The Origin and Services of the 3rd (Montreal)

Colonel Hogan, who commanded the Montreal Artillery for some time, comesfrom an old military family, his father having been a captain in the InniskillingFusiliers in 1815. He, himself, almost made up his mind to join the SeventhHussars in 1839, and, in 1846, he actually began his military career by joiningColonel Shuter s Battalion of the old Lower Canada Militia as Quartermaster.The militia organizations of those days were, however, merely nominal, and liehad no duties to perform.Colonel Hogan says that when the looth Regiment was organized as a contribution by Canada towards Imperial defence, he set to work to qualify for acommission as major, by raising the necessary quota raised nearly the required number of men, he found that the commissions had beenof 200 men. When he hadpractically allotted, and he turned over his men to Major Dunn, who otherwisecould not have qualified for his majority. The career of Major Dunn is, or oughtto be, familiar to all readers of Canadian military history. This gallant Canadiansoldier of the Queen saw his first militarynth Hussars, winning the Cross for Valour at that most heroic and dramatic ofservice in the Crimea as an officer in theall battles, Balaklava. In the celebrated chargeon the extreme left of the Light Brigade. After performing prodigies of valour,the nth, overpowered by numbers, were retreating. While literally hewing theirway back, Dunn s horse was shot from under him. He sprang upon one that wasrushing riderless about the bloody field, and dashed to the assistance of SergeantBentley who was beset by three Russian lancers. Without a moment s hesitation,he at once attacked them, and by the strength of his arm and the vigour of hischarge succeeded in cutting them down. A little further on, the Russians hadflocked together, and attacked in small bands individual members of the nth.A Russian hussar officer, with others, had fallen upon Private Levett and wasabout to cut him down, when Lieutenant Dunn, bursting through, struck theRussian officer to the ground with his sword. For these daring deeds, he wasrecommended with one accord by his companions in arms for the Victoria Crossof the Six Hundred the nth werewhen Her Majesty instituted that token of honour. Lieutenant Dunn was thethird member of the Army who had the decoration attached to his breast by HerMajesty. He retired on the sale of his commission in 1855 and returned to Canada,but re-entered the army as major in the looth. Being transferred from that regiment,he attained the command of the famous 33rd Duke of Wellington s Regiment, andsaw service with it in Abyssinia, where he met an untimely death.29