On June 1, 1866, Irish-American revolutionaries called Fenians invaded Canada in an effort to strike at Britain and support the creation of an independent Irish republic. The next morning, Canadian militiamen from the Queen's Own Rifles, the 13th Battalion, and the York and Caledonia rifle companies, under Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Booker, arrived here by train before marching to confront the Fenian invaders. Contradictory orders and confusion on the battlefield coincided with a Fenian counterattack and caused the Canadians to withdraw. The Fenians then retired to Fort Erie and returned to Buffalo that night. The Battle of Ridgeway shocked the country, spurred improvements to Canada's defences, and helped bolster the Confederation movement.