Boulton, Charles Arkoll

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Kenneth Stephen Coates and Ruth Swan, “BOULTON, CHARLES ARKOLL,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 12, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/boulton_charles_arkoll_12E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Army officer, militia officer, surveyor, businessman, politician, author, farmer, and office holder; b. 17 April 1841 in Cobourg, Upper Canada, son of D’Arcy Edward Boulton, a lawyer and militia officer, and Emily Heath; m. 4 Feb. 1874 Augusta Latter in Orillia, Ont., and they had seven children; d. 15 May 1899 in Russell, Man.
    • The great-grandson of judge D’Arcy Boulton, Charles Arkoll Boulton was born into a family with strong connections to the military and political élite of Upper Canada. In 1854 he entered Upper Canada College. Following family tradition, he opted for a military career and recruited for an ensigncy in what became the 100th Foot, receiving his commission on 23 June 1858. Promoted lieutenant on 25 May 1861, he bought a captaincy on 15 June 1866. His service included a four-year stint at Gibraltar, a brief stay on Malta, and two years, 1866–68, at Montreal.
    • In 1869 Boulton joined the survey party led by John Stoughton Dennis that was sent to the Red River settlement (Man.) in anticipation of a rush of settlers to the region after its annexation to Canada. When the Métis under Louis Riel resisted the imposition of Canadian rule, Boulton was called upon by Dennis to organize volunteers to put down the uprising. Early in December about 50 of the volunteers barricaded themselves in a building belonging to John Christian Schultz. Boulton was not successful in persuading them to withdraw. As a result, the Métis captured the volunteers on 7 December and imprisoned them in Upper Fort Garry (Winnipeg). Dennis left the settlement shortly afterwards. Boulton, who had hoped to establish Canadian authority, lost his nerve after the capture of the volunteers and Dennis’s departure. He decided to winter at the predominantly Canadian settlement of Portage la Prairie. In mid February some Canadians who had escaped from their Métis captors and fled to Portage la Prairie determined to march on Upper Fort Garry to rescue the remaining prisoners. Boulton tried unsuccessfully to restrain the “hotheads,” including Charles Mair and Thomas Scott. In an attempt to keep them out of trouble he gradually assumed leadership of the group, which planned to unite with another led by Schultz. The Métis had no difficulty containing the poorly controlled Canadians and took most of them, including Boulton, prisoner. He and three others were sentenced to be executed but were spared through the intervention of leaders in the Red River community. Upon his release from prison on 16 March 1870 Boulton returned to Ontario.
    • Charles Arkoll Boulton’s importance rests in his military contribution, where he left a mixed legacy, and his struggle to promote the Canadian west. During the 1869–70 rebellion he offered weak and inconclusive leadership. Despite his greater success in 1885, however, he discovered that the country offered little honour to its military leaders.
  • Second Great Grandson of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=7299
  • Find a GRAVE: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131525438/charles-arkoll-boulton