Taking place in St. Albans, Vermont, on October 19, 1864, it was a raid conducted out of the Province of Canada by 21 Confederate soldiers who had recently failed in engagements with the Union Army and evaded subsequent capture in the United States.

Young was commissioned as a lieutenant and returned to Canada, where he recruited other escaped Confederates for a raid on St. Albans, Vermont, a quiet city just 15 miles (24 km) from the Canada–U.S.

More people reached the hotel throughout the day; the city served as an ideal starting-point because it was within 1 mile (1.6 km) of the Canada–United States border.

Young was planning for a series of raids beginning with St. Albans, which was chosen first because it was close to the border and well-connected through roads, railways, and waterways.

[2] The twenty-two young raiders planned to rob three banks—the First National, St. Albans, and Franklin County Banks—and then set fire to the town using incendiaries.

Most townspeople "believed it was a joke or a prank", but one of the raiders soon announced "we are Confederate soldiers and you are my prisoners" they robbed St. Albans Bank, the first of the three.

Soon, resistance emerged in the form of Captain George Conger, a member of the 1st Vermont Infantry Regiment on leave, who began alerting the rest of the town and raised a group to fight back.

The fight was broken up by a British officer who saw that Conger's entourage returned to Vermont and that Young and seven other captured raiders were soon brought to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, where "they were treated as heroes".

"[9] In Europe, news of the raid and subsequent speculation of war between Britain and the U.S. increased the price of Confederate gold bonds.

[10] As an unintended consequence, the raid served to turn many Canadians against the Confederacy since they felt that Canada was being drawn into the conflict without its consent.