Steele's Scouts History: Battle of Frenchman Butte

Gen. T. B. “Jingo” Strange, commander of the Alberta Field Force established his militia camp at Fort Pitt on May 25th 1885. Immediately he dispatched his elite reconnaissance group, Steele’s Scouts on a mission to detect the location of the Cree who were responsible for the April 2nd massacre at Frog Lake. About midnight, at the Pipestone Creek, four km east of Pitt, Sam Steele, renown N. W. Mounted Policeman, and two other scouts stumbled into a Cree raiding party who were on their way to attack the fort. A wild gunfight erupted in the dark with one native, Meminook, being killed. The next day Gen. Strange’s militia column caught up with the scouts and the trail east led them to the base of Frenchman Butte and a fork in the trail. Here they bivouacked for the night under heavy guard.

The next morning; May 28, 1885 the force approached the south edge of a coulee that runs east and west just north of “the Butte”. Gen. Strange could see coloured cloth banners tied in the trees on the opposite side. Peering through the lifting fog with binoculars he detected concealed rifle pits along the crest of the valley; it was an ambush! Strange spread out his force, Steele’s Scouts to the west, 85th Mount Royal Rifles centre left, 90th Winnipeg Light Infantry to centre right and his cavalry, Alberta Mounted Rifles to the east. The force advanced on foot into the ravine, and the Cree waiting in the fortifications above. The military force soon found they weren’t capable of advancing past the bottom of the valley because the flooding creek had turned it into an impassable swamp. Sam Steele and his Scouts attempted an out-flanking manoeuvre up the valley to the northwest about three kilometres. Wandering Spirit, the Cree war chief on the opposite side of the valley, noticed the scouts movement and with a few other warriors paralleled them, thus foiling the manoeuvre.

On the north side of the coulee the Cree non-combatants and hostages had dug numerous protective pits behind the firing line the previous night (still visible today). Heeding the wise direction of Chief Big Bear, they abandon them and fled northward about eight kilometres to a second, safer camp, then ultimately northward to yet another camp at Sidney (Horse) lake.

The battle continued most of the morning with both sides firing at each other from long range, neither gaining an advantage. Around noon, low on ammunition and unknown to each other, both sides simultaneously began to withdraw, going their separate ways. Several natives were wounded, one mortally, while two soldiers and a Scout, Donald McRae were wounded on the other side.

The National Historic Site of Frenchman Butte is well marked, north of Highway # 3 about 10 km. There is a tidy day use area with outdoor privies and a descriptive sign which outlines the features of the battle-site. Paths connect to the original, un-maintained rifle pits that face out on the militia positions across the valley. On the opposite side you’ll discover a rock cairn near a fence line on the crest of the valley, dedicated to the militia. There are no militia fortifications; however, the location of this militia cairn is almost on the exact location of Gen. Strange’s cannon during the battle.

Text By Wayne Brown