Page:History of the Fenian raid on Fort Erie with an account of the Battle of Ridgeway.djvu/52

Rh The substantial cause of the retreat, however, was, without doubt, the fact of the reserves being in close column, and in square, so close to the skirmishers as to be under fire.

The most difficult thing that soldiers can be called upon to perform, is to deploy or execute any movement from close or quarter distance column, while exposed to the fire of the enemy. The best disciplined veterans in the world will often be thrown into confusion, if endeavoring to deploy from column under fire. The Old Guard of Napoleon, the victors of a hundred fights, the men who never failed to retrieve the fortunes of their Emperor, wherever he trusted to their efforts, failed him at his last great battle, at the battle that was to decide his fortunes forever. They did not fail him for want of bravery, from want of enthusiasm, or from want of endurance, but solely because they were thrown upon the English line in immense columns, in a formation in which they could neither fight, manoeuvre, or retreat in order.

If these veterans could not deploy from column under fire, how could our lads, who, for the first time in their lives, were seeing shots fired in anger? If the French columns at Albuera were cut to pieces by Cole's Fusilier Brigade, and the Russian column at Alma driven off the field by Lacy Yea and his regiment, by reason of their using this heavy formation, how could we hope for more from the inexperienced volunteers at Ridgeway? This was the great mistake: had the reserves been a few hundred yards farther back, they could have deployed or extended, and, perhaps, have retrieved the day. Under any circumstances, the fences on the flanks should have been at once levelled, when they took up their position, because, where they stood, being cooped up between fences, they could not execute any manoeuvre without getting into confusion.

The Fenians only followed them as far as Ridgeway and about a quarter of a mile beyond it.

There was no doubt that the men and officers behaved well; they fought with the greatest gallantry, and, had it