If you have not read the new Regimental history (and why haven’t you?), then you may be under the impression that one of the original independent companies in Ontario County fought at the Battle of Ridgeway in June 1866. This claim is made in the Regimental history that was published in 1951 and repeated in many brief histories of the Regiment that have been produced since.
During my research for the Regimental history I discovered that this story is simply not true. None of the independent companies of Ontario County were at the Battle of Ridgeway on June 2, 1866. That is not to say that they weren’t involved during the Fenian crisis, because they were. They arrived in the Niagara area after the battle was over. This is the case for most of the militia units that served during the late spring and early summer of 1866. The only Canadian militia units involved in the actual battle were the Queen’s Own Rifles, the 13th Battalion, the Caledonia Rifle Company and the York Rifle Company.
The incorrect Ridgeway claim begins to appear in some informal, internal Regimental documents during the 1930s. There was no mention of it in J.E. Farewell’s 1907 book on the history of Ontario County. His militia career was in its beginning in 1866 so he had personal experience of the events of the time.
So how did this misunderstanding arise? My guess is that it came from the fact that the soldiers called to active service in 1866 were awarded the Canada General Service Medal (1866-1870) with Fenian Raid 1866 clasp. Researchers of the 1930s may have misconstrued that to mean that the soldiers were actually at Ridgeway. Regardless, the myth was created and it lived on for 90 years.
So what role did the independent companies of Ontario County have during the Fenian raid of June 1866? It was well known that the Fenians were marching north in May 1866. The first Canadian militia units were mobilized on May 31 but Ontario County was not included. On the evening of June 1 the rifle companies in Oshawa, Whitby, Brooklin and Columbus were mobilized with orders to be ready to move to Toronto the following morning. The movements of the rifle companies were not described is as much detail by the contemporary Oshawa and Whitby newspapers as were the infantry companies. The rifle companies left for Toronto on the morning of June 2 and the Oshawa Vindicator stated that “…about 3 o’clock Sunday, the Oshawa Rifles were marching in battle array on Fort Erie. To their great disappointment, the Fenians had fled before they had a chance of attack.” The Oshawa Rifles captured some Fenian stragglers who were left behind when the main body retreated.
The infantry companies at Oshawa, Whitby, Greenwood, Prince Albert and Uxbridge were also mobilized on June 1 and ordered to muster locally and then make their way to Oshawa for further orders on June 2. They were all assembled by mid-day and spent the afternoon in drill. Later in the day they heard of the battle at Ridgeway and knew that Canadian casualties had been incurred. That evening the infantry companies waited at the Oshawa train station. Finally at 3:00 am their train arrived and they journeyed to Toronto. The Oshawa, Whitby and Greenwood companies continued on to Niagara while the Prince Albert and Uxbridge companies remained in Toronto to guard Fenian prisoners. Later in the month the Uxbridge Infantry served at Kingston and then Oshawa where there were rumours of Fenian activity.
Although the main battle was over, the situation was unclear. The militia companies from Ontario County and others from across Canada West remained stationed at border points, carrying out patrols and guarding key sites such as the Grand Trunk Railway Suspension Bridge. The Ontario County companies were released from active service and returned home between June 18 and 20.
There was a local connection to the Battle of Ridgeway. William Tempest was born in Whitby and had moved to Toronto with his family in 1865. Tempest was a university student and member of the Queen’s Own Rifles at the time of the Fenian incursion. He was a nephew of Major Silas Fairbanks, at the time the commander of the Oshawa Infantry Company and later the first commanding officer of the 34th Ontario Battalion of Infantry. Tempest was one of nine Canadian militiamen killed during the Battle of Ridgeway.
Rod Henderson
Rod Henderson is the Regimental Historian of the Ontario Regiment. He served as a Sergeant in the Regiment and is the author of “Fidelis Et Paratus: The History of The Ontario Regiment RCAC”.