This petition asks the federal government to add the names of Canadian militiamen who died during the 1866 Fenian Raids — including the nine killed at the Battle of Ridgeway — to Canada's Books of Remembrance in the Parliament Hill Memorial Chamber.

The Battle of Ridgeway was fought on June 2, 1866, in what is now Fort Erie, Ontario, by Canadian militiamen defending the territory and people of what would become Canada;

Nine Canadian militiamen were killed during the Battle of Ridgeway, and additional Canadians later died from wounds or disease contracted during the 1866 Fenian Raids campaign;

Those who died during the campaign were among the first combat dead of what would become the Canadian Army;

The service and sacrifice of those Canadians are not presently commemorated in Canada’s Books of Remembrance in the Memorial Chamber on Parliament Hill;

Canada’s Books of Remembrance already commemorate individuals who died defending territories that became part of Canada before Confederation or before their entry into Confederation; and

Permanent recognition in Canada’s Books of Remembrance would ensure that the Canadians who gave their lives during the 1866 Fenian Raids campaign are appropriately honoured as part of Canada’s military history.

We, the undersigned,Citizens and residents of Canada, call upon theGovernment of Canadato formally recognize the nine Canadian militiamen killed at the Battle of Ridgeway, together with the additional Canadians who died from wounds or disease contracted during the 1866 Fenian Raids campaign, by including their names in Canada’s Books of Remembrance, as befits their sacrifice defending our nascent country.