The Battle of Eccles Hill () was part of a raid into Canadian territory from the United States led by John O'Neill of the Fenian Brotherhood, intended to pressure Great Britain to grant sovereignty to Ireland. In 1870, the Fenians crossed the Canadian border and proceeded to the top of Eccles Hill where they were confronted by members of the Canadian home guard and volunteers. The Fenians were overwhelmed by local militia units and armed citizens on May 25, 1870, and were compelled to abandon what was anticipated to have been a "glorious victory". John O'Neill and the "Fenian Raid" John O'Neill initially called for the intrusion to go as far as St.Jean and Richmond, which was by the waterway coming from Montreal. He was looking there because the waterway reached the ultimate goal, the Canadian Railroad. The Fenians needed to have numerous organized assaults happening simultaneously. On May 25, 1870, O'Neill had over 200 troopers. He traveled to Franklin, Vermont, and from there to Eccles Hill, Canada. In O'Neill's march to Canada, he encountered George Foster, a U.S. Marshal, twice before crossing the border. In their first encounter, Foster warned the men of a new set of neutrality laws. The Fenians ignored the Marshal and continued over the border. The marshal warned them that Canadian riflemen awaited them at Eccles Hill, acting under orders from British and Canadian officials whose informants within the Fenian Brotherhood provided them with details of the intended attack. Prelude Within the morning, the self-proclaimed Irish Republic Army was walking to the battlegrounds on May 25, 1870. Within the distance, Fenian activists, working from Vermont, collected on May 25 to organize a second intrusion of the Montreal region (a comparable Fenian endeavor beneath Samuel Stick had attacked Canadian region in 1866) when they saw the Irish coming their way. General O'Neill gave the arrange to charge at the Irish armed force. At that minute, the Irish charged at the Fenian armed force (?). 400 Irish men charged into-Canada. Within the meantime, the Canadians were able to secure the frontier of Ontario and Quebec alongside the Canadian army. Without alarming the Fenians of their whereabouts. Battle On May 25, 1870, a force of Canadian militia and armed citizens awaited the Fenians at the summit of Eccles Hill. When the Fenians charged the Irish (?), it was a perfect time for James Pell of Dunham to crawl