Page:History of the Fenian raid on Fort Erie with an account of the Battle of Ridgeway.djvu/42

Rh near Ridgeway the men refused to go any further, and getting out he got a waggon and drove on in the direction of where the battle of Ridgeway was at this time commencing, after going as far as the man could drive him, he walked on and gave Lieut.-Col. Booker the message.

It will be necessary to leave Lieut.-Col. Booker's column on their way to Ridgeway, and go back to Col. Peacock whom we left at Chippawa gathering up information and trace the causes which led to his telegram directing Lieut.-Col. Booker to delay an hour.

As mentioned in the beginning of this chapter, Col. Peacook's re-inforcements were to join him some time 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 re-inforcements 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 re-inforcements came up, and after being unloaded, Col. Peacock mentioned to the officers commanding that he should start 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 had been unable to bring anything with them, as they were unprovided with havresacks in which to carry it. 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. Peacock 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, it will be remembered, did not reach Lieut.-Col. Booker till he was already 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 have left Port Colborne until 6, he