Birthplace of the Canadian Army

English: , Canada's professional army was born on this site, here in Fredericton in 1883, with the formation of the Infantry School Corps., Sixteen years prior, in 1867, the Dominion of Canada was formed when the colonies of British North America, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Upper Canada and Lower Canada joined together to create a new country. Consequently, British troops began withdrawing from their garrisons in the colonies, creating a vacuum of military leadership and paving the way for Canada to create its own army., On December 21, 1883 General Order No. 26 stated: "The formation of three schools of infantry having been authorized, the requisite number of Militiamen will be enrolled, and formed into one Corps, to be known as the Infantry School Corps.", Fredericton was one of three locations, along with Toronto, Ontario and Saint Jean, Quebec, to create schools of professional military instruction for the volunteer militia. Training began in April 1884., Soldiers worked hard for little pay. Private Harry Rawney wrote of his experiences in 1890:, "For rations we got ½ lb. of bread, ½ lb. of cheese and a pound of meat per day… soup the next day… potatoes with their skins on boiled for each room, but no puddings or dessert. Married men and single got the same, the wives received rations but not the children. Our blankets (were) washed by the wives of the married soldiers… (we paid) for the work out of our $0.40 per day.", Fredericton was home to the Infantry School Corps "A" Company. The regiment's name changed to The Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry in 1893, then to today's Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) in 1901. The RCR is Canada's oldest permanent force infantry regiment, earning many battle honours from 1885 until today.,