Battle of Seven Oaks

Battle of Seven Oaks
Part of North West Company-Hudson's Bay Company Rivalry
The Fight at Seven Oaks, June 19, 1816
Date June 19, 1816 Location Seven Oaks (present day Winnipeg, Manitoba) Result Decisive Métis / North West Co. victory
Belligerents
Métis of the North West Company	Hudson's Bay Company
Commanders and leaders
Cuthbert Grant	Robert Semple
Strength
about 60	24
Casualties and losses
2	22
National Historic Site of Canada
Official name: Battle of Seven Oaks National Historic Site of Canada
Designated:	1920

The Battle of Seven Oaks (known to the Métis people as la Victoire de la Grenouillière, or the Victory of Frog Plain; also known as the Seven Oaks Massacre) was a violent confrontation between the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company, rival fur-trading companies on June 19, 1816, climaxing what was a long dispute in western Canada.^[1]

Background

In 1814 Miles MacDonell, Governor of the Red River Colony (the area around present-day Winnipeg, Manitoba), issued the Pemmican Proclamation,^[2] which prohibited the export of pemmican from the colony for the next year. It was meant to guarantee adequate supplies for the Hudson's Bay Colony, but it was viewed by the North West Company as a ploy by employees of the Earl of Selkirk (majority shareholder of the Hudson's Bay Company) to monopolize the foodstuff, the export of which was important to the North West Company.

The local Métis did not acknowledge the authority of the Red River Settlement, and this stand was probably consistent with the Royal Proclamation of 1763. The pemmican proclamation was a blow to both the Métis and North West Company. The North West Company accused the HBC of unfairly monopolizing the fur trade with this edict. As the North West Company foundered under these and other restrictions, the HBC attempted to take over the NWC, but with no success.

Later in 1815 after several conflicts and suffering from "severe emotional instability",^[3] MacDonell resigned as governor of the Red River Colony. He was replaced by Robert Semple, an American businessman with no previous experience in the fur trade.^[4]

Battle

In 1816 a band of mostly Métis but including some French-Canadians, English, and Native American employees, led by Cuthbert Grant and working for the North West Company, seized a supply of Hudson's Bay Company pemmican (that was stolen from the Métis)^[5] and were traveling to a meeting with traders of the North West Company to whom they intended to sell it. They were met by Semple and a group of HBC men and settlers south of Fort Douglas along the Red River at a location known to the English as Seven Oaks, or la Grenouillière (Frog Plain) by the Métis. The North West Company sent a French-Canadian, François-Firmin Boucher, to speak to Semple's men, and he and Semple argued, and a gunfight ensued when the English tried to arrest Boucher and seize his horse.^[6] Although early reports stated that the Métis fired the first shot and began the fray, Royal Commissioner W.B. Coltman determined that "next to certainty" that one of Semple's men fired first.^[7] Semple and his men did not have a chance against the Métis, who were skilled sharpshooters and outnumbered Semple's forces by nearly 3 to 1. The Métis repulsed the attack, killing 21 men, including Governor Semple, while the Métis themselves suffered only one fatality. Métis poet Pierre Falcon later celebrated the battle in his song La Chanson de la Grenouillère.

Aftermath

The Métis were later exonerated by a Royal Commissioner appointed to investigate the incident. Lord Selkirk attempted to prosecute several members of the North West Company for murder, and kept Boucher in prison for nearly two years without specific charges. All trials ended in acquittals, and remaining charges were dropped. Members of the North West Company then counter-sued Selkirk, whose health and influence subsequently declined. Following Selkirk's death in 1820, the two companies merged in 1821, and Cuthbert Grant became an important figure in the new Hudson's Bay Company.

A plaque commemorating the battle was erected at the intersection of Main Street and Rupertsland Boulevard in the Winnipeg district of West Kildonan, the approximate centre of the battle site. The surrounding neighbourhood was named Seven Oaks after the battle.

The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1920.^[8]

References

Further reading

• Barkwell, Lawrence J. The Battle of Seven Oaks : a Métis perspective / Lawrence J. Barkwell. Winnipeg : Louis Riel Institute, 2010. ISBN 978-0-9809912-9-1
• Metis Resource Centre article on Battle of Seven Oaks

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Coordinates: 49°55′55.20″N 97°07′15.60″W / 49.932°N 97.121°W / 49.932; -97.121