Royal Engineers, Columbia detachment
Encyclopedia
Columbia detachment of the Royal Engineers was a British military contingent that played a major role in the settlement, development and security of the new British Columbia
. Sent at the request of Governor James Douglas
to help maintain order during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush
, the detachment was created by an act of British parliament on 2 August 1858 and commanded by Col. Richard Moody
. The cost of the detachment was borne by the colony.
(later a Major-General) and Lt. Henry Palmer
, and a surgeon, John Seddall. Captain William Driscoll Gosset, a retired Royal Engineer, was appointed a civilian treasurer and commissary officer.
Rev. John Sheepshanks served as the detachment’s chaplain, and Robert Burnaby
, was retained for a time as Moody’s personal secretary.
to Yale
to face down a group of rebellious American miners. Order was restored without further violence.
by selecting and surveying the site for the capital "New Westminster
" (rechristened New Westminster by Queen Victoria on 20 July 1859). Just a mile outside of the townsite, the Engineer's camp developed into a settlement of its own-- the area is still known as Sapperton
.
Moody and the Royal Engineers also built an extensive road network, including what would become Kingsway
, connecting New Westminster to False Creek
and North Road between Port Moody and New Westminster. As part of the surveying effort, several tracts were designated "government reserves," which included Stanley Park as a military reserve (a strategic location in case of an American invasion).
The Columbia Detachment was disbanded in July, 1863. Apart from the Moody family, only 22 men and 8 wives returned to England, while the rest, 130 sappers, elected to remain in BC. Colonial secretary Edward Bulwer-Lytton described the Engineers’ accomplishment as “to found a second England on the shores of the Pacific”.
Colony of British Columbia
The Colony of British Columbia was a crown colony in British North America from 1858 until 1866. At its creation, it physically constituted approximately half the present day Canadian province of British Columbia, since it did not include the Colony of Vancouver Island, the vast and still largely...
. Sent at the request of Governor James Douglas
James Douglas (Governor)
Sir James Douglas KCB was a company fur-trader and a British colonial governor on Vancouver Island in northwestern North America, particularly in what is now British Columbia. Douglas worked for the North West Company, and later for the Hudson's Bay Company becoming a high-ranking company officer...
to help maintain order during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush
Fraser Canyon Gold Rush
The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River. This was a few miles upstream from the Thompson's confluence with the Fraser River at present-day Lytton...
, the detachment was created by an act of British parliament on 2 August 1858 and commanded by Col. Richard Moody
Richard Moody
Major-General Richard Clement Moody was a Lieutenant-Governor, and later Governor, of the Falkland Islands, and the first Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony of British Columbia. While serving under this post, he selected the site of the new capital, New Westminster...
. The cost of the detachment was borne by the colony.
Organisation
The corps consisted of 150 sappers, and was later increased to 172. Moody had three captains: Robert Mann Parsons, John Marshall Grant, and Henry Reynolds Luard. The contingent also included two subalterns, Lt. Arthur LempriereArthur Reid Lempriere
Arthur Reid Lempriere was an officer in the Corps of Royal Engineers. He was in the third and largest group of Engineers to arrive in the Colony of British Columbia in 1859 and served as a lieutenant subaltern in the Columbia Detachment of the RE's there until 1863. He retired as a Major-General...
(later a Major-General) and Lt. Henry Palmer
Henry Spencer Palmer
Major General Henry Spencer Palmer was a British army military engineer and surveyor, noted for his work in developing Yokohama harbor in the Empire of Japan as a foreign advisor to the Japanese government-Biography:...
, and a surgeon, John Seddall. Captain William Driscoll Gosset, a retired Royal Engineer, was appointed a civilian treasurer and commissary officer.
Rev. John Sheepshanks served as the detachment’s chaplain, and Robert Burnaby
Robert Burnaby
Robert Burnaby was amerchant, politician and civil servant in British Columbia. The city of Burnaby, British Columbia is named for him, as well as at least ten other urban and geographical features, including a mountain, a lake, a park, a Queen Charlotte Island and a street in Vancouver.Burnaby...
, was retained for a time as Moody’s personal secretary.
McGowan’s War
The Royal Engineers arrived in British Columbia in October and November 1858, just in time to respond an incident popularly known as "Ned McGowan's War." 22 Engineers accompanied Moody and Judge Matthew Baillie BegbieMatthew Baillie Begbie
Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie was born on the island of Mauritius, thereafter raised and educated in the United Kingdom...
to Yale
Yale, British Columbia
Yale is an unincorporated town in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was founded in 1848 by the Hudson's Bay Company as Fort Yale by Ovid Allard, the appointed manager of the new post, who named it after his superior, James Murray Yale, then Chief Factor of the Columbia District...
to face down a group of rebellious American miners. Order was restored without further violence.
Settlement
Following the enactment of the Pre-emption Act of 1860, Colonel Moody and his engineers assisted the process of settling the Lower MainlandLower Mainland
The Lower Mainland is a name commonly applied to the region surrounding and including Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. As of 2007, 2,524,113 people live in the region; sixteen of the province's thirty most populous municipalities are located there.While the term Lower Mainland has been...
by selecting and surveying the site for the capital "New Westminster
Queenborough
Queenborough is a small town on the Isle of Sheppey in the Swale borough of Kent in South East England.Queenborough is two miles south of Sheerness. It grew as a port near the Thames Estuary at the westward entrance to The Swale where it joins the River Medway...
" (rechristened New Westminster by Queen Victoria on 20 July 1859). Just a mile outside of the townsite, the Engineer's camp developed into a settlement of its own-- the area is still known as Sapperton
Sapperton
Sapperton may refer to:*Sapperton, Derbyshire, England*Sapperton, Gloucestershire, England**Sapperton Tunnel **Sapperton Canal Tunnel*Sapperton, Lincolnshire, England*Sapperton, New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada...
.
Moody and the Royal Engineers also built an extensive road network, including what would become Kingsway
Kingsway (Vancouver)
Kingsway is a major road that crosses through the Canadian cities of Vancouver and Burnaby, British Columbia. Originally called Westminster Road, it was renamed Kingsway in 1913....
, connecting New Westminster to False Creek
False Creek
False Creek is a short inlet in the heart of Vancouver. It separates downtown from the rest of the city. It was named by George Henry Richards during his Hydrographic survey of 1856-63. Science World is located at its eastern end and the Burrard Street Bridge crosses its western end. False Creek is...
and North Road between Port Moody and New Westminster. As part of the surveying effort, several tracts were designated "government reserves," which included Stanley Park as a military reserve (a strategic location in case of an American invasion).
The Columbia Detachment was disbanded in July, 1863. Apart from the Moody family, only 22 men and 8 wives returned to England, while the rest, 130 sappers, elected to remain in BC. Colonial secretary Edward Bulwer-Lytton described the Engineers’ accomplishment as “to found a second England on the shores of the Pacific”.
Sources
- Margaret A. Ormsby, "Richard Clement Moody" in Dictionary of Canadian BiographyDictionary of Canadian BiographyThe Dictionary of Canadian Biography is a dictionary of biographical entries for individuals who have contributed to the history of Canada. The DCB, which was initiated in 1959, is a collaboration between the University of Toronto and Université Laval...
Online, (2002) - Jean Barman, The West Beyond the West: A History of British Columbia, (Toronto: University of Toronto)