Narrative of the Fenian invasion of CanadaSomerville, Alexander
History
Narrative of the Fenian invasion of Canada
Somerville, Alexander
Canada -- History -- Fenian Invasions, 1866-1870
heart and voice, “Rule Britannia,” the “Red White and Blue,” and
other loyal songs.
Reverting to the departure of regulars and volunteers from Hamilton
on 1st of June. On the previous day about 4 p. m. the 16th of H.
M. army, the head-quarters, right wing, at Hamilton under Colonel
George Peacocke, was kept within barracks. Intelligence had then
arrived from the General commanding in chief that a Fenian invasion
was expected. During the same day a sergeant of the volunteer 13th
went to the dwellings of the members warning them to assemble at
the drill-shed at 6 a. m. next morning. They came; most of them
without breakfast. They were told, says Lieut.-Col. Booker, to get
breakfast for they were going to meet the enemy and he did not know
when they would return. [Statement to Court of Inquiry]. Some went to
breakfast; others did not. A few, about one-fifth of the whole—the
parade state of that morning being 265 of all ranks, had haversacks.
They were chiefly men who had been on previous frontier service.
Therefore the need of their having that article had long been known
to the commanding officer. He also knew they were without knapsacks.
He addressed the battalion in the drill-shed, when about to march,
in these terms: “Men of the Thirteenth, you are once more called out
for duty. You will now, as you did before, _follow me_. You have no
knapsacks, but I can promise that if you do not behave yourselves
before the enemy as soldiers should do, you will get plenty of
‘knapsack drill’.” [_Written statement laid before me by men of the
13th, who offered to attest it_]. There was nothing contrary to
good military rule in these words. But in memory of the fact that a
portion of the battalion had been five months on frontier service at
Windsor not under his command, but under an officer from another city
equally vigilant if less pretentious, and had not one defaulter all
the time, the taunt of knapsack drill, that is, punishment drill,
was not then in the line of discretion. The words _follow me_, were
afterwards remembered. This address on the morning of June 1, is
noted here, however, principally to show that Colonel Booker, for
several years Militia Commandant of the city as well as Lieut.-Col.
of the 13th, was familiar with the deficiency of field equipments.
This battalion, small in numbers, several men and officers having
been then absent from the city who afterwards overtook it on the
frontier, marched to the railway depot accompanied by many citizens
who heartily prayed for blessings on it. The Great Western cars were
ready. The train left at 10 a. m. going west to Paris, a two hours
journey; then on the Buffalo and Lake Huron track to travel eastward
to Port Colborne.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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