Looting of Battleford | |||||
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Part of the North-West Rebellion | |||||
Fort Battleford National Historic Site | |||||
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The Looting of Battleford began at the end of March, 1885, during the North-West Rebellion, in the town of Battleford, Saskatchewan, then a part of the Northwest Territories.
Within days of the Métis victory at the Battle of Duck Lake on March 26, 1885. Cree bands sympathetic to the Métis cause and with grievances of their own began raiding stores and farms in the western part of the District of Saskatchewan for arms, ammunition and food supplies while civilians fled to the larger settlements and forts of the North-West Territories.
Prominent leaders of this uprising were Chief Poundmaker and Chief Big Bear. Poundmaker and his band had a reserve near present-day Cut Knife about 50 km (31 miles) west of Fort Battleford. Big Bear and his band had settled near Frog Lake about 55 km (34 miles) northwest of Fort Pitt but had not yet selected a reserve site. [1] Both bands were signatories of Treaty 6 and were unhappy in the way it was implemented by the Canadian government. The loss of the buffalo and the inadequate rations provided by the Indian agents kept the bands in a continual state of near-starvation. [2]
The District of Saskatchewan in 1885 was divided into three sub-districts and had a population of 10,595. To the east the Carrot River sub-district with 1,770 people remained quiet. The Prince Albert sub-district located in the centre of the district had a population of 5,373 which included the Southbranch settlements with about 1,300. The Southbranch settlements was the centre of Louis Riel's Provisional Government during the Rebellion. To the west where the Cree uprising led by Poundmaker and Big Bear occurred was the Battleford sub-district with 3,603 people. [3] [4]
The largest settlement and the capital of the district was Prince Albert with about 800 people [5] followed by Battleford with about 500 people "divided about equally between French, Métis and English". [6]
Battleford is located on the Battle River near the North Saskatchewan River. On the south side of the Battle River was the Old Town and on the north side nearest the North Saskatchewan River was the New Town and Fort Battleford. [7]
The city of North Battleford was founded later in 1905 when the construction of the Canadian Northern Railway main line to Edmonton placed the line on the north side of the North Saskatchewan River. [8]
On March 28, as news that several Indian bands including Poundmaker's were on their way to Battleford settlers began moving into the nearby North-West Mounted Police post, Fort Battleford which was under the command of Colonel Morris and 25 police. Over the next several days 500 civilians would take refuge within the palisades. Many crossed over an unstable ice bridge on the Battle River leaving most of their possessions behind in the Old Town. During the night of March 29 nearby homesteads were raided their horses and cattle rounded up by the bands. [9]
Also on the trail to join Poundmaker in Battleford were the Assiniboine from the Eagle Hills approximately 30 km south of Battleford. On March 29, they killed their farm instructor John Payne and raided homesteads, on the way killing a farmer by the name of Fremont. [9]
On March 30, Poundmaker asked for a meeting with the Indian agent J. M. Rae. After Rae refused to meet with him, the combined Battleford bands took food and supplies from the abandoned stores and houses. The next day, the bands camped a few miles away bringing with them their looted provisions including cattle and horses then eventually returned to Poundmaker's reserve. [9]
The New Town was protected by its proximity to the Fort and its cannon, but the Old Town was not. Every day until the arrival of Colonel Otter's column on April 24, the occupants of the Fort watched as the Old Town, about a mile away, was plundered. Stolen vehicles and horses carried away the supplies of the Hudson's Bay Company and the other merchants. All the public buildings were sacked, including the Battleford Industrial School (located in the Old Government House). [10] Most homes were burned, including the imposing home of Judge Charles Rouleau. Just half a dozen were left standing. [11]
On May 2, Colonel Otter's column advanced to Poundmaker's camp and were attacked. The Loyalist forces returned back to the fort after realising they had nothing to accomplish by staying on the field of Battle. Cut Knife Creek . [9]
On May 14, at Eagle Hills a Battleford band captured a wagon train carrying supplies for Colonel Otter's column.
After the defeat of the Métis force at the Battle of Batoche and the surrender of Louis Riel to Middleton on May 15 Pitikwahanapiwiyin (Poundmaker) surrendered to General Middleton at Fort Battleford on May 26. It is estimated that 3 loyalists and around 7+ natives were killed in action as a result of the Siege of Battleford. [12]
The nature of the Cree advance on Battleford, like the entire 1885 Rebellion, is a source of historiographical controversy. Historian Douglas Hill characterized the Cree group as a "war party ... ready to take revenge for a winter of incalculable suffering" who "swooped on Battleford, killing six whites". George F. G. Stanley's writing on the subject indicated that the Cree were not murderous but more haphazard and bumbling: they "[did] not appear to have in mind an attack upon the town" but were content with "prowling around the neighbourhood". While John L. Tobias says that the Crees tried to demonstrate their "peaceful intent" by including women and children in their group, simply took food to sustain themselves after finding the town abandoned, and then withdrew to avoid conflict with the police.
The North-West Rebellion, also known as the North-West Resistance, was an armed resistance movement by the Métis under Louis Riel and an associated uprising by Cree and Assiniboine of the District of Saskatchewan, North-West Territories, against the Canadian government. Many Métis felt that Canada was not protecting their rights, their land, and their survival as a distinct people. Fighting broke out in late March, and the conflict ended in June. About 91 people were killed in the fighting that occurred that spring before the conflict ended with the capture of Batoche in May 1885.
Battleford is a town located across the North Saskatchewan River from the City of North Battleford, in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Events from the year 1885 in Canada.
The Battle of Cut Knife, fought on May 2, 1885, occurred when a flying column of mounted police, militia, and Canadian army regular army units attacked a Cree and Assiniboine teepee settlement near Battleford, Saskatchewan. First Nations fighters forced the Canadian forces to retreat, with losses on both sides.
Batoche, Saskatchewan, which lies between Prince Albert and Saskatoon, was the site of the historic Battle of Batoche during the North-West Rebellion of 1885. The battle resulted in the defeat of Louis Riel and his Métis forces by Major General Frederick Middleton and his Northwest Field Force. Batoche was then a small village of some 500 residents. The site has since become depopulated and now has few residents. The 1885 church building and a few other historic buildings have been preserved, and the site is a National Historic Site.
Pîhtokahanapiwiyin, also known as Poundmaker, was a Plains Cree chief known as a peacemaker and defender of his people, the Poundmaker Cree Nation. His name denotes his special craft at leading buffalo into buffalo pounds (enclosures) for harvest.
The Battle of Duck Lake was an infantry skirmish 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) outside Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, between North-West Mounted Police forces of the Government of Canada, and the Métis militia of Louis Riel's newly established Provisional Government of Saskatchewan. The skirmish lasted approximately 30 minutes, after which Superintendent Leif Newry Fitzroy Crozier of the NWMP, his forces having endured fierce fire with twelve killed and eleven wounded, called for a general retreat. The battle is considered the initial engagement of the North-West Rebellion. Although Louis Riel proved to be victorious at Duck Lake, the general agreement among historians is that the battle was strategically a disappointment to his cause.
The District of Saskatchewan was a regional administrative district of Canada's North-West Territories. It was formed in 1882 was later enlarged then abolished with the creation of the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta in 1905. Much of the area was incorporated into the province of Saskatchewan. The western part became part of Alberta, and the eastern part is now part of Manitoba.
Fort Battleford was the sixth North-West Mounted Police fort to be established in the North-West Territories of Canada, and played a central role in the events of the North-West Rebellion of 1885. It was here Chief Poundmaker was arrested, and where six Cree and two Stoney men were hanged for murders committed in the Frog Lake Massacre and the Looting of Battleford. In reference to the hanging, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald said in a letter that "the executions... ought to convince the Red Man that the White Man governs."
James Isbister was a Canadian Métis leader of the 19th century. Prominent among the Anglo-Métis of the area, he is considered to be the founder of the city of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
Southbranch Settlement was the name ascribed to a series of French Métis settlements on the Canadian prairies in the 19th century, in what is today the province of Saskatchewan. Métis settlers began making homes here in the 1860s and 1870s, many of them fleeing economic and social dislocation from Red River, Manitoba. The settlements became the centre of Métis resistance during the North-West Rebellion when in March 1885, Louis Riel, Gabriel Dumont, Honoré Jackson, and others set up the Provisional Government of Saskatchewan with their headquarters at Batoche.
The Battle of Fort Pitt was part of a Cree uprising coinciding with the Métis revolt that started the North-West Rebellion in 1885. Cree warriors began attacking Canadian settlements on April 2. On April 15, they captured Fort Pitt from a detachment of North-West Mounted Police.
The Frog Lake Massacre was part of the Cree uprising during the North-West Rebellion in western Canada. Led by Wandering Spirit, young Cree men attacked and killed nine officials, clergy and settlers in the small settlement of Frog Lake, at the time in the District of Saskatchewan in the North-West Territories on 2 April 1885.
The Provisional Government of Saskatchewan was an independent state declared during the North-West Rebellion of 1885 in the District of Saskatchewan of the North-West Territories. It included parts of the present-day Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The name was given by Louis Riel. Although Riel initially hoped to rally the Countryborn, Cree, and European settlers of the Saskatchewan Valley to his banner, this did not occur. The government, with the exception of Honoré Jaxon and Chief White Cap, had an entirely French-speaking and Métis leadership. Gabriel Dumont was proclaimed adjutant general in which capacity he became supreme military commander, although Riel could, and did, override his tactical decisions. The Provisional Government was declared by Riel on March 19, 1885. It ceased to exist following the defeat of the Métis militarily during the Battle of Batoche, which concluded on May 20, 1885. During its existence the government only exercised authority over the Southbranch Settlements along the South Saskatchewan River. Other major centres in the area such as Prince Albert, Saskatoon, and most First Nations reserves remained outside of its control.
Duck Lake is a town in the boreal forest of central Saskatchewan, Canada. Its location is 88 km (55 mi) north of Saskatoon and 44 kilometres (27 mi) south of Prince Albert on Highway 11, in the Rural Municipality of Duck Lake No. 463. Immediately to the north of Duck Lake is the south block of the Nisbet Provincial Forest.
Highway 40 is a provincial highway in the north-west portion of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan connecting Alberta to Highway 3, four kilometres (2.5 mi) west of Shellbrook, Saskatchewan. Areas of this highway between the Alberta border and North Battleford are called the Poundmaker Trail. Pitikwahanapiwiyin, commonly known as Poundmaker, was a Plains Cree chief known as a peacemaker and defender of his people. The main feature along this highway is access between North Battleford and near Prince Albert. This is a primary Saskatchewan highway maintained by the provincial government. All of this highway is paved.
St. Laurent de Grandin is an area of Métis settlement along the South Saskatchewan River. It is just east of Duck Lake, and at present is the site of the St. Laurent Ferry, as well as the Roman Catholic Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. The shrine is a popular destination for Catholics in central Saskatchewan, and was historically associated with the Métis and Cree people of the area. St. Laurent was part of the Southbranch Settlement and is found downstream from Batoche. It is also a short distance upstream from St. Louis. It is situated in Aspen parkland roughly near the edge of the Nisbet Provincial Forest. Although never a town, St. Laurent was an important area of settlement and of spiritual significance in the area during the late 19th century. St. Laurent's picturesque scenery continues to attract tourists to the shrine along the Louis Riel Trail today.
The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) played a significant role during the North-West Rebellion in Canada in 1885. The NWMP suffered early reverses and, although they supported the relief force sent to the region under the command of Major-General Frederick Middleton, their performance was heavily criticized. Commissioner Acheson Irvine resigned from his command of the police as a result.
The Little Pine First Nation is a Plains Cree First Nations band government in Saskatchewan, Canada. Their reserves include:
The Siege of Battleford was a siege during the North-West Rebellion which lasted from 28 March 1885 to 26 May 1885.