A little over a year after the end of the Civil War, a private army of Irish-Americans marched into battle to undertake one of the most fantastical missions in military history—to kidnap Canada and ransom it for Ireland’s independence. It may sound like a bunch of blarney, but it’s a true story. In fact, the self-proclaimed Irish Republican Army attacked Canada from the United States not just once, but five times between 1866 and 1871 in what are collectively known as the Fenian Raids.

If you have never heard of the Fenian Raids before, you’re hardly alone. In fact, you could fill a library with books that tell amazing stories from the past that you never learned in your history classes. For LitHub, I wrote about five such little-known moments in history that are the subjects of riveting reads. Click here to read the piece. And if you’d like to know more about the Fenian Raids, pick up a copy of WHEN THE IRISH INVADED CANADA.