The Revolt of Pontiac and the American Invasion
The British Garrison
Caption: Plan of a gunboat built during 1774
With the Seven Years' War won and the Amerindians under control, England now had to consider providing its new colony with a sufficiently large garrison of regular soldiers. It was felt that two or three regiments, some of which would be dispatched to the forts of the Great Lakes, would be adequate. The most westerly fort to receive a garrison was Michilimackinac, because it was considered useless to maintain such forces in the small Prairie forts. One or two regiments were also posted to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.
Nor did Great Britain intend to neglect the naval aspect, which was always considered very important. A fleet of small ships was kept on the Great Lakes, with several officers and seamen of the Provincial Marine - a kind of small navy assigned to the lakes. The military shipyard used to build warships under the French regime was abandoned, and Quebec would become a port for warships, although it was not the largest British naval base: this remained Halifax, a city admirably located, with its large harbour, to play the role of sentinel of the North Atlantic.
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