At the Grand Lodge of British America in 1885, the Grand Master, W. J. Parkhill, spoke on the role of the Orangemen who had volunteered for service in the Riel Rebellion:
"Every Canadian must feel proud of those brave men and can well say ‘God Bless our Volunteers’. And now that this arch rebel and his dupes have been caught, I hope there will be no more pandering to Popery, but that the government of today will do its duty, and punish those men as they deserve."
A large percentage of the soldiers who put down both Rebellions were Ontario Orangemen. In the minutes of Hackett L.O.L. No. 805, London, Ontario the following motion was adopted in 1885:
"That all members of the lodge who are serving at the front with the 7th Fusiliers remain in good standing until their return home." This lodge had a strong connection with the military since their inception in 1878, and in 1880 it was reported that they had celebrated ‘the 12th’ in Hamilton and had hired the band of the 26th Battalion at a cost of eighty dollars.
A prominent Orangeman who served in the 2nd Rebellion was John Hughes of L.O.L. No. 311, later to become the Grand Master of Ontario East. As a boy of 16 he had enlisted in the 45th West Durham Battalion of Infantry during the Fenian Raids of 1866. He served as a major with #5 Company of the 45th in the Northwest Rebellion, later becoming the second in command of the regiment.
This company which comprised forty-seven men served with the Midland Regiment and Hughes and his company were the ones who led the final charge at Batoche, for which he was awarded a general service medal with one clasp. When the unit was split and the 46th Battalion was formed in Durham County, he became its first commanding officer. During World War 1 Colonel Hughes was commander of Valcartier Camp and later was made Inspector-General of all forces in Canada. He later served as Reeve of Clarke Township and on his death on April 14, 1932 he was given a full military funeral in Orono.
Thomas Scott, who had been born in Ontario in 1841 was the owner and editor of the ‘Perth Expositor’ in 1870. That year he was given command of a company of the 1st Ontario Rifles and took part in the Red River Expeditionary Force, returning to Ontario in the winter of 1871. Later that year he commanded the second military force sent to Manitoba when it was thought that the Fenians would try to invade the province.
He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in 1871 and on the outbreak of the 1885 rebellion he organized the 95th Battalion of Winnipeg and became its commanding officer during the rebellion. He retired from the military in 1887 and took an active part in Manitoba politics, serving as the mayor of Winnipeg in 1887 - 1888, and as M.P for Selkirk from 1882 - 1887. He along with Thomas Hickey and Johnson Cooper were the founding members of L.O.L. No. 1307. Scott later served as the Orange County master of Selkirk, whose boundaries included the city of Winnipeg.
In 1935, Ontario L.O.L. No. 142 of Toronto changed its name to the Colonel Francis W. Brown Memorial Lodge. Colonel Brown had been a member of this lodge and had served with the York Rangers during the rebellion. Two of his sons, Lieutenant-Colonel B. H. Brown and Major F. F. M. Brown, also officers of the York Rangers were members of this lodge at the time of the name change.
R. J. Bull, a member of Grouse Hill L.O.L. No. 191, was wounded in the second rebellion. He returned to Ontario and was later to serve as the Reeve of Weston from 1904 - 1912, and as Warden of York County in 1911.
Lieutenant-Colonel William Edward O’Brien, M.P., who commanded the York and Simcoe Regiment during the second rebellion was a noted Orangeman from Ontario. He raised the 35th Regiment, the ‘Simcoe Foresters’, and he had also served in the military during the Fenian Raids. Colonel O’Brien was later to become famous in Canadian Orange history for his participation in moving a motion against the Jesuit Estates Bill in the House of Commons in 1889, thus being remembered in Orange circles as one of the famous ‘Noble Thirteen’.
Hereward Senior in his book ‘Orangeism: the Canadian Phase,’ stated that,
"this rebellion was suppressed with purely Canadian resources and the percentage of Orangemen in the volunteer militia may have been greater than in 1836….Orangemen could be found among the newly organized North West Mounted Police and a lodge was established among them at Fort Walsh in 1881."
This was the first Orange Lodge in what is now the Province of Saskatchewan and the warrant number was 1493.
Professor Senior is certainly correct in his observations. To the Orangemen of that time this rebellion was a struggle between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. They were determined that the future of the Canadian west would be decided by both British and Protestant sentiment. Apologists for Riel and those who would distort history have pictured the Orange involvement in the two Riel Rebellions as some kind of covert plot aided and abetted by the government of the day. The truth of the matter is that Orangemen simply saw it as their duty to join the military and put down anyone who opposed the Canadian government. The fact that Orangemen were so heavily involved simply shows their numerical strength and involvement in the military life of the Canada of that time.
"you Williamites so true, of the Orange and the Blue,
Perhaps one of the greatest indicators of Orangeism’s strength in the military of this period is the number of people holding military rank on the petition to incorporate the Grand Orange Lodge of British America in 1890. This petition to the Parliament of Canada included the following members holding rank in the military:
Lieutenant-Colonel A. J. Armstrong, Lieutenant-Colonel Honourable Mackenzie Bowell, M.P., Captain William Anderson J.P., Major James Bennett, Major H. A. L. White, Captain John Woodward, Lieutenant-Colonel James Barr, Captain John Niblock, Captain Isaac Jekill, Captain Joshua Wright, Major A. J. Vaningen, Captain John McCaughey, Captain Stephen Wetmore, Lieutenant John S. Millar, M.P.P., Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Tyrwhitt, M.P., Captain William Adamson, Major Samuel Hughes, Major A. Carmichael, Captain A. J. Sinclair, Major John Hoey, and Lieutenant-Colonel Kearns, M.P.P. Many of the other signers had also served in the military but only those still holding military rank are listed here.
Many of the above mentioned people while prominent in the military were just as prominent in the Orange Association and in their communities. William Anderson served as the Grand Treasurer of British America for thirty-two years and was elected to the legislative assembly of the United Provinces in 1861 and in 1870 had been elected to the Ontario Legislature representing Prince Edward County.
James Bennett served as Grand Master of Ontario West from 1881 - 1884, as did H. A. L. White from 1885 - 1887. John Woodward served as the Grand Master of Quebec from 1879 - 1883. James Barr served as Grand Master of Quebec in 1884. A. J. Vaningen, who served as a major in the 40th Battalion for twelve years was the Grand Secretary of Ontario East for twenty-four years and in his private life was the collector of customs at Newcastle, Ontario.
John McCaughey was the County Master of Northumberland and served as the Grand Lecturer of British America in 1885. John Niblock served as Grand Master of the Northwest Territories and his son later served as Grand Master of Alberta. He continued in an active role in the Orange Association until his death at the age of ninety-nine in 1914. A. Carmichael was the County Master of Grenville in 1902. A. J. Sinclair was for many years a director of the Ontario Mutual Benefit Fund, the forerunner of Orange Insurance. He served as the Clerk of Cannington, Ontario for several years in the 1880’s. He was a member of L.O.L. No. 568 and served in #10 Company, Ontario Battalion.
John Stewart Millar who served as the County Master of Lennox and Addington in the 1880’s was the clerk of the municipal council of Camden, Ontario from 1875 - 1886 and was elected to the Ontario Legislature as the Conservative member for the riding of Addington in 1886. William Kearns was a lieutenant-colonel in the 20th Battalion and had served as reeve in Burlington for four years. He was the Conservative member for the riding of Halton in the Ontario Legislature from 1883 - 1898. William Adamson had served as an alderman in Toronto for several years and was the second Orange County Master of Toronto, serving in that office from 1861 - 1879.
At the 1888 annual sessions of the G.O.L. of New Brunswick, the Grand Master, Major Andrew J. Armstrong, reported that he had attended a meeting of York County in which many of the members present were members of the Infantry School Corps of Fredericton and who at the meeting wore the red coat of their services. He commented that the country would be safe in the hands of "An Orangeman and a soldier", and that the regalia worn by these members, together with the scarlet tunics referred to made the sight an imposing one.
At the 1889 sessions Armstrong reported that during the military summer camp held at Chatham, New Brunswick he had instructed Newcastle L.O.L. No. 47 to call a special meeting at Chatham. Through the Orangemen of the Military School he notified all Orangemen in the camp of the special meeting and as a result a large turnout of members attended the meeting. He commented that as he walked home that evening with so many soldiers and Orangemen that he felt that he was surrounded by men who were prepared to "defend to the last the Queen, the Constitution, and the Protestant Faith."
THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR
"the Orangeman is a man of peace,
The South African War was to be the first conflict in which Canadian Orangemen were to become involved in that necessitated their leaving Canada and fighting overseas. To many of them it must have seemed a great adventure. It must also have given them a new perspective on the Orange Association. Doubtless they must have met Orangemen from different parts of the Empire and perhaps for the first time they fully realized that Orangeism was a worldwide fraternity and not just a local phenomenon.
Canadian Orangemen once again enlisted in large numbers and fought alongside the British against the Boers in South Africa. Indeed, in 1895 the 36th Peel Regiment held their annual summer training camp at Beeton, Ontario. During the tenure of the camp a County Lodge meeting was held and Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Tyrwhitt, the Commanding Officer and a staunch Orangeman, gave all Orangemen serving in the Battalion the day off in order to be able to attend the meeting. Not surprisingly, almost the entire Regiment announced that they had strong Orange sympathies.
Tyrwhitt had began his military career as Captain of #8 Company of the Simcoe Foresters and assumed command of the 36th in 1886, the same year that he was in charge of the Canadian rifle team competing at Wimbledon, England. He remained as commanding officer of the 36th until 1899 and is remembered as one of the Orange ‘Noble Thirteen’.
The Grand Master of Canada at the outbreak of the war was Nathaniel Clarke Wallace, M.P. His son Tom who was a member of L.O.L. No. 28, served overseas with the Canadian contingent. He had been a captain in the 36th Peel Battalion and had resigned his commission and enlisted as a private in order to allow him to go overseas with the first Canadian contingent. He was awarded a general service medal with three clasps and mentioned several times in despatches. Wallace reported on life aboard the troopship taking him to South Africa with the following:
"we have not much room to drill on board but we are kept busy doing something all the time….We had target practice on board….and I happened to make enough to be classed as a first class marksman."
Wallace was one of the first Canadians of the Royal Canadian Regiment to see action in this war. On December 31, 1900 Lieutenant-Colonel Pilcher of the British Army took a small unit composed of R.C.R.’s, Queenslanders [Australians], and British troops out of Belmont in search of a party of Boers. Tom Wallace who was in ‘C’ Company wrote that his company "was chosen to go and I was lucky enough to get a place and so we were the first Canadians under fire."
The Grand Lodge published a list of members and sons of members who had enlisted and it was announced that L.O.L. No. 1527 of Fort McLeod had closed down because so many of its members had gone to war. Clarke Wallace reported to Grand Lodge in 1900:
"Great Britain has once more been called upon to assert her rights in defence of the integrity of the Empire and justice and equality to her subjects in the Transvaal. In the ranks of the contingents are many Orangemen who, true to the teachings of the Order - to be loyal subjects of the Queen. Allow me to quote from a letter written on the 13th February, 1900 by that true Orangeman and friend of Canada, Wm. Johnston, M.P., Ballykilbeg, Ireland. With reference to this subject he says:"
"At a very successful meeting in connection with the Hamilton Loyal Orange Lodge at Hackney, I referred to Canada’s contribution to the armies of the Empire amid enthusiastic applause. While we rejoice at this splendid example of loyalty and courage on the part of Canada’s sons, our sympathy must go out to the fathers and mothers and relatives of those who have fallen with their faces to the foe. And we must not forget that our sympathy should also go to those who have lost loved ones by death from sickness and disease. Even now there are many fathers and mothers waiting so anxiously for news from the field to learn of their loved ones. This gathering of the Empire and her colonies is but another step in the direction of the federation of Britain and her colonies."
Wallace was a close friend of William Johnston and as early as 1893 he had stated in the Canadian Parliament that Orangemen were prepared to assist Protestants in Ireland against Home Rule. The following is a copy of a 12th of July resolution that was sent to Wallace by the County Lodges of Durham, Northumberland, Peterborough and Victoria, endorsing his comments.
"….it is also resolved that we consider such sentiments loyal ones and that we heartily endorse Bro Wallace’s words and promises and we declare that the Orangemen of the Counties of Durham, Northumberland and Peterborough and Victoria here assembled are prepared to give such aid to their suffering brethren in Ireland whenever called upon - And further - that we shall ever be found ready and willing to go to battle for the upholding in the British Empire of the Protestant Constitution Civil And Religious Liberty and an Open Bible."
The Grand Secretary’s report contained the following: "Great Britain has once more been called upon to assert her rights in defence of the integrity of the Empire, with justice and equality to her subjects in the Transvaal. At the call of duty, volunteers were offered by the Colonies; that from Canada, though somewhat tardy to the mind of loyalists, came at last, and noble response was made by the Sons of the Dominion."
D. M. Jermyn, Grand Master of Ontario West, reported in 1900 that there were many Orangemen among the contingents sent from Canada. He also added:
"for Orangemen are always ready if need be to offer their lives in defending the honour and glory of the Empire. All honour to those sons of Canada who have gone to South Africa."
Dr. George Sterling Ryerson who had served during the Northwest Rebellion also saw duty during the South African War. He was one of the top ranking Canadian commanders during the war and he was awarded the Queens Medal for his service. Of interest is the fact that in 1896 he had been one of the people that was instrumental in founding the Canadian Red Cross Society. He was elected to the Ontario Legislature as the Conservative member from Toronto in the 1892 elections, and in 1894 he was returned to the legislature for Toronto East, this time running on behalf of the Protestant Protective Association.
American Orangemen took note of the role being played by Orangemen throughout the British Empire in the South African War. In 1900 David Graham, Past Supreme Grand Master, sent the following letter to Canadian Orangemen.
"At a very enthusiastic meeting of over two thousand members of the Loyal Orange Institution of Greater New York [that does represent over twenty-one thousand affiliated members], David Graham, Past Supreme Grand Master, occupied the chair. The following resolutions were promptly and unanimously adopted, as follows: Whereas, a state of war exists at the present time between our Mother Country and the Boers in South Africa, and as the matter is being made much of, by the enemies of Great Britain, as well as the enemies of civil liberty in all countries, in the attempt to curb freedom.
Be it resolved that this mass meeting of over two thousand members of the Loyal Orange Institution of Greater New York, do offer to our brethren of the Orange Order, especially the Grand Orange Lodges of England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia, our dearest and heartfelt sympathies in the present severe and very trying ordeal which they are presently passing through, and that the Grand Old British Empire, and that they have our heartiest cooperation; also, that our prayers are with the gallant colonial members of our Order, who, true to our principles, have gone forth to strike a blow for the Queen and Country, and that our sincere prayers are that they will come out of this battle crowned with success, with pride and honor."
The 1900 annual meeting of Ontario East, held at Prescott, saw the Grand Secretary list the names of forty-five members from that jurisdiction that were currently on active service in South Africa. He also mentioned that the list was far from complete as many lodges had not yet reported. The following year’s sessions saw references to the death of two Ontario East Orangemen while serving in South Africa. Robert Bradley was drowned while on duty with ‘B’ Battery on April 13, 1900 and Edward A. Tilson of L.O.L. No. 482 died on November 6 of the same year from wounds received while in action.
‘The Belleville Intelligencer’ reported the following public ceremony held in conjunction with the above mentioned sessions to welcome home veterans of the South African War. The ceremony was hosted by the Grand Orange Lodge of Ontario East and was attended by prominent public officials.
"Many prominent citizens of Belleville were present when, at a few minutes past three, the following veterans marched up the stairs; Colonel Biggar, Sergt. Hulme, Sergt. Mills, Corp. McNair, Privates Tilley, Frye, Lynn, Cunnington, Large, Gibson, Austin, Bolyea, Phillips and Gunner Gillespie. They marched into the City Hall and up to the stage amid wild cheering and waving of flags. Among those on the platform, besides the khaki boys, were Mayor Graham and ex-Mayor Johnson, and, of course, the officers of the Grand Lodge.
The first speaker was Most Worshipful Bro. John W. Bell, M.P. for Addington, and Imperial Grand Master of the world. He begged to move, in his official capacity as Grand Master, a vote of thanks to them. [Loud Cheering] The Grand Orange Lodge welcomed and congratulated the boys with all its heart, and wished them success in their several avocations….Bro. Wm. Johnson, Past Grand Master, then introduced the veterans personally, his remarks being very happy and pertinent. Belleville, he said, had sent twenty-one men to South Africa….
Colonel Biggar said that words failed him when he tried to express, on behalf of himself and comrades, their thanks for this grand welcome. His Worship Mayor Graham heartily thanked the Grand Lodge for the reception given to the Belleville boys who had been to South Africa….The Grand Master then pinned badges on the breasts of the Khaki boys, they to be kept as souvenirs, and everybody sang ‘God Save the King.’ Hearty cheers for King Edward and the Khaki boys brought the proceedings to a close."
One prominent Orangeman who took a great interest in the Boer War was Alexander Muir. In 1906, the year of his death, ‘The Sentinel’ published the following tribute to him:
"Worshipful Brother Muir was a staunch advocate of loyalty to the British Crown and Protestant principles. He was a familiar figure at patriotic demonstrations and public celebrations, where he took a prominent part in the programme. The many occasions at lodge banquets and other public assemblies where he thrilled his audiences with a recital of the encounter at Hart’s River in South Africa when our brave Canadian boys were inspired to glorious deeds by ‘The Maple Leaf Forever’, will never be forgotten by those who had the privilege of being present."
In 1900, the Reverend H. A. Fish, a member of L.O.L. No. 904, Hawkestone, Ontario was appointed as chairman of a committee to compose a resolution of condolence to the family of Fred Wasdell of Bracebridge who lost his life in South Africa. Wasdell was a member of the 3rd Victoria Rifles, Royal Canadian Regiment.
Sam Hughes, who was later to play such a prominent role during World War One, served in the Canadian military during the South African War. He had began his military career as a lieutenant with the 45th Battalion in 1873, rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1897. In South Africa he served as the chief of the intelligence staff of Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Warren. He later commanded a mounted brigade in the capture of Douglas and Orpen’s Heights and later was the officer in charge of the capture of three hundred Boers near Kuruman.
The years following the South African War and those leading up to W. W. 1, saw thousands of Orangemen in positions of influence in the Canadian military. Many regiments had Orangemen as their commanding officers and they provided a strong voice in favour of maintaining a strong volunteer Canadian militia and of maintaining close ties with the British Empire.
Alexander McNeill, who had been one of the ‘Noble Thirteen’, who had opposed the Jesuit Estates Act was one such member. He represented the riding of North Bruce in Ontario from 1892 - 1901, and in 1896 he had moved a motion in the Canadian Parliament "assuring Her Majesty’s Government that, in the event of war, in no part of the Empire would more substantial sacrifices be made to maintain the integrity of the Empire than in Canada." In reality he was only voicing the opinion of the Canadian Orange Association.
During the 1913 sessions of the Grand Lodge of Ontario West a public meeting was held in the Windsor Armories. ‘The Windsor Evening Record’ reported the following:
"When the parade started for the public meeting in the Armories Wednesday night the streets were lined with thousands to see the parade and many of the spectators were of a different faith. Yet the 21st Regiment Band, which led the procession, played martial music dear to every loyal Canadian….and the throngs, which lined the sidewalks looked on with the utmost respect….The 21st Regiment band played ‘Boyne Water’, and ‘The Protestant Boys’, and other airs dear to the man from Ulster, between the speeches."
The early part of the twentieth century saw Orange strength growing by leaps and bounds. At the 1911 sessions of the Grand Lodge of Ontario West, held in Barrie, the following information was given. It was reported that the year 1911 had seen Ontario West institute 23 new Orange Lodges, initiate 3300 new members, receive 943 members by certificate, and had reinstated 634 members. It was also reported that since Ontario West had last met in Barrie in 1899, that 26,000 new members had been initiated and 178 new Orange Lodges had been instituted.
This then was the beginning. It was not to be the end. We have seen the involvement of the Orange Association with the Canadian military during Canada’s formative years. The greatest carnage that the world was ever to witness stood waiting on the threshold. It remained to be seen whether Canadian Orangemen would be ready for the task that was to be World War One.
"I won’t give up the Orange cause,
that dwell in this country all round, round, round,
O! May they increase and multiply in every place,
And join to keep rebellion down, down, down.
but purity peace precedes,
and when ills increase he cannot cease
to be warlike in his deeds."
let men say what they will;
I’ve learned to love old Britain’s laws
and mean to love them still
the bulwark of our Brotherhood-
the Orange and the Blue
the brave old banner of the past,
to it I’ll still be true."
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