Francis Joseph Fitzgerald (12 April 1869 – 11 February 1911) was a Canadian who became a celebrated
Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...
veteran and the first commander of the
Royal North-West Mounted Police
The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert’s Land and North-Western Territor ...
detachment at
Herschel Island
Herschel Island (french: Île d'Herschel; Inuit languages: ''Qikiqtaruk'') is an island in the Beaufort Sea (part of the Arctic Ocean), which lies off the coast of Yukon in Canada, of which it is administratively a part. It is Yukon's only o ...
in the
Western Arctic
Northwest Territories (french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest) is a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada. The electoral district covers the entire territory.
This riding was created in 1962 from Mackenzie River ...
(1903). From December 1910 until February 1911, he led a mail patrol from
Fort McPherson
Fort McPherson was a U.S. Army military base located in Atlanta, Georgia, bordering the northern edge of the city of East Point, Georgia. It was the headquarters for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Southeast Region; the U.S. Ar ...
southward to
Dawson City
Dawson City, officially the City of Dawson, is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–99). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest town in Yuko ...
. When the patrol did not arrive in time, a search party, led by Corporal
William Dempster, was sent from Dawson City and found the bodies of Fitzgerald and the other patrol members. The trip became known as "
The Lost Patrol
The Lost Patrol is an American rock band whose music falls into the categories of experimental, gothic, post-punk, dark wave, ethereal wave, folk, alternative country, shoegazing, Spaghetti Western and " surf-a-billy". The band uses electric gu ...
"
and as "one of
Yukon
Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
’s greatest tragedies."
File:BridgeHalifaxPublicGardenHalifaxNovaScotia.jpg, Francis Fitzgerald Bridge, Halifax Public Gardens
The Halifax Public Gardens are Victorian-era public gardens formally established in 1867, the year of Canadian Confederation. The gardens are located in the Halifax, Nova Scotia on the Halifax Peninsula near the popular shopping district of Spri ...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
(1911)
File:FitzgeraldBridgePlaquePublicGardensHalifaxNovaScotia.jpg, Francis Fitzgerald Bridge Plaque
File:FortMcPhersonNWT.JPG, Tomb for "The Lost Patrol", Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories
Fort McPherson ( Gwich'in: ''Teetł'it Zheh'' , ''at the head of the waters'') is a hamlet located in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is located on the east bank of the Peel River and is south of Inuvik on the Demps ...
(right of the flagpole)
File:dempster 2769.jpg, Dempster Highway
The Dempster Highway, also referred to as Yukon Highway 5 and Northwest Territories Highway 8, is a highway in Canada that connects the Klondike Highway in Yukon to Inuvik, Northwest Territories on the Mackenzie River delta. The highway crosses ...
, south of Inuvik
Inuvik (''place of man'') is the only town in the Inuvik Region, and the third largest community in Canada's Northwest Territories. Located in what is sometimes called the Beaufort Delta Region, it serves as its administrative and service cen ...
, Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
, named after Inspector Dempster who found "The Lost Patrol"
File:Dempsterhighway.jpg, Dempster Highway near the Richardson Mountains
The Richardson Mountains are a mountain range located west of the mouth of the Mackenzie River in northern Yukon, Canada. They parallel the northernmost part of the boundary between Yukon and Northwest Territories.
Although some sources conside ...
See also
*
Military history of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia (also known as Mi'kma'ki and Acadia) is a Canadian province located in Canada's Maritimes. The region was initially occupied by Mi'kmaq. The colonial history of Nova Scotia includes the present-day Canadian Maritime provinces and th ...
*
History of Yukon
The history of Yukon covers the period from the arrival of Paleo-Indians through the Beringia land bridge approximately 20,000 years ago. In the 18th century, Russian explorers began to trade with the First Nations people along the Alaskan coa ...
References
External links
Officer Down Memorial Page - RCMP*
Canadian Biography Online - FitzgeraldThe Lost Patrol - Virtual Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, Francis Joseph
1869 births
1911 deaths
Canadian military personnel of the Second Boer War
Canadian police officers killed in the line of duty
Disasters in Yukon
Military history of Nova Scotia
People from Halifax, Nova Scotia
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers