Soldiers of the Atlantic Seaboard

The 1740s

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Meanwhile, in the British Colonies...

Insofar as the English were concerned, various line regiments came and went in Nova Scotia. However, the real garrison regiment after the mid1740s, the equivalent of the Compagnies franches de la Marine in New France, was the 40th Regiment based in Annapolis. Often the governors and lieutenant-governors of the colony were selected from among its senior officers. One of these, Colonel Phillips, was governor from 1717 to 1750. Although some officers obtained land, the British did not promote military colonization similar to that of New France.

An urgent need was again felt by the British in 1744 for a unit of rangers to counter the Abenakis and Micmacs allied with the French. This time, the Iroquois were not called upon, at least in the beginning. Instead, a corps of Nova Scotia Rangers was raised in New England. Two companies were quickly recruited and dispatched to Annapolis in July to reinforce the garrison. In September, a third arrived, led by Captain Joseph Goreham. The latter company was very different from the two others because it was composed primarily of about 60 Mohawks and Métis. Familiar with Amerindian tactics, these men soon provoked skirmishes with the allies of the French. Later, the companies from Massachusetts returned home, leaving Goreham's company in Nova Scotia, where it patrolled primarily in the west and built a few blockhouses.