Queen's Own Rifles and 48th Highlanders order books
The Order Books in this collection contain references to the North West Rebellion in 1885 between the Metis and their First Nations allies and the Canadian government. This includes a list of Officers from the Queen's Own Rifles involved with the North West Contingent, as well as an extract from the Canada Gazette containing information about War Medals awarded for service in the rebellion.
The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada is a primary army reserve infantry regiment based in Toronto that was founded on April 26, 1860. It is the oldest continuously serving infantry regiment in Canada. The regiment was called into service during the Fenian raids and participated in the Battle of Ridgeway on June 2, 1866. The Fenians were a group intent on securing Irish independence from England, believing this could be achieved by invading Canada. After crossing the Niagara River from the United States on June 1, 1866, the Fenians took control of Fort Erie and defeated the militia at Ridgeway on June 2, but subsequently withdrew. The Queen’s Own Rifles remains active and has been a part of every Canadian military campaign and served with distinction during World War I and World War II.
The order books have been digitized and are available in the Digital Repository.
