at
Chippawa and New Germany.

Capt. Akers was another officer whose action in consenting with the
ideas of Lieut.-Col. Dennis to change the plans of their commanding
officer is inexplicable. Why these two officers should have dared to
assume such responsibility is beyond all comprehension. A soldier's
first duty is obedience to orders, and as these had been definitely
issued by Col. Peacocke, it was manifestly not their business to change
them, but to see that they were rigidly carried out. For that purpose
Capt. Akers had been specially despatched from Chippawa to Port
Colborne; but in less than half an hour after his arrival he was busily
engaged with Lieut.-Col. Dennis and Lieut.-Col. Booker in concocting a
new plan of campaign. After deciding on what they intended to do, they
condescendingly notified Col. Peacocke of the change in his own plans,
and without, waiting for a reply they started off for Fort Erie on
the steamer "W. T. Robb" to put them in execution. Such assumption was
certainly astounding, and no doubt Col. Peacocke had a choleric fit
when he was apprised of it. This was another mistake, which contributed
largely to the defeat of Col. Peacocke's purposes, and left a cloud on
the military prestige of both Lieut.-Col. Dennis and Capt. Akers. As
Lieut.-Col. Booker had also been persuaded to join in the new plan,
he was making his arrangements to do so when he received an imperative
order by telegraph from Col. Peacocke to adhere to his original
instructions.

As Lieut.-Col. Dennis and Capt. Akers sailed away in high hope from Port
Colborne, they probably built the fairy air castles which were doomed to
totter and fall before night. It did not seem to occur to them that Col.
Peacocke's sanction to, and co-operation in, their change of plan would
be necessary to ensure success. Therefore their disappointment must have
been great when they found that Lieut.-Col. Booker failed to arrive at
Fort Erie at 7 o'clock, as provided in their new arrangement. At this
hour Lieut.-Col. Booker was leaving Ridgeway (in pursuance of his latest
orders) on his march for Stevensville, and soon after had the misfortune
to strike the enemy in force. And thereby hangs another tale of a grave
mistake, which brought considerable censure to that officer. The story
of the battle is told elsewhere, and need not be repeated.

In the light of official reports and the testimony of officers and
men who were engaged in the battle of Lim