Colonial Corps were regiments of the regular British army, paid out of imperial revenues, and located in the various colonies where they were formed. The following corps, and numbers were provided for in the Army Estimates for 1860-61 :
| Three West India Regiments (afterwards raised to five)..... | 3420 | Negro. |
| Newfoundland Veterans..... | 229 | British. |
| Ceylon Rifles..... | 1585 | Native. |
| " Invalids..... | 103 | Native. |
| Cape Mounted Rifles..... | 1084 | Boers and natives. |
| Malta Fencibles..... | 638 | Native. |
| Canadian Rifles..... | 1106 | British. |
| St Helena Regiment..... | 433 | " |
| Gold Coast Artillery..... | 351 | Negro. |
| Falkland Islands Company..... | 37 | British. |
| African Artillerymen..... | 64 | Negro. |
| Hong-kong Gunners..... | 88 | Lascars. |
All the officers were British, except those of the Malta Fencibles. The Cape corps were mounted infantry. Though maintained out of imperial revenue, these corps were not available for the general defence of the empire, and accordingly have been gradually disbanded, their places in the colonies being supplied by levies of local militia. There still exist, besides African commissariat, ordnance store, and medical staff corps, one West India Regiment of two battalions, the Malta Fencibles, one company of Gun Lascars in Ceylon, and another at Hong-kong.