From the Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles site.
The enlistment of this group was begun in the autumn of 1811 when war with the United States seemed all but inevitable. On the first of December of that year, Sir George Provost wrote to Lord Liverpool, the Colonial Secretary:
"I have sent Capt. Macdonell, of the King's Regiment, into the townships where the Glengarry emigrants are settled in Upper Canada, to ascertain their ability to form a regiment of light infantry.
"Capt. Macdonell is selected for his zeal, ability, and intelligence, with a name and national character acceptable to them, and the same religious persuasion, as they are all Roman Catholics."
--Brock-Perry
