Rede's panic
The inhabitants of the government camp very seriously believed not only that the miners would attack them, but that the uprising was an extremely significant risk to British government in at least Victoria, and Rede doesn't seem to have tried to calm them down with his spies' reports. In fact, his reports didn't calm him, either.
The camp was not walled, and had no defences worth the name. The soldiers there, presumably reinforced by the troopers, who had very good cause to fear for their lives, had been on alert for two nights by Saturday, and were preparing for another on Saturday night. In this, the army was doing precisely what Lalor should have been doing. But he didn't take the hint.
The soldiers were being stretched to their limit, and might not have been able to maintain their condition of alert for much longer. Rede mustn't have been able to believe his luck when almost all the miners walked out of the stockade, and McGill and his men rode off. Had Rede fed in false information about the proximity of the reinforcements? Probably not, otherwise he would have undoubtedly mentioned how smart he had been in his post-battle reports. Mind you, by then it seems no-one was listening to him as he was scapegoated for the affair.
One source says that Rede's second-in-command told some of the business "worthies" of Ballarat that if the rebels looked like attacking the government camp, then the whole town, tents and all, would burn, with everyone in them. It's not clear from the source just who, or more precisely which side, would start the fire. It can most certainly be read as a threat, which was possibly intended to be passed on. Again, however, that's just speculation.
The camp was not walled, and had no defences worth the name. The soldiers there, presumably reinforced by the troopers, who had very good cause to fear for their lives, had been on alert for two nights by Saturday, and were preparing for another on Saturday night. In this, the army was doing precisely what Lalor should have been doing. But he didn't take the hint.
The soldiers were being stretched to their limit, and might not have been able to maintain their condition of alert for much longer. Rede mustn't have been able to believe his luck when almost all the miners walked out of the stockade, and McGill and his men rode off. Had Rede fed in false information about the proximity of the reinforcements? Probably not, otherwise he would have undoubtedly mentioned how smart he had been in his post-battle reports. Mind you, by then it seems no-one was listening to him as he was scapegoated for the affair.
One source says that Rede's second-in-command told some of the business "worthies" of Ballarat that if the rebels looked like attacking the government camp, then the whole town, tents and all, would burn, with everyone in them. It's not clear from the source just who, or more precisely which side, would start the fire. It can most certainly be read as a threat, which was possibly intended to be passed on. Again, however, that's just speculation.