Corps of Canadian Voyageurs

Corps of Canadian Voyageurs
Provincial Commissariat Voyageurs
Shooting the Rapids 1879
Active1812-1815
CountryBritish Canada
Allegiance
United Kingdom
BranchBritish Army (1812-1813)
British Commissariat Department (1813-1815)
Typelogistics
Roletransportation
Size400
Motto(s)Perseverance
EngagementsWar of 1812
Skirmish at St. Regis 1812
Battle of Lacolle Mills
Commanders
Notable
commanders		William McGillivray
The Voyageurs most important contribution to the War of 1812 was the supply of the western posts; the strategic result was that the British Army retained control of Fort Mackinac, a central point for supplying the British Indian allies in the Northwest Territory.

The Corps of Canadian Voyageurs was raised in September 1812, by the British Army, as a military water transportation corps. Its mission was to maintain the supply lines, between Montreal and the western posts. The corps was disbanded in March 1813, and its mission was taken over by the Canadian branch of the British Commissariat Department, a department of HM Treasury, as the Provincial Commissariat Voyageurs. This corps was disbanded in March, 1815.[1]

  1. ^ Canadian Military History Gateway, "Voyageurs" Archived 2013-11-03 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved August 8, 2011.