Browse "Military"

​More than 2,800 trained civilian nurses enlisted with the Canadian army during the First World War, becoming the first women in the modern world to hold military commissions as officers.

The vast majority of Canada's eight million people fought the Great War at home.

The Second World War forever altered Canada. Among those most affected were young Canadians. The war had a profound impact on their lives and families.

The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), of some 630,000 men during the Great War of 1914–18, consisted almost entirely of civilian soldiers.

The Allies accordingly undertook to support anticommunist White Russian forces if they would, once back in power, resume war on the Eastern Front against Germany and Austria, a strategy warmly supported by those in London and Paris, in any case, to see the eradication of Bolshevism from Russia.

Prisoners of War (POWs) are members of the military captured in wartime by the enemy. Since the late 19th century, international rules have governed the treatment of POWs, although these are not always followed. Thousands of Canadians have endured time as POWs in conflicts ranging from the First World War to the Korean War.

After the failed Rebellion of 1837 in Upper Canada, its leader, William Lyon Mackenzie, retreated to Navy Island, in the Niagara River, accompanied by some 200 followers. The Caroline, an American ship based at Fort Schlosser in New York State, was chartered to bring supplies to the rebels. On 29 December 1837, a force of the Upper Canada militia led by Commander Andrew Drew of the Royal Navy found the Caroline moored at Schlosser. In the quick skirmish that followed, an American was killed. The Caroline, set on fire and adrift, capsized before reaching the falls and sank. The incident aggravated the already tense relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States.

Charles Murray Cathcart, 2nd Earl, general, governor general of British North America (b at Walton, Eng 21 Dec 1783; d at St Leonard's-on-Sea, Eng 16 July 1859). One of Wellington's staff officers in the Napoleonic wars, Cathcart

Charles Cecil Ingersoll Merritt, VC, barrister, soldier, Member of Parliament (born 10 November 1908 in Vancouver, BC; died 12 July 2000 in Vancouver). During the Second World War, Lieutenant-Colonel Cec Merritt was the first Canadian to earn the Victoria Cross (VC) in the European theatre, the highest award for bravery among troops of the British Empire.

The spread of the War of the Austrian Succession to North America in 1744 resulted in a shortage of trading items, which severely strained the French network of alliances with the native people.

Military supremacy did not solve the problem of how to bring real social and economic stability to the colony for d'Aulnay. After his accidental death by drowning in 1650, Acadia lapsed again into internal strife.

Charles Le Moyne de Longueuil et de Châteauguay, soldier, seigneur (b at Dieppe, France 2 Aug 1626; d at Montréal Feb 1685). He came to New France at age 15 and worked for the Jesuits in Huron country.

Charles Lennox Richmond and Lennox, 4th Duke of, soldier, administrator, governor-in-chief of British N America 1818-19 (b in Eng 9 Sept 1764; d near Richmond, UC 28 Aug 1819).

Charles-Michel d'Irumberry de Salaberry, British army and Canadian militia officer, military figure in the WAR OF 1812 (b at Beauport, Qué 19 Nov 1778; d at Chambly, Lower Canada 27 Feb 1829). At age 14, de Salaberry enlisted as a volunteer in the 44th Foot.

Charles Cromwell Martin, DCM, MM, farmer, soldier, civil servant, author (born 18 December 1918 in Wales; died 13 October 1997 in Mississauga, ON). During the Second World War, Warrant Officer Class II (WO II) Charlie Martin was awarded both the Distinguished Conduct Medal and Military Medal. Martin’s "Battle Diary" memoirs, first released in 1994, remain among the most vivid portrayals of the lives of ordinary Canadian soldiers in the war.

Among the approximately 2,000 victims who died in the Halifax Explosion of 1917, one-quarter were children under the age of 18. Many other young people survived but would carry physical and emotional scars with them for the remainder of their lives. Dead and wounded children were the most poignant victims of the disaster.

Christopher Middleton, Hudson's Bay Co captain, naval officer, explorer (b at Newton Bewley, Eng late 17th century; d 12 Feb 1770). Middleton served on PRIVATEERING ships during Queen Anne's War 1701-13 and joined the HBC in 1721 as second mate on a voyage from England to York Factory.

Claude de Ramezay, officer, acting governor of NEW FRANCE (b at La Gesse, France 15 June 1659; d at Québec C 31 July 1724). An officer in the TROUPES DE LA MARINE, he arrived in Canada in 1685. He served as governor of

Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, military officer and French colonial governor (b at Orthez, France 12 Feb 1661; d at Cannes-L'Ecluse, France 20 Nov 1732). Subercase arrived at Québec in 1687 as a captain in the Marine.

David Vivian Currie, VC, auto mechanic, welder, soldier, House of Commons sergeant-at-arms (born 8 July 1912 in Sutherland, SK; died 24 June 1986 in Ottawa, ON). During the Second World War, Major Currie was the only member of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps to be awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for bravery among troops of the British Empire.