"When people talked of late springs, father recalled that on the 18th of April, 1870, his father drove across the lake to Buffalo, on the ice from "the Point," and that two days later neighbors, the Sherks, made the same trip. "But they had to jump the horses over a four foot crack in the ice, and so came back by the road."

That winter closed in quite early in November, for it began to snow November the 10th and the snow stayed until late spring. That date is accurate for it was the year of his marriage and he could make no mistake.

There was little formal entertaining in those days. But social intercourse seems to have been attached to as much of the work as possible.
Sheep-washing time early in May was a sort of picnic.
The men drove the sheep in one great flock to the mouth of the little creek that lazily crept into the lake. Once I remember some of the women accompanying them and we children went too, of course.

But to return to the landmarks. We spoke of the old stone house. There are two of them in the vicinity. The big one just east of what is now "Crystal Beach" known generally as " the Clause House" which was the Alexander home. A sturdy Scotch pioneer was Mr. Alexander. His family are all gone now. The girls, all but one, married neighbor boys. The one son drifted away. but came back to die among the scenes of his boyhood.

Perhaps no woman was better known or loved in the neighborhood than the oldest of the Alexander girls, Margaret. "Auntie Sloan" she was, to all the countryside.

The Sloans lived in the stone house at the Point (Abino) or many years after their marriage, and a volume might be written of them. It would be fascinating, too, if it aid justice to its subject.

He was an American, tall, with a rather straggly grey beard reaching nearly to his waist, and kindly, merry eyes. 'The Squire' he was very fond of reading and owned by far the best library in those parts. But for "Auntie," his business, after he left the stone house for the more pretentious farm home on the Fort Erie road, would have suffered severely, for she was the more energetic of the two.

There was always a light in the window of the stone house when a storm raged on the lake.
The story of how "Auntie" cared for one group of ship-wrecked sailors was told in these columns not many months ago. She stayed at home the day of the Battle of Ridgeway and fed and sheltered a group of the weary boys who fled from the Battle-field that day.

One of them was sorely wounded, and he remained in her care until his recovery. Afterward he opened a drug store at Port Colborne, and "Auntie" could never pay for anything at Charlie Lugsdin's, and many a surprise parcel she found in her basket on arrival home; for she always had a chat with "her boy" when she made her infrequent visits to "The Bay" for the old people never went to Port Colborne, but to Gravelly Bay.

A younger sister of hers, Mrs. Jack Teal, was the only woman who stayed in Ridgeway June 2, 1866, and Grandma Schooley refused to leave her baking that day to go with the other frightened women. She too fed a group of the boys.

Even if it is a depression, perhaps it would be well to mention that the Fenians were frightened that day by the cattle breaking through the underbrush near the battle field and ran back toward the Niagara River. They imagined it was cavalry, else the tablet in the "Memorial Church" at Ridgeway which commemorates those who gave their lives in the defense of their country that day, would have been much larger.

Visiting preachers sometimes made touching references to the names recorded on the simple marble slab. One grey-haired old man spoke with trembling voice of his chum "Malcolm McEchren, and we could almost see the stalwart young man cut down in his prime. Another referred to his intimacy with "Willie Temple" and we saw a gentler lad, winsome, clever, brave. 

 The following insert was provided by Charlie Lemmex, author of "Faces of a Family". The article appeared in the Perth Courier on January 6th, 1865 commenting on the drafting of 795 males in Lanark County one of whom was his grandfather, Elijah Lumax of Montague Township, born July 17th, 1835.

 "A very general idea seems to pervade the classes in the rural districts that the object of the draft lately instituted all over the province, is to call those balloted directly into active service; and place them at once into positions to guard the country against foes which they confidently imagine are our American neighbors or- the Fenians. A great many see nothing in the ballot but the mustering and organizing our yeomen into companies, battalions, and regiments, and then an immediate summons somewhere- to the front likely. The recent troubles about the St. Albans raiders, especially their discharge from custody by Judge Coursol, together with the Fenian rumors, have created in the public mind, a feeling of disquietude. and the draft coming on so soon after the spread of these events, naturally had the public mind into the belief that war was to be immediately instituted between our country and the United States, and the draft was the first move in that direction. So great a hold did an opinion similar to this take on the people of the County of Montmorenci, C E, that a great many of those interested actually resisted the draft, and the disturbance required a force of volunteers to quell it.
   Now, we wish to assure our readers that the late draft took place according to the provisions of an act passed in 1862, when there were no signs of war. The Act required a draft to take place the next year, simply to place the militia on a more efficient footing, which even in times of peace is highly necessary. Those drafted will perhaps be required to drill some ten or sixteen days in the year, when pay for that time will be granted by government, and then they will be allowed to go back to their usual occupations.
  The following are the 795 drafted in the County of Lanark, -"

In 1932, Adam Meister, a 98 year old former US Customs inspector living in Chippawa, revealed his part in two incidents that might have changed the course of the Fenian Raids.


By May 31, 1866. over 700 Fenian soldiers were quartered in an old warehouse on Hanover Street in Buffalo.

"The collector of customs called me into his office" Meister related, "and instructed me to keep a sharp lookout for the Fenians because they were reported ready to cross into Canada. I was ordered to report any attempted crossing to the battleship Michigan, which was anchored in the Niagara River near the foot of Ferry Street."

Meister would have reported any Fenian doings to Captain Andrew Bryson, commander of the USS Michigan. Bryson had been tasked with checking Fenian activity around Erie. However, a series of mishaps forced the Michigan to remain in Buffalo over the winter, and lay up for repairs during the spring. By May 28 Bryson and every other Federal agent in the area became aware that something was going on. An inordinate number of men and a huge stockpile of arms were coming into the city from Cleveland and points west. The Fenians had not broken any laws as yet, so the Federal agents were powerless to stop them from carrying out their plans. The only significant Federal force in the area available to interfere with them was the USS Michigan and her crew; and it would appear that the Fenians knew it. On May 31 the US District Attorney suspended all ship traffic in and out of the Buffalo harbour, and vessels were allowed to proceed only after a thorough inspection.

"My partner in the customs was Captain McInally, a veteran of the Civil War." continued Meister. "He didn't show up for duty that afternoon and later I met him on the street. He took me to the Fenian headquarters where we met General O'Neill, the commander of the Fenian forces. Captain McInally tried to persuade O'Neill not to invade Canada and told him he would lose his men and be killed himself. "Every Irishman in Canada will come under our flag' General O'Neill told us, and 'We'll live off the country if we haven't any money or food'. O'Neill refused to listen to McInally's arguments and crossed the river that night."

Meister had expected the Fenians to seize and cross on the 'International', a large ferry boat used to transport trains over the river. He waited at the International's dock until 2a.m. when two men rowed up and told him the Fenians had just left, crossing from Black Rock a mile south of Buffalo and planning to land at Four Side Point on the Canadian shore.  Meister hurried to the Michigan, which was docked a mile away, and informed Bryson. The decks were suddenly swarming with men. Bryson already had the steam up and the guns loaded.

By midnight all officers had already returned to the ship. However, Bryson still found himself stranded and helpless. He had no pilot and no engineer. Both had failed to return.

The engineer, James P. Kelley, a suspected Fenian sympathizer, had his own predetermined partto play in the crossing. He knew that without a pilot, the Michigan could go nowhere. And so on the evening of May 31st he convinced navigator Patrick Murphy to join him for a night on the town, enticing him with alcohol, cigars and the attentions of a certain 'lady friend.'

Guards sent out from the Michigan finally located Kelley and Murphy at 5 a.m., long after O'Neill and his Fenian army ad landed, sauntering down Main Street singing 'The Wearin' o' the Green". Bryson promptly arrested them both, but was forced to use Murphy to pilot the boat as no one else was available.

Patrick Murphy, born in Waterford Ireland in 1823, became a merchant seaman in his early youth, and was in Pennsylvania in 1844 when he first joined the crew of the USS Michigan. With the outbreak of the Civil War, Murphy left the Michigan to serve on the USS Metacomet as a boatswain's mate. The Metacomet was involved in a ferocious 2 hour battle in Mobile Bay 5th August 1864, one which saw the surrender of the rebel ram 'Tennessee' and the destruction of the batteries at Fort Morgan. Murphy's intemperate complicity in the Fenian crossing did not seem to blemish  his military accomplishments. He was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1870 for his service on the USS Metacomet.

  The Michigan now began to patrol the Niagara River, hoping to intercept tugs and canal boats carrying arms, men and supplies to the Fenians. When night fell it was too dangerous to run the Michigan, so Bryson transferred his small artillery pieces loaded with shrapnel, to 2 tugs: the 'Harrison' and the 'Farrar'. During the night of June 1 the 'Farrar' came upon a small boat with armed men crossing to Canada. When they ignored his warning to 'heave to', the captain of the Farrar blasted them with his howitzer. When he reached the boat it was empty. The men had either jumped into the river, or been killed by shrapnel and swept away.
                                                         *****

Meister crossed into Canada later the next day (June 2, 1866) to try and locate the Fenians, but they had already decamped and were fighting at Ridgeway 9 miles away. At Fort Erie he met up with the 79 members of the Dunnville Naval Brigade commanded by Dr. King, and the Welland Canal Field Battery. They had come from Port Colborne to search for them there. At four p.m., just as he was preparing to throw off the lines of the boat, Meister, who happened to be looking through his long spy glass at the distant hills, told him that Fenians were coming over the crest.

Captains King soon realized that the Canadian militia was vastly outnumbered and wanted to board the Robb, and with their Fenian prisoners pull out into the river. Col. Stoughton Dennis of the Welland Battery countermanded his action, and ordered the men back on to the docks to fight.

The four hundred plus Fenians came at the 79 Canadians from the frint and from the flank routing them within half an hour. Two Fenians died outright in the attack, and two died later from their wounds. Miraculously no Canadian militiamen died, although Captain King was shot twice in the foot, and to be taken to Buffalo for amputation. Col. Dennis abandoned his troops, disguising himself and hiding in a loft until the Fenians left.

"If I had said nothing," said Meister, "Dr. King would have gone on to Port Colborne and there would have been no fight."

As the bullets rained around him, Meister feared for his life, and desperately tried to figure out a way to return to Buffalo. The Buffalo/Fort Erie ferry had continued its hourly crossing during the invasion, but the commander had wisely refused to land at the docks during the melee, and Meister had to jump five feet to get on the ship, and return home.

Sources: BOHEN "Against the Grain; VRONSKI; SHIELS/DOHERTY "Irish in the American Civil War"; ROGERS "Guardians of the Great Lakes"; and period newspaper article.

MORE INCIDENTS FROM THE SKIRMISH

                                                                   ***

                             From the Buffalo Courier June 5, 1866

During the skirmish near Fort Erie on Saturday, an ancient fisherman was seated at his accustomed place on the dock waiting for bites, and blissfully ignorant of the proximity of danger.

Presently bullets whistled past him and notwithstanding the situation he undertook a 'change of pace' and took refuge in the rear of a woodpile which served as a protection from the bullets and enabled him to maintain his neutrality by continuing his angling.

Very soon a Canadian lieutenant made his appearance in a high state of perspiration and excitement and demanded protection of the fisherman and the wood pile. The knight of the rod protested that the presence of a belligerent of the red coat persuasion would compromise the neutrality he desired as an American citizen to maintain. The officer declared that while he had the highest respect for American neutrality, he had more for his personal safety. The fisherman, being peaceably inclined, consented to share his refuge with the officer on condition that he should throw his cap, coat and arms into the river. This having been done, a fishing rod was placed in his hands and the brave soldier and the ancient fisherman preserved their combined 'neutrality' until the danger was overpast. The correctness of this narrative is vouched for by an authentic fisherman.

                                                                  *****

                                 From "Some Personal Reminiscences, etc."

"...it was afternoon when suddenly scattered bands of Fenians appeared on the Fort Erie hills overlooking the Bridgeburg road. Colonel Dennis got his men together and called out to them "Give them a volley boys, and then each for himself" and this command was followed to the letter. By this time the Fenians were advancing in overwhelming numbers in a semi-circle toward the militiamen near the shore. The scene was observed by many Buffalonians from the American side of the river. One of my informants, a boy then, was lying flat on the shore of Squaw Island close by the flour mills. He could hear bullets, coming from the Canadian side, whistle over his head, and ocassionally one would strike the walls of the mills. He saw two of the Fenians, as they advanced, throw up their hands and fall. Very intent on the scene opposite, he was suddenly aroused by shooting behind him. On looking up he saw an old Irishman with long gray whiskers, flourishing a revolver in his hand, dancing about in a frantic state of excitement. And whenever a shot was heard on the other side he would fire off his revolver and shout "Give it to them, give it to them."

ALBERT JOHN HARRIMAN MEWBURN (born 1845- died June 2, 1866
A letter dated July 3, 1866 from Robert P. Denby of Queenston Ontario to his brother Frederick at Carlton Place

"My Dear Frederick,
It is with sad heart that I write you this day- your beloved cousin Little Albert John was killed, the eve past by those damning Fenians may the the Lord curse the lot.

It all started when the Queen's Own were called from Toronto and as you must know they comprised mainly of College students and other young men of Albert's age. Well, Albert's Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Booker while scouting near Niagara  Falls, their company came upon Gen. O`Neill`s outpost which comprised about 1,000 men.

Before anyone could get word to Col. Peacock`s troops a shot was fired and a battle ensued which thank the Lord only lasted a few minutes.

But dear brother, Albert along with five other men and one officer were killed, not to mention twenty three wounded, including four officers.

The difficult part of this is the fact that Albert had not actually signed on or had been sworn in by Col. Booker, and had taken it upon himself to defend his Sovereign`s country.

I am requesting therefore that you as his uncle try your best to obtain a signed petition to Lord Monck our Governor General to have a medal of bravery and devotion made for him.

    With Providence I remain

                       Robert P. Denby``

Rifleman John Harriman MEWBURN, the only son of Harriman Chilton MEWBURN, a headmaster at Calton Place grammar school, and Ann Mewburn of Stamford, near Niagara Falls, Ontario was with the volunteer company (No. 9) of the University of Toronto students that were part of the Queen's Own Rifles.

He had just completed his third year of studies, achieving grades good enough to warrant consideration for the annual University College scholarship. On June 1 he was called out from his dormitory to the Toronto Drill shed, and then transported by ship to Port Dalhousie, and by rail to Ridgeway.

Answering the call to duty was a tradition with the MEWBURN family.

John Harriman's grandfather, DR. JOHN MEWBURN, a respected magistrate and coroner in Niagara, volunteered for the defence of Toronto during the McKenzie rebellion. His elder son, John Jr. was one of the militia who sent the "Caroline" over the Falls in December 1837.

His younger sons, Thomas Chilton and Harrison Chilton, (John Harriman's father) were in the cavalry troop that hunted down the American sympathizers and rebels under James Morrow who had successfully attacked Col. Magraths 13 British lancers at the Short Hills (Fonthill-Pelham).

The battle in the fields north of Ridgeway began at 7:30 AM. Within 2 hours Company 9 had advanced the farthest against the Fenians, starting at Garrison Road and moving steadily forward across Bertie Road to open wheat fields just east of Ridge Road. Regrettably the company had become separated from the main Canadian force and would bear the brunt of a Fenian counterattack. They retreated slightly to the crossroads at Ridge and Bertie, and turned to face their pursuers amid a hailstorm of bullets.

Mewburn was wounded in the exchange, in all likelihood by a bullet which creased the side of his temple causing delirium and convulsions. He lay writing in the road in front of the Anger house until Fenian soldiers bound him and threw him face down. A fellow university student named Kingsford prevailed on the Fenians to unbind him and lay him on his back. Mewburn died within half an hour from the complications of his wounds and possible heat stroke as well. His body was dumped in the kitchen of a farmhouse on Ridge Road.

J.H. Mewburn was identified by a member of Company 9 at a field hospital in Port Colborne- his face twisted and features distorted as if he died in agony.

The body of the boy with significant academic promise and a beautiful singing voice was returned to St. Catharines for funeral at St. Johns Anglican Church Stamford. One of his favourite songs was: It is sweet and fitting to die for ones country.

Sources- Vronski and others on request

As previously noted in this blog, the first Fenian casualty in the 1866 invasion was a friendly fire incident at the Frenchman's Creek bivouac on the evening of June 1, 1866. The unnamed soldier, who was heard to declaim that he was 'sick of the whole business' and sure he was not going any farther on such a fool's errand, was found dead in the underbrush a day later. One source says he was mistaken for a British soldier and shot by sentinels, and another that he was shot by accident.

The next nine occurred at the Battle of Ridgeway June 2, 1866.

A period map shows that the first, probably a skirmisher, was killed a few hundred yards east of the Ridge Road on land that appears to have belonged to farmer Henry Teal. The next casualty occurred a hundred yards west of the Fenian picket just south of Bertie Road probably in Ervin Ellsworth's orchard. Four more died on land owned by the Angers and Jacob Rinehart, slightly north and west of Ridge/Bertie Roads, where by period accounts "the real battle was fought." O'Neill had placed fence rails in a slanting position as a barricade and thus had the advantage of cover while the Canadians fought in the open. The Canadians, even despite their apparent terrain disadvantage, and the fact that they were volunteers without any previous battle experience, still were able to inflict the greater losses. General O'Neill offered the following tribute, "I have never seen inexperienced troops fight more gallantly than those Canadians. It is just what I might have known though. You see I know the breed." Two more Fenians fell in the general vicinity of Ridge and Bertie Roads.

One Fenian officer died on the field at Ridgeway from self-inflicted wounds after a rash act of retribution. Canadian Private R. W. Hines of No. 8 Company Queen's Own Rifles had been taken prisoner by a squad of Fenians, his rifle removed from him and handed to one of their officers. The officer took the rifle and, after eyeing it critically, grabbed it by the barrel and with a profane remark that it would never shoot another Fenian, smashed the stock against a boulder. The Canadian gun, being loaded and at full cock went off with the concussion, and the bullet passed through the Fenian's body killing him instantly.

John Vanderburgh of Allanburg (Thorold) Ontario, had come to the battlefield to observe "and when I got there," he relates, "the battle was just over. I walked down to the battleground and they had all left, and I walked around the battleround and found two dead Fenians lying on the ground, (one) of them had been shot in the stomach and one of his socks was shoved partly in the hole to stop the blood."  Vandenburgh is describing one of the great fears of the 19th century soldier: that of being 'gut shot'. The Minie ball ammunition would tear a large hole through the body, and after a minute of numbness, severe pain would set in as the intestines bld into the abdomen, and the victim would die a slow and agonizing death.

Dr. Brewster of Ridgeway cared for the wounded on the field, and observed in 1911, "I have never seen the Fenian loss reported, but I found four of their dead, and learned from people living on those roads (Ridge/Garrison) that at least six  waggons carrying dead and wounded were seen going toward Fort Erie."

Six of the Fenians were buried by Bertie farmer Jacob Steinman in one grave in a bush between the John Anger house and the property owned by William Teal, just west of Ridge Road. Two more were buried close to Ridge Road, one in an orchard close to the camp, (probably James Gerahty of Cincinnati- see list below), another in front of a house.

Andrew Benner of Ridgeway, who had followed the Canadian troops to the battleground, and had witnessed nearly all of the battle, tells of the following incident related to the burials. A big Irishman came looking for his son, who, as he put it, did not come back. "We du up the six" stated Benner, "then the one in our orchard, and I am sorry I cannot say if he found him, as I did not go to the last place with him." However, Benner does go on to say that he had heard from another source that the father had recognized his son's shoes on the feet of the man he hired to disinter the body, and made him point out the spot where the boy was buried, and accordingly, found him in the eighth grave.

It is unlikely that any of the eight are still in their battleground resting places. Jacob Steinman, who knew the location of every grave, was visited often in the years afterward
by medical doctors and students who asked to be shown the grave sites. One American doctor openly professed to wanting to procure a skeleton, but when Steinman searched the graves that he had dug, none were found..

A number of years ago, human skulls and bones were unearthed on a farm on Bertie Road by a man digging a gravel pit. The farm was located on part of the Ridgeway battlefield, and some conjecture followed that they may have been from the period when the battle occurred.

Nine Fenian casualties at the Battle of Ridgeway have been identified.

Pat Buckley- 18th Regiment Cleveland Ohio. No rank given.
Seriously wounded on field at Ridgeway. Taken to St. Catharines. Did not recover from wounds. His relatives removed his body from Fort Erie and transferred it to Buffalo on June 14, 1866 under the direction of Timothy Crowley, the Buffalo undertaker.

Major John C. Canty- 7th Regiment Buffalo, Chief Intelligence Officer.
An employee of the Grand Trunk Railway, Candy had lived in Fort Erie  since 1865, bought a house there, and operated as a Fenian spy; supplying maps and intelligence regarding militia troop strength and movements. Eventually buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Lackawana.

Michael Cochrane- Colour Sergeant- Captain Hugh Haggerty's Independent Company from Terre Haute Indiana.
A thirty-four year old Irish Catholic, by period accounts seriously wounded on the field at Ridgeway in the final charge. Taken to St. Catharines along with Pat Buckley. Did not recover from wounds.

James Gerahty- 18th Regiment Cincinnati Ohio.
Seriously wounded and left on the field. Taken to a makeshift  hospital on Ridge Road. A correspondent from Toronto 'Leader' describes his final moments: At the same time a Fenian was brought in on a stretcher in a dying state. I ordered his comrades to cut his shirt open, when I found an ugly wound under his left arm, which I have no doubt penetrated a vital part. I got water and washed the wound; he was sensible and able to tell me that his name was James Gerrahty from Cincinnati, and that one of his comrades had shot him by mistake, and that he freely forgave him. He died in about thirteen minutes, one of his comrades holding a crucifix before him as long as he could see it. We buried him in an orchard adjoining the same evening.

Edward Lonergan- Lieutenant 7th Regiment Buffalo

A ship's carpenter from Buffalo's first ward, who worked at the Jones Ship Yard. Died on the field at Ridgeway on his 21st birthday. Lonergan's body had been taken by his fellow Fenians back to Fort Erie in the afternoon of June 2 and left in the barn at Major Canty's house. Initially he was buried along with several other Fenians in a pit dug below the hill overlooking Fort Erie (perhaps the gravel pit that was near Gilmore Road). His family however, came from Buffalo, and petitioned Col. Lowry, the Canadian Commander, to have him disinterred. Buffalo newspaper accounts of the day raised a tumult concerning the condition of the body.
Col. Lowry responded in a letter to the paper that he was "shocked by the assertions that indignities had been practiced upon the dead Fenians." " I ordered burial of the dead" he wrote, "and enquiries which I have now made, in the fullest detail possible, under the circumstances of which I am pleased, satisfy me that they have suffered no indignity whatever. Some of the bodies have been disinterred and in no case have the friends of the dead found cause for complaint or expressed any."
By way of rebuttal, Colonel John Hoy of the 7th New York Regiment, Buffalo, a Fenian commander present at Ridgeway, wrote to the newspapers on June 11, 1866 concerning this matter.
"Having read in your paper of the 9th inst. a letter by Col. Lowry commander of the British forces at Fort Erie, wherein he states that no indignities had been offered to our dead, I will state and can substantiate what I say by the sworn affidavits of the friends and relations of Lt. Lonergan of my command, that not only were his remains horribly mutilated but (indecipherable) the boots and stockings were pulled off him, and furthermore that when the British soldiers went to bury him they dragged him to the grave by the hair of his head as though he were a dog they were burying."
The body of Lt. Lonergan had been disinterred on June 4, 1866 and returned to Holy Cross Cemetery for reburial by Buffalo undertaker Thomas Crowley.

John Lynch, Sergeant 18th Regiment Cleveland Ohio

Died of wounds received at Ridgeway while in Sisters of Charity Hospital Buffalo on 27th July 1867. Buried at Holy Cross Cemetery Lackawanna on July 29, 1867.

John Lynch, Private 18th Regiment Cleveland
Originally from Cincinnati; shot in the thigh, treated at the Erie and Niagara Railway House but removed to Buffalo and died of his wound June 11, 1866. Body shipped to Cleveland by Thomas Crowley, the Buffalo undertaker.

Thomas Rafferty- 18th Regiment Cincinnati

Mortally wounded in the stomach at Ridgeway. No further confirmation.
Note: Albert W. Reavley, a gunner in the Welland Canal Field Battery observed a Fenian fall during the final push back into Ridgeway. A "fine big strapping fellow...came jumping over a wall" he relates. A Scotman standing next to Reavley drew a bead and fired. The Fenian dropped, a bullet through his stomach. "I faxed that un" the Scotsman said.

Edward (Richard?) Scully No rank given: 18th Regiment Cleveland Ohio.

Died in Buffalo 9/10 June from wounds received at Ridgeway. The body was shipped to his home town of Cincinnati the next day. His remains were escorted to the train depot by about 650 men, most of them from Ohio, accompanied by a band of music.

A minimum of four casualties, possibly five, occurred during the Skirmish at the Fort Erie Docks on the afternoon of June 2, 1866.


Lt. Col. Dennis writes to Col. Lowry
"The enemy suffered more severely. Three of his number were killed outright and four were mortally wounded, two of whom died yesterday morning, the other two had been allowed, under the circumstances, by the Reeve Dr. Kempson, with the permission as I understtod of Col. Lowry, to be taken to the Buffalo hospital."