Orangemen and War
In 1913, the Orange Association of Manitoba volunteered a regiment to fight with the Ulster Volunteers against the British government if Home Rule were to be introduced to Ireland.
Orangemen played a big part in suppressing the Upper Canada Rebellion of William Lyon Mackenzie in 1837. Though the rebellion was short-lived, 317 Orangemen were sworn in to the local militia by the Mayor of Toronto and then resisted Mackenzie's march down Yonge Street in 1837.
They were involved in fighting against the Fenians at Ridgeway, Ontario in 1866. An obelisk there marks the spot where Orangemen died in defending the colony against an attack by members of Clan na Gael (commonly known as Fenians).
Orangemen in western Canada helped suppress the rebellions of Louis Riel in 1870 and 1885. The murder of abducted Orangeman Thomas Scott was a turning point in the 1870 Red River Rebellion which caused the Dominion government to launch the Red River Expedition to restore order. The first Orange Warrant in Manitoba and the North West Territories was carried by a member of this expedition.
The call to arms by Bro. Sir Samuel Hughes, the Canadian Minister for War and member of LOL 557 Lindsay Ontario, resulted in some 80,000 members from Canada volunteering for service during the First World War.
Read more about this topic: Orange Order In Canada
Famous quotes containing the words orangemen and/or war:
“Don’t you hear his cannons roar?
We’ll be Orangemen no more
Says the Shan Van Vocht.”
—Unknown. The Shan Van Vocht (l. 10–12)
“Tanks. In any normal war they’re a beautiful sight, on your side.”
—Richard Blake, and William Cameron Menzies. Col. Fielding (Millburn Stone)