Although some might be surprised by the recent bellicose talk and actions of the American president towards Canada, Canadians should know that many times throughout our history, relations have been rocky between our two countries.
During the War of 1812, British garrisons in Canada were under constant threat of attack from the United States. In response, British military authorities in London ordered The 104th Regiment of New Brunswick to assist British regulars with reinforcements.
It was bitterly cold on February 16, 1813, when the grenadiers, the first company of the regiment to leave, set out on the long journey to Canada. Four indigenous guides preceded the troops. As they would every morning until February 21, the citizens of Fredericton turned out with enough sleighs to give the soldiers a good start. Few, if any, assumed the rest of the journey on foot would be as pleasant.
The night before, the officers and enlisted men of The New Brunswick Regiment were making last-minute preparations for the journey from Fredericton to Kingston. The previous day, in the parade grounds beside the barracks in Fredericton (known today as Officers’ Square), the band played a goodbye song; The Girls We Leave Behind Us.
One of the men for whom the song had particular relevance was Sergeant Squires who had left his wife and five children in Saint John. While he packed his bag that unusually cold Monday night, Squires knew the trek through the New Brunswick and Quebec wilderness would be difficult.
The soldiers made their way along the old postal route from New Brunswick to Quebec, which followed the St. John River northwest to the mouth of the Madawaska. At Petite Sault (Edmundston), the stout-hearted Brayon people met the regiment with plenty of hot food and music.
Spirits lifted, the soldiers marched up to and across Quebec’s 29 kilometre-wide Lake Témiscouata. From Grand-Portage they trudged to Saint-André on the St. Lawrence. From Saint-André, they continued to Lévis where they crossed over the river to Québec City. From there, they marched beside the St. Lawrence to Kingston. Every town and village welcomed them with open arms.
Because each of the six companies was to travel a day apart, the first company (the grenadiers) would break trail for the rest. But with snowfalls double what they usually were, every morning each regiment waded through the hip-deep snow to break trail. One of the soldiers, Lt. A.W. Playfair, complained that the work was gruelling and the food, scarce.
“Our poor fellows with empty stomachs,” he wrote in 1862, “had hard work hauling the toboggans up the steep hills, although the load was light in comparison, as the provisions were all finished, and we had been on short allowance some days; yet, in the midst of our privations, we had some hearty laughs.”
As bad as the deep snow and lack of food were, the worst was the implacable cold. For almost the entire trip the temperatures, day and night, dropped to way below zero.
On April 12, 1813, after a 52-day march, the 104th Regiment arrived in Kingston, remarkably without any loss of life. In spite of the rigours they suffered during their 1,500-kilometre odyssey, the men of The 104th went on to distinguish themselves in defence of Canada. Their contributions were particularly noteworthy at the battles of Stoney Creek, Lundy’s Lane, Sacket’s Harbour, Fort George and Fort Erie.
In November 1915, “as a testimony of their good conduct” at Lundy’s Lane, regimental honours were conferred on the distinguished New Brunswick regiment, an honour, which permitted the 104th to bear the word Niagara on its colours and appointments.
In 1962, almost 150 years after Sergeant Squires prepared for the defence of Canada, noted New Brunswick historian W. Austin Squires, published a book about his direct ancestor’s famous regiment called The 104th Regiment of Foot (The New Brunswick Regiment) 1803-1817. As he laboured over his work, perhaps the noted historian occasionally heard distant notes bubbling up from deep in his imagination — the same notes Sergeant Squires heard when the military band struck up The Girls We Leave Behind Us.
