| Carte de Visite Sized Tintype Unknown Photographer Quebec, Canada Late 1860s This very young-looking member of the 81st Portneuf Battalion of Infantry posed for the photographer sometime in the late 1860s. The American made carte de visite-sized mount bears the patent date of 1865 and he is clearly armed with a Snider-Enfield breech-loading rifle which was introduced into Canadian service in 1866 and had fully equipped the militia by 1867. It is interesting to note that Canada never widely adopted the Martini-Henry and the Snider remained the primary long arm of Canadian raised forces well into the 1890s. Like all tintypes this image is reversed and while it appears that his cap bears the number "18" it is in fact an "81". Also note that the lock on his rifle appears on the left hand side in the image. While 81st Portneuf Battalion of Infantry does not appear to have seen any active field service, this soldier would be quite illustrative of the Canadian militiamen who faced the Fenian Raiders who crossed into Canada from the United States in the later 1860s and then again in the early 1870s in a failed attempt to seize Canada as a bargaining chip for Irish independence. |