The O'Mahony section did not answer very heartily
to this invitation; the Senate party indignantly rejected it, and
commenced to occupy themselves with preparations for an immediate
grapple with British power in Canada. Those men were thoroughly in
earnest, and the fact became plain to every intelligence, when in the
latter part of May, 1866, the Fenian contingents from the various States
of the Union began to concentrate on the Canadian border. On the morning
of the 1st of June some hundreds of them crossed the Niagara river, and
took possession of the village of Fort Erie on the Canadian side. They
were soon confronted with detachments of the volunteer force which had
been collected to resist the invasion, and at Limestone Ridge they were
met by the "Queen's Own" regiment of volunteers from Toronto, under the
command of Colonel Booker. A smart battle ensued, the result of which
was that the "Queen's Own" were utterly routed by the Irish under
Colonel John O'Neill, and forced to run in wild confusion for a town
some miles distant, Colonel Booker on his charger leading the way and
distancing all competitors. Had the Irish been allowed to follow up this
victory it is not unlikely that they would have swept Canada clear of
the British forces, and then, according to their programme, made that
country their base of operations against British power in Ireland.
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