The Army
In 1775, this element of imperial defense was in short supply everywhere in North America. Of the five infantry regiments assigned to Canada, two - the 10th and 52nd Foot - had gone to Boston in October 1774 on the assumption that 3,000 militia would mobilize to oppose any invasion. This left the 8th Foot dispersed around the Great Lakes posts, and the 7th and 26th Foot - both at least ten percent under strength - defending the Province of Quebec. The 26th and all but two companies of the 7th were captured in November 1775, and spent over a year in captivity.In May 1776, the 29th Foot arrived at Quebec, and in June, eight more regiments arrived from Europe (the 9th, 20th, 21st, 24th, 31st, 34th, 53rd, and 62nd Foot) and one (the 47th Foot) from Halifax. Of these ten units only the 47th Foot had seen action since 1762 (at Concord and Bunker Hill), although the 29th, 31st, and 34th Foot had all served in North America during the early 1770s. However, the light companies of the five senior regiments had trained in the new tactics devised by Sir William Howe in 1774, and were prominent in the 1776 campaign.
Burgoyne also brought four companies of artillery. Prior to that, Carleton had only a single company of regular gunners, most of whom were captured at St Johns.
German Auxiliaries
Most of the German contingent in Canada came from Brunswick (Braunschweig-Wolfenbuttel), with one infantry regiment and an artillery company from Hesse-Hanau. The first division of 2,282 Brunswickers and 668 Hessians arrived in June; the second division, 2,000 Brunswickers, arrived in September. During 1776, only the artillerymen saw serious action, primarily at Valcour Island, where they manned two gunboats and some ordnance on Thunderer, and performed creditably. Von Riedesel used the winter of 1776 to adapt the tactics and clothing of the entire corps to North American conditions.The Militia
Following the acquisition of New France in the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the British by and large retained the administrative infrastructure, including the militia. Each parish provided a company of men when required by the authorities, based on a fixed quota (leaving enough men to maintain farming and business). From 1759, there were three administrative "brigades" based on Montreal, Trois Rivieres, and Quebec. All males between 16 and 60 years old were eligible. On paper, 15,000 men were available to France in the previous conflict, but only a third were mobilized at any time, of whom 80 percent were employed in transport and supply. In 1775, Carleton's lack of Regulars led the militia to form the bulk of every combat formation in the field. Never enthusiastic, the militia was further de-motivated by Carleton's apparent lack of aggression, and if not employed immediately tended to go home.The Quebec City militia - effectively a separate force - was mobilized in September 1775, and served until May 1776 (but continued to attend parades and social events until 1783). There were 11 companies of "Canadian Militia" (reduced to eight in December), six companies of English-speaking colonists, or "British Militia", and one company of artillery.
The Royal Navy
The senior service was involved in most actions of the campaign. A detachment from the schooner Gaspe served at St Johns, albeit less than impressively. At Quebec, nine companies were formed from the crews of the warships and merchantmen in the harbor, whilst the frigate Lizard and the "snow" Fell were moored in the St Lawrence to command the river.In 1776, 700 men were drafted from the fleet that relieved Quebec, to man the Lake Champlain flotilla. Whilst Arnold's fleet usually attracts all the attention, the breakdown, transportation, and reassembly of the four major British vessels was a far more impressive technical achievement.
Indians
Lord Dartmouth sanctioned the use of Indians in July 1775 - a move that generated much controversy at the time, and more as the war progressed (although Congress had authorized the raising of a "minuteman" company from Stockbridge warriors four months earlier). Military and civil control was exercised via the Department of Indian Affairs, established in 1754 to counter French superiority in this aspect of colonial warfare. There were two districts - north and south - each with a superintendent reporting to the commander in chief in North America.In 1775, the northern district, under Guy Johnson, ran from Canada to the Pennsylvania-Virginia border. It contained around 8,500 warriors, but few of these were available initially, as the invasion isolated the western and southern tribes until late 1776. The main sources of manpower available to Carleton were the Iroquois (or Six Nations) of the Mohawk Valley, and Caughnawaga (Seven Nations) of the St Lawrence Valley. The Iroquois were traditional allies of the British, but the Caughnawaga had previously served the French and were believed (with some justification) to be lukewarm. In fact, both groups were the focus of efforts by Congress -including visits by their Stockbridge "brothers" - to negotiate their neu¬ trality. A few Oneida and Tuscarora actually fought against the British).
Carleton was the only senior British officer in North America to speak out against using them, as much for military as humanitarian reasons. Their fearsome reputation was a double-edged sword and their unique approach to warfare - based on returning home with as much loot and as few casualties as possible - made controlling them a problem. Nevertheless, they were invaluable as scouts: Carleton employed 50 warriors in this role in mid-1775, and over 640 led his advance into New York a year later. War parties usually operated under the direction of officers of the Indian Department (often seconded Regulars), French militia officers or local Army officers. Tactically, they were by no means naive: the Iroquois employed a rudimentary form of "fire and movement" and were adept at using cover to close with the enemy. Whilst acts of cruelty were committed occasionally, most of the atrocities ascribed to them - for example, at The Cedars - were either exaggerated, or completely false, often being used to justify attacks and land-grabbing by colonists.
Loyalists
Dozens of English-speaking Canadians served as volunteers, but the only formal unit of white Loyalists was the Royal Highland Emigrants (later the 84th Foot). Originally two separate corps, it soon became a two-battalion regiment, recruiting in every colony, and even direct from Scotland (being a Provincial unit, this was illegal, but MacLean circum¬ vented the law by having native Scots swear the oath after arriving in America). Numbers were high thanks to unusually generous bounties, the use of traditional Highland dress, and the patronage of their first colonel, Gage, who prevented "poaching" by other units.The regiment fought in every major action of the campaign, except Valcour Island, usually with distinction, particularly at St Johns and Quebec. It remained on the Provincial establishment until 24 December 1778, and on 10 April 1779, company strength was officially increased from 50 rank-and-file to 70. By 1783, the unit had served everywhere from the Great Lakes to Nova Scotia and from the North Atlantic to Florida. The only blot on its record was the high desertion rate of men recruited from the Continentals captured at Quebec which, along with Burgoyne's dislike of MacLean, saw the unit left in Canada during the 1777 campaign.
