What is the royal Canadian rifle regiment?

Answer 1

The Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment

Robert B. Stewart

The Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment (usually abbreviated as "RCRR") was a regular

unit of the British Army raised in 1840 and disbanded in 1870. It served

exclusively in Canada, and had two very unusual features. Firstly, it was a veterans'

battalion. All non-commissioned members were veterans of fixed periods of

service in other regiments of the British Army. Secondly, it was a rifle regiment

rather than a normal infantry regiment. This meant that instead of being equipped

with smoothbore muskets, it was equipped with rifles and was trained for

deployment as a skirmishing unit in battle.

Raising the RCRRs

The reason the RCRR was recruited from veterans was the perennial problem of

desertion. The Colony of Upper Canada, with its close proximity to the United

States, experienced an epidemic of military desertion from its foundation in the

1780s until Confederation in 1867. British soldiers, underpaid and overworked in

a part of the world where there were high wages and a constant demand for labour,

were often tempted to abandon their military careers in favour of Immigration to

the United States, from which they would not be extradicted by the American

government. By the 1830s, the problem of desertion was so grave that hundreds of

trained soldiers were lost annually, and units posted at sites such as Fort

Wellington quickly melted away.

In response, the Ministry of War authorized the raising of a veterans' regiment, to

be recruited from soldiers of at least fifteen years service in other regiments. The

apparent theory was that these soldiers were unlikely to desert, having had years of

opportunity but not having taken it. They were also thought more likely to be

married, and thus less susceptible to impulsive crimes.

To add to the attractions of service in the RCRR, recruits were granted bounties, a

higher rate of pay, and the opportunity for twice as many wives to live in garrison

"on the establishment" - that is to say, entitled to live in barracks and receive regular

rations.

The RCRR was raised as a rifle regiment as a result of a suggestion from the Duke

of Wellington. Asked to comment on strategic considerations for the defence of

Canada after Waterloo, Wellington recalled the great success of his dedicated light

infantry regiments and rifle regiments during the Napoleonic Wars and suggested

that only rifle and light infantry regiments should be employed in the "wilds" of

Canada. Of course, Wellington had experienced nothing of North American

conditions himself, and may perhaps be excused for thinking that Canada in the

period after the War of 1812 was a wilderness.

Wellington's recommendation was accepted by the Ministry of War, and the

RCRR was created as a rifle regiment. In practical terms, this meant that it was

issued green wool uniforms rather than the customary red, black leather

accoutrements rather than white, and rifles rather than muskets. Tactically, the

Regiment was employed in a skirmishing mode, with each rifleman trained to act

as part of a file of two men, separated from the other riflemen by regular distances,

and firing relatively few, highly accurate shots rather than frequent volleys of

inaccurate, short range fire.

Uniforms, Weapons and Equipment:

The initial rifle issued to the RCRR was the well-regarded Baker Rifle. The Baker

Rifle was first issued during the Napoleonic Wars. It had a flintlock mechanism,

was accurate to approximately 300 meters range, and in the hands of a trained

rifleman was a very deadly firearm. In the early 1840s, the British Army adopted

the Brunswick Rifle. This was similar to the Baker Rifle, but with a percussion

mechanism, different rifling system, and heavier weight. It proved very unpopular,

being difficult to load and having a nasty recoil.

The photographs reproduced to the left illustrate the uniform of a rifleman of the

Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment in 1846. This uniform was reproduced by the

Discriminating General, a firm which specializes in manufacturing uniforms and

equipment of the British Army in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries for the

museum and film industries. The coat is a frock coat, adopted in 1845, and

buttoned with black horn buttons of Regimental style. The hat is the Albert pattern

shako, adopted the same year to replace the previous belltop shako.

In the large pouch worn on the rifleman's right hip, he carries his ammunition

supply of rolled paper cartridges. The waistbelt usually supported a sword bayonet

on the left hip for the Brunswick Rifle, and a small pouch for percussion caps on

his stomach to the right of the serpentine buckle.

The front of the shako is decorated with a bronze hunting horn emblem, the

traditional symbol of light infantry and rifle regiments in the British Army

Service History:

The regimental headquarters of the RCRR was initially located

at Toronto. It was moved to Kingston in 1855. Individual

companies of the Regiment were detached and deployed at

various garrisons throughout Canada West (Ontario) and

Canada East (Quebec). One company was stationed at Fort

Wellington throughout the 1840s and 1850s.

Other garrisons included Montreal, Brockville, Kingston,

Toronto, Niagara, Amherstburg and Winnipeg. Given the

relative peace which prevailed in the Canadas between 1838

and 1867, it is unsurprising that the Regiment was only once

deployed for active service - during the Fenian Raids in 1866. It

never actually fought, however. The RCRR was disbanded at

Kingston on 30 September, 1870 as one of the final acts before

the British Army withdrew from Canada after Confederation.