George Taylor Denison was a Canadian lawyer and militia officer who spent many years advocating for a dedicated Canadian military. Denison was from one of the richest families in Toronto (until 1834 known as York) and one who had much vested interest in the militia. His father had established the York Dragoons in 1822, which he funded from his own pocket.  Denison followed the pattern and commanded and paid for the same regiment, renamed the York Volunteer Cavalry but popularly known as ‘Denison’s Horse’.
In the 1850s, the British government began to withdraw military forces from Canada due to the Crimean War. This left the country without a dedicated defence force, something of increasing concern to Denison as he believed that it meant that Canada was open to an invasion from the expansionist United States of America. This pamphlet was published following the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 to argue for increased investment in the militia in order to preserve Canada’s neutrality and to protect the country from its heavily armed neighbour (he estimated the American Army to consist of 500,000 men) following the conflict.
Although he was unsuccessful in persuading the Canadian government to fund a professional military, ‘Denison’s Horse’ became one of the most important volunteer (or reserve) regiments in the country. In 1866, it was renamed the Governor General’s Body Guard and in 1958, the Governor General’s Horse Guard. Still based in Toronto, today it serves as Canada’s Household Cavalry regiment and is the most senior reserve regiment in the country.