Border Crossers: Canadians Who Fought in the US Civil War of 1861 – 1865

British North America (BNA) was a British Colony until 1867 when it became the Dominion of Canada, consisting of the Provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Besides the original American combatants in the Civil War, there were others who sided with either the North or the South who didn’t appear to have an apparent stake in the conflict. It’s estimated that between 35,000 to 55,000 British North Americans fought for the Union in the North. It is considered that only a fraction of that number fought for the Rebel South. Why did these Canadians fight in a war not their own? Why did they did they join one side or the other?

History tells us:

  • Monetary bounties were paid by various State militias.
  • One in Michigan offered $400 to join up for the Union; others: $200 and $300.
  • Some Canadians raised their own companies to come and fight for the Union.
  • Many families emigrated from Canada to the U.S. Their Canadian relatives came down and joined to fight on whichever side their relatives were on.
  • Many American families went north for the Crown’s offer of free land under the United Empire Loyalist land grant system. They returned to the U.S. and fought on either side regardless of their oath to the king.
  • Canadians who were in the South and had commitments there when the war broke out stayed and fought like the protagonist of this novel.
  • Other Canadians from the Maritime: Provinces of Newfoundland, Prince Edwards Island, and Nova Scotia had family ties to the South. The Acadians: the French settlers who were forcibly removed in 1794 and later by the British to Louisiana came in support of family.
  • Over 30,000 runaway slaves from the South came to Canada between 1820 and 1860 during the Underground Railroad Era. Some stopped in the free states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or Ohio. After 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act required that slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state. This created continuing exodus to Canada. Many were recruited to reverse their travel, come down and join colored Union regiments to fight and free their relatives.
  • Some came for either side just for the adventure of it.