104th (New Brunswick) Regiment of Foot
104th (New Brunswick) Regiment of Foot | |
---|---|
Active | 1803-1817 |
Disbanded | 1817 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Type | Infantry |
Role |
|
Size | 1,097 enlisted at peak establishment strength |
Colours | Buff facings |
Engagements | War of 1812 |
Battle honours | |
Commanders | |
Colonel of the Regiment | Martin Hunter |
104th (New Brunswick) Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army. The regiment had its origins in the New Brunswick Regiment of Fencible Infantry, a unit of
The regiment took part in the
The regiment ended the war at
Background and establishment
A
The
Recruitment
The New Brunswick Fencibles were permitted to recruit across British North America.
The recruits were bolstered with experienced regulars drafted from the 37th Regiment, serving in the West Indies, and the 60th Regiment, in British North America.[8] The officers were largely British, with three quarters, including all of the captains and majors, being existing regular army officers.[11][7] These came from other regiments including the 46th, the 11th and the Cape Regiment as well as from officers on half-pay. A number of subalterns were recruited locally in British North America.[7] The New Brunswick Fencibles mustered only 38 other ranks on 1 January 1804 but 217 by 1 July, 305 by 1 January 1805 and 466 by 1 July 1805.[5] The regiment passed its initial acceptance inspection in January 1806, the vast majority of the recruits being judged fit for service. After this the unit was formally added to the establishment by George III, with the date of this being antedated to 25 June 1805.[7] The unit's official establishment strength was 33 sergeants, 20 drummers, 600 men.[12]
The unit was initially clothed in spare uniforms left behind by the 60th Regiment when it was posted to England.
Early deployments and conversion to line infantry
In 1806 detachments of the regiment were deployed to outposts around the Bay of Fundy. In September 1807 one company was deployed at Saint John and one split between there and Saint Andrews. In early 1808 four companies were at Saint John. In June one company was deployed to Sydney, Nova Scotia, and one to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, where they remained until 1810.[13]
The regiment's establishment strength was increased progressively on 25 April 1807, 25 August 1811 and 13 April 1812 (when a dedicated recruiting company was added).[12] A surgeon was authorised and appointed in 1807, the regiment previously relying on two surgeon's mates.[14] Despite a temporary halt on recruitment implemented by governor of British North America Sir James Henry Craig in spring 1808 the regiment reached an enlisted strength of 63 sergeants, 26 drummers and 1,008 men in 1812.[12][15] The fighting force was organised into 8 line companies each comprising a captain, 2 lieutenants, an ensign, 5 sergeants, 5 corporals, 2 musicians and 95 privates plus the two flank companies.[16] The company drummers seem to have been replaced by buglers by 1810 (unusual for British line infantry, buglers typically being used only in rifle regiments), though by 1813 both drums and bugles may have been in use for passing on orders at the company level.[8]
In 1810 the officers of the regiment applied to the King to be admitted to the British Army as a regiment of the line. This was granted on 13 September 1810 and the unit formally became the 104th (New Brunswick) Regiment of Foot.
As a regular regiment the 104th were liable to serve anywhere in the world.[11] It was replaced in the fencible role by a separate New Brunswick Regiment of Fencible Infantry raised in autumn 1812.[2] The 104th's uniform was modified after it changed status, for example the shoulderbelt plate was amended to show a "104" numeral surrounded by a crowned garter. After the transfer the 104th remained on garrison duty in New Brunswick.[11]
War of 1812
The government of the United States declared war on Britain in June 1812, beginning the War of 1812. Later that year there were fears of an American invasion of Upper Canada and in the middle of winter it was decided to send the 104th from New Brunswick to reinforce the colony.[19] Detachments of the regiment gathered at Fredericton from where six companies, numbering 20 officers and 550 men, departed on 16 February.[12][19] Marching in snow shoes and towing their equipment and supplies on toboggans the men arrived at Quebec City on 15 March, having covered a distance of 350 miles (560 km).[3][19] The men rested for a short period before continuing the march to Kingston, Ontario, which they reached in early April, having marched 1,100 kilometres (680 mi) in the Canadian winter.[19] This arduous march "was reckoned one of the feats of the war" by British historian Charles Prestwood Lucas in his Canadian War of 1812 and was described as "almost certainly the longest winter march made by a British regiment up to that time" by Canadian historian John R. Grodzinski.[20][12]
The six companies were joined at Kingston by the remainder of the regiment over the following months, reaching a peak strength of around 1,000 men.
In June the flank companies were ordered to the Niagara region.[3] They reached there in time to join the end of the 24 June Battle of Beaver Dams and helped to guard American prisoners of war.[22][3] The regiment reunited at Kingston over winter.[3] In 1814 the 104th garrisoned posts between Kingston and Prescott, an important link in the lines of communication to Montreal.[21] Some of the regiment fought an engagement with the American forces at Cape Vincent, New York, on 14 May 1814.[12] The flank companies were again detached in July 1814 and served in the Niagara campaign, the last American attempt to invade Canada. The companies fought at the inconclusive night-time Battle of Lundy's Lane on 25 July.[3] The remainder of the regiment was ordered to Niagara to rejoin the flank companies and fought at the Siege of Fort Erie. In an assault at 3 am on 15 August the regiment's light company succeeded in capturing a key bastion but was forced to retreat after a powder magazine exploded.[3] Only 23 of the company's 77 men returned to British lines and the regiment's commander Lieutenant-Colonel William Drummond was killed.[3][23] The regiment's last engagement was the 19 October 1814 Battle of Cook's Mills.[3]
The flank companies had been nearly wiped out during the Niagara campaign and were accorded the honour of wearing the word "Niagara" on their equipment thereafter.
The War of 1812 memoirs [26] of Sir John Le Couteur (then a lieutenant) describe the winter march and the regiment's subsequent war service.
Disbandment and legacy
In 1816 the British Army's
The 104th is unique in Canadian history as the only regular British Army regiment to be raised and serve in the region during the Napoleonic period.
See also
References
- ISBN 978-0-86492-447-6.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-86492-447-6.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8117-0519-6.
- ^ "The King's New Brunswick Regiment". Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ JSTOR 44231987.
- ISBN 978-0-86492-447-6.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-86492-447-6.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-86492-447-6.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7735-3578-7.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-86492-447-6.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8117-0519-6.
- ^ JSTOR 44231987.
- ISBN 978-0-86492-447-6.
- ISBN 978-0-86492-447-6.
- ISBN 978-0-86492-447-6.
- ISBN 978-0-86492-447-6.
- ISBN 978-0-86492-447-6.
- ^ Bird, Will Richard (1963). North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment. Brunswick Press. p. 23.
- ^ a b c d e "Winter March of the 104th Regiment". University of New Brunswick. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-86492-447-6.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-86492-447-6.
- ^ Edgar Ridout, Lady Matilda; Ridout, Thomas (1890). Ten Years of Upper Canada in Peace and War, 1805-1815: Being the Ridout Letters. Toronto: W. Briggs. p. 200.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-86492-447-6.
- ISBN 978-0-7735-3578-7.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-86492-447-6.
- ^ Graves, Donald E. (1993). Merry Hearts Make Light Days: The War of 1812 Journal of Lieutenant John Le Couteur, 104th Foot. McGill Queen's University Press.
- ISBN 978-1-78383-507-2.
- ^ The Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces: Volume 3, Part Two: Infantry Regiments (PDF). Chief of the Defence Staff, Canada. 15 January 2010. p. 2-2-273.