herwood. Surgeon, Dr. J. H. Richardson; Assist.
Surgeon, Dr. James Newcombe; Paymaster, Capt. John H. Ritchey;
Quartermaster, Capt. Rufus Skinner.

The St. Catharines Garrison Battery of Artillery, under command of Capt.
George Stoker and Lieut. James Wilson, was left at Chippawa to hold that
place and guard the bridges.

A very grave error or oversight was made by the General Commanding in
not providing a force of cavalry to thoroughly scour the country in
advance of both of these columns before they started feeling their
way through a district that was practically unknown to the commanding
officers, and which was reported to be occupied by marauding parties of
the enemy. Had this been done on the first of June, and cavalry
scouts been employed on all the leading roads and highways gathering
information of the whereabouts and doings of Gen. O'Neil and his forces,
the events which subsequently transpired might have ended more happily.
At the eleventh hour the Militia authorities saw the necessity of
employing cavalry in the operations, and called out a portion of that
extremely useful branch of the service. One of these cavalry troops (the
Governor-General's Body Guard, of Toronto, under command of Major Geo.
T. Denison), performed splendid service in this direction, an account of
which will be given in a subsequent chapter.

Col. Peacocke marched from Chippawa by the River Road for Black Creek
on his way to Stevensville, a rather round-about route, which added some
miles to his journey and caused considerable loss of time. The day was
an oppressively close one, with not a breath of air stirring, and as
the sun rose higher in the heavens it cast forth a brassy heat that was
almost unbearable, and had a telling effect on the men, who were soon
drenched with perspiration and covered with dust. By 11 o'clock the heat
became more intense and the dust more denser, and the jaded soldiers
began to show signs of weariness, when Col. Peacocke resolved to halt
his column at New Germany, a point about three miles from Stevensville,
having covered 12 1/4 measured miles on this strenuous march.

CHAPTER VI.

THE BATTLE OF RIDGEWAY--A BAPTISM OF FIRE AND BLOOD FOR THE CANADIAN
TROOPS--SPLENDID COOLNESS AND HEROIC COURAGE OF THE VOLUNTEERS AT THE
BEGINNING OF THE FIGHT ENDS IN DISASTER.

The second of June, 1866, was an eventful day for the Canadian troops
who were operating on the Niagara frontier. They had hurriedly left