A veteran of hard fighting in India and New Zealand, Middleton had used his contacts in Canada to become commander of the militia when compulsory retirement was about to end his career with the British army. He had married EugΘnie Doucet of MontrΘal, whom he met on an earlier tour of duty, but he had little idea of the actual situation in the Northwest, having only arrived in Canada in July 1884. Despite his sixty years, Middleton was an able and energetic soldier, fascinated by new ideas in frontier warfare, and an expert in mounted infantry tactics.
In this photograph, Middleton wears his campaign uniform complete with fur cap and a formidable revolver. A critic of the fuss and feathers favoured by many Canadian militia officers, Fred Middleton erred, by Victorian standards on the side of simplicity.
