Royal Scots of Canada Highlanders - Electric Scotland

40 Sth ROYAL SCOTS OF CANADA
and a crack Montreal volunteer cavalry corps of the
day, known as "The Royal Guides", which was organized
among the members of the Montreal Hunt, April, 17,
1863.
This was on Saturday, June the 9th. The Guides,
under the command of Captain D. Lorn Macdougall,
Master of the Montreal Hunt, advanced along the frontier
as close to the lines as possible, across the anticipated
line of retreat of the Fenians, while a party of the
regular troops advancing from the north, accelerated
their retrogade movement. Near Pigeon Hill the Guides
came up to a body of Fenians who had thrown barricades
across a road and seemed disposed to resist.
The
Guides, however, soon broke down the barricades and
making a rush upon the P'enians, who were seized by a
panic upon realizing that they were between two fires,
as the regulars were steadily advancing, succeeded in
capturing fifteen prisoners, who were sent to Montreal,
subsequentljf being returned to Sweetsburg for trial.
Upon this occasion the raiders accomplished nothing
beyond alarming the country people, bayonetting a few
cattle, and destroj'ing a considerable amoimt of private
property.
The day that O'Neill and his force of
Fenians crossed
from Buffalo to Fort Erie, the Montreal Active Militia
was called upon to provide a force for service along the
frontier. Again the system was adopted of selecting a
company from each of the infantry regiments chosen for
service. About mid-day came the order for a company
from the ist Prince of Wales Rifles, one from the 3rd
Victoria Rifles, and one from the 5th Royals to proceed
that night to St. Johns. The three companies arrived
at St. Johns late that night, the company of the Royals
being commanded by Captain Campbell, that of the
P.W.R., by Captain Bond, and that of the 3rd Victoria
Rifles by Captain Bacon. The companies were assigned
to quarters in the barracks, and quite a large force was
concentrated at St. Johns in a few days. Several companies
of the Royal Canadian Rifles (i) were stationed
permanently at this place, and there were also there
Colonel Elrington's battalion of the Rifle Brigade, the
25th King's Own Borderers, some companies of the 30th
Regiment (2), a battery of the Royal Artillery under
Major Pipon, the Chasseurs Canadiens, from Montreal,
under Lieut.-Colonel Coursol, the nth Argenteuil Rangers,
(i)
under Major Houghton, and several rural companies.
Although the Colonial corps now borne on the "Home Estimates"
are few in number, there were many of them early in the 19th century, there
being at one time no less than eight West India Regiments, the Royal African
Colonial Corps, the ist and 2nd Ceylon Regiments, the Cape Corps the St
Helena Regiment, the Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment, etc. The Royal Canadian
Rifle Regiment was raised for special service in Canada in .841 and
disbanded in 1870. In uniform this corps conformed rather to the 60th Rifles
than to the Rifle Brigade, wearing the green with scarlet facings. The rank
and file consisted of men with previous service in the army, and they were
allowed to participate in civilian pursuits within certain limitations.
The 30th Regiment was raised in 1702; was formerly known as the
(^)
Cambridgeshire Regiment, and is now the First Battalion of the East Lancashire
Regiment.
Service companies from other Montreal corps were
despatched to other points.
On the morning of June 2nd, the day following the
departure of the service companies, the whole of the
Montreal militia corps were ordered out for active service,
and at 6 p.m. some of the regiments left by G.T.R.
for Hemmingford via Lachine and Caughnawaga. All
were ordt«red to leave at the same time, but deficiencies
in equipinent and stores prevented the others from leaving.
This was particularly the case with the Montreal
Field Battery and the Ro3'als. This matter of defective
equipment, at this time gave Major Grant, commanding
the Royals a chance to demonstrate his firmness of
character. He positively refused to assume the responsibility
of taking his regiment out of the city on active
service, imperfectly equipped as they were, without proper
arms, boots, blankets, camp equipage, axes, pickaxes,
spades, and other necessary stores. Really no
time was lost by the action of the commanding officer
of the Royals, for some of the corps who left for the
front unprovided for could not move from the railway,
and had to wait until ammunition, boots, etc., could be
sent on to them. As the weather was very wet at this
time, the corps that went to the front improperly
equipped suffered severely from the wet, having no utensils
to dig trenches round the tents, or to otherwise
provide for the drainage of their camps.
After much delay and trouble. Major Grant gained
his point and received a new issue of rifles, and boots, as
well as camp tools and other stores, consequently proceeding
to the front in a fairly serviceable condition. The
main bodj- of the regiment proceeded to Hemmingford,
where on Saturday, June 9th, it went into camp, and
had a fine chance to perfect itself in drill, an opportunity
that was made the most of.
The commanding officer was very anxious that
Captain Campbell's company should join regimental
headquarters, but, as Captain Campbell strongly objected
to being taken in from the front, it was allowed to
remain at St.
Johns.
The St. Johns' garrison amounted to about 3,000
men, and all were kept very busy. The garrison duties
were performed alternately by regular and volunteer regiments
with a little variation in the case of the Montreal
service companies. These were formed into a Provisional
Battalion with the odd companies of those
regular regiments which were not present in full strengtli.
In this provisional regiment regular and volunteer companies
alternated. A company of the 30th was No. i.
Captain Campbell's company of the Royals was No. 2,
a company of the Royal Canadian Rifles, was No. 3,
then Captain Bacon's company of the Victoria Rifles,
and so on. The garrison was commanded by four successive
commanding officers:—the lieut .-colonel of the
R.C.R., Lt.-Col. Fane, K.O.B., Lt.-Col. Elringion, Rifle
Brigade, and Colonel Pipon, R.A.—Colonel Pipon, inspected
the volunteer companies when they arrived, and