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Participation of the general populace of New France in the militia provided an important link between a hierarchical absolutist government and a population known for being proud and independent. Although membership was non voluntary, this was not resented by the men involved.

The tradition of raising the May pole in front of the Militia captain's house, which began in the era of New France, went on in French Canada until the middle of the 19th century.

Hospitals in New France were founded and maintained by religious orders of the Roman Catholic church. The cost of the institutions was borne by the state, in return for which officers, soldiers and sailors received free care, food and medicine.

A series of journeys by French explorers into the interior of North America was followed by the growth of a strong French presence in Louisiana and Illinois. A strong military presence administered and oversaw the new regions.

There was a close liaison between the officers and the commercial class in New France. Marriage alliances cemented families together, and a kind of colonial military caste began to form in the colony in the eighteenth century.

Officers received very little income from their military rank - usually far less than the expenses the position demanded. As a result, some officers in New France without other income were very poor.

From the mid-17th century, and for the next two centuries, the winter dress and equipment of Canadian volunteers hardly changed and was much the same as fur traders and voyageurs.

A brief description of the soldiers and militiamen who served at various times in the history of Fort Chambly: the Carignan-Salières Regiment, the Compagnies Franches de la Marine, and the Canadian Militia.

Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville (1661-1706), son of tactician Charles Le Moyne, was perhaps the greatest soldier New France ever produced. Between 1686 and 1706 he established himself as a master commander both on land and at sea. Also an explorer, he founded the first permanent settlement in Louisiana.

The tasks the militia captains undertook on behalf of the civil government of New France were wide ranging, from carrying out the census to enforcing public health regulations in the towns.