This article covers Canada and the American Civil War. The United Kingdom (and therefore its North American colonies) was officially neutral for the duration of the American Civil War and sympathies in the nation were divided. Despite this, tensions between Britain and the North were high due to incidents on the seas such as the canada and the american civil war and the Confederate commissioning of the CSS Alabama from Britain. If the conflict had continued to escalate Canada would have been the first target of Union forces. During the war Britain thus reinforced its garrisons in Canada. Many Canadians also felt the smaller, weaker United States that would result from the separation of the South would be a positive development. The American Civil War (1861–1865) was fought in North America within the United States of America, between twenty-four mostly northern states of the Union and the Confederate States of America, a coalition of eleven southern states that declared their independence and claimed the right of secession from the... CSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built for the Confederate States Navy at Birkenhead in 1862 by John Laird Sons and Company of Liverpool. ...

At the same time, however, Canadians were almost universally opposed to slavery, which had been illegal in Canada since 1793, and Canada had long been the terminus of the Underground Railroad. Close economic and cultural links across the long border also encouraged Canadian sympathy towards the North. The Buxton Memorial Fountain, celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, London. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Act Against Slavery, Upper Canada, 1793 The Act Against Slavery was an Act passed by Upper Canada on 1793-07-09 to prohibit slavery. ... Map of some Underground Railroad routes This page is about the slave escape route. ...

Confederate Activity in Canada

Because of Canada's neutrality and some sympathy for the Southern cause, Canada became home to a number of Confederate operations during the war. In December 1863, the Confederates captured the American ship Chesapeake and took it to Halifax harbour. The Northern forces then launched an operation to retake the ship, in Canadian waters, and captured two Nova Scotians aboard it. 1863 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Please read first: This article is about the Nova Scotia community. ... | TotalArea = 55,283 | LandArea = 53,338 | WaterArea = 1,946 | PercentWater = 3. ...

The most controversial incident was the St. Albans Raid. Montreal had become home to a group of Confederates attempting to launch covert and intelligence operations from Canada against the North. In October 1864, they attacked St. Albans, Vermont and robbed banks. They fled and were pursued by Union forces over the Canadian border, creating a diplomatic incident. The Canadians then arrested the Confederate raiders, but the charges against them were dismissed. City motto: Concordia Salus (Latin: Well-being through harmony) Province Quebec Mayor Gérald Tremblay Area  - % water 500. ... 1864 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... St. ...

Enlisted Canadians

Many Canadian-born men are believed to have fought in the Civil War. There are no exact figures, but estimates have ranged from 40,000 to 100,000 men, although the late Yale historian, Robin Winks, has shown that there is no basis to these estimates. But it is very certain that several thousand definitely did serve in the war. The largest group were those who had immigrated to the United States sometime before the conflict and had been in the United States for some time. A significant number of Canadians seeking employment and adventure did join the conflict from Canada, mostly enlisting with the Northern side. A number of Canadians were secured for the Northern army through crimping, whereby men were drugged or intoxicated and then spirited across the border. The majority of Canadians who served in the war fought with the Northern army; it is unclear how many served with the Confederacy, but the number was most likely small.

At least twenty-nine Canadian-born men were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. For the computer game, see Medal of Honor (computer game). ...

Economic effects

The Civil War period was one of booming economic growth for the BNA colonies. The war in the United States created a huge market for Canada's agricultural and manufactured goods, most of which went to the northern side. The collapse in American exports to the world also led to increases in the prices of many of Canada's exports.

Political Effects

The American Civil War had extremely important political effects on the BNA colonies. The tensions between the victorious North and Canada led to great concern for the security and independence of the colonies, creating an important motivational force for Canadian Confederation in 1867. We dont have an article called Canadian-confederation Start this article Search for Canadian-confederation in. ... 1867 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

The bloody conflict also had an important effect on Canada's constitution. Leading Canadians decided that the secessionist war was caused by too much power being given to the states, and thus decided to create a more centralized federation. It was also believed that an excess of democracy, commonly referred to as mobocracy, was a contributing factor and the Canadian system was thus deliberately made less democratic with institutions such as the unelected Senate and powers of the British appointed Governor-General, who until the 1931 Statute of Westminster was an official of the United Kingdom government. Mobocracy is a term used to describe a state of affairs, in politics or other organizational behavior where decision making procedures, discourse and process have broken down and a temporary majority forces issues without regard to established norms or the rights of the minority. ... The Senate (French: Sénat) is a component of the Parliament of Canada, which also includes the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General) and the House of Commons. ... The Governor General and Commander-in-Chief in and over Canada, normally simply known as the Governor General of Canada in French, Gouverneur(e) général(e) is the Canadian representative of the monarch (presently Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II). ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... The Statute of Westminster 1931 was the enactment of the United Kingdom Parliament (December 11, 1931) which established a status of legislative equality between the self-governing dominions of the British Empire and the United Kingdom. ...

External links

• Canadians in the American Civil War