William Teel Baird
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William Teel Baird ( – February 23, 1897) was a Canadian military figure of the 19th century.


Biography

Baird was born on the upper Saint John River in
New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
where his father, John Baird, was a school teacher. The younger Baird was trained as a pharmacist and in 1839 he moved to
Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
to open his own business. There he explored his many interests including music and books. His first interest was the militia, which he had joined in
Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...
in 1836, and he continued with this pursuit in his new home. Baird made large contributions to the militia in the province beginning in 1861 and the
Trent Affair The ''Trent'' Affair was a International incident, diplomatic incident in 1861 during the American Civil War that threatened a war between the United States and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain. The United States Navy, ...
where he organized the militia to thwart British troop desertions. Under instructions from Lieutenant Governor Arthur Hamilton Gordon, he organized the ''Home Guard'' during the time of the threat of Fenian raids. In 1869 when the New Brunswick Militia units were restructured into the new post-confederation Canadian Militia, Baird became the first commanding officer of the newly formed 67th Battalion, The Carleton Light Infantry. He retired as a Quartermaster General. William Teel Baird's other noteworthy contribution to history was his autobiography, ''Seventy years of New Brunswick life'', which gives a particular insight into the militia and the political climate of the times.


References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baird, William Teel 1819 births 1897 deaths Canadian Militia officers Businesspeople from New Brunswick Canadian people of Anglo-Irish descent People from Fredericton People of the Fenian raids Canadian autobiographers