British Orbat in North America, January 1861

This is an attempt to work out a “wargamable” Order of Battle for the British Army in North America during the Trent Affair before the St. Lawence river thaws and reinforcements arrive from Britain. The Army of Canada is the Field Army holding the frontier behind a screen of Canadian and captured American Forts (Fort Niagara and Montgomery for example). The Army of the Maritimes is probably in Maine.

Army of Canada (26,300 men, 156 guns)

Artillery Reserve (2,400 men, 84 guns)

3^rd Battery, 7^th Brigade (Heavy)

4^th Battery, 7^th Brigade (Heavy)

5^th Battery, 7^th Brigade (Heavy)

6^th Battery, 7^th Brigade (Heavy)

1^st Battery, 10^th Brigade (Heavy)

2^nd Battery, 10^th Brigade (Heavy)

5^th Battery, 10^th Brigade (Heavy)

6^th Battery, 10^th Brigade (Heavy)

1^st Battery, Battalion of Montreal Artillery

2^nd Battery, Battalion of Montreal Artillery

3^rd Battery, Battalion of Montreal Artillery

4^th Battery, Battalion of Montreal Artillery

5^th Battery, Battalion of Montreal Artillery

6^th Battery, Battalion of Montreal Artillery

Engineers and Logistics (1,800)

4 Company, Royal Engineers

15 Company, Royal Engineers

18 Company, Royal Engineers

? Company, Canadian Volunteer Militia Engineers

? Company, Canadian Volunteer Militia Engineers

? Company, Canadian Volunteer Militia Engineers

? Company, Canadian Volunteer Militia Engineers

? Company, Canadian Volunteer Militia Engineers

1^st Battalion, Military Train

3^rd Battalion, Military Train

Cavalry Division (2,700, 12 guns)

1^st Brigade (1,200 men)

1^st Canadian Dragoons

2^nd Prince of Wales’s Canadian Dragoons

3^rd Canadian Hussars

2^nd Brigade (1,200 men)

4^th Canadian Dragoons

5^th Duke of Connaught’s Own Canadian Hussars

6^th Queen’s Own Canadian Hussars

Divisional Artillery

F Battery, 4^th Brigade (Field)

York Mounted Volunteer Artillery Battery (Field)

1^st Division (4,800 men, 18 Guns)

1^st (Guards) Brigade (2,000 men)

1/1^st Guards

2/Scots Fusilier Guards

2^nd (Montreal) Brigade (2,500 men)

1^st Canadian

3^rd Canadian

4^th Canadian

5^th Canadian

6^th Canadian

Divisional Artillery

D Battery, 4^th Brigade (Field)

Toronto Volunteer Artillery Battery (Field)

Port Colborne Volunteer Artillery Battery (Field)

2^nd Division (4,800 men, 12 guns)

3^rd Brigade (2,500 men)

1/16^th

1/17^th

1/Rifle Brigade

4^th (Quebec) Brigade (2,000 men)

7^th Canadian

8^th Canadian

9^th Canadian

11^th Canadian

Divisional Artillery

G Battery, 4^th Brigade (Field)

Quebec Volunteer Field Battery

3^rd Division (4,800 men, 12 guns)

5^th Brigade (2,500 men)

1/25^th

30^th

47^th

6^th Brigade (2,000 men)

2^nd Canadian

10^th Canadian

12^th Canadian

13^th Canadian

Divisional Artillery

E Battery, 4^th Brigade (Field)

Ottawa Volunteer Artillery Battery (Field)

4^th Division (5,000 men, 18 guns)

7^th Brigade (3,000 men)

4/60^th Rifles

62^nd

63^rd

8^th Brigade (1,500)

Royal Canadian Rifles

Civil Service Rifles

Divisional Artillery

H Battery, 4^th Brigade (Field)

Hamilton Volunteer Artillery Battery (Field)

Kingston Volunteer Artillery Battery (Field)

Army of The Maritimes (11,700 men, 90 guns)

Artillery (2,500 men, 90 guns)

A Battery, 8^th Brigade (Field)

3^rd Battery, 10^th Brigade (Heavy)

4^th Battery, 10^th Brigade (Heavy)

7^th Battery, 10^th Brigade (Heavy)

8^th Battery, 10^th Brigade (Heavy)

1^st Battery, New Brunswick Regiment of Artillery

2^nd Battery, New Brunswick Regiment of Artillery

3^rd Battery, New Brunswick Regiment of Artillery

4^th Battery, New Brunswick Regiment of Artillery

5^th Battery, New Brunswick Regiment of Artillery

6^th Battery, New Brunswick Regiment of Artillery

7^th Battery, New Brunswick Regiment of Artillery

8^th Battery, New Brunswick Regiment of Artillery

9^th Battery, New Brunswick Regiment of Artillery

10^th Battery, New Brunswick Regiment of Artillery

Cavalry (500 men)

New Brunswick Yeomanry (7 Troops)

1^st Division (4,200 men)

1^st Brigade (2,700 men)

2/16^th

2/17^th

4/60^th Rifles

2^nd Brigade (1,500 men)

Halifax Volunteer Battalion (Volunteer Militia, 6 Coys)

1^st Nova Scotia Volunteer Battalion

2^nd Nova Scotia Volunteer Battalion

2^nd Division (4,500 men)

3^rd Brigade (2,000 men)

1/15^th

96^th

4^th Brigade (1,500 men)

St. John’s Volunteer Battalion (7 Companies)

1^st New Brunswick Volunteer Battalion (7 Companies)

2^nd New Brunswick Volunteer Battalion (7 Companies)

5^th Brigade (1,000 men)

1^st Prince Edward Island Volunteer Battalion

2^nd Prince Edward Island Volunteer Battalion

Notes

1. The 6 Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI Bns are concentrations from previously independent rifle companies, like early ACW regiments
2. The 10^th Battalion, Volunteer Militia Rifles (here the 10^th Canadian) formed a Bn on 10^th December 1861. The 180 rifle companies didn’t all form Bns. By early 1863 22 Bns were in existence.
3. Additionally, an attempt to mobilise 38,000 Sedentary Militia yielded approximately 14,000, in their 100 Militia Regiments. Of these about 8,400 volunteered for field service. These would have been formed into new battalions with the remaining Volunteer Militia.
4. All are armed with P1853 Enfields, excepting some Sedentary Militia
5. Field Guns are 9 pounder smoothbores (Canadian Field), 7 pounder rifles (RA Field), 18 pounders or heavier for Heavy
6. There are 40 Battalions of Infantry in GB and 6 in Ireland, 17 Regiment of Cavalry in GB and 3 in Ireland and 37 Batteries of Artillery in the UK
7. There are 7 regular battalions of Infantry in the West Indies or Bermuda
8. India is garrisoned with 11 Regiment of Cavalry, 53 battalions of infantry and roughly 100 batteries of artillery, with 7 more Bns in Burma, Ceylon and China
9. The remaining garrisons of infantry have 24 battalions in all
10. There are 2 other (as yet unidentified) Canadian Volunteer Militia Artillery Batteries, there are 12 Garrison Batteries in Canada, plus some in the Maritimes
11. The wxisting Cavalry has been regimented, with names approximately equal to their IRL regimental names, but they’ve been renumbered