Narrative of the Fenian invasion of Canada

by Alexander Somerville

Whether the three had an overflow of courage at Colborne before the hour of trial, or were only in their normal condition of heroes, held back and impatient of restraint, may never be known. But though each became separated from the other two in the operations of next day, each earned the distinction of avoiding, in a conspicuous hurry, the risk of captivity with the Fenians. Colonel Dennis when attacked at the village, ran down Niagara side, reached the house of Mr. Thomas, shaved off his beard, and changed his clothes and so escaped capture. Capt. Akers, by his own account, made tracks through the woods towards Port Colborne in a buggy, at the same time as Colonel Dennis shaved himself, that is about 2 p. m. Lieut.-Col. Booker had then reached Colborne from the battle of Limestone Ridge thirteen miles, much flurried.

The other marked passages in Colonel Peacocke’s report refer to the delay caused by want of haversacks with the volunteers, and the time at which he got a message from Lieut.-Col. Booker through Detective Armstrong. This last falls to be noticed in next chapter but one. Major Denison says, referring to Chippewa, morning of June 2:

“Colonel Peacocke’s reinforcements were to join him sometime in the morning, and being anxious that there should be no delay in starting, he telegraphed back to Hamilton and St. Catharines directing that the reinforcements should bring with them a supply of cooked provisions, so that no delay should be occasioned by waiting to get breakfast for the men after they arrived. At about 4.30 a. m. the expected reinforcements came up and after being unloaded, Colonel Peacocke mentioned to the officers commanding that he should march at six o’clock, it being then nearly five. They at once objected on account of their men not having had any breakfast, and very little to eat the whole of the previous day, and they were unable to bring anything with them, as they were unprovided with haversacks in which to carry it.”

Severe animadversions have been directed against this commander for his having delayed on that morning to give his own regiment and other regulars breakfast, while the Hamilton, and Toronto Volunteers had marched to battle while fasting. It was the volunteers, newly arrived at Chippewa, not the regulars, for whom breakfast and delay were requisite. Whatever the degree of misfortune may have been, arising from that circumstance, it was directly traceable to the misjudged economy of the Provincial executive in not having provided equipments for volunteers suitable for the field and to the negligence of commanding officers, who preferred scrupulous attention to the inferior trifles of parade show, well enough in their way, but not vital to the soldier’s efficiency in fight, existence under privation. Two more passages are here materially important.

“Being unwilling to set out upon a very severe march, to finish probably with a severe battle, and through a country where it would be difficult to get food, Col. Peacocke decided it would be better to wait an hour to enable the men to get breakfast, and immediately telegraphed to Lieut.-Col. Booker to delay his march an hour. This message, did not reach him until he was engaged with the enemy. Had he started at the proper time he would have received the message before he left, for even to have reached Stevensville at 9.30 it was not necessary for him to leave Port Colborne until six. He was at the battle ground, three miles from Stevensville at 7.30; and if not interrupted would have reached Stevensville at 8.30, about an hour earlier than Capt. Akers mentioned, and two hours before Colonel Peacocke’s time of junction. This mistake of one hour led to his not receiving the message to delay, and therefore caused him to be really three hours too soon.

“It must not be forgotten that at the time Colonel Peacocke decided to wait that there was no reason for him to fear any ill result from the delay. At that time he expected that a heavy battle would take place, before the Fenians would be driven out, and that instead of the object being to prevent them getting out of the country, the opinion of every one was, that the great difficulty would be to drive them out, and that he was right in proceeding cautiously with that object in view. At any rate he anticipated that the steamer (for which he had given orders to be employed) would have prevented their escape.”

In another passage the writer speaks thus, of the plans of Dennis, Booker and Akers, at Colborne in contravention of their chief at Chippewa;

“There was the commanding officer’s plan changed by his subordinates almost at the moment of execution. The three officers whom he had charged with the execution of his orders, even including the staff officer who carried them, coolly forming themselves into a mimic council of war, aided by a customs officer, and unitedly deciding upon a plan which has been previously shown to be absurd, a plan for cutting off the Fenian retreat to the east, but leaving the whole country open to them to the west, as well as uncovering the canal they were sent to protect.

“Again Lieut.-Col. Dennis’s instructions were to wait further orders before any attack was made; and yet Capt Akers says, he was anxious to move with the volunteers at once without arranging a junction with Colonel Peacocke. Capt. Akers was sent to go with Lieut.-Col. Booker, and consult and advise with him on Col. Peacocke’s plan, and assist him in carrying it out. Col. Dennis was sent to command the ‘Queen’s Own,’ and yet before receiving any answer from Col. Peacocke, both these officers, in disobedience to orders, went off in the tug to carry out their own plan.

“The only way in which their conduct can be accounted for is, that they were so confident that Col. Peacocke would at once fall in with their plan of operation in lieu of his own, that they never, for one moment, calculated that his answer would be in the negative. Being imbued with this idea it can readily be imagined that Capt. Akers would not be very particular in going into details and explaining minutely to Lieut.-Col. Booker the plan which they had both looked upon as virtually abandoned. It can also be conceived, even if Capt. Akers did enter minutely into the details of the plan laid down by Col. Peacocke, that Lieut.-Col. Booker believing that it was a useless precaution, would not give so close attention to it, or be able so clearly to remember it, as if he felt when he heard it he was about setting out to put it in execution.