Document Record

Title

I.B. Records of the Canadian Command : correspondence of the Commanding Royal Engineer : special credits, 1867-1869
British Military and Naval records. "C" Series

Identifier

lac_mikan_2812316
RG 8 I
Government
Military
oocihm.lac_mikan_2812316

Document source

Library and Archives Canada / Bibliothèque et Archives Canada

Language

English

Description

Prior to Confederation in 1867, residents of the colonies in what is now Canada served as regular members of French and British forces and in local militia groups. The latter aided in the defence of their respective territories against attacks by other European powers, Aboriginal peoples, and later American forces during the American Revolutionary War and War of 1812, as well as in the Fenian raids, Red River Rebellion, and North-West Rebellion. Consequently, the lineages of some Canadian army units stretch back to the early 19th century, when militia units were formed to assist in the defence of British North America against invasion by the United States. The responsibility for military command remained with the British Crown-in-Council, with a commander-in-chief for North America stationed at Halifax until the final withdrawal of British Army and Royal Navy units from that city in 1906.
The Department of Militia and Defence was the department responsible for Canadian military forces from 1906 to 1921, and the Minister of Militia and Defence was in charge of this department. Before this period, from 1855 to 1906, the Minister of Militia and Defence was responsible for Canadian militia units only, as the British Army was still stationed in Canada. When the British Army withdrew from Canada in 1906, the department became the overseer of all Canadian land forces. In 1921, the Royal Canadian Navy was transferred to this department, so it was renamed the Department of Militia and Defence and the Naval Service. In January 1923, the department name was changed to the Department of National Defence as a result of the prior amalgamation of Naval Services, Militia and Defence, as well as the merger of the Air Board into the department.
This collection consists of letters, memoranda, and statements relating to special credits from records accumulated by the British forces stationed in Canada from 1759 until 1906.

URL

https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_mikan_2812316