Interesting.

I had no luck either in trying to find Claire Hoy's website. (I was hoping to read more about Canadians in the American Civil War, before deciding on buying the book.)

If Kate or anyone has the URL for Claire Hoy's site, please share it with us.

For those of you in Ontario at least, there are many re-enactments put on by Canadians concerning the War of 1812 and US Civil War. You can see the way soldiers lived, dressed and fought over 150 years ago.

Black Creek Pioneer Village in Toronto not only has a good village but also hosts these events from time to time. Fort Erie (I think) has re-enactments of the Fenian Raids. If you want to take your kids out to learn and experience Canadian history, this is the best way to do it. (It also gets them out from in front of the computers screen too!)

As someone who has the book, I can assure you that the book is historically fascinating.

I have Shelby Foote's seminal 3 volume account of the Civil War, and I've been meaning to pick up Claire Hoy's book.

Read the Claire Hoy book a few months back and mentioned it here. Fascinating how Canadians (still British subjects back then) were involved on both sides of the conflict. Those were choices of individual liberty, mind you.

Just as an aside, but related, don't forget, from the U.S. perspective we did not fight Canada in the 1812 war, we fought the Motherland. Detroit was handed over to the British, not the Canadians. So don't get all huffy about delusions of grandeur in fighting "the Americans." The British were then the greatest fighting force on the planet.

Very interesting.

I have been to Gettysburg and it is almost a religious type of place and experience. It is not at all like what you would read - you have to see the place and actually see the Peach Orchard, Little Round Top, and Devil's Den to really understand it (it is identical to actually seeing some of the Canadian WW1 and WW11 sites and graveyards in Europe - you have to see it to really understand what happened - or even Custer's last stand in Montana - and stuff like that).

As you walk around the Gettysburg battlefield you see hundreds of monuments dedicated to and honouring the various battle groups and regiments (both North and South) who fought. You actually see monuments to foreign regiments (for example there are a lot of monuments to Irish regiments and brigades) but you do not see (or at least I did not see) any monuments to Canadian regiments or brigades.

If over 30,000 Canadians fought in the Civil War then you can basically guarantee that a bunch of them found at Gettysburg. Canada, in my opinion, should recognize that and finance something to show this involvement in the war that basically defined America.

One day when I was walking around The Old English Church yard in St.Thomas Ontario, I noticed a headstone near the edge with a little American Flag on top of a GAR ( Grand Army of the Repulic)symbol. The marker was for Octavius Wallace who was killed at the Battle of Williamsburg on May 5th 1862 fighting for the Union Army. What is also
significant was that he is the first person buried there to be embalmed.

"... you have to see the place and actually see the Peach Orchard, Little Round Top, and Devil's Den to really understand it"

I always get a chill when I think of the events around the Union left nearly being turned as they rushed to secure the Round Tops before the Rebs could do so themselves.

Winfield Scott Hancock saw the danger and sent the First Minnesota regiment on a sucide mission to gain time.

Scott's alleged conversation with the colonel of the regiment went like this:

"Colonel, do you see those colors?" [of the Rebs who vastly outnumbered them across the way]

"Yes Sir."

"Then take them."

250 men went in, less than 50 came back alive, but they saved the Union line and, it could be argued, the Union itself.

I would have fought for Dixie! Look away baby!

Men, we are outnumbered and out of ammunition. Fix bayonets, and Charge!

1st of Maine, Little Round Top.

Another group of Canadian service men who the media, politicians and the Trudeaupian front have conveniently forgotten are the Canadian Viet Nam war dead/vets....many were dual citizens some weren't

http://www.mystae.com/reflections/vietnam/canada.html

http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/5344/cvvm.html

WL,

A lot of folks here in America haven't forgotten about all the brave Canadians that came down and volunteered for the Vietnam War. (I was in the AF and knew one in my squadron, a really nice guy from BC.)

And we also know there are Canadian names on the Vietnam Memorial wall in Washington, too. Their sacrifice is gratefully remembered.

Dave I was not referring to these Canadian service men being marginalized in the US...it was done here in Canada and done with all the coldness ideologue left wing politics could offer.

Black out in the media, no mention EVER by CBC...and I think they are still shut out of the Canadian war memorial in Ottawa...there is a small memorial in Windsor erected by private donors.

I know 2 Canadian VN war vets and their stories of trying to gain recognition by ANY Canadian government would make you cry.

Calixa Lavallée, who composed the music for "O Canada", served in the Union Army during the Civil War.

cconn
There were no foreign units serving in the American Civil War. The references you saw were to Union/Confederate units which used non-American identifiers. For example, the Irish Brigade was a New York unit which drew its soldiers from Irish immigrants. And the Zouave regiments were imitating French Army light infantry units.
FWIW: http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/visitor_information/Canadian_Cross.html

Cheers

The Government of Canada is under no obligation to recognize Canadian Vietnam vets. This was a foreign war fought for a foreign country.

No different than the "MacKenzie-Papineau" Battalion vets from the Spanish Civil War.

It's up to the US and Spain to recognize these vets, not Canada.

Otherwise, what's to stop a Canadian jihadist seeking "recognition" as a vet after returning from Iraq?

Hard lines but reality.

Doug at 8:38 am. November 22,

What you say about the war being between the US and Britain is, of course, true. However, most of the battles along the US Canada border were fought between local militias on both sides.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812

The AMERICAN CIVIL WAR was the first war in which a submarine was used to sink a enemy vessel in combat

The Battle of Gettysburg is quite an interest of mine. Some of my family fought there as part of some of the Maine regiments. I have an 1862 Springfield rifle that was carried there and used with some effect.

The fellow who first noticed the danger to Little Round Top on July 2 was General Warren, the army's chief engineer. He brought up General Vincent's brigade of the V Corps, which included the 20th Maine Regiment.

The 1st Minnesota Regiment was ordered to oppose an attack aginst Cemetary Ridge on July 2. They delayed it long enough to allow other regiments to come into line.

The monuments are wonderful pieces of art, but the National Cemetary means a great deal to me too, as does knowing that thousands of men still lie in unmarked graves near where visitors walk.