Battle of Batouche, May 12 1885

Government of Canada Gains Victory in Riel Rebellion

Nov 10, 2009 Barbara Martin

General Middleton made prudent preparations to obtain a decisive victory over Louis Riel and his Métis followers.

After the Battle at Cut Knife the former NWMP Superintendent James Walsh criticized Lieut.-Colonel Otter’s failure. Walsh was of the opinion that “Otter should not have attempted the attack without a large enough force to win his battle, hold his ground, and dictate terms”, [1] and was of the opinion that this native victory would encite a larger native uprising.

On May 7, 1885 when, Otter’s scouts were chased off the Poundmaker reserve during the Battle at Cut Knife, Chief Poundmaker had been considering moving his camp west to the Blackfoot to seek sanctuary as many of the Cree did not want to join the Métis in their rebellion. However, his warriors under the guidance of Warrior Chief Fine Day made their preparations to join Riel at Batouche.

General Middleton Takes Precautions

General Frederick Middleton waited for delivery of the Gatling gun and to have the reinforcement of troops, as he did not want a similar situation to occur which had on April 24 at the Battle of Fish Creek where he had lost the battle. The steamer Northcote finally arrived a Fish Creek on May 5 where its open decks were fortified with sandbags, bags of oats, and other materials. Middleton’s plans were to unload fifty soldiers at the rear of the enemy while the artillery worked on the Métis defences. However, his columns fell behind schedule, leaving the Northcote to go upstream alone where the steamer reached the ferry cable strung across the river. Though not low enough, the cable did shear off the smokestacks and masts, resulting in the loss of use of the boilers. The steamer drifted downstream for three miles through rapids before it could be stopped and anchored.

When Middleton reached Batouche, he had intended to take the town in an all-out attack unaware the Métis were concealed in deep gun pits surrounded by scrub brush. The Métis gun pits consisted of forty rows 300 yards east of the church, running in a zig-zag formation north and south in a large three-quarter circle covering about five sections of land, or 3,200 acres. Retreat or advance could be easily accomplished due to nearby scrub and small ravines.

Chief Poundmaker Delayed

While enroute to Batouche the members of Poundmaker's camp were delayed in their progress by a number of incidents which included an injury a warrior sustained falling off his horse and a woman going into labour. Later when the natives came across an unguarded supply train headed for Fort Battleford they captured the drivers and seized the supplies. Poundmaker stepped in to prevent harm to the drivers, and promised them their safety provided they did not attempt to escape.

Riel and Métis Betrayed

Middleton and his staff conferred with priests in the church, who betrayed Riel and his followers by providing information of the Métis strategy and their lack of food and ammunition. With this information Middleton’s columns were able to route the Métis out of their rifle pits by May 12 when the latter had begun using rocks and nails as ammunition after running out of powder and cartridges. Of the Métis defenders, only fifty or sixty of the original 300 remained while others had fled, were wounded or were holding positions elsewhere.

Louis Riel Surrenders

Louis Riel surrendered on May 15, 1885 to General Middleton while Gabriel Dumont was able to escape to Montana in the United States.

When Poundmaker's camp learned the Métis and Riel had been defeated they stopped heading for Batouche. Poundmaker watched a letter prepared to be sent to General Middleton that requested peace terms and described their location. Middleton's response letter demanded that Poundmaker give himself up at Battleford on May 26. Poundmaker and 150 of his warriors surrendered to Middleton on May 23, while Chief Big Bear remained at large.

Sources:

[1]-More Battlefields of Canada (1996), Mary Beacock Fryer, p.123.

The History of the North-West Rebellion 1885 (1886), Charles Pelham Mulvaney, p.193, 196-197.

The Canadian Military Atlas (2006), C. Stuart Daniel, p.97, 99.

Strange empire: a narrative of the North-West (1994), Joseph Kinsey Howard, p.466.

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