George Joseph Maunsell was born on 25 August 1836 near Rathkeale, 30 km SW of Limerick, Republic of Ireland. He was educated at the Royal Military College, in England and in May 1855 joined the 15th Foot as an Ensign. His Regiment sailed for New Brunswick (NB) in 1862 and Maunsell joined them as a Captain two years later.
He was seconded to the American Union Army in spring 1865, but returned to New Brunswick a few months later and was promoted to Lieutenant-colonel in November. In the spring of 1866, NB braced itself for the Fenian Raids and Maunsell helped organize the defences. He remained in Canada after Confederation and when the new national militia system was created in January 1869, he was named the deputy adjutant general of NB, effectively becoming the commander of the NB militia. For the next few years he devoted himself to building well-trained and efficient militia units.
In 1881, he was transferred to Ottawa, but returned to NB a few years later, when the government established an Infantry School Corps company in Fredericton as the basis for a permanent military force in Canada. In 1893, the Infantry School Corps was renamed the Royal Regiment of Canadian Infantry (which eventually became the Royal Canadian Regiment).
In 1896, Maunsell was appointed its Commanding Officer, taking command of the companies in Fredericton, St. Jean, Toronto and London. The following two years saw him create a uniform regimental system for these geographically distant and disparate companies. In 1898, he relinquished command of the Regiment and shortly afterwards retired from the military. He died in England where he had returned after his retirement.
