The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders
Encyclopedia
Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders is a Primary Reserve infantry
regiment
of the Canadian Forces
.
They have served in the War of 1812
, the Great War and World War II
.
They are descended from many Canadian militia units and two regular British Army
regiments. They are also rooted in a community that began as a soldiers' settlement.
, veterans of the King's Royal Regiment of New York
and the 84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants)
, were given land on the north bank of the Saint Lawrence River
so they could defend Upper Canada from the new enemy to the south. In 1804, veterans of the Glengarry Fencibles, a Highland regiment that served in Europe with the
British Army, settled just north of the American Revolutionary War veterans. The first militia unit west of Montreal
was
organized at Cornwall
in 1787 under the command of Major John Macdonnell, late of the K.R.R.N.Y.
During the War of 1812
,
the area militia and the Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles helped the British Army fight off the Americans. Only breaks
in unit continuity in the pre-Confederation period deny the Regiment the "Niagara" battle honour and the status of oldest
anglophone militia regiment in Canada.
After 1814, and Stormont and Dundas counties soon had two militia regiments each and Glengarry County had four. All units fought the rebels of 1837-1838, two in Lower Canada and three at the 1838 Battle of the Windmill
, where 10 militiamen were killed and 13 wounded.
The 1855 Militia Act introduced voluntary service, and the United Counties raised four independent companies in 1862. After the 1866 Fenian raid, which aroused great fear of invasion, these companies and four others amalgamated in 1868 to form the 59th Stormont and Glengarry Battalion of Infantry, which was called out against the Fenians in 1870.
Nine Stormont and Glengarry men served in the Second Boer War
.
. (The 59th also contributed soldiers to the 2nd, 21st, 38th, 73rd and 253rd Battalions of the CEF.)
The 154 th Battalion went overseas but was broken up to reinforce the "Iron Second," the 21st and 38th Battalions and the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles. Of the 154th Battalion soldiers, 143 were killed and 397 wounded; their efforts are commemorated in 24 decorations and six battle honours.
More than 100 members of the 59th Stormont and Glengarry Regiment were killed while serving with the CEF, including Claude Joseph Patrick Nunney
, who won the Victoria Cross
in 1918.
Nunney joined the 59th in 1913 and enlisted in the 38th Battalion, which is perpetuated by the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa, so the Camerons also claim him; however, his medals hang today in the Warrant Officers' and Sergeants' Mess of the SD&G.
The 59th became The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders in 1922. Despite the Great Depression, the unit thrived, moving into a new armoury in Cornwall in 1939.
, the Regiment once again guarded the St. Lawrence canals. Mobilization came in June 1940, and the
Regiment absorbed companies from the Princess of Wales' Own Regiment and the Brockville Rifles to form an overseas battalion that went to England in 1941 as part of the 9th (Highland) Brigade, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division
.
The SD&G landed in Normandy
on D Day and was the first regiment to enter Caen
, reaching the centre of the city at 1300 hours, July 9, 1944.
Fifty-five days later, 112 SD&G had been killed in action and 312 more wounded in the Falaise Gap. The Regiment fought across France via Rouen
, Eu
, Le Hamel
and Boulogne
, moved into Holland and took part in the amphibious landing across the Savojaards Plaat, and advanced to Knokke
by way of Breskens
. It moved next to Nijmegen to relieve the airborne troops, and helped guard the bridge while the Rhine crossing was prepared. The Regiment then fought through the Hochwald
and north to cross the Ems-River and take the city of Leer
.
At dawn on May 3, 1945, German marine-units launched an attack on two forward companies of the SD&G, occupying the village of Rorichum, near Oldersum, that was the final action during the war, VE Day found the SD&G near Emden
.
It was said of the Regiment that it "never failed to take an objective; never lost a yard of ground; never lost a man taken prisoner in offensive action."
Altogether 3,342 officers and men served overseas with the SD&G, of whom 278 were killed and 781 wounded; 74 decorations and 25 battle honours were awarded. A total of 3,418 officers and men served in the 2nd Battalion (Reserve); of them, 1,882
went on active service and 27 were killed. A third battalion raised in July 1945 served in the occupation of Germany and was disbanded in May 1946.
Highlanders in 1959, the Regiment remains an infantry unit in the Highland tradition.
In 1968, to mark the regiment's centenary, the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders received the Freedom
of the City of Cornwall.
above, a semi-annulus inscribed GLENGARRY FENCIBLES and surmounted by the Crown. The whole superimposed upon a St. Andrew’s cross,
The 59th Bn Colours are laid up in the Officers Mess and the 154th Colours are laid up in the Trinity Anglican Church, Second St, Cornwall, Ont.
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
of the Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
.
They have served in the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, the Great War and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
They are descended from many Canadian militia units and two regular British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
regiments. They are also rooted in a community that began as a soldiers' settlement.
Early history
After the surrender at YorktownSiege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Yorktown, or Surrender of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis...
, veterans of the King's Royal Regiment of New York
King's Royal Regiment of New York
The King's Royal Regiment of New York was one of the first Loyalist regiments raised in Canada during the American Revolutionary War....
and the 84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants)
84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants)
The 84th Regiment of Foot was a British regiment in the American Revolutionary War that was raised to defend present day Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada from the constant land and sea attacks by American Revolutionaries...
, were given land on the north bank of the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
so they could defend Upper Canada from the new enemy to the south. In 1804, veterans of the Glengarry Fencibles, a Highland regiment that served in Europe with the
British Army, settled just north of the American Revolutionary War veterans. The first militia unit west of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
was
organized at Cornwall
Cornwall, Ontario
Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada and the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario. Cornwall is Ontario's easternmost city, located on the St...
in 1787 under the command of Major John Macdonnell, late of the K.R.R.N.Y.
King's Royal Regiment of New York
The King's Royal Regiment of New York was one of the first Loyalist regiments raised in Canada during the American Revolutionary War....
During the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
,
the area militia and the Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles helped the British Army fight off the Americans. Only breaks
in unit continuity in the pre-Confederation period deny the Regiment the "Niagara" battle honour and the status of oldest
anglophone militia regiment in Canada.
After 1814, and Stormont and Dundas counties soon had two militia regiments each and Glengarry County had four. All units fought the rebels of 1837-1838, two in Lower Canada and three at the 1838 Battle of the Windmill
Battle of the Windmill
The Battle of the Windmill was a battle fought in November 1838 in the aftermath of the Upper Canada Rebellion. Loyalist forces of the Upper Canadian government defeated an invasion attempt by Hunter Patriot insurgents based in the United States.-Background:...
, where 10 militiamen were killed and 13 wounded.
The 1855 Militia Act introduced voluntary service, and the United Counties raised four independent companies in 1862. After the 1866 Fenian raid, which aroused great fear of invasion, these companies and four others amalgamated in 1868 to form the 59th Stormont and Glengarry Battalion of Infantry, which was called out against the Fenians in 1870.
Nine Stormont and Glengarry men served in the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
.
The Great War
At the outbreak of the Great War, the Regiment - in Highland dress since 1904 - guarded the St. Lawrence canals until December 1915, when the United Counties raised the 154th Battalion for the Canadian Expeditionary ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
The Canadian Expeditionary Force was the designation of the field force created by Canada for service overseas in the First World War. Units of the C.E.F. were divided into field formation in France, where they were organized first into separate divisions and later joined together into a single...
. (The 59th also contributed soldiers to the 2nd, 21st, 38th, 73rd and 253rd Battalions of the CEF.)
The 154 th Battalion went overseas but was broken up to reinforce the "Iron Second," the 21st and 38th Battalions and the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles. Of the 154th Battalion soldiers, 143 were killed and 397 wounded; their efforts are commemorated in 24 decorations and six battle honours.
More than 100 members of the 59th Stormont and Glengarry Regiment were killed while serving with the CEF, including Claude Joseph Patrick Nunney
Claude Joseph Patrick Nunney
Private Claude Joseph Patrick Nunney VC DCM MM was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces...
, who won the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
in 1918.
Nunney joined the 59th in 1913 and enlisted in the 38th Battalion, which is perpetuated by the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa, so the Camerons also claim him; however, his medals hang today in the Warrant Officers' and Sergeants' Mess of the SD&G.
The 59th became The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders in 1922. Despite the Great Depression, the unit thrived, moving into a new armoury in Cornwall in 1939.
World War II
When World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Regiment once again guarded the St. Lawrence canals. Mobilization came in June 1940, and the
Regiment absorbed companies from the Princess of Wales' Own Regiment and the Brockville Rifles to form an overseas battalion that went to England in 1941 as part of the 9th (Highland) Brigade, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division
3rd Canadian Infantry Division
The Canadian 3rd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Canadian Army from 1940 to c.1945.- History :The formation of the division was authorized on 17 May 1940...
.
The SD&G landed in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
on D Day and was the first regiment to enter Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
, reaching the centre of the city at 1300 hours, July 9, 1944.
Fifty-five days later, 112 SD&G had been killed in action and 312 more wounded in the Falaise Gap. The Regiment fought across France via Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
, Eu
Eu, Seine-Maritime
Eu is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.Eu is located near the coast in the eastern part of the department, near the border with Picardie.Its inhabitants are known as the Eudois.-Geography:...
, Le Hamel
Le Hamel
Le Hamel is the name of the following communes in France:* Le Hamel, Oise, in the Oise department* Le Hamel, Somme, in the Somme department* Le Hamel, a hamlet of the commune of Asnelles, Calvados...
and Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
, moved into Holland and took part in the amphibious landing across the Savojaards Plaat, and advanced to Knokke
Knokke
Knokke is one of a group of communities that are all grouped in the administrative community Knokke-Heist, in the province of West Flanders in Flanders, Belgium. Knokke itself has 15,653 inhabitants .Knokke-Heist has 33,818 inhabitants ....
by way of Breskens
Breskens
Breskens is a harbour town on the Westerschelde in the municipality of Sluis in the province of Zeeland, in the south-western Netherlands. Its population is 4,280 ....
. It moved next to Nijmegen to relieve the airborne troops, and helped guard the bridge while the Rhine crossing was prepared. The Regiment then fought through the Hochwald
Hochwald
Hochwald may refer to:* Hochwald, Switzerland, district of Dorneck in the canton of Solothurn* Hochwald , Saxony, southeastern Germany* Hochwald, a peak in the Hunsrück in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
and north to cross the Ems-River and take the city of Leer
Leer
Leer is a town in the district of Leer, the northwestern part of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated at the river Ems, near the border with the Netherlands....
.
At dawn on May 3, 1945, German marine-units launched an attack on two forward companies of the SD&G, occupying the village of Rorichum, near Oldersum, that was the final action during the war, VE Day found the SD&G near Emden
Emden
Emden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...
.
It was said of the Regiment that it "never failed to take an objective; never lost a yard of ground; never lost a man taken prisoner in offensive action."
Altogether 3,342 officers and men served overseas with the SD&G, of whom 278 were killed and 781 wounded; 74 decorations and 25 battle honours were awarded. A total of 3,418 officers and men served in the 2nd Battalion (Reserve); of them, 1,882
went on active service and 27 were killed. A third battalion raised in July 1945 served in the occupation of Germany and was disbanded in May 1946.
Post war
Now designated the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders (Machine Gun) in 1954 and Stormont, Dundas and GlengarryHighlanders in 1959, the Regiment remains an infantry unit in the Highland tradition.
In 1968, to mark the regiment's centenary, the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders received the Freedom
of the City of Cornwall.
The SDG crest
Superimposed upon a background of thistle, leaves and flowers the letters SDG; below, a raven on a rock superimposed on a maple leaf. A half scroll to the left of the maple leaf is inscribed DILEAS; another to the right inscribed GU BAS;above, a semi-annulus inscribed GLENGARRY FENCIBLES and surmounted by the Crown. The whole superimposed upon a St. Andrew’s cross,
Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders Regimental Museum
The museum collects, preserves and exhibits military artifacts and archival material related to the Regiment and its predecessor units in the three counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengary as well as material related to the military experiences of the residents of the three counties.Monuments, plaques, badges, honour rolls
- Glengarry Fencibles
- Provincial Plaque at Cornwall Armoury
- 154th Battalion
- Plaque and Honour Roll at Cornwall Armory
- Monument in Alexandria, Glengarry County
- 1st Battalion
- Plaque and Honour Roll at Cornwall Armory
- Honour Roll at Brockville Armory
- Plaque and Honour Roll at Royal Canadian Legion Number 9, Kingston
- Badge at Memorial Center, Peterborough
- Badge on D-Day tank "Bold" at Courseulles, France
- Plaque and Badge on Chateau de Paix de Coeur and
- Monument at "Rue des Glengarrians", Les Buissons
- Memorial Tablet at Abbaye d’Ardenne
- Monument, Badge and Plaque at Avenue President, Coty and Rue d’Authie, Caen
- Mannequin at Bayeux Memorial Museum of The Battle of Normandy
- Monument at "Place du Glens" at Urville
- Plaque at Le Mairie
- Plaque in the Hotel de Ville, Rouen
- Plaque and Badge in the Citadel, Boulonge
- Badge on Belgian Resistance Monument, Knokke/Heist, Belgium
- Plaque at Town Hall, Breskens, Netherlands
- Plaque at Town Hall, Hoofdplaat
The 59th Bn Colours are laid up in the Officers Mess and the 154th Colours are laid up in the Trinity Anglican Church, Second St, Cornwall, Ont.
Origin and lineage
- 59th Stormont and Glengarry Battalion of Infantry - 3 July 1868
- 59th Stormont and Glengarry Regiment - 8 May 1900
- Stormont Dundas & Glengarry Highlanders - 15 February 1922
- Stormont Dundas & Glengarry Highlanders (MG) - 1 September 1954
- Stormont Dundas & Glengarry Highlanders - 1 August 1959