Troublous Times in Canada: A History of the Fenian Raids of 1866 and 1870MacDonald, John A. (John Alexander)
History
Troublous Times in Canada: A History of the Fenian Raids of 1866 and 1870
MacDonald, John A. (John Alexander)
Canada -- History -- Fenian Invasions, 1866-1870; Fenians
He issued immediate orders for the Tenth Royals of Toronto, two more
companies of H. M. 47th Regiment, the Nineteenth Lincoln Battalion, and
Capt. Stoker's Battery of Garrison Artillery, from St. Catharines, to
reinforce him at Chippawa. These troops moved promptly forward, and
before daylight all were bivouacked on the streets of the quiet village
of Chippawa. No provision had been made for sheltering our volunteers,
as neither tents or blankets had been issued, so the weary, jaded troops
were content to lie out on the green sward under the star-lit canopy of
heaven, with the gentle June dew falling on their sleeping forms, until
at sunrise the bugles sounding the reveille awoke them to a realization
of the hard fare of a soldier's life on active service. By some blunder
of somebody no food had been provided for the volunteer battalions, nor
haversacks to carry it in if they did have it, so fortunate indeed was
he who received breakfast that morning. As the majority of the men had
left their homes early the day before, and had eaten very little since,
they keenly felt the pangs of hunger. But the patriotic people of
Chippawa did their best to cater to their needs, and were unsparing
in their efforts to provide the meals so urgently required, while the
regular troops shared their rations of hard tack, cheese, meat and tea
cheerfully with their Canadian comrades.
Although the Fenians had openly flaunted their intention of invading
Canada, and the secret service agents had made minute reports of the
determination of the marauders to make a raid, still the Canadian
military authorities seemed apathetic, and took very little heed of the
warnings until the eve of the event. Plenty of time was accorded the
Government to have the whole force properly equipped and in readiness,
but when the bugles sounded the alarm and the volunteers promptly
assembled to meet the foe, there was a woeful lack of the necessaries
which are indispensable to a successful campaign, namely, an available
supply of military stores, commissary and medical supplies. Many of the
companies and battalions which moved promptly to the front were totally
unprovided even with canteens or water bottles, and had to depend on
creeks or roadside ditches for a drink of water wherewith to allay their
thirst, which they scooped up in their hands or caps as best they could.
But "Johnny Canuck" never murmured, and marched cheerfully onward in the
shoes in which he usually stood, without provisions and weighted down
with heavy padded uniforms (which were designed for winter wear),
carrying a heavy rifle and accoutrements, with forty rounds of ball
cartridges in his pouch and twenty more in his pockets for ballast.
Still he had a stout heart within his breast, and a resolute
determination to do his duty in assisting to drive the invaders from
the shores of his native land served to impel him onward as he marched
through the choking dust of clay roads on a blazing hot June day, gaily
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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