Or the LAMADIAM

, oq 71 C or THE LAMADIAM Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in tht- iifnr Xinetet n Hit mired and St> fti, nt the Depart ment of Agriculture, di/ Lou its M . Fre&cn THE HONOURABLE SIR F. W. BORDKN-, K.C.M.G., M.D., M.P. Minister of Militia since July 13th, 1896. he Canadian Militia A HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE FORCE by Captain Ernest J. Chambers (Corps of Guides) Author of the histories of The 1st Prince of Wales Regiment; The 3rd (Montreal) Field Battery, The 2nd Queen s Own Rifles; The Montreal Highland Cadet Battalion; The Governor General s Body Guards; The I Oth Royal Grenadiers; 1 he 43rd Duke of Cornwall s 5th of "Le Carabiniers Own Rifles; The Royal Highlanders Canada ; 65me Mont Royal "; The Royal North- West Mounted Police; The 90th Winnipeg Rifles, Etc. Etc. L. M. FRESCO. - MONTREAL Publisher TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 7 PREFACE. FRENCH REGIME . CHAPTER I. THE CANADIAN MILITIA OF THE - OF ALLEGIANCE. Rule in Canada. CHAPTER II. THE CHANGE OF FLAGS AND TRANSFER -Military The First British Canadian Militia AND VOLUNTEERS. 20 CHAPTER III. SIR GUY CARLETON S MILITIA under Governor Simcoe.- CHAPTER IV. THE UPPER CANADA MILITIA. The Original Organization The War of 1812 and The Rebellion of 1837-38 . The of the French Militia System CHAPTER V. THE MILITIA OF LOWER CANADA. Principles Canadian Militia and Volunteer Corps Retained. The Royal Canadian Volunteers. Lower Discord . of 1812-14 and 1837. The Militia a Butt of Political While Self CHAPTER VI. THE MILITIA OF UNITED CANADA. The Mother Country Conceding Defence. The Trent Affair and Government to Canada Expects Her to do More in Her Own Force Instead of a Mere Auxiliary to Fenian Raids.-The Militia Becomes a National Defensive ft -t the Regular Army .............. 7\ CHAPTER VII. THE MARITIME PROVINCE MILITIA... Act and Amending CHAPTER V11L MILITIA OF THE DOMINION. The First Dominion Militia North Raids of 1870 and 1871. The Red River Expeditions. The Legislation. -The Fenian Defensive Force From The west Rebellion and The South African War.-Canada s Emerges 87 Experimental Stage .............................. Becomes an Effective Army With CHAPTER IX. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS. The Canadian Militia And Arsenals.-Canada Assume. The Whole Its Own Staff and Departmental Organizations of the Last the Union Jack in North America.-Departnre Responsibility of Keeping Flying British Regulars. .............. PREFACE remarkable progress made by Canada during the past eight or ten years in the development of her natural resources, in the extension of her domestic THEindustries and in the expansion of her internal and foreign commerce, has been accompanied by a development of wholesome national military spirit and by an expansion of the defensive force of the Dominion just as noteworthy and and of unquestionably just as essential to the continued prosperity happiness the inhabitants of the Dominion as a people. IJThe sound, sober military spirit which permeates the loyal and patriotic popula tion of Canada is unquestionably one of the most valuable assets of this great country. History proves beyond all cavil that the continued possession of a ster of ling military spirit is absolutely essential to the preservation the liberty, the material prosperity, the higher standards of moral and religious life, and the true happiness of nations. Ancient empires like Assyria, Babylonia. Egypt, Phoenicia and Lydia. only succumbed when the virile military spirit which had established their prosperity and glory was extinguished. When the Lydians, during a momen tary revival of national military spirit, endeavored to throw off the Persian yoke, Cyrus (559-531 B.C.) decided that the subjugation of the proud race should be crushing and final. He did not lay the rebellious country waste nor put its people to the sword. The Lydians were fabulously rich, so much so that the name of their king Croesus to this day stands as a synonym for vast wealth. Cyrus, who com bined the wisdom of a philosopher with the skill and courage of a mighty con queror, decided that the national wealth of the Lydians coupled with the oblitera tion of the military spirit prevailing among them should be made to work the nation s death. They were deprived of their arms and all trophies and monuments recalling past military glories. They were forbidden to practice military evolutions or anything resembling them, and were actually compelled to live in the idle enjoy ment of the wealth they possessed, in order that the race might become demora lized and effeminate. This policy soon accomplished its purpose. fThanks to the oft-recurring outbreaks of unfriendliness among sections of the people of the neighbouring but not always neighbourly republic, and to the deep- rooted determination of the Canadian people, begotten of their royalist stock, to preserve inviolate at all costs the territory of Canada as the home of British par liamentary institutions and the ark of true freedom in North America, there has always been more or less military spirit in this country, and the existence of the Canadian Militia, even during the periods of most pronounced neglect, has done not a little to foster and nourish it. IThe South African War stimulated the military spirit in Canada as it had not been for years; and in demonstrating the mighty scope which existed for co operation between the Mother Country and her daughter nations in defence of the Empire, at once raised the Canadian Militia from the level of a mere auxiliary of the regular army, liable to be called upon to furnish men. and perhaps a few selected officers, in cases of local emergency, to the status of a powerful and necessary unit of the Imperial defensive force. IfThe Canadian people and the Canadian Militia have manfully assumed the increased responsibility, and the intervening few years have seen an incompletely organized, a poorly supported, and an oft -neglected militia transformed into an effective army with a carefully selected and trained staff, with modern armaments and equipment, and with its own arsenals, maga/ines and departments. PREFACE Continued tAnd Canada, possessing, as her oft-tried loyalty well warrants, the absolute con fidence of the Mother Country, has dutifully and proudly assumed the full respon sibility of keeping the flagof the Empire flying in the northern half of this continent. The last soldier on the pay rolls of His Majesty s regular army has left Canadian soil. 1A new epoch in the history of the Canadian forces has been reached, and the time for seems opportune taking a glance backward and for reviewing the various stages of of the development the Canadian Militia. It might now, more correctly, be styled the Canadian Army. fFor many years the writer has had in contemplation the production of a volume or in series of volumes giving, comprehensive detail, a record of the origin, develop ment and services of the Canadian Militia, and he hopes yet to carry out that idea. When he was first approached by the publishers of this book and invited to under- take the writing of it, he hesitated somewhat, as the time and space placed at his disposal were limited; but realizing that the volume proposed could hardly fail to be of immediate practical use to his comrades of the militia and others in terested, for a book of the kind has been long needed, he agreed to do the work. {The Minister of Militia, Sir Frederick Borden, had been already interviewed by the publishers and kindly expressed his approval. He also most courteously promised the writer that any departmental information he required should be placed at his disposal. IfOn account of the lack of space at his command the author found that it was impossible in this volume to give more than a passing notice to the campaigns of the Militia, deeming it of more practical importance to trace the development of the force and to record the successive changes which have taken place in its organization and internal administration. fThanks have to be accorded to Doctors De Celles and Griffin, Librarians of Parlia ment, and to their staff of the Parliamentary Library, Ottawa, more particularly to Lieut. -Colonel A. H. Todd and Messrs. Sylvain and MacCormae; to Dr. Arthur Doughty. C.M.G., Dominion Archivist; to Colonel F. L. Lessard, Adjutant-General of Militia; to Colonel D. A. MacDonald, Quartermaster-General; to J. W. Borden, Accountant and Paymaster-General; to Major R. J. Wicksteed, author of a most interesting pamphlet on the militia (1875); to Mr. Lane, Librarian of the Militia to of the Canadian Department ; Major Irving, Military Institute, Toronto, and to a large number of military and literary friends who have placed material and pictures at the author s disposition. TfThere is in the Dominion Archives a veritable mine of invaluable information with reference to the infancy of the Canadian defensive force, and it must be a subject for congratulation to all interested in the force to know that this material is being so skilfully and carefully arranged that it will be directly and usefully avail able to them. In the preparation of the following pages the Archives have been largely drawn upon and so have the annual reports of the Militia Department, parliamentary papers and the Hansards of the Senate and House of Commons. ERNEST J. CHAMBERS. o Dalv Ave., Ottawa, .hilv 1. 1907. CHAPTER I THE CANADIAN MILITIA OF THE FRENCH REGIME as it at present exists, the Canadian armed force raised in Montreal, Quebec and Three ALTHOUGH.Militia* system bears the impress of the Rivers in 1764 for use in the operations against the influences of the old militia organizations of western Indians.

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