Talk:Gabriel Dumont
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[edit] Military exploits
It would be nice if someone would add a little more about Dumont's skill and reputation as a military commander/warrior on this page......................
Gabriel Dumont was called the greatest military mind, the best military commander ever born on Canadian soil. My late father AK Campbell, was born in Saskatchewan about twenty years after the Riel Rebellion. I will try to recall his commentary. Remember it was opinion but his conversations based upon the views of the people who had lived in that time. Other sources including the book "Riel Rebellion" an account sold by the Glenbow Museum supported these anecdotal accounts.
AK Campbell (AKC) accounted for his assessment on Dumont's generalship in the manner of conducting war with exceptionally limited resources with what was essentially a ragtag inexperienced militia. Essentially Dumont's forces should be considered the first modern guerrilla army.
At that time, on Canadian soil the Northwest Mounted Police represented a considerably strong force on the great plains albeit its rather thin dispersal across a great vast plain. It was a newly formed quasi-military police force, led by experienced law officers who had pacified the Lakota led by Sitting Bull only a few years before. It was this force that engaged Dumonts well placed skirmishers at Duck Lake.
The Wikipedia citation mentions that the Northwest Mounted Police contributed to the effort to stop Dumont's Metis. It is esconced in a single text line and so small a reference for such a major event. Well actually it was the NWMP that originally planned to quell the Rebellion with no help from eastern Canada. They were quite confident, if not cocky when they decided to move against the rebels.
Dumont soundly defeated the NWMP at Duck Lake. The NWMP minimize this encounter but its listed numbers were a troop of 99 men. This represents three full cavalry platoons/troops and in military terms represents a full company engaged on this single mission. The NWMP were stretched thin across the territory with individual detachments manned with only two perhaps three policemen. The central headquarters was Regina in the south. This force was a considerable commitment of manpower for the police. This attacking company then was a significant force in the context of the time.
In all the accounts of battles the NWMP never managed a larger detached cohesive force than this one engaged at Duck Lake. They suffered grievously in this short encounter. 1 in 5 troopers became a casualty. Considering the climatic conditions, the scattered deployment of guerrilla forces the police should have considered themselves lucky that they withdrew with as many people as they did.
When informed about Duck Lake the Government of Canada moved swiftly to send out a professional military man to quell the rebellion. The appointed General Middleton was a capable commander. Had the Canadian Pacific Railway not been almost built, instead of late April, Middleton would not have arrived on the prairie until months later. Middleton's rapid deployment was unsettling to the Metis. They counted on more time to gather their forces with Poundmaker in Alberta. Canada was afraid. All this panic because of one man's efforts, and that man was Gabriel Dumont.
As the war swiftly progressed Dumont used his force effectively. The only diversion from what is written about the Northwest Rebellion aka Riel Rebellion is that Dumont insisted on withdrawing from Batoche to the Northwest to unite with Poundmaker's forces. Louis Riel was obstinate. Dumont's forces had fought Middleton's force to a standstill on the first day of the Battle of Batoche. Dumont wanted to withdraw in good order which would have meant a tactical victory. Riel had seen a vision from God urging them to take a stand.
Louis Riel's war aims were quite different. What modern people do not realize is that Riel was a Father of Confederation. Manitoba became a province due to Riel's leadership. It is sort of timid to call this conflict the North West Rebellion in every sense it is also well know by most Canadians as Riel's Rebellion. Riel and Dumont both had the idea that after an few battles the Government of Canada would negotiate.
With Middleton's sudden arrival replacing the ineffectual NWMP in the conduct of military operations, Dumont likely realized that this conflict could be a protracted one. The course had changed. As did the pattern of battle. He did not contemplate tactical retreating moves from Duck Lake. Indeed his actions at Batoche pointed this out. But any retreat early in the Battle of Batoche would have meant a solitary retreat for Dumont. This was a guerrilla army which was extremely loyal to Riel's aura and oratory.
Summing it up. If Dumont had been allowed an ordered retreat from Batoche with Riel in tow, soon to unite with Poundmaker, it would have been questionable as to whether Middleton could have forced surrender that year. Indeed that scenario may have led to negotiation. It was remarkable the esteem that Dumont had acquired from his foes that he was shortly allowed to return to Canada. Others had been hung for less.
