Years of service 1845 – 1890 | Name Frederick Middleton | |
Commands held Royal Military College, SandhurstCommander of the Canadian Army Battles/wars New Zealand WarsIndian MutinyNorth-West Rebellion Education Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Similar People Gabriel Dumont, Big Bear, William Dillon Otter, Louis Riel, Wandering Spirit | ||
Frederick Dobson Middleton
General Sir Frederick Dobson Middleton (4 November 1825 – 25 January 1898) was a British general noted for his service throughout the Empire and particularly in the North-West Rebellion.
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Military career
Educated at Maidstone Grammar School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Middleton was commissioned into the 58th Regiment of Foot in 1842.
He served in the New Zealand Wars and in 1845, he was mentioned in dispatches for his part in the capture of the stronghold of Māori chief Te Ruki Kawiti.
In 1848 he transferred to the 96th Regiment of Foot in India and took part in the suppression of the Indian Mutiny in which campaign he was recommended for, but not actually awarded, the Victoria Cross. He went on to be Commandant of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in 1879.
He was appointed General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada in 1884. In 1885 the North-West Rebellion took place and Middleton had to respond. Despite a defeat at the Battle of Fish Creek, his cautious approach reached Batoche, Saskatchewan, where the Métis surrendered after three days' bombardment. For his service in the war, Middleton was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1885. He also received the thanks of Parliament and the sum of $20,000.
He resigned as head of the Militia in 1890 when a select committee of the House of Commons criticized him for the misappropriation of furs from a Métis named Charles Bremner during the rebellion.
Family
Frederick Dobson Middleton married, as his first wife, Mary Emily Hassall.
He married in February 1870 as his second wife, Marie Cecile Eugénie Doucet, daughter of Theodore Doucet, N.P., of Montreal. She was born in Montreal in 1846, and was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Sault-au-Recollet. The couple had two sons and a daughter. She died at Tateley, Hants, England, 1 November 1899.