The North West Rebellion of 1885 was the only military campaign on Canadian territory which attracted extensive, pictorial coverage in newspapers. A small affair by European standards, it was nevertheless a major event in Canadian terms. With the exception of some senior British officers, it was also an entirely Canadian affair; following the withdrawal of Imperial troops, it was the first major test of this nation's armed forces.
The main body of Major-General Frederick Middleton's troops detrained at Qu'Appelle and marched northwest to take the MΘtis "capital" at Batoche. By dividing his force and placing soldiers on both sides of the South Saskatchewan River, Middleton intended to fight Louis Riel's supporters should they be met on either bank. The decision proved to be a mistake, for in any action the two groups would be unable to support or reinforce each other.
At Fish Creek the column of some 800 men led by Middleton encountered about 150 MΘtis and Amerindians under the redoubtable Gabriel Dumont. Dumont recalled later "I wanted to treat them as we would have treated buffalo." Indeed, by positioning his men along the bottom and sides of the forested coulee through which Middleton's forces had to pass, the MΘtis leader hoped to apply the traditional method of hunting buffalo to human quarry. Careful deployment of scouts, however, gave the advancing force sufficient warning to prevent an ambush. Canadian militiamen occupied the high ground along the edges of the coulee but the position was disadvantageous as they were outlined against the sky and provided easy targets for Dumont's concealed marksmen. Unnerved by his losses, Middleton withdrew; Dumont retreated in the opposite direction rather than face the possibility of an artillery barrage against his depleted and disorganized forces. With five of his own followers dead as against ten killed and forty-five wounded on the other side, Dumont was able to claim success. It was, however, a hollow victory as two weeks later Batoche fell to superior numbers of militiamen supported by artillery and a Gatling gun.
A member of the Royal Engineers, Captain H. de H. Haig was quarter-master general to the Batoche column. His training shows in his art; not only did he depict figures accurately, but he also recorded the topography in detail. This is one of several sketches he prepared that were subsequently published in the Illustrated London News.
