chapter 17: That Stupid Judge 165
Chapter 18: Soldier of Empire 179
Chapter 19: Winter Debates 189
Chapter 20: Assassination 201
Epilogue 211
A Note on Sources 227
Bibliography: 231
Manuscripts 231
Contemporary Books 231
Secondary Sources 232
Articles 236
Newspapers 238
Notes 239
Index 251