North West Canada Medal 1885

[Guest Darrell]

Received this one from an unexpected source a couole of weeks back. While the NW 1885 medals are not too hard to find without the Saskatchewan Clasp, they are very hard to find with.

A little back ground on the 1885 Rebellion (as known better as the Louis Riel Rebellion).

North-West Rebellion, 1885, culmination of the discontent of the MÉTIS, Indians and white settlers which had not abated since the RED RIVER REBELLION of 1869-70. The Plains Indians - CREE, BLACKFOOT, BLOOD, PEIGAN, Saulteaux - had been reduced to near starvation by the virtual disappearance of the buffalo. In 1880 Cree chief BIG BEAR worked for an Indian confederacy and found an ally in CROWFOOT, leading chief of the Blackfoot. A series of confrontations between destitute Indians and Indian Department employees over rations threatened to break into open violence. The Métis had found transition from hunting to farming difficult and by 1884 had grown desperate that their rights would ever be recognized.

A delegation brought Louis REIL back from exile in the US and on July 8 he held his first public meeting in Canada since 1870, urging all dissatisfied people in the North-West to unite and press their case on Ottawa. The white settlers also had grievances. Those who had settled along the Saskatchewan River in anticipation of the railway were disturbed that the CPR had chosen a more southerly route. John A. Macdonald's Conservative government failed to address the grievances of all 3 groups.

In the fall of 1884 Riel prepared a petition and urged the Métis, English half-breeds and white settlers to sign it. At St Laurent [sask.] on 8 March 1885 a meeting passed a 10-point "Revolutionary Bill of Rights" which asserted Métis rights of possession to their farms and made other demands. On March 18 and 19, the Métis formed a provisional government and an armed force at Batoche, with Riel president and Gabriel DUMONT military commander.

Prisoners were taken in the Batoche area and, in anticipation of a police advance; Métis forces occupied the community of DUCK LAKE, midway between Batoche and Fort Carlton. In the morning of March 26, the NWMP, augmented by citizen volunteers to a total strength of 100, moved towards Duck Lake under Superintendent Lief CROZIER. A large Métis and Indian force met them on the Carlton Trail near the village. A parlay ended in confusion and the police and volunteers fired at their enemy hidden in a large hollow north of the road and in a cabin to the south. The battle ended shortly after with the police and volunteers retreating to Fort Carlton. Nine volunteers and 3 police were killed. Five Métis and one Indian died. Riel persuaded the rebel soldiers not to pursue the retreating force and the Métis returned to Batoche. The police evacuated Fort Carlton and retired to Prince Albert.

The Ottawa government's reaction was astonishingly swift, considering that the CPR north of Lake Superior was not completed. There were only a few hundred full-time soldiers in Canada but militia mobilization began March 25, the day before the Duck Lake battle. CPR manager William VAN HORNE quickly arranged for Canadian troops to be transported across the gaps, enabling them to reach Qu'Appelle by April 10. In less than a month, almost 3000 troops had been transported west; most were Ontario militia units but the force included 2 Québec battalions and one from Nova Scotia. From the West came about 1700 of the eventual total of just over 5000 that Major-General Frederick MIDDLETON commanded.

The rebel victory at Duck Lake encouraged a large contingent of Cree to move on Battleford from reserves to the west. Residents of the area flocked to the safety of Fort Battleford. On March 30, Assiniboine's south of Battleford killed 2 whites and joined the Cree forces. Terrified settlers huddled in Fort Battleford for almost a month as the Cree and Assiniboine organized a huge war camp to the west.

Big Bear had been the last plains chief to take treaty, and in 1885 he was still resisting taking a reserve, still agitating for a better deal. As a result, his band included some of the more militant Plains Cree. The government took a hard line with Big Bear's band, cutting off rations to force them to settle. By the spring of 1885, it was almost inevitable that Big Bear's band at Frog Lake, north of modern-day Lloydminster, would clash violently with the government. On the night of April 1, warriors of Big Bear's band took prisoner several whites and Métis. Shortly after church on Sunday, April 2, war chief Wandering Spirit shot and killed Sub-Indian Agent Thomas Quinn. Chief Big Bear tried to stop the violence but the warriors took their own initiative from their war chief and killed 2 priests, the government farming instructor, an independent trader, a miller and 3 other men. Several people were spared, including the widows of 2 of the dead men.

General Middleton's original plan was simple. He wanted to march all his troops north from the railhead at Qu'Appelle to Batoche. But the killings at Frog Lake and the "siege" of Battleford forced him to send a large group under Lieutenant-Colonel William OTTER north from a second railhead at Swift Current to relieve Battleford. Pressure from Alberta led to the creation of a third column at Calgary under Major-General Thomas Bland STRANGE.

On April 14, the Frog Lake Cree besieged Fort Pitt, on the North Saskatchewan River just east of the modern Alberta-Saskatchewan border. On April 15, after a policeman died in a small skirmish, the Cree allowed the NWMP detachment to flee downriver.

Middleton set off on the 50 km march to Batoche from Clarke's Crossing on the South Saskatchewan River on April 23. About 900 men, including 2 artillery batteries, were split into 2 groups, one for each side of the river. The Métis were determined to fight but differed about where to make a stand. Riel wanted to concentrate all efforts on defending Batoche; Dumont favored a more forward position. Dumont won the argument and on April 12, with about 150 Métis and Indians, prepared an ambush at Tourond's Coulee, which the government soldiers would know as Fish Creek, 20 km south of Batoche on the east side of the South Saskatchewan. As Middleton's scouts approached the coulee early on April 24, the rebels opened fire. Until mid-afternoon, Middleton's soldiers tried unsuccessfully to drive Dumont's men from the ravine and suffered heavy casualties, 6 killed and 49 wounded. The rebels had only 4 killed. It took most of the day for Middleton to get the troops from the west bank across the river on a makeshift ferry and they arrived too late to take part in the fighting. At the end of the day, both commanders decided to pull back. The Métis had held their ground and Middleton's advance was stopped.

On May 1, Colonel Otter moved west from Battleford with 300 men and early on May 2 they confronted the Cree and Assiniboine force just west of CUTKNIFE CREEK, 40 km from Battleford. The Indians had enormous advantages of terrain, virtually surrounding Otter's force on an inclined, triangular plain. Cree war chief Fine Day deployed his soldiers highly successfully in wooded ravines. After about 6 hours of fighting, Otter retreated. Casualties would have been very high as the militia recrossed the creek had not Chief POUNDMAKER persuaded the Indians not to pursue the soldiers. Eight of Otter's force died; 5 or 6 Indians were killed. Otter's foray against the Indians violated the spirit of General Middleton's orders and the setback prompted Middleton to wait 2 weeks for reinforcements before resuming his march toward Batoche. On the morning of May 9, his forces attacked the carefully constructed defenses at the southern end of the Batoche settlement. The steamer Northcote, transformed into a gunboat, attempted to attack the village from the river, but the Métis lowered the ferry cable, incapacitating the boat. After a brief, intense conflict in the morning, the cautious Middleton kept the attackers at a discreet distance from the enemy positions. In the afternoon, after failing to make headway against the entrenched enemy, the troops built a fortified camp just south of Batoche.

The next 2 days, May 10 and 11, were essentially repeats of the first. The troops marched out in the morning, attacked the Métis lines with little success and retired to their camp at night. On May 12, Middleton tried a co-ordinated action from the east and south but the southern group failed to hear a signal gun and did not attack. In the afternoon, apparently without specific orders, 2 impetuous colonels led several militia units in a charge. The rebels, weary and short of ammunition, were overrun. Eight of Middleton's force died during the Battle of Batoche. The general later reported that 51 rebels were killed, but that number seems high. Riel surrendered on May 15; Dumont fled to Montana.

During the Battle of Batoche, General Strange was resting his Alberta Field Force at Edmonton after a hard march from Calgary. The column left Edmonton on May 14 and on May 28 they caught up to the Frog Lake Indians, dug in at the top of a steep hill near a prominent landmark known as FRENCHMAN'S BUTTE, 18 km northwest of Fort Pitt. Direct advance against the entrenched Indians would have been very difficult and Strange's scouts found no practical way around the Cree positions. They fired at each other from long range for several hours before both sides retreated.

The last shots of the rebellion were fired on June 3 at Loon Lake, 40 km north of Frenchman Butte, where a few mounted men under NWMP Superintendant Sam STEELE skirmished with the retreating Frog Lake Cree. None of Steele's men was killed but 4 Indians died, including a prominent Woods Cree chief.

Chief Poundmaker and the Battleford area Indians had surrendered to General Middleton on May 26 at Battleford. At the end of May, Big Bear was the only important rebel still at large. General Middleton's pursuit of Big Bear was so cumbersome that the soldiers never did find him. The Frog Lake Indians released their white prisoners on June 21 and Big Bear surrendered to the Mounted Police on July 2 at Fort Carlton. Before the first of August, almost all of the militia were home.

The rebellion had not been a concerted effort by all groups in the North-West. Even most Métis communities stayed out of the fighting. The people of the South Branch communities, centered at Batoche, had been the principal combatants. The Plains Cree of Big Bear's band had participated, but the neighboring Woods Cree had not. Some Cree from the Batoche area fought with the Métis, as did Dakota from a reserve from south of present-day Saskatoon. The Blackfoot had remained neutral, the Blood refusing to abandon their traditional animosity towards the Cree. Almost every white settler had rallied to the government cause, despite the fact that their vocal agitation before the shooting started had helped to create the environment that had made the rebellion possible.

As the soldiers left the West, Louis Riel's trial for high treason began at Regina. Riel demanded a political trial. His lawyers failed in their attempt to convince the jury that Riel's religious and political delusions made him unaware of the nature of his acts, largely because Riel was so eloquent in his address to the jury on July 31. The law provided no alternative to the death penalty, and on September 18 Riel was sentenced to be hanged.

The government arrested many people on the lesser charge of treason-felony. W.H. JACKSON, Riel's personal secretary, was acquitted by reason of insanity. Most of the provisional government council pleaded guilty and received sentences ranging from conditional discharges to 7 years in penitentiary. Chiefs Poundmaker and Big Bear were tried and sentenced to 3 years in jail. Several other Indians from Batoche, Frog Lake and Battleford were sentenced to various terms after treason-felony convictions. Dakota chief White Cap was the only major native political leader acquitted of treason-felony. Eleven Indians were convicted of murder as a result of the Frog Lake "massacre" and other killings carried out during the rebellion.

Riel's execution was postponed 3 times: twice to allow appeals to higher courts, then for a fuller medical examination of his alleged insanity. The appeals failed and the medical commission report was ambiguous. The federal government could have commuted the death sentence and the decision to "let the law take its course" was purely political. Riel was hanged at Regina 16 November 1885.

French Canadians supported the campaign to suppress the rebellion, but there was widespread outrage in Québec over Riel's execution that did not abate over time. Wilfrid Laurier's passionate denunciation of the government's action was a major step forward in his career. On November 27, 6 Cree and 2 Assiniboine warriors, including Frog Lake war chief Wandering Spirit, were hanged at Battleford. Three other convicted murderers had their sentences commuted. All the rebels sentenced to jail were released early. Gabriel Dumont, among others, eventually returned from the US under the terms of a general amnesty.

The rebellion had profound effects on western Canada. It was the climax of the federal government's efforts to control the native and settler population of the West. Indians who had thought themselves oppressed after the treaties of the 1870s became subjugated, administered people. The most vocal members of the Métis leadership had either fled to Montana or were in jail. It took native peoples of western Canada many decades to recover politically and emotionally from the defeat of 1885.

[Guest Darrell]

The Canada North West 1885 Medal (w/ Saskatchewan Clasp)

Terms

The medal was originally approved for presentation to soldiers taking part in the suppression of the Rebellion of 1885, but only to those who served west of Port Arthur. Award of the medal was also approved for some of the volunteers who participated in key actions, including the crew of the steamer "Northcote" which was recognized for its services at the Battle of Batoche, and members of the Prince Albert Volunteers who fought at Duck Lake. A grant of 320 acres of land or scrip of $80 were also awarded to these recipients.

The North West Mounted Police (NWMP) were initially excluded from receiving the medal. Those serving in the NWMP during the Rebellion (prior to July 3, 1885) were made eligible in 1887, but were not awarded accompanying land or scrip. During the 1930's surviving NWMP veterans of the Rebellion received $300 grants in lieu of the land or scrip that originally had been denied to NWMP recipients.

Bars

Saskatchewan: Awarded to all those who took part in any or all of the main encounters during the rebellion. These took place along the Saskatchewan River at Fish Creek, Batoche, Cut Knife and Frenchman's Butte.

(Batoche): Medals have been found with an unofficial bar for the battle of Batoche.

Description

A circular, silver medal, 1.42 inches in diameter.

Obverse

A diademed and veiled effigy of the Queen Victoria, facing left, with the legend: VICTORIA REGINA ET IMPERATRIX. (Identical to the Egyptian Medal.)

Reverse

The legend: NORTH WEST / 1885 / CANADA appears in three lines within a wreath of maple leaves.

Mounting

A plain, straight, suspender is attached to the medal with a double-toe claw.

Ribbon

The slate grey (blue) ribbon is 1.25 inches wide, with crimson (0.25 inch wide) stripes, 0.125 inches from each edge.

Naming

The medal was issued to military recipients unnamed, but a considerable number were named locally. Those later awarded to the NWMP were engraved with the recipient's name prior to presentation.

Dates

The medal was authorized on 24 July 1885, for issue to military personnel on 18 September 1885. A Canadian Order-in-Council of December 13, 1886 recommended that the NWMP receive the medal. This recommendation was accepted by the British Government on February 16, 1887.

Issued

There were 5,650 medals issued (16 of them being British Officers), plus 1,753 Saskatchewan Bars. There were 920 medals authorized for issue to members of the NWMP.

Edited April 8, 2011 by Darrell

[Guest Darrell]

A map showing the route of the three Columns taken to crush the Rebellion. Also labelled on the map are the places of the major confrontations.

[Guest Darrell]

The Actions around Batoche.

[Guest Darrell]

The medal in hand was awarded to a Private John Henry (JH) Kellett. He was part of the 90th Winnipeg Battalion. He was present at many of the actions listed above and as such was entitled to the Medal w/ Saskatchewan Clasp.

Various Paperwork is available in the Ottawa Archives that show Kellett on the Pay List for the Company under R.J. Whittas.

Obverse:

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Closeup of the SASKATCHEWAN Clasp:

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Closeup of Obverse:

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Reverse:

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Closeup of Reverse:

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Mr. Kellett is listed in the Medal Rolls with fill entitlement to both medal and Clasp:

[Guest Darrell]

Naming on the edge of the medal. The variety of naming styles on the Canada NW 1885 Medal is beyond count, however, other examples to the 90th are identical leading one to suspect they were done a local or even regimental level for their soldiers.

a.

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b.

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c.

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d.

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e.

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Well, a ton more information came in a week ago, but haven't had time to post any of it until now. I still have some feelers out for even more that will be posted in the future. Stay tuned.

Anyway a very small sample of what I received. These include the Paylists with Kellett's name listed with the 90th Battalion from March through to July 1885. So he was in all the big engagements listed above.

Also he was on the paylist for the (then) Governor General's visit to Western Canada in October 1885.

Up first I will list the Paylists starting in March. This paylist was photo'd from what appears to be the microfilm. So not the best quality.

1. March 1885

a. The cover of the paylist:

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b. Closeup of Kellet's name and actual signature:

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2. April 1885

a. Cover of the Paylist:

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b. Entire List:

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c. Closeup of Kellett's Name on the listing and his actual signature from the far right of the page:

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3. May 1885

a. Cover of Paylist:

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b. Entire List :

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c. Closeup of Kellett's name:

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4. June 1885

a. Cover of Paylist:

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b. Entire List.