Nine Canadian militiamen killed fighting American-based raiders at the Battle of Ridgeway in 1866 should be formally added to Canada’s Books of Remembrance, according to a new House of Commons petition.Blacklock's Reporter says Petition E-7642 calls on Parliament to correct what petitioners describe as a longstanding omission involving some of the earliest soldiers killed in combat under Canadian command.“Those who died during the campaign were among the first combat dead of what would become the Canadian Army,” petitioners wrote.The Books of Remembrance, kept in the Memorial Chamber on Parliament Hill, commemorate Canadians who died during military service and include names dating back to the War of 1812.The nine Canadians killed at Ridgeway are not among them.The Battle of Ridgeway was fought June 2, 1866, near Fort Erie, Ont., during the Fenian Raids.Canadian farmers, shopkeepers and other militiamen, including members of the Queen’s Own Rifles, confronted approximately 1,000 Irish nationalists who had crossed the Niagara River from Buffalo, N.Y.Many of the raiders were veterans of the U.S. Civil War.Their plan was to march inland, capture the Welland Canal and cut the Grand Trunk Railway's main line at Brantford, Ont.The campaign failed, but the one-day battle left nine Canadian militiamen dead and dozens wounded.Legion Magazine described the battle in a 2021 commentary as a significant moment in Canadian military history.“The Battle of Ridgeway was the first battle fought exclusively by Canadian troops led by Canadian officers,” wrote a historian. “Nine Canadians died on the battlefield and dozens were injured.”.The Commons petition is sponsored by Conservative MP Fred Davies, who represents Niagara South, Ont. Davies did not comment on the petition.It asks Parliament to “formally recognize the nine Canadian militiamen killed at the Battle of Ridgeway together with additional Canadians who died from wounds or disease contracted during the 1866 Fenian Raids by including their names in Canada’s Book of Remembrance.”“The service and sacrifice of those Canadians are not presently commemorated in Canada’s Books of Remembrance in the Memorial Chamber on Parliament Hill,” petitioners wrote.Among those killed was Ensign Malcolm McEachern of the Queen’s Own Rifles, identified as the first Canadian casualty of the battle.McEachern was shot by an Irish sniper during the opening minutes of fighting.“Tell my wife to bring up the children in fear of the Lord,” McEachern said before dying, according to eyewitness accounts.The last Canadian veteran of the battle, militiaman William McElroy of Thorold, Ont., later moved to Buffalo. He died in 1938 at the age of 90 after donating his medals to the Buffalo Historical Society.Petitioners said adding the names of the fallen militiamen to the Books of Remembrance would correct an omission that has persisted for more than 150 years.“Permanent recognition in Canada’s Books of Remembrance would ensure Canadians who gave their lives during the 1866 Fenian Raids are appropriately honoured as part of Canada’s military history,” they wrote.
