Richard Smith was a Canadian soldier who fought in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

for the 104th (New Brunswick) Regiment of Foot.

Early years

The place and date of birth of, and the background of, Richard Smith are unknown. On June 18, 1805, he enlisted in the

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

Regiment of Fencible Infantry. (That regiment became the 104th (New Brunswick) Regiment of Foot in 1810.) He was under the minimum age of 15, so could have enlisted as a "

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"; but he lied about his age, and joined as a Private. He was assigned to the Grenadier Company, where the biggest and strongest men were placed: the minimum height requirement was , and he was .

War of 1812

In February 1811, he was promoted Corporal; and in February 1812, Sergeant; signs of exemplary service. In June 1812,

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

broke out between the United Kingdom and the United States of America. In February and March 1813, he was with his regiment on their epic winter march from

Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, ...

through

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

(

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

) and

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(

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

) to the Niagara corridor. On November 25, 1813, he was appointed Regimental Colour Sergeant; an honor reserved for the bravest of soldiers, his duty being to protect the junior officer (the

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

) who carried the

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during battle. On July 3, 1814, American troops attacked Fort Erie, and captured it. The British attempted to retake it by

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

, but ultimately failed. During the assault on August 15, Smith attacked as part of the

forlorn hope A forlorn hope is a band of soldiers or other combatants chosen to take the vanguard in a military operation, such as a suicidal assault through the breach of a defended position, or the first men to climb a scaling ladder against a defended ...

under Colonel William Drummond to try to scale the walls and to open the entrance from inside. The Colonel had promised Smith that if the assault succeeded, he would recommend him to the

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...

for a

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; although the attack was partially successful, the Colonel was unable to fulfill his promise: he had been killed during it. Meanwhile, Smith had been wounded five times: twice in the head, once in the thigh, and twice in his right arm. His arm was afterwards amputated close to the shoulder.

Postwar years

Smith petitioned Lieutenant General Sir Gordon Drummond for the promised commission, signing himself "X"; the mark of an illiterate, or perhaps of someone who had not yet learned how to write with his left hand. On November 16, 1814, his Captain, Richard Leonard, wrote to Major Thomas Hunter, acting commander of the 104th, as follows: On September 11, 1815, Smith's name was noted at the Horse Guards, London (the predecessor of the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

) "for an ensigncy in a list of candidates". British Army forces were reduced after the conclusion of the War of 1812 (February 1815) and the final defeat of Napoleon (June 1815). Smith never received his commission. On May 24, 1817, he was discharged from army service in Montreal "in consequence of Five Wounds, two in the Head, one through the Thigh, and two in the Right Arm". He was subsequently appointed and served as Magistrate for the County of Northumberland, New Brunswick. The inscription on his gravestone in the Old Burying Ground, Halifax, Nova Scotia calls him "Richard Smith, Esq." - which is noteworthy, because as late as 1894, the primary meaning of "Esquire" was "gentleman", either by birth or by deeds.

Early years

War of 1812

Postwar years

References

Further reading