The nephew of Major General Sir Isaac Brock published a book in 1845 titled, “The Life and Correspondence of Major General Sir Isaac Brock”.  In the letters shared in the book, can be found some references to the 41st Regiment as it was found in Canada during the prelude to the War of 1812.

The one quote seems to often permeate writings on the War of 1812; it reads “The 41st is an uncommonly fine regiment, but wretchedly officered.” 

In 1846, a passionate rebuttal and defence of the Officers of the 41st Regiment appeared under a pseudonym in the United Service Magazine.  It is believed that the author is in fact John Richardson who served with the 41st Regiment as a gentleman volunteer (serving as a private soldier but hoping to gain acclaim and glory and thus be promoted to an Officer’s role).  He did ultimately gain an Ensigncy but in the 8th Regiment.  Richardson went on to write his own history of the War of 1812, commonly called “Richardson’s War of 1812”.  Born in Canada, he is also at times considered Canada’s first novelist writing works such as “The Canadian Brothers” and “Wacousta”.

The 41st Regiment of Foot MLHG is very fortunate to have gained the permission of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, Whitehall, London to transcribe this letter and share its details on our website.

The letter can be found in our history section or by following this link:

http://www.fortyfirst.org/transcripts-09-major-general-sir-isaac-brock-and-the-41st-regiment.html

​Tom Fournier

On the 17th of August, 1799 the 41st Regiment set sail from Cork, Ireland to Quebec.
They sailed on the H.M.S. Asia, a transport ship.  Typically, transports were old battle ships no longer fit for service in that capacity.
The 41st Regiment had just finished a period of extensive recruiting and rebuilding.  It had previously served in the West Indies and saw its strength greatly reduced by the illnesses associated with that geography.  The regiment had transferred the remaining private soldiers to the 17th Regiment and returned to England with its Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Regimental Staff.
As part of its final preparations for deployment, still understrength, the 41st Regiment accepted a draft of prisoners from the prison hulks (old ships used for confinement) and with these prisoners came a fever.
From the letters and correspondence of the 41st Regiment comes a remarkable series of letters and notes that does much to illustrate the conditions on board the Asia, the efforts to deal with the fever and the ongoing fight to bring it under control upon arrival in Canada.  They can be found here:
http://www.fortyfirst.org/transcripts-05-disease-aboard-the-transport-asia.html

In his History of the Services of the 41st Regiment D.A.N. Lomax claims that 85 all ranks died from the fever (20 on board Asia and the remainder in Canada).  Lomax describes a note that was found in the Regimental Record Book (since destroyed like many of the 41st Regiment’s records in fires at the Pembroke Dockyards in 1895) which tells a story of how in Montreal the doctors and attendants had also contracted the fever and died so the care of the sick soldiers fell to a local doctor.  His solution was to leave the doors and windows open in the temporary hospital even though it was in the middle of winter.  The next morning there was no longer any fever but there were a considerable number of frozen bodies.  Soldiers of the 41st Regiment on learning of the fate of their comrades, went searching for the doctor to exact their vengeance but he had fled from Montreal.
The now understrength 41st Regiment drafted 224 men from the 2nd Battalion, 60th Regiment who were scheduled to return to England.
The 41st Regiment remained in Canada all the way through the years of the War of 1812, earning more Battle Honours associated with the War of 1812 than any other regiment.  They finally sailed from Canada on the 24th of June, 1815.  They sailed not for home but rather Europe.  Too late for the Battle of Waterloo, they did go onto become part of the army of occupation of Paris.
​
Tom Fournier

​Hello All,

I'm posting this message in as many places as I can because it would appear that word isn't getting out very well.  I'm still seeing on Facebook and other groups that rumours are flying, so I would like to clear the record.
 
Most infantry and artillery reenacting groups in Canada have insurance through the National Firearms Association. What scares people is that on their website, there is a note that that there is a non-application of the policy for horse related activities. Many people have taken this to mean that any reenactment event that has horses present voids our insurance.  This is absolutely NOT true. The Crown Forces Staff have been in contact with the NFA and their representatives, and have clarified the position through lawyers. As long as the event we are at (Fort Erie for example) has their own insurance for the event (they do) and the cavalry units have their own insurance (they do), our insurance is not affected.  
 
Please spread this message as widely as you can in an effort to stop this rumour.  Also, if you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact me and I will do my best.  I worry a little bit that if people keep asking the NFA about this, they will start to think maybe they shouldn't be covering us...:)

- Andrew Bateman shared this message from Chris Mckay