Posted on by hpyszczyk

Remaining Vestiges of the 1885 North-West Rebellion

Violence in the Canadian Territories

On the morning of April 2, 1885, Cree leader, Wandering Spirit and his men attacked the small settlement of Frog Lake, near today’s Saskatchewan-Alberta border. Eight people died and three were taken captive. Fear of further attacks by First Nations and Metis in the region triggered action by the NWMP (North West Mounted Police) and the Canadian Government.

A few traces of the potential uprising in Alberta still linger on the landscape. But you have to look real hard, and know where to look.

If you’re feeling a little house-bound, like most of us are these days, drive to Millet or Wetaskiwin, Alberta. Then continue on Hwy. 2A, until you reach Township Road 270. Turn east and shortly you will reach RR 241A. Turn north.

The Location of Fort Ethier marked by a yellow X. The blockhouse sits just south of Bigstone Creek.

Just before you cross Bigstone Creek, look to the right side of the road. There sitting beside the road is an old log blockhouse built along the former Calgary-Edmonton trail. It is the only remaining reminder of the 1885 North-West Rebellion in the region.

This is Fort Ethier, or what’s left of it, named after Captain Leander Joseph Ethier of the 65th Battalion Mount Royal Rifles. It was one of three such forts built in 1885 along the Edmonton-Calgary trail, in case trouble broke out. It never did.

Today not much remains of Fort Ethier. Except this wooden log blockhouse which has somehow still miraculously survived since it was constructed in June, 1885. There never was much to begin with. Military ditches were said to have been built around this structure, but they are no longer visible today.

The two storey squared log blockhouse still stands by what was the old Calgary-Edmonton Trail. I’ve looked out the loopholes for shooting on the second storey. The original ditches could also still be present, just filled in or cultivated over. Occasionally new logs are added as old ones rot away.
Standing on the former Calgary-Edmonton Trail, looking south across Bigstone Creek towards Fort Ethier, barely discernible through the trees.

Other Military Forts Along the Calgary-Edmonton Trail

In 1885, the Canadian Government sent troops to Calgary to quell the potential uprising. Once the 65th Battalion Mount Royal Rifles, under Captain Leander Joseph Ethier, arrived in Calgary, they were joined by the Alberta Field Force under Major General Thomas Bland Strange. It was Strange’s job to keep peace in the North West Territories. Strange marched his men north along the Calgary-Edmonton Trail and established two more forts along the way: Fort Normandeau and Fort Ostell.

Image of the Calgary-Edmonton Trail showing key places along the way. Fort Normandeau was built near the current City of Red Deer. Fort Ostell lies just south of Panoka and the Battle River. (Image from the Forth Junction Project.)

Just how these somewhat comedic little forts were supposed to stop an uprising is hard to imagine when viewing them today.

Fort Normandeau

Fort Normandeau, erected in 1885 near Red Deer Crossing in preparation for a potential invasion. It consisted of a log building, surrounded by a palisade and two blockhouses perched on top of the walls for defense. The fort has been totally reconstructed.

Fort Ostell

A map of Fort Ostell, constructed in 1885, just south of Panoka, Alberta. Ditches and moats surrounded one building and a few tents for the men. The entire fort was surround by a ditch and an abitas (pointed posts placed in the ground facing out). (Map courtesy of Fort Ostell Museum).
Example of an abitas and ditch behind it constructed by the Union Army at Petersburg, USA, 1865. (Photograph [PD-Expired])

Preparations at HBC Fort Victoria

These were the only three purely military establishments constructed in Alberta. They never saw action. Preparations for possible trouble were also undertaken at a few of Hudson’s Bay Company forts, after Cree insurgents plundered the HBC posts at Lac La Biche and Green Lake.

Image of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Fort Victoria, c.1890s. The 1864 clerk’s quarters (still standing) on the right. The trading shop on the left. (An Ernest Brown photograph).
Excavations at Fort Victoria in 1975. My colleague, Rod Vickers, and I mapping the southeast corner of the fort. Here we found a series of trenches and post pits, suggesting the corner may have undergone some major re-modifications to better fortify it. These activities might have been a response to prepare for future trouble at the fort. But, despite our best efforts, we never came up with a suitable explanation for these rather peculiar features. HBC inspector Kanis’s 1884 survey sketch of the fort definitely shows some sort of feature on the southeast corner. The sketch however, is too small to make out any details.

Preparations at Fort Edmonton

Hudson’s Bay Company Fort Edmonton, 1884. Because parts of the north walls had blown down that spring, due to dilapidation, the men began to dismantle the rest of the walls that summer. Only to realize in 1885, that they had to rebuilt them again to prepare for possible trouble. (Photograph, Saskatchewan Archives Board, A186, VIII.I)

The degree of preparedness at many forts is almost laughable, had the threat not been so real. The Hudson’s Bay Company’s Fort Edmonton was no exception. In his book, Fort de Prairies – The Story of Fort Edmonton, author Brock Silversides recounts a number of events in preparation for possible trouble.

There was plenty of superstition among the people as tensions increased. Strange events took place around the fort, and the occasional random shot was fired near it. Or at it. The fort arsenal consisted of too few, or obsolete, guns and ammunition that didn’t work.

A cry went out to Ottawa to send troops to protect the fort and the settlement. With the help of the NWMP, under the command of Captain A. H. Griesbach, the stockades were eventually rebuilt. Then the settlers from the surrounding area moved in and by summer General Strange’s battalion reached Edmonton.

The Fort Cannons That Never Fired

Fort Edmonton’s two, four pound cannons, set on wagon wheels, ready for action. “Two brass cannons, mounted on heavy, home-made wheels, which are slowly and surely dropping to ruin and decay, ominously hold a position on the bank of the river in front of the fort, and from the stamp upon them were manufactured by T. T. King, London, 1810.” (from J. Hewgill, 1893, school inspector, territories; photograph by Ernest Brown, Edmonton, 1884)

But perhaps some of the funniest incidents involved the fort’s two four pound brass cannons during this time of potential crisis. Although they were fired at New Years, as a salute when large parties of First Nations came to trade, or rare practice drills, they were never fired on an enemy in defense of the fort.

One thing becomes very clear when reading about a series of incidents involving the cannons – no one really knew what they were doing when either loading them or firing them. The following account in 1885 certainly supports this assertion.

“The only time I saw these guns in action was under the following circumstances: on the first of May, General Strange, G.O.C., the Alberta Field Force marched into Edmonton with elements of the 65th Carabineers from Montreal, and elements of the Winnipeg Light Infantry. It was proposed to fire a salute from the high ground in front of Fort Edmonton….The troops had marched down the road through the spring greenery and were crowding on board the ferry on the south side of the Saskatchewan River; the bottle-green of the 65th and the scarlet of the Light Infantry making quite a pretty picture….Muchiass was yelling instructions to everybody and doing everything himself. He became a bit confused as to which gun he had fired last. He proceeded to ram a charge of powder down a gun that was ready to fire and was engaged in the ramming process when the gunner on the that gun applied the hot-iron to the touch-hole. Muchiass had wit enough to jump aside and let go of the rammer. The gun with its double charge went off with a very satisfying bang, the rammer sailed through the air and fell among the troops…who probably felt that the salute was being slightly overdone.” (from W. A. Griesbach. 1946. I Remember. Ryerson Press, Toronto)

Had the enemy been watching this incident, the North-West Rebellion and events at Edmonton might have taken a different turn.

The original site of Fort Edmonton still occasionally hears the sounds of cannon fire. Howitzers going off during Canada Day celebrations at the Alberta Legislature Grounds.