author
John A. (John Alexander) MacDonald
1846–1922
A veteran of the Fenian Raids, this Canadian writer turned firsthand experience into vivid military history. His best-known work revisits the border tensions of 1866 and 1870 with the eye of someone who had been there.
1 Audiobook
Troublous Times in Canada A History of the Fenian Raids of 1866 and 1870
by John A. (John Alexander) MacDonald
About the author
Born in 1846 and dying in 1922, John A. MacDonald is best remembered for Troublous Times in Canada: A History of the Fenian Raids of 1866 and 1870, published in 1910. The book presents a detailed account of the Fenian incursions into Canada and reflects his strong interest in preserving that chapter of Canadian history.
He identified himself as "Capt. John A. MacDonald" and as "a veteran of 1866 and 1870," which gives his writing a personal connection to the events he described. That firsthand link helps explain the book's direct, memorial tone and its focus on the service of Canadian volunteers.
Reliable biographical details beyond those points are limited in the sources found here, so it is safest to remember him as a Canadian historical writer and veteran whose surviving reputation rests mainly on this one substantial work.