Tommy Atkins, We Never Knew Ye: Documenting the British Soldier in Canada, 1759–1871: Military Organization and the Archival Record
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Canadian Military History Volume 4 Issue 1 Article 14 1995 Tommy Atkins, we Never Knew Ye: Documenting the British Soldier in Canada, 1759–1871: Military Organization and the Archival Record Timothy Dubé Library and Archives Canada Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh Part of the Military History Commons Recommended Citation Dubé, Timothy "Tommy Atkins, we Never Knew Ye: Documenting the British Soldier in Canada, 1759–1871: Military Organization and the Archival Record." Canadian Military History 4, 1 (1995) This Feature is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Canadian Military History by an authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Dubé: Tommy Atkins, we Never Knew Ye: Documenting the British Soldier i Tom.m.y Atkins, We Never Knew Ye Documenting the British Soldier in Canada, 1759-1871; Military Organization and the Archival Record Timothy Dube For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, On a more positive note, I hope to introduce an' "Chuck him out, the brute!" you to the key military records series, to give But it's "Saviour of [th]is country" you an inkling as to what we have and more when the guns begin to shoot. importantly what we don't have, and to give you Rudyard Kipling an appreciation of the nature and variety of personal information in these military records. ommy Atkins, 1 the universal British soldier, T garrisoned Canada from 1759 to 1871. This paper describes the major series of records at Military Organization the National Archives of Canada which give personal information about the officers and men he defeat of the French in Canada was a of the various British military forces who served T combined effort of British regulars, colonial in Canada. It tries to summarize in a very few militia, and volunteers. From 1759 until 1871 pages a great mass of information on a truly vast the British North American Provinces of Canada, subject. Some hard choices have had to be made. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and This paper deals only with the most important of Prince Edward Island would be garrisoned by the military records series whose principal British regular and fencible regiments, with the purpose was to record such information, space addition of several other ancillary or auxiliary and time constraints having precluded from military bodies. In addition, for much of that discussion those small personal collections of period all male residents in the colonies between records held. Also my remarks about the various the ages of eighteen and sixty were liable for military bodies and their organization, and the service when the colonies were in danger, while military actions in which they were involved many men also served for brief periods of time should not be considered an exhaustive survey. or in volunteer roles. Thus the possibilities of some kind of military 1. The term Tommy. or more formally, Tommy Atkins, the service in Canada are numerous and must be pseudonym or generic name of the British soldier sorted out properly before any records can be regardless of his origin, dates from August 1815 when individual record-of-service books were first given to consulted in a meaningful way. For this reason each man in the ranks. The specimen form sent out before commencing with a discussion of the with the book showed at the place where a signature military service records available, an overview of was required the hypothetical name Thomas Atkins. The the organization and structures of the various term Tommy was later popularized by Rudyard Kipling and was readily accepted by the British soldier as his military forces in North America is presented, own. 113 Published by Scholars Commons @ Laurier, 1995 1 Canadian Military History, Vol. 4 [1995], Iss. 1, Art. 14 because the type of records created and their regulars took their discharge in North America relative survival rate follow directly from the after 1763. In the subsequent Indian rising, the record-creating bodies. I need hardly remind you burden of the fighting fell on the remaining British that archives are not libraries. Information is not regulars. This prompted the British government stored according to neat little subject categories. to propose the permanent quartering of 10,000 Archives are maintained largely in the order in troops in North America, to be paid for in whole which they were created. Herein lies the necessity or in part by the colonists in the form of increased of understanding the various military taxation. This came to be one of the principal organizations. grievances of the Americans which led to open revolution in 1775. In the British American colonies defence had rested largely upon the local militias and volunteer When the American Revolution broke out in forces. The charters of the Royal Provinces had April 1775, the British Army consisted of from the earliest times provided for the creation approximately 48,000 troops, of which about of a militia, while a similar authority was assumed 8,000 were in North America. To conduct the war, by the non-royal colonies. In addition, volunteer military Commands or Departments were or independent companies were formed in the organized in North America. The Central more thickly populated areas by the wealthier Department was the occupied zone around New citizens. These were a decentralized force, locally York City; the Eastern Department was Nova raised, independent and self-contained, and as Scotia; the Northern or Canadian Department such, records are generally unavailable. Those was Quebec; and theSouthernDepartmentwas records that do survive will generally be found in Florida. From these headquarters, military forces state archives or historical records societies. were despatched. The Commanders of the Central Department were the Commanders-in A number of these local forces were placed Chief. on a more permanent footing. In 1717, the 40th Regiment of Foot was raised by Richard Philips In nearly every colony, Loyalist Associations to be maintained as a regular British regiment were formed. Provincial or Loyalist regiments from four independent companies at Annapolis and corps were attached to each of the four Royal and four other independent companies at geographic Departments. Initially, Loyalist or Placentia. The 40th Foot served in North America Provincial regiments and corps were recruited until the beginning of the nineteenth century. After from a specific area and had fairly uniform the capture of Louisbourg in 1745 by the colonial membership. Later, Loyalist units had their militias, William Shirley and William Pepperill numbers made up from the many homeless were each authorized to raise a regular regiment refugees crowding New York and the other British of infantry from the colonists who had taken part centres. Able-bodied men were encouraged to in the expedition. These became, respectively, the enlist in one of these units if they wished to be 50th and 51st Regiments of Foot. In 1756, the fed. As a result, it was not unusual for a man to 60th or Royal American Regiment was raised in have served in two or three Loyalist's units in Pennsylvania, to be maintained as a regular more than one Command during the course of British regiment. It was composed largely of the war. Many of these units were unincorporated. Germans, many of whom came direct from By the end of the war, approximately 8,000 Germany and Switzerland. Records for these Loyalists had served under arms. American-raised regiments will be covered below in my description of British-paid officers' and Besides the Provincial or Loyalist regiments, enlisted men's records. formed to serve anywhere ordered, militia companies were formed to perform garrison When major operations were undertaken duties in British-held territories. against the French in North America, regular British units began to be sent out. As noted earlier, Beginning in 1779, several ofthe provincial the defeat of the French in Canada was a corps were placed on a more permanent footing. combined effort of British regulars, colonial A new American Establishment was created, and militia, and volunteers. Many of the British the Queen's Rangers became the 1st American 114 https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol4/iss1/14 2 Dubé: Tommy Atkins, we Never Knew Ye: Documenting the British Soldier i Regiment; the Volunteers of Ireland became the along the Canadian-American border until1871, 2nd; the New York Volunteers, the 3rd; the King's when they were withdrawn, leaving the general American Regiment, the 4th; and the British defence of Canada to local forces. Thereafter, Legion, the fifth. More importantly, the granting British forces were limited to garrisons at Halifax of permanent rank and half-pay for Provincial and Esquimalt for the protection of the naval officers resulted in more records being kept for stations. With the evacuation of Esquimalt in both officers and men. 1906, the last British troops left Canada. From this, it was a logical progression to being Two British regular regiments in Canada placed on the Regular Establishment. The Royal deserve special attention. The Royal Canadian Highland Emigrants, raised in Canada by Allan Rifle Regiment was formed in 1840 for local McLean, would become the 84th Regiment of Foot, service from volunteers from the British while the Volunteers of Ireland were now called regiments then serving in Canada. The regiment the 1 05th Regiment of Foot. Others were placed continued in service until 1871, when most of on the Regular Establishment under their old the men took their discharge in Canada. Another names. These included the Queen's Rangers, the British formation, the 1 OOth Royal Canadian British Legion, the King's American Regiment, Regiment, a British regiment formed of and the Royal Garrison Battalion.