Today in 1864, the northernmost land action of the Civil War took place in St. Albans, Vermont. It was a controversial raid from Canada by C...
Today in 1864, the northernmost land action of the Civil War took place in St. Albans, Vermont. It was a controversial raid from Canada by Confederate soldiers meant to rob banks to raise money and to trick the Union Army into diverting troops to defend their northern border against further raids. Shortly before 3 p.m. 21 men staged simultaneous robberies of the city's three banks. They identified themselves as Confederate soldiers and took a total of $208,000 (US$ 3,190,000 in 2017). During the robberies, eight or nine Confederates held the villagers at gun point on the village green, taking their horses to prevent pursuit. Several armed villagers tried to resist, and one was killed and another wounded. The raiders escaped to Canada, despite a delayed pursuit.
In response to U.S. demands, the Canadian authorities arrested the raiders, recovering $88,000. However, a Canadian court ruled that because they were soldiers under military orders, officially neutral Canada could not extradite them. Canada freed the raiders, but returned to St. Albans the money they had found. As an unintended consequence, the raid served to turn many Canadians against the Confederacy, since they felt that Canada was being drawn into the conflict without its consent. The Confederate agents in Canada realized this and no further raids were made.
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