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
Another Fenian was now brought in with a very bad wound in the neck.
He was a very rough-looking fellow. I washed his wound also. He was
afterwards removed to the hospital at St. Catharines. On leaving the
house my attention was called to the dead body of one of the Queen's Own
lying across the road, a very powerful man. He was shot through the head
and presented a horrid spectacle. A little further on I found a group
of three armed Fenians, who were watching over a wounded comrade. I
was called upon to assist him. His comrades stripped him, and I found a
gunshot wound in the hip, having passed right through, leaving two very
ugly wounds. I washed him also and left him.
I now returned to the tavern. By this time the main body had returned,
after having pillaged the village of Ridgeway, ransacking the principal
stores, taverns, etc., and were now resting on a rising ground almost
immediately opposite the tavern. The green flag, on which was emblazoned
a large golden harp, was floating to the breeze in their centre. An
officer, whom I soon found was their Adjutant, rode across to me and
told me that two of our wounded men were lying on the road about fifty
rods from us, nearer Ridgeway, a circumstance I was not before aware of.
Desiring that I should procure some assistance to have them removed from
the sun's scorching influence, which at that time was very powerful,
I told him I had not a man left but the wounded. I suggested to him to
detail four of his stoutest fellows and place them under my authority
for a few minutes, which he readily agreed to. I marched them off, but
before reaching the poor fellows their bugle sounded the assembly, when
they all started off and left me without assistance. I may mention here
that this officer gave me an authority in writing to remove the wounded
to where they might obtain proper medical assistance. Accompanied by a
young man of the Queen's Own, who was slightly wounded in the wrist, I
proceeded to the poor fellows who were lying on the road. We were unable
to remove them, but gave them water to drink and put the overcoats that
we picked up on the road in such a way as to shelter them from the sun.
We then proceeded to Ridgeway to try to obtain assistance to remove
those that were able, or nurses to attend upon the poor fellows, or men
to move the dead and wounded that were still exposed on the road, as
well as to try to procure teams to take them to Port Colborne, but with
the exception of three men who agreed to go and move the men off the
road, and one colored woman, whom I pressed into service, I could get no
further assistance.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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