Canadian Militia: Missing in Action? (1)

TFSmith's assumptions for the numbers of Canadian volunteer and sedentary militia are based on some of the most egregious research failures which have been conducted. His overall estimate of 15,000 volunteers and 10,000 militia has been well and truly debunked, as having been based on misunderstood peacetime figures. Yet nobody has, as yet, taken the time to deconstruct his overall order of battle for the Canadians in the winter of 1861-2. This is a real shame, as doing so proved not to be particularly difficult.

This is a weighty topic, and as such will be split into sections. This first section will deal with some preliminary remarks on both the sources used and the way in which they have been used. The second section will provide a full OOB for Canadian volunteer units in April 1862, after the crisis had subsided, and compare it to the version which TFSmith produced. The third section will add commentary and analysis to this OOB and provide some closing thoughts.