Charles Arkoll Boulton

Who was Charles Arkoll Boulton?

Charles Arkoll Boulton is noted for his role in the Red River and North-West Rebellions.

He was born in Cobourg, Canada West in 1841, the great-grandson of D’Arcy Boulton, and educated at Upper Canada College. He served at Gibraltar, Malta and Montreal with the 100th Regiment of Foot.

In 1869, he was part of a survey party sent to the Red River Colony. On the orders of survey party leader, John Stoughton Dennis, he organized a group of volunteers to try to put down an uprising by Louis Riel. When 50 of his volunteers were captured and imprisoned, he left the colony and went to Portage la Prairie. He met some people who had escaped there and led an attempt to free the remaining captives. They were taken captive by Riel's Métis. He was later released and returned to Ontario.

He operated a sawmill near Lakefield, Ontario, where he became a municipal councillor and then reeve. When his business failed in 1877, he settled in the Shell River valley of Manitoba. He became the first warden of Russell County and chairman of the judicial board for the western district in 1881.

In 1885, he led a group of militia known as Boulton's Scouts to help put down the North-West Rebellion. He was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1889.