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James Morrow Walsh was born in Upper Canada in 1840.
 He studied at the Royal Military
College in Kingston and served with the Canadian Militia. He reached the rank of major, a title that stuck with him for the rest of his life.
Major Walsh was one of the first nine officers to receive a commission, on September 25, 1873, in the newly formed North West Mounted Police. Inspector Walsh was in charge of “D” Troop during the Great March West in 1874.
In May of 1875, stationed at Fort Macleod, Walsh was ordered to take 30 men of “B” Troop and build a fort in the Cypress Hills. Fort Walsh, built in a valley beside a stream called Battle Creek, was finished in July of 1875. Walsh commanded “B” Troop for the next five years.
Part of the jurisdiction under Walsh’s command was the Wood Mountain area, some 150 miles east of Fort Walsh. This was the area where Sitting Bull sought refuge in Canada.
By the summer of 1877, Walsh, although still in command of Fort Walsh, spent little time there. His headquarters became the Wood Mountain post, among Sitting Bull and the 5,000 Sioux.
Walsh loved to wear a wide brimmed black hat and a fringed buck-skin jacket. He also sported a small beard known as an “imperial”. Many of his officers and men also wore imperials, to such an extent, that if one saw a man with an imperial, he was
immediately identified as belonging to “B” Troop.
Major Walsh died in July of 1905 in Brockville, Ontario.
On permanent display at the RCMP Centennial Museum in Regina are Major Walsh’s slouch hat, U. S. A. Cavalry pattern, a favourite piece of head gear with Walsh; his patrol tunic; his pith helmet case with engraved name-plate, donated by Mr. N. R. Crump; his
uniform case with engraved nameplate, donated by Mrs. Cora McGannon; his light cavalry officers’ sword with dress sword belt and NWMP buckle; and his sabretache pouch with NWMP badge.
The next time you visit the Museum, stop for a minute and ponder the places
and events in which these items have been a part.
Chief Sitting Bull was the last great leader of the Sioux tribes.
Sitting Bull led thousands of the Lakota Sioux into Canada after the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876 that wiped out General George Custer and more than 200 soldiers of the 7th Cavalry.
Sitting Bull stayed in Canada between May, 1877 and July, 1881. In July of 1881, Sitting Bull and 187 of his followers journeyed back across the Medicine Line and surrendered to the American authorities at Fort Buford, in what is now North Dakota. Sitting Bull and his family were held prisoners of war for two years at Fort Randall, South Dakota. After that they were allowed to live on the Standing Rock Reservation which straddles the North Dakota – South Dakota border. Sitting Bull spent a season travelling with Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show.
In 1890, fearing a reemergence of power of the Indian movement, Sitting Bull was ordered arrested. One frosty morning, at dawn, December 15, 1890, three dozen Indian police descended on his cabin. A gunfight followed. Sitting Bull; his teenage son, Crow Foot;
and fourteen other men died that day.
On permanent display at the Museum are a rifle case and tobacco bag owned by Sitting Bull. Also on display at the museum is a Sioux dress believed to have been owned by Sitting Bull’s daughter.
Come visit the Museum and step back into history! Also check out the book “Sitting Bull’s Boss Above the Medicine Line with James Morrow Walsh” by Ian Anderson. This is one of the items featured in the “Scarlet and Gold Gift Shop” book section --- one of many fascinating books in the gift shop.
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