The outbreak of war between Britain and revolutionary France in 1793 caused great concern in New Brunswick because of the weak state of the defences, especially in the Bay of Fundy communities of Saint John and Saint Andrews which were vulnerable to French privateers operating out of American ports. Early in 1793, the 6th Regiment of Foot, the last unit of the British garrison in New Brunswick at that time was withdrawn, and the colony was left with only the militia as a defence force. On 8 February 1793, a despatch arrived from London for Governor Thomas Carleton, instructing him to raise a provincial corps not to exceed 600 men for service in New Brunswick. The Governors of Nova Scotia, St John's Island (Prince Edward Island), Newfoundland, Lower Canada, and Upper Canada, all received similar instructions. Governor Carleton was the Colonel in command of the regiment, but Lieutenant-Colonel Beverley Robinson, the Colonel of the Loyalist corps, the Loyal American Regiment during the American Revolution was responsible for the organization and discipline of the Regiment. Carleton was allowed to select the officers, except for those already appointed by the Crown, and they were to be chosen from half-pay officers who were veterans of Loyalist regiments. A large number of the rank and file were also Loyalists and had fought in the American Revolution. Pay and subsistence were to be based on the same scale as that of the regular army, and equipment was to be issued from ordnance stores in Saint John and Halifax. In July 1793, Carleton reported to London that 200 men had enlisted. The Regiment was made up of six companies with 400 men at its greatest effective strength. In 1799, the status of the Regiment was changed from a provincial to a fencible corps, which meant that the unit could be asked to serve anywhere in North America. On 17 January 1800, the name Royal New Brunswick Regiment was first used. When peace was restored by the Treaty of Amiens on 27 March 1802, the Regiment was disbanded at Fort Howe in Saint John on 14 August 1802. |