Thomas Scott (Orangeman) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Thomas Scott
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| Born | 1 January 1842 Clandeboye, County Down, Ireland
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| Died | 4 March 1870 (aged 28) Upper Fort Garry, Red River Colony, Rupert's Land
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| Cause of death | Execution by firing squad |
| Occupation | Surveyor for Dawson Road Project, Soldier in the Hasting's Battalion of Rifles |
Thomas Scott (1 January 1842 – 4 March 1870) was an Irish Protestant who emigrated to Canada in 1863. While working as a labourer on the "Dawson Road Project", he moved on to Winnipeg where he met John Christian Schultz and fell under the influence of the Canadian Party. His political involvement in the Red River Settlement from then on led to his capture at Fort Garry where he was held hostage with others. On 4 March 1870 Scott was marched out of Fort Garry's east gate and was executed on the wall by the provisional government of the Red River Settlement led by Louis Riel.
Scott's execution led to the Wolseley Expedition – a military force said to be sent to protect Canada from American annexation, but widely believed to confront Riel and the Métis at the Red River Settlement, authorized by Prime Minister John A. Macdonald. Scott's execution highlights a time of severe conflict between settlers and the Métis in Canadian history. His execution led to the exile of Riel and to Riel's own execution for treason in 1885.
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Life
Little is known of Scott's early years. He was born in the Clandeboye area of County Down, in what is today Northern Ireland in 1842. Raised as a Presbyterian, he became an active Orangeman. Scott emigrated to Ontario in 1863. On his arrival at Red River, he worked as a labourer on the "Dawson Road" project, connecting the Red River and Lake Superior. He took part in a strike in 1869, for which he was fired and convicted of aggravated assault. Scott then moved to Winnipeg, where he met John Christian Schultz and became a supporter of the Canadian Party. Scott backed the annexation of the Red River Settlement to Canada, and the rest of his life revolved around this conflict.
Role in the Red River Resistance
Scott was employed by the Canadian government as a surveyor. As a surveyor in Kildonan, Scott was involved in the imprisonment of Norbert Parisien, a supporter of the English party who had been captured by Riel's men and released. As Parisien returned home from sawing wood, Scott mistook him for a spy and held him captive. Parisien escaped Scott's custody and fled, taking a rifle as a party led by Scott pursued. During his escape attempt, Parisien was met by John H. Sutherland who had arrived to observe matters at the church. Panicking, Parisien shot him and knocked him off of his horse. Scott and his men then caught up to Parisien. A few days later, Parisien and Sutherland both died. Despite having killed Parisien and created the circumstances that culminated in Sutherland's death, Scott faced no legal consequences for his actions at Kildonan.
During the Red River Rebellion, Scott was first arrested and imprisoned in December 1869 at Upper Fort Garry by Louis Riel and his men along with the party of 45 who had fortified themselves in Schultz's store and warehouse in a challenge to the authority of The National Committee of the Metis of the Red River led by Louis Riel. Thomas Scott escaped Upper Fort Garry in January 1870, as did John Christian Schultz and Charles Mair. In February, Scott alongside several hundred armed volunteers amassed at Kildonan Presbyterian Church and school planning to attack Upper Fort Garry to release the prisoners still being held there. Summarily, Riel released the prisoners, and the rescue party was dispersed. Scott and several volunteers marched to Portage la Prairie but passed too close to Fort Garry, where Scott was captured and imprisoned by Riel's garrison once again. Mair and Schultz travelled through the United States to Ontario to urge the government for an extensive military expedition to the Red River Settlement.
The military Wolseley expedition dispatched the Ontario 1st and 60th Rifles alongside British troops in May 1870. Scott suffered severe diarrhea during his second incarceration, which had a negative effect on both Scott and his captors. During his captivity, Scott was extraordinarily difficult, opinionated, and verbally abusive and refused to acknowledge his captors' legal authority. Thomas had an altercation with a group of guards that injured him so severely that Riel had him locked into another cell with a stronger lock, partly for his own safety. Scott's fellow prisoners had asked that he be removed due to his obnoxious behaviour while in captivity. He was eventually tried and executed for committing insubordination.
Trial and execution
While in jail, Scott became a nuisance as he caused trouble with the guards and made attempts at escaping. He was then brought in front of a court where they found him guilty of defying the authority of the Provisional Government, fighting with guards, and slandering the name of Louis Riel. One of the issues in determining the character of Thomas Scott is a lack of unbiased evidence. An example would be his trial which was held in-camera by a small number of Metis and without any outside observers. An eye-witness to this trial, Nolin, testified later that Scott was not present for the accusations of the charges against him nor for any evidence to support these accusations. These accusations plus their evidence (coming partially from Louis Riel) were latter summarised in English by Riel and presented to Scott. Louis Riel himself described the behaviour of Scott that led to his execution not once but multiple times over many years. However, the charges against Scott that were put forth by his contemporaries in 1870 were not the same as those allegations levelled against Scott in latter years by Riel and then by others. In other words, as the years progressed, the accusations became more and more detailed and Scott became a more villainous character. Some of these elaborations entered the oral tradition of the Metis. Scott was not alone in being sentenced to death, but the other sentences were never carried out. On 4 March 1870, unlike the other members of his group, he was executed. His execution was watched by 100 bystanders.
Upon Scott's death, George Young forwarded Thomas Scott's documents to his brother Hugh. These documents included Scott's commendatory letters and certificates of good character written by Presbyterian minister of whose church Scott had been connected to in Ireland. Additionally his life savings were sent to his brother. It has been suspected that because it was a such substantial amount ($103.50), that this money might have indicated an immoral lifestyle.
Significance of his death
While relatively unknown during his lifetime, once news of Scott's death made it to Ontario he was regarded as a martyr by the English-speaking, Protestant population. At the time, the term "Orangeman" could refer to a Protestant Ulsterman who belonged the Orange Order (established in 1795 to defend the British sovereign and the Protestant religion), or was anti-Catholic. Many Orange Orders claimed Scott, but there is no evidence that he ever claimed the Orange Order. Despite the massive reaction of the Canada First movement, there is no evidence, even in the Metis-inspired versions, of Scott harbouring anti-Catholic sentiment. With opinions divided along ethnic lines during the century following Scott's death, English-speaking historians have depicted the execution of Thomas Scott as the murder of an innocent victim despite Scott's involvement in the death of Norbert Parisien and his reputation for violence. His execution was used to explain Louis Riel's fall from federally recognized politics. It was held that Riel could not be dealt with legitimately because Ontario considered him a murderer. Additionally, the marginalization of Métis peoples in Canada was justified by the Anglo-Canadians' memory of a brutal murder dealt to one of their own.
In contrast, French Canadians and sympathizers have emphasized Scott's problematic behaviour. Historian Lyle Dick said that Scott's martyrdom created a "rallying symbol" for expansionists who wanted the armed force be sent to the Northwest. This fostered higher recruitment rates for the Red River Expedition and hastened its dispatch. Upon learning about Scott's death, the Canadian government dispatched the Wolseley Expedition to Fort Garry from Ontario to seize the fort and force Louis Riel, now branded a murderer, to flee the settlement. Scott's religious affiliation to the Orange Order had repercussions in Ontario as well. The Toronto Globe had published an article that stated Scott was cruelly murdered by the enemies of the Queen, country and religion.
Some sources say Scott's execution turned the Red River Settlement against the leadership of Louis Riel. On 14 April 1870, Macdonald had written to the Earl of Carnarvon that Thomas Scott's men were calling for retribution against Riel for the unjust murder of Scott. The Scott incident also complicated negotiations with the provisional Red River government and Ontario. The Manitoba Act passed shortly after Scott's death, creating the province of Manitoba.
Memorials and portrayals of Scott in Canada
The Thomas Scott Memorial Orange Hall was constructed in 1902 and is located on Princess Street in Winnipeg. The hall was named in commemoration of Scott.
Thomas Scott and his execution is portrayed in sources by many historians controversially. As mentioned, there is plenty of speculation of his behavior in prison, the event of his execution and the way in which he died and was laid to rest. In Louis Riel (comics), Chester Brown portrays Scott as a nuisance. According to Brown, Scott was aggravating, insulting, and rude while imprisoned in Fort Garry. These qualities are supposedly what may have led to his execution. In the George Bloomfield directed movie, Riel (film), Thomas Scott's trial and execution is briefly portrayed. He is depicted as loud and uses offensive words such as "savage." He is only depicted in this way however, after he is convicted and led to his execution.
J. M. Bumsted, a specialist on the topic of the Red River Rebellion, also discusses many popular portrayals of Thomas Scott in his work, "Thomas Scott's Body: And Other Essays on Early Manitoba History." It is important to note that even Bumsted stresses that many stories may have been elaborated on. According to Bumsted, Louis Riel explains Scott's execution for two reasons. First, Scott's negative behavior and actions while in prison, as described by many other historians. Second, Scott is portrayed simply as a pawn being played in a bigger political game. Historians who expand on the behavioral issues claim that both the guards and other captors were aggravated by Scott's words and actions. He is said to have been threatening towards Riel and the guards and used bad language. It is argued in some works that these behaviors are typical of captives who believe they are held unjustly, which Scott certainty believed. Also mentioned earlier, Scott is reported to have suffered diarrhea. It is commonly said by historians that this would have caused him aggravation, resulting in his negative behavior. The diarrhea combined with the annoying behavior however, is argued to have been reason to execute Scott as he was too much to deal with. Bumsted also discusses Scott's portrayal as a "ringleader" in a labour strike against Dawson Road superintendent John Snow, leading to justification for execution. Scott is also portrayed as a "barroom brawler." Contradictory, Scott is also portrayed in some works as being quiet and inoffensive, just powerful and determined. His execution in these stories is portrayed as being a factor of a personal animosity between him and Riel. This animosity is depicted in many different versions ranging from Scott offending Riel by telling him to move out of his way on the street, to a rivalry over love for the same women. This version has Scott rescuing a Metisse named Marie from a flood. Scott subsequently protected Marie from Riel and his "clumsy" courtship of her. This led to a hatred of Scott by Riel, causing him to want him executed.
According to Bumsted, the only thing commonly agreed throughout these depictions is that Scott's execution was a political mistake by Louis Riel and the Metis.
