Canadian Voltigeurs
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The Canadian Voltigeurs were a light infantry unit, raised in Lower Canada in 1812, that fought in the War of 1812.
As war with the United States threatened, Sir George Prevost, the Governor General of Canada, authorised on April 15, 1812, the enlistment of a Provincial Corps of Light Infantry under Lieutenant Colonel Charles de Salaberry, to serve during war or the "apprehension of war".
The unit was officially part of the militia, and its enlisted personnel were subject to the Militia laws and ordinances, but for all practical purposes, it was administered on the same basis as the Fencible units, also raised in Canada as regular soldiers but liable for service in North America only.
De Salaberry selected members of the leading families of Lower Canada (the present-day Province of Quebec) as officers, but their commissions were not confirmed until they had recruited their quota of volunteers (for example, 36 men for Captains, 14 for Lieutenants). Several other officers transferred from units of the British Army stationed in Canada, in the hope that they would gain rank or seniority by the transfer. Most of these officers remained with the Voltigeurs even when these ambitions were not fulfilled.
Recruiting was brisk; in addition to a bounty of £4, the recruits were promised a grant of 50 acres of land on discharge. Almost all the soldiers and most of the officers were French-speaking, which led to the unit being widely known as the Voltigeurs, a French word meaning "vaulter" or "leaper", and given to elite light infantry units in the French Army. However, all formal orders on the parade ground or in battle were given in English.
The Voltigeurs wore grey uniforms, with black facings and accoutrements. The coats were fitted with the padded "wings" worn by grenadier and light infantry units of the British Army. The headgear was a small black bearskin cap. Officers wore a hussar-type uniform, in bottle-green (or "rifle green", as it was becoming known). The weapon carried was the British India Pattern Musket.
The new unit mustered at Chambly. It had eight companies of light infantry, and some Mohawk warriors were attached. Two further companies were recruited from Sedentary militia of the Eastern Townships of the Montreal district, and officially listed as the ninth and tenth companies, but they formed a separate corps, the Frontier Light Infantry, throughout the war.
Part of the Voltigeurs were in action at the Battle of La Colle Mill late in 1812.
Early in 1813, a detachment under the unit's second-in-command, Major Frederick Heriot, moved up the Saint Lawrence River to form part of the garrison of Kingston, the main British base on Lake Ontario. On May 29, two companies took part in the Battle of Sackett's Harbor. Later in the year, the detachment moved to Prescott, and played an important part in the Battle of Crysler's Farm.
Meanwhile, the remainder of the unit formed part of a light corps south of Montreal which was commanded by de Salaberry. Learning that an American division under Major General Wade Hampton was advancing from Four Corners, New York, de Salaberry's force entrenched themselves by the River Chateauguay. On October 26, Hampton attacked. Two companies of the Voltigeurs formed part of de Salaberry's front line, and three companies were part of his reserve. At the resulting Battle of the Chateauguay, Hampton was repulsed.
Early in 1814, the entire unit concentrated at Montreal, and was built back up to strength. It was brigaded with the Frontier Light Infantry, and another militia light infantry unit, the Canadian Chasseurs. The combined force formed part of a brigade under Major General Thomas Brisbane during the Battle of Plattsburgh, where the British army retreated after its supporting naval squadron was destroyed.
On the end of the war, the unit was disbanded, on May 24, 1815.
In theory, no present-day Canadian unit can trace its lineage back to the Voltigeurs, as a result of a decision in 1960 that the cut-off date for a unit's ancestry is 1855, the date of creation of the volunteer militia from which the modern Canadian armed forces are descended. The current Les Voltigeurs de Québec only share a common link by the province they are located and name.
A junior ice hockey team in the QMJHL from Drummondville, Quebec, the Drummondville Voltigeurs, takes their name from the unit.
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[edit] External links
[edit] References
- Chartrand, Rene; Embleton Gerry (1998). British Forces in North America 1793-1815. United Kingdom: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-741-4.
- Benn, Carl (2002). The War of 1812 (Essential Histories 41). United Kingdom: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-466-3.
- Beacock Fryer, Mary (1986). Battlefields of Canada. Toronto: Dundern Press Limited. ISBN 1-55002-007-2
