What was Canadian public opinion re ACW?

There have been threads involving Britain intervening in favor of the treasonous rebels in the Civil War.

Plainly in such a conflict Canada would be front and center. What did Canadians think?

I ask this with no idea about the sympathies of that particular community.
 

67th Tigers

Banned
There was a general feeling that eventually war with the US was inevitable, and best to get it over with whilst the US was divided.
 

MacCaulay

Banned
There was a general feeling that eventually war with the US was inevitable, and best to get it over with whilst the US was divided.

There were thousands and possibly even tens of thousands of Canadians who joined the Union army during the Civil War. During the campaigns in the Canadian West afterwards, most experienced commanders got that experience not from fighting in their own country but from fighting for the Union.
 
Well Canadians helped smuggle freed slaves north via the Underground Railroad, however the USA was very angry with Britain and British North America for supplying weapons and supplies to the Confederates which strained relations.

On top of that, some leaders in what would become Canada saw that a decentralized America lead to their civil war and so they felt a more centralized and unified country would be stronger and not face such a dilemma.

As mentioned earlier, the USA's anger towards the British Empire for supplying the enemy was also a factor in Confederation with several leaders knowing that a unified British North America would be stronger and less dependent on Britain.
 
As I understand it the Canadian population basically boiled down to four camps:

1) the Native/metis/fur trading group who tended to be in the north and west. Leave us alone while we make money and try to survive.
2) secular dominated french Quebec who was more concerned about families, faith and proper respect for the Catholic church.
3) the maritime settlements who had many relations in the NE states from trading and fishing. Think the passive nuetrality of the war of 1812...we'll fight to defend but why would we want to attack our friends/family.
4) English dominated Canada. Although this was a large percentage of the crown representatives and the most hawkish it also represented much of the most vulnerable land around the Niagra pennisula. An honest respect for the forces against them meant that any war would be more defensive in the absence of massive reinforcement from England. Also much of the Underground railroad ended in these communities.

Personally..given the amount of cross border movement at the time between Canada and the northern states I can see many men at the time going off to war as "the thing to do" with family ties being a big draw. If all your cousins accross some imaginary line are heading out do you really want to face the next reunion without having tried to join as well? With large families and limited prime farmland available any alternative to farming rock would be attractive. But to pick a fight given the difference in sizes of population would be stupid and hard sell to any Canadian at the time who had travelled some.
 
There were thousands and possibly even tens of thousands of Canadians who joined the Union army during the Civil War. During the campaigns in the Canadian West afterwards, most experienced commanders got that experience not from fighting in their own country but from fighting for the Union.

Wow, I didn't know this.

Doubtless they were just working to take us down from the inside.
 
Not the only time this happened. I've heard up to 50,000 Canadians served in Vietnam as well...which means more Canadians served under US colors than draft dodgers came here.

Check out the list of the Medal of Honor winners....quite a few Canadians listed from several conflicts.
 

MacCaulay

Banned
Wow, I didn't know this.

Doubtless they were just working to take us down from the inside.
:D

There's a good book about it, Canadians in the Civil War. There's another one also, Uneasy Neighbours. They both give a pretty good overview, though obviously the first is more focused on the ACW. Uneasy Neighbours is about Canadian military history from right after the French and Indian War up to World War I.
 

Cook

Banned
Well Canadians helped smuggle freed slaves north via the Underground Railroad, however the USA was very angry with Britain and British North America for supplying weapons and supplies to the Confederates which strained relations.

Didn’t the British also sell an enormous number of rifles (Rifled muskets if you prefer) to the Union?
 

67th Tigers

Banned
Didn’t the British also sell an enormous number of rifles (Rifled muskets if you prefer) to the Union?

Yes, about 400,000. More than to the CSA. The Enfield was the only longarm they continued to buy even after Springfield had come upto speed (by several large purchases of machine tools from Britain).

In the first year the US purchased ca. 727,000 longarms from Europe, including all the rubbish that was useless. Even some flintlocks were apparently purchased.
 
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