Reminiscences of the North-West Rebellions - A Record of the Raising of Her Majesty's 100th Regiment in Canada #270696

War when this mutiny broke out. A large portion of the English militia had been called out; twenty-five second bat talions had been raised, and the demands upon England's recruiting power were exhausting the available supply. For the first time in the history of the mother-country, England came to one of her great colonies to assist her in recruiting her army, a fact interesting to the Canadian people, as it led to the formation of the first colonial regiment ever furnished for British service abroad. I cannot pass on without giving some reminiscences of the first ten years' service of the 100th Regiment, which in 1858 marched out of Canada twelve hundred strong. So many of its members are still scattered throughout Canada, that my brief narrative, I venture to think, may not be unacceptable. The governor-general, Sir Edmund Walker Head, was entrusted with the authority necessary to raise the regi ment and to appoint the Canadian officers. He was to select from among Canadians the whole of the men, four ensigns, eight lieutenants, six captains, and one major. The remaining officers were to be appointed from the army on the arrival of the regiment in England. The colonelcy was given to the Baron de Rottenburg, adjutant-general of Militia, an experienced military man well qualified to take command.