served.
Similarly, the “crown” you will find on cap badges will help you identify relevant time periods. During Queen Victoria’s reign, cap badge design included what is commonly referred to as a “Queen’s Crown” over the regimental number. This design changed when Edward VII and later George the V & VI assumed the throne, replaced by a “King’s Crown,” and then changed back to a “Queen’s Crown” for Elizabeth II. British medals were issued with clasps or bars denoting the military event in which the participant saw service.
As you continue researching an ancestor’s military history, expect to develop an awareness of the changes to the uniforms worn by your ancestor over the decades as well as the development of various patterns of “webbing” (military harness designed to support necessary equipment) and the type of weapons you might discover a family member carrying in some old photograph. This knowledge also helps you place an ancestor into context.
The infantry webbing worn by your ancestor will certainly help identify a time period in an old photograph. Often you will see a photograph of a soldier wearing Slade-Wallace harness, Oliver Pattern harness, 1908 or 1936 Pattern webbing, or, if your ancestor was an officer, wearing what was referred to as Sam Browne harness. Each piece of equipment carried by a military ancestor during certain time periods represents a change in the military culture. Refer to the glossary for an explanation of khaki, webbing, collar dogs, flashes, service and battle dress, puttees, and other uniquely military terms that will help you complete your search for your ancestor’s military history.
Always make sure your sources are trustworthy (especially online). And remember, just because you cannot find a record does not mean that it does not exist; it could be that an ancestor’s name was not recorded on the muster rolls or that the name was spelled differently than you expect it to be. You will quickly learn to distinguish between primary and secondary sources and some of the inherent weaknesses in the documents you may have to use as references. For example, when I searched the published rolls for the North West Canada Medal, they simply showed that a family member qualified for the medal and clasp (M. & C.) with nothing else of significance in the transcription. However, when I checked the original rolls I discovered that the transcriber had omitted a small, handwritten note. The note, which stated simply “12/05/85 wounded,” added a significant footnote to my family narrative. It meant this individual had fought in the Battle of Batoche (8–12 May 1885) and consequently would have been entitled to the Batoche clasp with the medal because he had served under fire.
All researchers should note that many early military medals were awarded well after the event. The British Military General Service Medal for the War of 1812 was commissioned in 1847 and debate about the “bars” to be awarded continued into 1856. The North West Canada General Service Medal issued for the North-West Rebellions in 1885 was last awarded in 1945 to the men of the transport corps. Your ancestor had to apply for these medals, so if he or she did not there’s a good chance he was either too busy to bother or had already died.
There are military terms and abbreviations that you will need to become familiar with in order to decipher any documents that you discover. The same applies to any photographs that show division, rank, skill at arms, trade, wound, battalion cap badges, or dog tags. A working knowledge of all of these will help you add to your narrative and enhance your research.
• • •
The websites in this book are correct as of the end of 2010. If you cannot find a site, do a Google search for the original URL or try to delete some of the letters after the first slash.
Remember that online resources are usually transcribed by volunteers and are therefore subject to mistakes. They also seem to have a “shelf life” and authors who include them in research texts often run the risk of having the site disappear before the printing of the text, including this one.
CHAPTER ONE
The War of 1812: Were My Ancestors Involved?
Have you ever wondered if you had any ancestors who served with the British forces during the Napoleonic period or were part of the militia that helped defend Canada during the War of 1812? If your family history has its roots in England, Scotland, Ireland, or French or British North America, there is a good chance that somewhere in your genealogy one of your relatives served in the British Army or Navy. After all, from the beginning of the Seven Years’ War in 1756 through the American Revolution, which ended in 1783, to the battle of New Orleans in January 1815, North America was at war.
On 18 June 1812, the war in Europe came to North America. England and France had been locked in war since the end of the eighteenth century. In order to hamper the French war effort, British naval vessels had blockaded French ports hoping to deny Napoleon needed war materials. Indeed, Britain’s control of the seas, blockade of French ports, and the stopping and searching of American naval vessels (that were trying to supply France) seemed to be just the excuse the young United States needed to threaten war.
Expansion of the United States across all of North America, including Canada, became what was to be considered their “manifest destiny.” What better time to declare war and invade Canada? There were only approximately 1,600 British troops in North America and very little likelihood of any more being sent from England. As the American statesman Thomas Jefferson said, “[T]he acquisition of Canada … as far as the neighborhood of Quebec will be a mere matter of marching.”[1] There were probably many individuals in British North America and England who agreed with him. The only thing in Britain’s favour was the fact that the British regulars stationed in Canada were better trained than their American counterparts and England hoped it could depend on two other factors: the Loyalists and the Natives.
To begin your search for possible 1812 ancestors, you should gain some knowledge of Loyalist records. Approximately 50,000 people left the United States either during or shortly following the American Revolution. Their arrival in Canada had a huge impact on our history. The provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and what later became Upper Canada were shaped by their arrival. The Loyalists and their children were entitled to free land. In the years following 1791 a large number of Americans also came north for free land with the only proviso that they swear loyalty to the British Crown. These people were later referred to as the “late Loyalists” and, to some in the colony, their loyalty was always suspect.
To provide land for the Loyalists, the British government surveyed large tracts of land in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Upper Canada into the grid pattern we see today in the province of Ontario: concessions, lots, lines. The Loyalist muster rolls, land grant applications, and other related documents are valuable tools for a family historian. They contain a wealth of information on each of the individuals who applied for free government land.
The Provincial Corps (Loyalists) established by the British during the American Rebellion were assigned to four military districts: Eastern District, Northern District, Central, and Southern Commands. The Eastern and Northern Military Districts were mostly in what was called the “Canadian Establishment.” For instance, if your ancestors served in the following Loyalist Regiments: Loyal Nova Scotia Volunteers, Royal Fencible Americans, Callbeck’s St. John Island Volunteers, or Pringle’s Foot — Royal Newfoundland, they were in the Eastern District. The Royal Highland Emigrants (84th Foot), King’s Royal Regiment of New York (Yorkers), Butler’s Rangers, King’s Rangers (Rogers), Mohawk Corps of Rangers, Queen’s Loyal Rangers (Jessup’s Corps), and the Loyal Rangers (Jessup’s Canadian Rangers) were in the Northern Command.
There were well over thirty Loyalist Corps/Provincial Regiments raised during the American Revolution. The following list will give you some idea of the Provincial Corps records you can search for at LAC
Armed Batteau-men
Armed Boatmen
Arnold’s
