Page:History of the Fenian raid on Fort Erie with an account of the Battle of Ridgeway.djvu/26

Rh with pontoon trains, and had no means of effecting a crossing. The left flank of the Fenians would by this plan have been protected by Lake Erie, and our forces would have been compelled to attack them from the front, between Welland and Port Colborne, they could then have easily fallen back to the river, and escaped on their boats to the other side, this could all have been accomplished in one day, had they been sufficiently energetic. Fortunate indeed was it for us that they bungled and hesitated as they did. Having thus considered and discussed what the Fenians might have done, and what our authorities had to fear, I shall proceed to show in the next chapter the movements made to counteract their designs.