Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 3-26-2018 12:00 PM Remembering Rebellion, Remembering Resistance: Collective Memory, Identity, and the Veterans of 1869-70 and 1885 Matthew J. McRae The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Vance, Jonathan The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in History A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Matthew J. McRae 2018 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Canadian History Commons, Cultural History Commons, and the Social History Commons Recommended Citation McRae, Matthew J., "Remembering Rebellion, Remembering Resistance: Collective Memory, Identity, and the Veterans of 1869-70 and 1885" (2018). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 5299. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/5299 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract This dissertation analyses two of the Canadian state’s earliest military operations through the lens of personal and collective memory: The Red River conflict of 1869-70 and the Northwest Campaign of 1885. Both campaigns were directed by the Canadian state against primarily Métis and First Nations opponents. In each case, resistance to Canadian hegemony was centered on, though not exclusively led by, Métis leader Louis Riel. This project focuses on the various veteran communities that were created in the aftermath of these two events. On one side, there were the Canadian government soldiers who had served in the campaigns and were initially celebrated by English-Canadian society. On the other side, there were Métis and First Nations warriors who had resisted the state. They were largely forgotten by the English-Canadian public, but still respected and commemorated within their own communities. This dynamic changed in the latter part of the twentieth century. After the last Canadian militia veterans passed away in the 1950s, they quickly faded from English-Canadian collective memory. At the same time, calls from Métis and First Nations peoples for greater recognition of their veterans began to receive more attention. By the end of the twentieth century, the narrative of the Canadian militia veterans had all but disappeared, but was not replaced in English Canada with a narrative of Indigenous veterans. The efforts of these veteran communities to promote particular visions of the past speaks to questions of national identity that still persist today. i Keywords Canadian history, Red River Rebellion 1869-70, Red River Resistance 1869-70, Riel Rebellion 1885, Riel Resistance 1885, collective memory, social memory, commemoration, imagined communities, veterans. ii Acknowledgements A dissertation such as this one might be the work on one individual, but it cannot be completed without the assistance of many people. This work is no different. My dream of pursuing my doctorate in history would not have been possible without the emotional and material support of my mother Kathleen McRae, who traveled halfway across the country to help me begin my degree. My son Alexander, as well as my sister Jill and brother Daniel, have also encouraged me in my academic pursuits. A huge thank-you is also due to my amazing wife and fellow scholar Kathleen Wiens, who provided me with indispensable support, guidance, inspiration and love. Outside of my family, I must thank the many friends, colleagues and mentors who took the time to talk to me about my topic and provide advice and guidance. In particular, I owe thanks to Edward MacDonald from the University of Prince Edward Island, who provided counsel and encouragement to me throughout my degree, as well as my fellow scholars Sarah Cooper, Elliot Hanowski, Matthew Sheedy and Jonathan Weier, with whom I had many thoughtful and stimulating conversations about out dissertation topics. I am also indebted to all the staff of the various libraries, archives, museums and historic sites which I visited in my search for primary and secondary materials: The Batoche National Historic Site in Saskatchewan, the Centre du Patrimoine at the Société historique de Saint- Boniface in Manitoba, the City of Toronto Archives, the City of Toronto Museum Services, the City of Winnipeg Archives, the Glenbow Archives in Calgary, Alberta, Library and Archives Canada, the Manitoba Legislative Library, the Archives of Manitoba, the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan (both the Regina and the Saskatoon offices), the Queen’s Own Rifles Museum in Toronto, the Royal Winnipeg Rifles Museum in Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba Library, the University of Winnipeg Library, the Winnipeg Public Library, and the Western University Library. The staff at each of these organizations were courteous, kind, and often went far out of their way to help me locate information and material that proved pivotal to my dissertation. I am also indebted to my second reader, Professor Alan MacEachern of Western University, for his astute and constructive feedback – my dissertation is much better for it. Last iii but not least, I wish to give a huge thank-you to my supervisor Jonathan Vance, who provided me with the guidance and feedback I needed in order to complete this project. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract...…………………………………………………………………………….i Keywords.……………………………………………………………………………ii Acknowledgements.....................................................................................................iii Table of Contents........................................................................................................v List of figures……..................................................................................................................vi Dedication…………..………………………………………………………………..ix Chapter One – Introduction……………………………………………………………………1 Chapter Two - Becoming Soldiers: English Canadians, Métis, and the Crisis at Red River…29 Chapter Three - Making Memories: Canadian Soldiers, Indigenous Soldiers, and the 1885 Conflict……..………..………………………………………………………………………..74 Chapter Four – Monuments, Medals, and Memorials: Collective Memory in the Wake of 1885..……….…………………………………………………………………………………122 Chapter Five – Shifting Memories and the Battle for Batoche……..………………………...176 Conclusion.……………………………………………………………………………………234 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………….246 Curriculum Vitae...……………….……………………………………………………………….260 v List of Figures Figure 1: The Tragedy at Fort Garry, March 4, 1870. Library and Archives of Canada, Item number 1028. ………………………………………………………………………………….44 Figure 2: Red River Expedition – Camp at Sault St. Marie. Glenbow Archives, Charles De Volpi’s Illustrated Newspaper collection. …………………………………………………….45 Figure 3: The inverse side of the Thomas Scott Memorial Hall Medal. Archives of Manitoba, MG16, C6/19. ………………………………………………………………………………....66 Figure 4: Souvenir de la Barrière. Centre du patrimoine, Societé historique de Saint-Boniface, 16703. …………………………………………………………………………………………70 Figure 5: Part of the monument at Elzear Goulet Park. Photo by the author. ………………..72 Figure 6: Detail from “A Royal Grenadier’s chance for a Victoria Cross.” Archives of Manitoba, N12439. ………………………………………………………………………………………..84 Figure 7: The Rebellion in the North-West Territory of Canada: Colonial Troops Marching Over the Ice of Nepigon Bay, Lake Superior. Glenbow Archives, Charles De Volpi’s newspaper collection. ……………………………………………………………………………………...93 Figure 8: Detail from “A Battery Going to the Front.” Glenbow Archives, Charles De Volpi’s newspaper collection. ………………………………………………………………………….94 Figure 9: The Looting of the Old Town of Battleford. Glenbow Archives, Charles De Volpi’s newspaper collection. ………………………………………………………………………….97 Figure 10: Birch bark artwork commemorating the Queen’s Own Rifles’ role in the 1885 campaign. Library and Archives Canada, MG29 E90. ……………………………………...111 Figure 11: Women preparing packages for Toronto volunteers. Archives of Manitoba, N12403. ………………………………………………………………………………………………...114 vi Figure 12: The Northwest Canada 1885 service medal. Archives of Manitoba, MG16 C6-37. ………………………………………………………………………………………………...124 Figure 13: Cermonies at Unveiling Volunteer Monument, Winnipeg Sept 27th. City of Winnipeg Archives………………………………………………………………………………………..132 Figure 14: Volunteers’ tomb, historic graveyard of the Anglican Cathedral of St. John, Winnipeg, MB. Royal Winnipeg Rifles Museum. …………………………………………...134 Figure 15: Military celebration around Sharpshooter’s Monument, ca. 1888. Library and Archives Canada, MIKAN 3394679. …………………………………………………………135 Figure 16: Alex Watson Monument in St. Catherines, Ontario. Royal Winnipeg Rifles Museum. …………………………………………………………………………………………………137 Figure 17: Unveiling of Arthur Williams statue in Port Hope. Porthopehistory.com………...138 Figure 18: Toronto 1885 volunteers’ monument at Queen’s Park. Archives of Ontario, MU5442. …………………………………………………………………………………………………140 Figure 19: Cover for part 1 of the IWN’s Souvenir edition. City of Toronto Archives, Larry Becker fonds……………………………………………………………………………………145 Figure 20: “Canada’s Sacrifice” illustration for the IWN. Winnipeg Public Library. ………...145 Figure 21: A menu card from the reunion of the No. 1 company of the Queen’s Own Rifles. Library and Archives Canada, MG29 E90. ……………………………………………………147 Figure