Leif Newry Fitzroy Crozier (11 June 1846 – 25 February 1901), commonly known as L. N. F. Crozier, was a

Canadian Militia The Canadian Militia is a historical title for military units raised for the defence of Canada. The term has been used to describe sedentary militia units raised from local communities in Canada; as well as the regular army for the Province of Ca ...

officer and a superintendent of the

North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian paramilitary police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory to ...

(NWMP), now best remembered for his role in the

North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion (), was an armed rebellion of Métis under Louis Riel and an associated uprising of Cree and Assiniboine mostly in the District of Saskatchewan, against the Government of Canada, Canadian government. Important events i ...

of 1885, a resistance movement headed by

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

leader

Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis in Canada, Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of ...

in what is now the modern

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

Early life

Crozier was born in June 1846 in Ireland. The family emigrated to Canada and settled in Belleville, Canada West. In Belleville he tried a number of occupations such as printing, clerking in stores and offices, and in a lawyer's office. Subsequently, he studied for a period at a

medical college A medical association or medical college is a trade association that brings together practitioners of a particular geographical area (a country, region, province). In common-law countries, they are often grouped by medical specialties ( cardiolog ...

. The military had been Crozier's earliest interest, and he had enlisted in the

at the age of 16 with the 15th Battalion Volunteer Militia (Infantry) Canada. He had served during the Fenian raids and by 1873 reached the rank of major in the militia."CROZIER, LIEF (Leif) NEWRY FITZROY." ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography.''
Retrieved 2021-02-12.

Career

Crozier was commissioned as Sub-Inspector in the NWMP in 1872, and was promoted to Inspector the following year. In the service, Crozier saw first hand the hardships faced by the Native people as the buffalo disappeared. By 1884, he was the Superintendent stationed in

Fort Carlton Fort Carlton was a Hudson's Bay Company fur trading post from 1795 until 1885. It was located along the North Saskatchewan River not far from Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, Duck Lake, in what is now the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The fort wa ...

. He warned Lieutenant-Governor Edgar Dewdney that government policies were creating unrest among the

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

and Métis. Since he feared a repetition of the

Red River Rebellion The Red River Rebellion (), also known as the Red River Resistance, Red River uprising, or First Riel Rebellion, was the sequence of events that led up to the 1869 establishment of a provisional government by Métis leader Louis Riel and his f ...

, he asked for reinforcements to be sent to the North-West. Battle of Duck Lake

Wanting to avoid conflict, he attempted to negotiate with Louis Riel but was unsuccessful leaving the situation in a stalemate. On 26 March 1885, Crozier led a group of approximately 100 mounted police and Prince Albert Volunteers from Fort Carlton and a seven-pounder gun to bring back provisions which were running low at Fort Carlton. These men were confronted by Gabriel Dumont and a superior force of Métis near

Duck Lake, Saskatchewan Duck Lake is a town in the Boreal forest of Canada, boreal forest of central Saskatchewan, Canada. Its location is north of Saskatoon and south of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Prince Albert on Saskatchewan Highway 11, Highway 11, in the Rural ...

; no shots were fired and the police returned to Fort Carlton. In the ensuing

Battle of Duck Lake A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, the NWMP were routed by the Métis. The resistance that he had wanted to avoid earlier broke out. On 21 March 1885, Major Crozier received a letter from Louis Riel demanding that he surrender or Riel will "commence without delay, a war of extermination upon those who have shown themselves hostile to our rights." The retreat of the government under heavy fire tarnished the reputation of the NWMP. Crozier's role in the remainder of the rebellion was minimal, and his force largely remained at its post in Battleford, Saskatchewan. His march on Duck Lake and into an ambush stalled his career with the NWMP. Nevertheless, he was on 1 April promoted to assistant commissioner of the NWMP, a post which he held until his retirement in 1886. In 1886, after the Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, appointed a civilian commissioner instead of himself, he resigned. He spent his later years in as a merchant and banker in

Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as ...

, dying of a heart attack in Cushing, Oklahoma Territory on 25 February 1901. His body was brought back to

Belleville, Ontario Belleville is a city in Ontario, Canada, situated on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, located at the mouth of the Moira River and on the Bay of Quinte. Its population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 55,071 (Census Metropolitan Area population 1 ...

, to be buried.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crozier, Leif Newry People of the North-West Rebellion Pre-Confederation Saskatchewan people 1846 births 1901 deaths Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers Military personnel from Newry People from Hastings County British emigrants to Canada British emigrants to the United States Canadian Militia officers Argyll Light Infantry Police officers from County Down

Early life

Career

See also

References