Written by R.R. Lang who was Stratford, Ontario's City Clerk.   It was published in 1903 as a chapter on the Militia in "History of Perth County 1825-1902" by William Johnston

The 28th Regiment (Perth Infantry), was organized September 14th, 1866, with headquarters at Stratford.

The first regimental officers were Lieut.-Col., R. S. Service, Majors, T. B. Guest and Charles James; Paymaster, Leon M. Clench; Adjutant, David Scott; Quartermaster, Peter J. Smithwick; Surgeon, David Wilson, and Assistant-Surgeon, J. P. Jackson.

Lieut.-Col. Service, having been appointed Brigade-Major, Capt. William Smith was promoted to the command of the regiment in 1872; upon his retirement in 1881, Major David Scott succeeded to the command, from which he retired in 1885, and was succeeded by Major R. S. McKnight, who retained command till 1898, when Lieut.-Col. H. A. L. White succeeded him as commanding officer.

The regimental officers are Lieut.-Col., H. A. L. White; Majors, W. C. Moscrip and G. T. Cooke ; Paymaster, Major William Lawrence; Quartermaster, Capt. O. E. Stalker ; Medical Officer, Surgeon-Captain J. P. Rankin ; Hon. Chaplain, Rev. David Williams, M.A.

The regiment is composed of six companies, located as follows: No. 1 Company, Stratford; No. 2 Company, Stratford; No. 3 Company, St. Marys; No. 4 Company, Mitchell; No. 5 Company, Stratford; No. 6 Company, Stratford.

The Regiment has an efficient band of thirty performers, Mr. Foster Close being bandmaster.

No. 1 Company

No. 1 Company was organized in 1856 as "The Stratford Volunteer Rifle Company." It consisted of upwards of eighty men. under command of Captain Henry Imlach, Lieut. L. T. O'Loane, and Ensign James Orr.

With the exception of the historic "Brown Bess'' and white cross belts, the Company was maintained free of expense to the Government till 1858, after which an annual allowance of four or five dollars per man was made; the old arms, etc.. were replaced by Enfield rifles and black leather belts. The original uniform of the Company consisted of green shell jacket, trousers and forage cap. In 1860 green tunic, trousers and shakos were procured.

The original officers having retired, they were succeeded by Capt. R. S. Service, Lieut. Robert Macfarlane and Ensign W. M. Clark.

The Company had the honor of taking part in the reception of His Majesty King Edward VII. (then Prince of Wales) on the occasion of his visit to Stratford in 1860.

Up till the end of 1861, the Company paid all expenses connected with drill, etc.; afterwards the Imperial Government furnished instructors, and in 1863 the first Government clothing was issued. On the 25th April, 1865, the Company was placed on active service for three months, at Windsor and Sandwich. It consisted of three officers and sixty-five non-commissioned officers and men. They were proud of the fact that during this service no charge of any kind was made against a member of the Company.

On March 8th, 1866, the Company was again placed on active service at Stratford, Chatham, Sandwich and Windsor. It was kept out for about four months. The duty was heavy, and the record of the Company was very good. In the following August it formed part of the field force at Thorold under Colonel (now Field Marshall Lord) Wolseley.

On the formation of the 28th Regiment, the officers of No. 1 Company were Capt. Robert Macfarlane. M.P., Lieut. W. M. Clark and Ensign R. R. Lang. The uniform of the Company was changed from green to scarlet in 1871. In 1872 Captain Macfarlane was promoted to majority. and Ensign Lang became Captain. Upon his retirement in 1883 Lieut. F. K. Burnham became Captain. Upon his retirement in 1885, Lieut. J. L. Hotson became Captain, who retired in l892, and was succeeded by Lieut. S. M. Johnson, upon whose retirement in 1896 Lieut. Grayson Alexander became Captain and held command till 1898, when Lieut. Royal Burritt, the present Captain, was appointed. The other officer of the Company is Lieut. M. D. Hamilton.

No. 2 Company

No. 2 Company was organized in 1861 as "The Stratford Infantry company," but was not recognized, armed and equipped till 1862. The first officers were Capt. W. J. Imlach, Lieut. Charles James, and Ensign Henry Sewell (the latter gentleman died in 1866); Capt. Imlach retired, and Lieut. James became Captain, the other officers being Lieut. Robert Smith and Ensign David Scott.

On March 8th, 1866, the Company was called out for active service and did duty at Stratford, Chatham, Windsor and closed as part of field force at Thorold in August.

On the formation of the 28th Regiment, the officers of No. 2 were Capt. William Smith, Lieut. R. A. MacGregor and Ensign Hugh Nichol. In 1872 Capt. Smith was promoted to rank of Lieut.-Colonel of the Regiment, and was succeeded by Captain A. W. Dodd, who retained the Company till he was appointed Adjutant in 1876, and was succeeded by Capt. J. R. Hamilton, who held the position till he was promoted to majority in 1885, when he was succeeded by Capt. Geo. T. Cooke, who retained command until promoted to majority in 1898, and was followed by David Gibson as Captain; upon the retirement of Capt. Gibson in 1900, the present Capt. A. H. Monteith was appointed. The other officers of the Company are Lieuts. S. W. N. Monteith and Clarence Trow.

No. 3 Company

No. 3 Company was organized in 1866 as "The St. Marys Infantry Company" with the following officers: Capt. T. B. Guest, Lieut. John McDonald and Ensign David McConnell. The Company formed part of the field force at Thorold in August, 1866. On the formation of the Regiment. Capt. Guest was appointed Major and Lieut McDonald became Captain of the Company. He retired in 1869, and was succeeded by Lieut. R. S. McKnight, as Captain, who being promoted to the position of Major in 1878, was succeeded by Captain W. A. Bailey, who died in 1882, was succeeded by W. C. Moscrip, as Captain, who retained Company till 1895, when, being appointed Major, he was succeeded by the present Captain D. W. Jamieson, the other officers being Lieuts. G. S. Kirkpatrick and L. Spearin.

No. 4 Company

No. 4 Company was organized at Listowel in 1866, the first officers being Daniel D. Campbell, Captain; John Zimmerman, Lieut., and W. F. Hacking, Ensign. Upon the retirement of Captain Camppell, Lieut. T. G. Fennell became Captain, who retired in 1876. The Company was then removed to St. Marys, and Captain H. A. L. White. of No. 5 Company, transferred to it. Capt. White being appointed Major in 1882, was succeeded by J. E. Harding, as Captain, who retired in 1884, when Lieut. J. G. Beam, formerly of the 44th Regiment, was appointed Captain. Upon Lieut. Beam's appointment as Adjutant in 1885, James Hamilton became Captain, and continued in command till 1899, when, being appointed Quartermaster, Lieut. G. L. Money was appointed Captain, and the headquarters changed to Mitchell, the other officer being Lieut. W. Thompson.

No. 5 Company

The original No. 5 Company was formed in Mitchell in 1866, but, having become inefficient, was removed from the list of active militia, and the original No. 6 Company, organized in 1866 in the Township of Blanshard, become No. 5. The officers of this company were Captain David Brethour, Lieut. H. A. L. White, and Ensign John Anderson. Captain Brethour retired in 1871, and Lieut. H. A. L. White became Captain, who, being in 1876 transferred to No. 4 Company, was succeeded by Lieut. W. H. Paisey, formerly of the Royal Artillery, who held the position of Captain till 1884. Upon the resignation of Captain Paisey the Company was transferred to Listowel, and Lieut. H. B. Morphy became Captain. Upon his retirement in 1895 the Company was removed to Stratford, and Lieut. H. W. Copus appointed Captain. The other officers are Lieuts. H. W. Baker and L. Costello.

No. 6 Company

No. 6 Company was originally No. 7 of the Regiment, but upon the abolition of the original No. 5 Company it became No. 6. It was organized at Fullarton in 1868, the first officers being Captain Richard Francis, Lieut. James Gourlay, and Ensign John Baird. Captain Francis resigned in 1870, and Lieut. Gourlay became Captain. In 1882 the Company was transferred to Stratford. Captain Gourlay resigned in 1884, and Lieut. Arthur Robb took command. Upon his resignation in 1889 Lieut. Williamson Guy was appointed Captain, the other company officer being Lieut. E. G. Holliday.

Note: On May 18, 1900 the regiment name was altered to 28th Perth Regiment

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St Marys Ontario Cenotaph

Prior to the 28th Regiment being formed Perth County had the Sedentary Militia.   In Upper Canada there was compulsory service on men between the ages of 16 and 60 that required an annual muster.
Training Day 1860 is William Johnston's account of the 24 May 1860 muster in St Marys.
William Johnston also gives details of another gathering at Dublin, Ontario