US authorities blocked passage of the Chicora for several weeks, delaying Wolseley's response to the Red River Rebellion.

Marie Canal on the Canadian side of the river, allowing unfettered access to the Lake Superior.

In May 1870, Colonel Wolseley and his British troops, being transported on the steamer Chicora, were heading west to supply munitions, soldiers, and supplies to Fort Garry in Manitoba to quell the Red River Rebellion occurring in that province.

[1] The Sault Sainte Marie Canal, under the administration of the United States, refused to allow the Chicora to pass through.

[1] The incident raised questions regarding Canadian dependency on the American canal,[3] and spurred the construction of the Sault Ste.