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.
Rebellion broke out along the North Saskatchewan River valley in March 1885. [1] The Métis rebellion led by Louis Riel was driven by political and economic issues. Riel formed a provisional government, which he hoped would be supported by Cree and others. He also hoped to defeat the NWMP and seize the Batoche region; and then force the Canadian government to negotiate. [2] The NWMP had been concerned about Riel's presence in the Saskatchewan valley since the previous fall and had increased its presence in the area over the winter. [3]
As tensions rose, Commissioner Acheson Irvine responded to messages from detachments in the area and mobilized the spare manpower at NWMP headquarters at Regina. [4]
Conflict began when Riel's men took Batoche on 18 March, cutting telegraph lines and taking hostages. [5]
Irvine marched at speed through the snow to Prince Albert, which he garrisoned with 90 police. [6] He then set off for Fort Carlton. [7] Superintendent Leif Crozier organized defences in Battleford, then marched with 50 police and a 7-pounder to Fort Carlton. [8] Riel demanded the surrender of the force at Fort Carlton, which Crozier refused. [9] The two sides first clashed when Crozier, with 55 NWMP and 43 civilian volunteers, attempting to seize a cache of supplies in the area, confronted a larger force of rebels at Duck Lake on 26 March. The government forces came off worse in the fight. [10] After this, some Cree leaders, in particular Poundmaker and Big Bear, joined the Métis in their revolt. Others continued to tacitly support the government. [11]
The NWMP numbered 562 at the start of the conflict and rapidly abandoned most of the posts along the valley. [12] Fort Carlton appeared indefensible, and the police abandoned it on 27 March, arriving at Prince Albert the following day, where 225 police, supported by police, oversaw chaotic scenes among the many families seeking safety there. [13] Prince Albert was effectively isolated by the rebellion. Rather than evacuating his NWMP unit and the settlers from Prince Albert, Irvine instead began to use the town as a citadel for area residents fleeing the threat of attack. [14]
On 29 March, rebel Cree approached Battleford. In the nearby police fort, 43 NWMP under the command of Inspector William Morris watched as [15] the town was looted. The Cree fighters placed the police fort under siege for a period. [16]
At Fort Saskatchewan, near Edmonton, Inspector Arthur Griesbach set about improving the defences with his garrison of 20 NWMP. He encouraged the town of Edmonton to do similarly, using the old Fort Edmonton or a newer structure, as a defensive post. [17]
Inspector Francis Dickens was commanding Fort Pitt. He had with him 25 NWMP men and limited ammunition. He swore in civilians as special constables but believed the fort to indefensible and made preparations to leave by boat. [18] On 13 April, Big Bear with 250 Cree arrived. They intercepted a small police scouting party, killing Constable Cowan, wounding another, and capturing a third. They then demanded the surrender of Fort Pitt. After negotiations and a confrontation, the civilians surrendered, and Dickens and his men also surrendered and were allowed to leave the fort and use a makeshift boat to depart. [19] They arrived safely at Battleford on 22 April. [20]
Militia units numbering more than 5,000 strong, commanded by Major-General Frederick Middleton, hurried west along the Canadian Pacific Railway. [21] Middleton's plan depended on three groups striking into the rebel territories, with Middleton leading the main force to retake Batoche. [22] The second and third columns, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel W. Otter and Major-General Thomas Strange, were accompanied by 74 and 20 NWMP men respectively, the latter group armed with a 9-pounder field gun. [23]
Otter's men reached Battleford on 1 May 1885 and marched south to Cut Knife Creek where they expected to find Poundmaker, with the NWMP forming the advance guard. [24] Otter surprised the camp at dawn, but the attack by the advancing troops rapidly slowed. Despite the Cree having few weapons, the government forces were defeated and forced to retreat to Battleford. [25]
After many delays, Middleton finally attacked Batoche. After three days, he defeated the settlement's defenders and captured Riel. He then formally relieved Prince Albert on 20 May. [26]
Strange's force, containing 20 NWMP men, advanced to Edmonton, with Sam Steele of the NWMP commanding his scouts. The force then pursued Big Bear and the remnants of the rebellious Cree, along the way fighting a battle near Frenchman's Butte, until they were captured or surrendered. [27]
The death toll among NWMP officers during the suppression of the rebellion included three at Duck Lake (Arnold, Garrett, Gibson) and three at Cut Knife Hill (Corporal Sleigh, Corporal Lowry, Trumpeter Burke). [28]
NWMP Constable David Latimer Cowan was killed at Fort Pitt. [29] He was in company of a boy, a nephew of John Delaney, who had been killed at Frog Lake. The boy got away on his fast horse, but insurgent members of Big Bear's band tracked him in the snow and captured him. He and a Métis companion escaped and then were picked up by troops descending the North Saskatchewan on scows from Fort Pitt to Battleford. [30] (Judge Charles Rouleau found Louison Mongrain guilty of the killing of Constable Cowan and sentenced him to death by hanging. The sentence was later commuted.) [31]
Big Bear voluntarily surrendered to the NWMP post at Fort Carlton. He had seen the troops sent to Green Lake to search for him but had eluded them, then had made his way to Fort Carlton, where upon discovery he give himself up voluntarily to NWMP Sergeant Smart. He claimed that he had been unwilling to surrender to troops as Gen. Strange's soldiers had not respected a white flag when they had met earlier. [32]
The NWMP held Riel in prison at Regina. He was given a trial and found guilty, and hanged at the North-West Mounted Police barracks in Regina. [33]
General Middleton criticized Irvine and the NWMP for having remained in Prince Albert throughout the campaign and for failing to join his forces during the Battle of Batoche. [34] The major-general likened the NWMP to "gophers", who retreated and hid during fighting. His complaints were picked up by the press. [35] Irvine criticized Crozier for "the impetuosity displayed by both the police and volunteers" at Duck Lake and, when the details became public, Crozier resigned. [36] Irvine defended his defensive stance at Prince Albert, but the press criticized him for his lack of "vigour". [37] Finding himself without support from Prime Minister Macdonald, Crozier resigned the next year. [38]
Early historians defended the performance of the NWMP, noting that the force was mostly under the command of the militia and General Middleton himself, and were not given opportunities to show their value in battle. [39]
Later historians have been more critical. R. C. Macleod, for example, noted that Irvine's failure to reinforce Middleton "can only be explained by excessive caution...or by his ignorance of what was happening on his doorstep". [40] Stanley Horrall blamed the police's poor performance on a combination of government neglect and weak leadership shown by Commissioner Irvine in the years running up to the rebellion. [41] Nonetheless, historians consider the NWMP's good relationships with the local First Nations valuable during the campaign. [42]
The North-West Rebellion, was an armed rebellion of Métis under Louis Riel and an associated uprising of Cree and Assiniboine mostly in 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. A provisional government led by Louis was declared, and rebel territory carved out, starting on March 18. As government forces responded, fighting broke out, with the last shooting over by the end of June. Important events included the Frog Lake incident, the capture of Batoche in May 1885 and Big Bear's surrender in early July. About 91 people were killed in the fighting that occurred that spring before the conflict ended. Although the Metis were militarily defeated, the Canada government subsequently did modulate some of its policies. Louis Riel was hanged but has since been pardoned for his actions.
Events from the year 1885 in Canada.
The Battle of Cut Knife, fought on May 2, 1885, occurred when a flying column of North-West Mounted Police, Canadian militia, and Canadian regulars attacked a Cree and Assiniboine teepee settlement near Battleford in the North-West Territories' District of Saskatchewan. at the time of the 1885 North-West Rebellion. First Nations fighters forced the Canadian forces to retreat, with losses on both sides.
The Battle of Frenchman's Butte, fought on May 28, 1885, occurred when the Alberta Field Force attacked a force of Cree, dug in on a hillside near Frenchman's Butte. The battlefield is located in what was then the District of Saskatchewan of the North-West Territories, now the province of Saskatchewan.
The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian paramilitary police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory to Canada from the Hudson's Bay Company, the Red River Rebellion and in response to lawlessness, demonstrated by the subsequent Cypress Hills Massacre and fears of United States military intervention. The NWMP combined military, police and judicial functions along similar lines to the Royal Irish Constabulary. A small, mobile police force was chosen to reduce potential for tensions with the United States and First Nations. The NWMP uniforms included red coats deliberately reminiscent of British and Canadian military uniforms.
Acheson Gosford Irvine, ISO served as Commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) from November 1, 1880, to March 31, 1886.
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.
Poundmaker, also known as Pîhtokahanapiwiyin, 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 Battle of Fish Creek, fought April 24, 1885 at Fish Creek, Saskatchewan, was a major Métis victory over the Canadian forces attempting to quell Louis Riel's North-West Rebellion. Although the reversal was not decisive enough to alter the ultimate outcome of the conflict, it was convincing enough to persuade Major General Frederick Middleton to temporarily halt his advance on Batoche, where the Métis would later make their final stand.
The Battle of Batoche was the decisive battle of the North-West Rebellion, which pitted the Canadian authorities against a force of First Nations and Métis people. Fought from May 9 to 12, 1885, at the ad hoc Provisional Government of Saskatchewan capital of Batoche, the greater numbers and superior firepower of General Frederick Middleton's force eventually overwhelmed the Métis fighters.
Leif Newry Fitzroy Crozier, commonly known as L. N. F. Crozier, was a Canadian Militia officer and a superintendent of the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP), now best remembered for his role in the North-West Rebellion of 1885, a resistance movement headed by Métis leader Louis Riel in what is now the modern province of Saskatchewan.
The Battle of Fort Pitt was part of a Cree uprising coinciding with the Métis North-West Rebellion in 1885. Cree fighters began a series of attacks on Canadian settlements on April 2. On April 15, they captured Fort Pitt from a detachment of North-West Mounted Police.
The Prince Albert Volunteers (PAV) is the name of two historical infantry units headquartered in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. The unit was first raised in 1885 during the North-West Rebellion and disbanded after hostilities ceased. In the 20th century, the unit was operational from 1913 to 1936 and 1941 to 1946. The PAV is now incorporated by amalgamation in the North Saskatchewan Regiment (N Sask R).
Fort Pitt Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It includes the site of Fort Pitt, a trading post built in 1829 by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) on the North Saskatchewan River in Rupert's Land. It was built at the direction of Chief Factor John Rowand, previously of Fort Edmonton, to trade goods for bison hides, meat and pemmican. Pemmican, dried buffalo meat, was required as provisions for HBC's northern trading posts.
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. 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.
The March West was the initial journey of the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) to the Canadian prairies, made between July 8 and October 9, 1874.
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.
The Rocky Mountain Rangers were one of the volunteer militia units raised in Canada's North West in response to the 1885 North-West Rebellion. It was a body of mounted irregulars, mostly cowboys and ranchers from the area around Fort Macleod, the headquarters of the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, about 150 miles (240 km) west of Medicine Hat. This unit is not to be confused with the present-day Canadian Army Reserve unit The Rocky Mountain Rangers of Kamloops, British Columbia. Rather, it is the ultimate ancestor of the South Alberta Light Horse (SALH).
The siege of Battleford was a siege during the North-West Rebellion that lasted from 28 March to 26 May, 1885.