Ambroise-Dydime Lépine (18 March 1840 – 8 June 1923) was a

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

politician, farmer, and military leader under the command of Louis Riel during the Red River Rebellion of 1869–1870. He was tried and sentenced to death for his role in the resistance regarding the execution of

Thomas Scott Thomas Scott may refer to: Australia * Thomas Hobbes Scott (1783–1860), Anglican clergyman and first Archdeacon of New South Wales * Thomas Scott (Australian politician) (1865–1946), member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Thomas Sco ...

, but his sentence was commuted to five years exile by the

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...

. Ambroise appeared in the '' Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show'' at the 1889 Exposition Universelle. He died at

St. Boniface Hospital Saint Boniface Hospital (french: Hôpital Saint-Boniface; also called St. B; previously called the Saint-Boniface General Hospital) is Manitoba's second-largest hospital, located in the Saint Boniface neighbourhood of Winnipeg. Founded by the Si ...

on June 8, 1923, and is buried in the

churchyard In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster-Scots, this can also ...

of the Saint Boniface Cathedral next to Louis Riel.

Early life

Ambroise-Dydime Lépine was born in

St. Vital St. Vital (french: Saint-Vital) is a ward and neighbourhood of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Located in the south-central part of the city, it is bounded on the north by Carrière Avenue; on the south by the northern limit of the Rural Municipal ...

in the Red River Colony on 18 March 1840, the fifth of the six children of Jean-Baptiste Berard dit Lépine, an

engagé Engagés in Canada From the 18th century, an engagé (; also spelled '' engagee'') was a French-Canadian man employed to canoe in the fur trade as an indentured servant. He was expected to handle all transportation aspects of frontier river and ...

of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

, and Julie Henry. Ambroise-Dydime was educated at the Collège de Saint-Boniface. Lépine married Cécile Marion in

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant ...

on 12 January 1859 and became a farmer there on river lot 119. Their union produced 14 children.

Involvement in the Red River Rebellion

Lépine had had no political history prior to late 1869, when he returned to the Red River Colony from a freight expedition. On 30 October, he learned of plans to transfer

Rupert's Land Rupert's Land (french: Terre de Rupert), or Prince Rupert's Land (french: Terre du Prince Rupert, link=no), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin; this was further extended from Rupert's Land t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

from the Hudson's Bay Company and that the resident

, led by Louis Riel, were seeking to negotiate terms for their annexation. After meeting Riel, Lépine was instructed to go with 14 men to

Pembina, Dakota Territory Pembina () is a city in Pembina County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 512 at the 2020 census. Pembina is located south of the Canada–US border. Interstate 29 passes on the west side of Pembina, leading north to the Canada� ...

, and prevent Lieutenant Governor–Designate William McDougall from crossing the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

. On 7 December 1869, Lépine led 100 Métis to capture

John Christian Schultz Sir John Christian Schultz (January 1, 1840 – April 13, 1896) was a Manitoba politician and businessman.Richard Gwyn, Nation Maker, Vol. II: pg. 100. Vintage Canada, 2012. Print. He was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1871 t ...

and his

Canadian Party The Canadian Party was a group founded by John Christian Schultz in 1869, in the Red River Colony (which later became the Canadian province of Manitoba). It was not a political party in the modern sense but was rather a forum for local ultra-Prot ...

militia at Schultz's home. On 8 January 1870, the Provisional Government of Manitoba under Riel named Lépine adjutant general of St. Boniface, whose populace elected him to a 40-man convention in the city and to head its military council. The following month, Lépine and his troops captured

Charles Arkoll Boulton Charles Arkoll Boulton (April 17, 1841 – May 15, 1899) is noted for his role in the Red River and North-West Rebellions. Biography He was born in Cobourg, Canada West in 1841, the great-grandson of D'Arcy Boulton, and educated at Upper ...

and his Canadian Party militia after their aborted attempt to take Fort Garry. Among the prisoners taken was

, an Irish protestant whom the Métis came to loathe. Riel ordered a court martial of Scott, which Lépine presided over. Lépine sentenced Scott to death, and Riel assented, and so Scott was executed by firing squad on 4 March 1869. In March, there was a revolt amongst the Métis against Lépine's conduct that was ended when Riel talked down the rebels and reprimanded Lépine. When Colonel Garnet Wolseley arrived in the Red River Colony with his forces on 24 August 1870, Riel and Lépine fled to a Catholic mission in the U.S.

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

. They spent the next year making constant crossings of the border.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lepine, Ambroise-Dydime 1840 births 1923 deaths People of the Red River Rebellion Canadian prisoners sentenced to death Burials at Saint Boniface Cathedral Métis politicians Prisoners sentenced to death by Canada Canadian Roman Catholics Members of the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia Canadian Métis people People from St. Vital, Winnipeg People from Saint Boniface, Winnipeg

Early life

Involvement in the Red River Rebellion

See also

References

External links