Many British citizens from the colony of Bermuda, especially from the "coloured" (a term in Bermuda used to designate anyone not entirely of European heritage) population, fought for the Union, either in the United States Navy or the United States Army. Among others, they included Robert Tappin (who had previously served in the US Navy from 1863 to 1864), John Wilson and Joseph Thomas of the 31st Colored Infantry Regiment, John Thompson of the 26th Colored Infantry, Wate O. Harris, of the 6th Coloured Infantry, and George Smith. The best-known of the coloured Bermudians to serve in the Union army was First Sergeant Robert John Simmons of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, who had previously served in the British Army in Bermuda. Simmons was to die of wounds following the Second Battle of Fort Wagner, on the outskirts of the Bermudian settlement of Charleston, South Carolina, where most of the weapons run through the blockade from Bermuda were landed. Other British citizens who were active in the war included numerous Irish emigres, who served in large numbers on both sides. Many of these Irish veterans took part in the Fenian raids on Canada after the war, and Britain strengthened the defences in Bermuda because of fear of similar raids there or a feared punitive invasion of the colony by the United States.