Northwest Rebellion, 1885

[10thMountain]

Hello,
          Has anyone gamed the Northwest Rebellion of 1885? I am looking for information regarding Canadian/Crown uniforms of the time.
Thank you

[Will Bailie]

I've wanted to game this conflict for a long time.  There are some battles that would make very interesting games, including several where the Metis or Cree defeated larger, better equipped Canadian militia, like Cut Knife or Fish Creek.

Canadian uniforms were mostly similar to British Army uniforms, although it seems that Canadians tended to prefer Glengarry bonnets or wedge caps rather than helmets (however, helmets can be seen in some photos from the conflict).  The most notable difference is that the Canadians were equipped with Snider Enfields rather than Martini Henrys. 

The Glenbow Museum archives have some photos from the time:
http://ww2.glenbow.org/search/archivesPhotosResults.aspx?XC=/search/archivesPhotosResults.aspx&TN=IMAGEBAN&AC=QBE_QUERY&RF=WebResults&DF=WebResultsDetails&DL=0&RL=0&NP=255&MR=10&QB0=AND&QF0=File%20number&QI0=NA-363

This is a recreation of the uniform of the Queen's Own Rifles:


This is a typical infantryman:


Artillery driver:


Artillery officer:


Note that there was a relaxed attitude to uniforms on the Canadian side.  Some units such as the Rocky Mountain Rangers and Steele's Scouts were barely in uniform at all. 

Too Fat Lardies looked at adapting Sharp Practice for the Northwest Rebellion in their 2019 Lard Magazine:  https://toofatlardies.co.uk/product/lard-magazine-2019/

[10thMountain]

Thank you very much.

[juergen c. olk]

There was also the Alberta field force w/ many Mtd units .plus Mounted Police ,under Col. Sam Steele.The first picture is a Red River cart.,next is Steeles Scouts..,then the Canadian saddle...more Steeles scouts..mountie in dress,would have pillbox hat or slouch hat on campaign..next are French;s Scouts....next the Rocky Mtn., Rangers..and lastly Regina Militia. Amazon prime has a documentary on the Northwest rebellion.As far as books go , there is the Alberta Field Force book and Prairie on Fire..I love  this campaign,I can;t wait to game it.

[10thMountain]

Wow. Thank you

[fred]

I’d never heard of this conflict before, so thanks for posting about it.

Looking at the drawings it does look like British troops would work,  but looking at the photos it may be Boers or cowboys - so lots of variety to go with.

[Will Bailie]

Rafm has a line of miniatures specifically for the Northwest Rebellion (it is also known as the Northwest Resistance or the Riel Rebellion).  It's a pretty old line, I think it dates back to at least the 1980s, so these miniatures are 'true 25mm' and will be dwarfed by newer 28mm figures:
http://www.rafm.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=RAF&Category_Code=RR

[CapnJim]

I have heard of these campaigns.  As seen in the pics Will Bailie posted, Canadian militia uniforms (Militia infantry and Rifle units) didn't really change much from 1866 through the 1880s, including that many militia units were still using Snider/Enfield percussion muskets.  Perry Miniatures does a line of "British Intervention Force" in 28mm, and the Canadian Militia figures could be usable for the 1880s campaign (they have figs in both Kilmarnocks (edited 05/05/21) and shakos).  The British figures are still wearing the 1856 tunic, however.  The militia figures can be painted either with red tunics (Militia infantry) or green (rifles).  Here's the link, if you haven't already found them:  https://www.perry-miniatures.com/product-category/metal-ranges/british-intervention-force/   

CapnJim

[Will Bailie]

If you are interested in an even more obscure campaign, the Perry BIF would be ideal for Garnet Wolseley's 1870 Red River Expedition in response to Louis Riel's Red River Rebellion.  By the time the expedition had arrived at Fort Garry, Riel and his compatriots had departed.  There is plenty of scope for a 'what-if' game or campaign where the Provisional Government of Manitoba sticks around to defy Wolseley's force.