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Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 4
by William R. Morrison The Sixth Regiment at Lower Fort GarryThe officer selected to command the troops was Major John Ffolliott Crofton. He had been born in Dublin on 9 October 1800, the son of the chaplain of Kilmainham Hospital, which was the Irish equivalent of the Chelsea Pensioners' Hospital in London. He had entered the army in 1824 and had joined the Sixth Regiment in 1825.11 A good deal of information has survived on the journey of the troops to the lower fort, for Crofton had been ordered to make a full report on the trip to his superiors. His journal, which, as he modestly said, "disclaims all literary pretensions,"12 is actually a short but interesting account of the difficulties of moving a body of troops with their accoutrements over the inhospitable territory between York Factory and Red River. The troops boarded the troopships Blenheim and Crocodile at Cork on 25 June 1846, and left for Hudson Bay the next day. The voyage passed without serious incident: the entry for 27 to 30 June gives the flavour of it. The weather has been wet and stormy since leaving Cork, but is today moderately fine. I mustered the troops and caused the Articles of War to be read. There is a daily morning parade with arms when the weather permits, and the duties of watch &c. are all regularly performed as laid down in the Orders for the Army. In the evening I encourage the men to amuse themselves with such exercises as the ship admits of. On Sunday I read the Service to the troops, and with the Agent of Transports go round the berths and every part of the vessel occupied by the men.13
Crofton reached York Factory on 8 August, but because of the unfavourable winds and heavy rains then prevailing, the unloading of troops and stores was not completed until 23 August. Crofton found to his dismay that there were not nearly as many boats available for transport as he had expected. He had been provided with 300 tons of stores, and had room for only 44 tons. He thus took with him from York Factory to Red River only two 3-pounders and one 6-pounder from his artillery stores, with other essentials, leaving behind the rest of his artillery and such impedimenta as 420 iron bedsteads."14 The troops, women, children, and equipment left in five parties of six boats each, manned by Hudson's Bay Company men, beginning on 17 August; all were safely at the two Forts Garry by 6 October. Crofton did not keep a journal of the trip from York Factory to Red River. He presented his observations on that part of the journey in the form of recommendations to parties which might have to follow in his footsteps. He called these "hints for the river route," and they contained much useful and practical advice as well as gave an idea of the difficulties he must have faced. 3. Officers and non-commissioned officers are to ascertain that the men do not go to sleep in wet clothes if there be any means of changing them, either wholly or even in part. 4. The spirit kegs are every night to be placed in the officers tent, and in the stern of the boats by day. 6. The men are to be warned against sitting on the gunwale of the boats, and are in no way to interfere with the native crews in navigating them, but merely assist in working them as ordered. 9. All fires are to be perfectly quenched on embarking, to prevent the woods taking fire along the river route.15 Crofton reached the lower fort in the evening of 10 September 1846, several days ahead of the main body of the troops. He recorded his initial impressions of the lower fort in a letter: Reached the Lower Fort Garry at 1/2 past 11 oClock at night — the rain fell heavily all day, and we landed in a cold and miserable State. Rheumatism tortured me throughout the journey and I gladly found myself under a roof. — Captain Beatty of the Royal Engineers, and Mr. Bird of the HB Company received us, but we had to sleep on the floor, as the Lower Fort had no accommodations, all having been removed, and the Fort given over to Captain Beatty for the troops.16 The next day, Crofton went on a tour of inspection of the lower fort and found that all was in readiness for the troops. The "2 good stone Stores," now the fur loft building and the penitentiary building, had been fitted out with "Beds, Shelves and Racks."17 (One wonders why he did not sleep in one of these beds rather than on the floor.) "Cooking places," he reported, "were nearly ready — privies had been dug, and were nearly finished . . . . I found that a large quantity of grain . . . had been stored within the Walls . . . and that a good Oven had been constructed for the use of the Troops . . . . There are no wells in the fort," Crofton observed, "but I would supply this defect by filling the large Ice House with Ice from the River . . . next Season Wells can be sunk inside the Walls."18 (The ice house was in the southeast bastion.) On the following day, 12 September, Crofton went on to the upper fort, which was to be his headquarters. Since Crofton spent most of his time at the upper fort, visiting the lower fort only infrequently, references to specific details at the lower fort in Crofton's correspondence are rare. However, it is a safe assumption that orders issued to the soldiers of the Sixth Regiment stationed at the upper fort as to dress, duties and the like, were duplicated at the lower fort, so an examination of the relevant papers proves to be more useful than at first may be supposed. Reporting to England on 15 September 1846, only three days after his arrival at the upper fort, Crofton described the preparations he had made for the long winter ahead. "I have this day," he wrote, "made arrangement for supplying the Men with the Moccazins and Caps and Gloves required in the Winter and I have endeavoured to provide Beer and other small supplies to be retailed by a Suttler . . . but the supply of Malt is scant, and Barrels are few."19 Although Crofton had been in the colony only a few days, he felt compelled in his first report to launch a few broadsides at the country. He thought that the very existence of the place was illogical. "From the rigid nature of the Climate, and there being no Commercial advantages peculiar to the Settlement, it is a matter of Wonder that settlers can be found to live here, where existence is often very precarious — It is however the only land in all the Territory capable of being cultivated, and is for this reason prized, though really of little value."20 In a letter to his wife of the same date, Crofton expressed even stronger opinions. "The place is squalid; the houses of the best settlers have heaps of dung and dirt near their doors. They seem idle, and not to care for manuring their lands."21 On another occasion he expressed himself even more vehemently on the subject of the colonists' shortcomings. "I am much disgusted with the vulgar and ill-bred folk here. I feel great dislike in having to invite them to our table, but as Com Off I am necessitated to be hospitable against my tastes. I bow them out, with most polite pleasure. Our own society is pretty good."22 One wonders if the colonists sensed, behind the "most polite pleasure," the contempt that Crofton had for them. Unfortunately no records survive to tell us the answer, but it may be supposed that they were not totally unaware of his dislike. In the letter just mentioned above, Crofton revealed to his wife that he had already applied to Fitzroy Somerset for leave to return to England. "Since there is peace with the U.S.," he reasoned, "I can gain nothing by wasting time here. The credit of the expedition, if any, has been gained. The place is occupied, all arrangements made, and any Officer can govern now . . . . It is only routine work. The handle of the Military Machine, when in good order, is easily turned."23 Details of the soldiers' life at Lower Fort Garry in 1846-48 are not plentiful, but enough information exists to allow at least a partial picture to be drawn. The lower fort was under the command of Captain N. A. Sullivan, who had under him Captain Beatty (already referred to), Lieutenant Moody (of the Sappers), Lieutenant W. A. Stratton, Lieutenant H. P. Gore, Lieutenant W. F. Robertson, Assistant Surgeon Mostyn, along with the Sappers and 150 men of the Sixth Regiment.24 There exists a description of the daily routine at the upper fort which may be said with some confidence to reflect the routine at the lower fort as well. Our days are spent here much as they are in all remote stations of the Army. We parade every morning at 10 o'clock, go through, as the weather suits, few or many of the useful movements, after which the Guard mounts. The Officers inspect the Barrack rooms, and then variously employ or amuse themselves. At 4 o'clock we have Roll-Call, attended by the Orderly Officer. The men are encouraged by me in manly amusements, and I think they will get over the winter without much ennui.25 It seems not unreasonable to assume that Captain Sullivan followed much the same routine at the lower fort. Crofton and all his officers chafed at the inactivity which the long winter forced upon them in the "remote and half-Civilized Country,' as Crofton put it, "where there is no Society for the Officers, and not even the Amusements of shooting and hunting, which they were led to expect . . . [there is] no sport whatever."26 Even the officers' mess had ceased to be a place of jollity. "The Mess hour [at the upper fort] is 6 o'clock, and it breaks up at 8 o'clock, all very sober indeed! Wine is so scarce a luxury here that 12 (of the Mess) can obtain only two bottles daily among them. Enough in my opinion."27
There is extant in the Hudson's Bay Company papers a letter from Lieutenant Moody to Sir George Simpson in which he asks for a few amenities and complains of the dullness of life at the lower fort. "I am afraid you will consider me a bore giving you these commissions but you know what a deadly lively [sic] kind of place this is and we must do something to keep ourselves alive."28 In the same letter Moody reveals that "the Lower Fort is the sporting one and the head quarters men come out to us to see the fun."29 There must therefore have been some entertainment for the officers at the lower fort, despite Crofton's and Moody's gloomy reports. The winter of 1846-47 was very hard on the troops, both mentally and physically. Crofton speaks several times of the terrible ennui which the climate imposed upon the officers and men, and in a letter of 23 April 1847, says "We all, more or less, were skin-bitten [with frost], but no one has lost ear, nose, finger, or toe, which is more than we could have hoped for with reason."30 To combat these harsh conditions, Crofton made sure his men were as well dressed as possible. On 20 January 1847, when the temperature was -47° F., "the officers and men were dressed in their double-lined Great Coats, Moccasins, Fur Caps, with ear flaps, Fur mittens, and with accoutrements outside the Great-coats. All Sentries, by day or night, were provided with Buffalo Cloaks, kept at each post for their use."31 Nor was the mental state of the men neglected. Crofton "induced many of the young men to form themselves into reading and writing classes. For those who could not read, I suggested the employment of a good Reader, round whom they could sit, and thus made the Books in some degree available for all. The Guard was daily supplied with 2 or 3 books, placed in charge of the Sergeant, who was usually disposed to read aloud."32 Thus the winter passed, and in the spring, when the Red River broke up, Crofton observed that he felt like "a poor prisoner [looking] on the unlocking of the prison gate, hoping it may be unlocked for his release."33 With the advent of more moderate weather, the troops returned to a daily routine of parades and drills. Crofton waited with intense impatience for the arrival of Sir George Simpson with the mail, which he hoped would bring news of his transfer back to Britain. While he waited, he paid a visit to the lower fort in May, and received the Indian chief Pequis (or Pequisse), giving him presents worth £7.10s. Od. "This expense I incurred," wrote Crofton, "for the good name of H. M.'s Troops."34 Simpson finally arrived in June, as did Major Griffiths, who was to take over command of the troops, and Crofton gratefully left "this horrible place" on the thirtieth of the month, arriving in Montreal on 6 August. The troops, however, could not be moved so quickly, though since friendly relations had been restored with the United States, it was the government's desire to remove them; it was not until the summer of 1848 that they left the colony for good. The records, unfortunately, shed no light on the activities of the Sixth Regiment during the winter of 1847-48. Presumably they did not differ much from those of the previous winter. There are a few indications in the records which may be useful in discovering how the troops were outfitted for service in Red River. Mention has already been made of the special winter clothing. A letter from Crofton to Fitzroy Somerset with suggestions as to how any future expedition to the Red River colony might be equipped is also of some value. Crofton mentions the "canvas frocks and trowsers" which were issued to the men as a sea-kit, and says that since the voyage to York does not take more than seven weeks, the issue of a second kit is unnecessary. Would this mean that the troops at Lower Fort Garry had such gear? Crofton also advises that "havresacks and Canteens are not needed" and that "The Forage Caps should have leather peaks in this country." Oxhide shoes were not required for the trip to the forts but each soldier should be supplied with three pairs of "tracking shoes" made of moose skin: these were apparently in use by the soldiers, between York Factory and Fort Garry at least, having been supplied, possibly by the Hudson's Bay Company, at 7d. a pair.35
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