1885 Riel Rebellion in Canada?

[sjwalker51]

Musing on the possibilities of this campaign for skirmish games using either Sharp Practice or MWWBK. What's not to like about a small war featuring Colonel Otter and General Bland Strange fighting at Frenchman' Butte and Loon Lake for a start? You also get to field the Mounties, a Gatling gun and various militia and auxiliary units.

I'm thinking that most of the Canadian forces could be adapted using 1879 British regulars and maybe some of the Perry BIF wouldn't be out of place. For the Metis, 1879 Boers will do the trick (and be useable in other games) mixed with some Foundry Mountain Men but what about the Cree Indians? Most were quite 'heavily' dressed compared to the usual Plains War Indians - can anyone suggest any figures similar to this?

Still at the reading and research stage - several books already read and others still in the pile or on their way but all suggestions and comments very welcome.

[Leigh Metford]

If you don't mind older sculpts and true 25mm RAFM has a dedicated range for this campaign.

[HerbyF]

Foundry also has a number of Blackfoot & Crow indians in winter dress. Although they are mixed in with mountain men & other figures you might not want.

[Inkpaduta]

I also would recommend the Foundry Blackfoot line.
They do also have mountain men but the figures are not mixed.
You can buy straight bags of Blackfoot.

[Will Bailie]

I've been interested in gaming the 1885 Riel Rebellion for quite some time but have never managed to get a project off the ground - best wishes and keep us posted!

Although the campaign was quite brief, all over in a few months, there were a number of interesting battles, including a couple where the métis and/or the Cree got the upper hand. The Battle of Fish Creek in particular would do well with a system like Sharp Practice, where the Cree could use hidden movement (i.e., blinds!) to mask both their numbers and positions. There's even an opportunity to use armed paddlewheelers!

As mentioned, Rafm has a dedicated line of 25 mm figures.  These are tiny compared to modern 28mm figures and not as nice as newer offerings, but they are pretty accurate for the conflict.  If you are set on 28mm, note that the Perry BIF are focused on 1860-1865, with the potential to stretch to 1870:  using them for 1885 is a bit of a stretch.  For example, the Kilmarnock caps are well out of date by 1885.  Glengarry caps seem to have been the most popular headdress from what I've seen. 

You'd think that Zulu War British would be a good match except that the Canadian Militia were still armed with Snider Enfields, which look nothing like the Martini-Henry rifles of the Zulu War.

Anyway, best wishes and keep us posted!

[sjwalker51]

Thanks for the advice and encouragement, all, much appreciated.

I suspect it'll be a while before I get any figures on the table, being a typical wargames magpie. Wherever possible, I'll go for those that can do 'double-duty' and are 'close enough at 2' and bad eyesight'; so 1879 Brits in glengarry caps will probably pass muster, MH notwithstanding, with Empress Boers for Metis (Hmmmm...1881...another project).

That means I'll only need some more distinctive types for the Indians and maybe the NWMP.

Is there any record of the proportion of firearms carried by the rebels? I've seen references to Winchesters, shotguns, assorted single-shot breech loaders and, presumably, there might well still be some ACW-vintage trade muskets amongst the Indians. For SP I'm thinking of rating each Group as either 'well armed' or 'poorly armed' to reflect an average, with a couple of tweaks for local colour.

Back to the books...

[Will Bailie]

In 1979, the CBC produced a mini-series about Louis Riel.  It's on youtube here: 

It has some historical inaccuracies but it's got an interesting cast, including appearances from Bill Shatner, John Neville (Baron Munchhausen), Leslie Nielsen (before Airplane and his turn to comedy), and a scenery chewing Christopher Plummer as Sir John A MacDonald, Canada's Prime Minister.

[Stepman3]

I used Empress Miniatures Mounted and Dismounted Zulu War infantry for my NWMP. This was for IHMN.