Yukon Field Force
Encyclopedia
The Yukon Field Force was a unit of 203 officers and men from the Permanent Force of the Canadian Militia
in formation from 1898 to 1900. The men of the unit comprised infantry, artillery, and cavalry and were based at Fort Selkirk with a detachment at Dawson City to support the Canadian government and the North-West Mounted Police in maintaining law and order during the Klondike Gold Rush
. With eight out of ten people being American in the heart of the Yukon, this posed a real threat to the security and sovereignty of Canada.
in 1896, the Canadian Government reinforced the North-West Mounted Police who were first sent into the Yukon
in 1894. Authorized on 21 March 1898 and commanded by Lieutenant Colonel
Thomas Dixon Byron Evans of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, the force consisted of 5 Staff, 16 Royal Canadian Dragoons, 49 men of the Royal Canadian Artillery and 133 men of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Infantry armed with Lee-Enfield
.303 rifles, two Maxim gun
s and two bronze seven-pounder cannons.
The YFF travelled by rail across Canada to Vancouver, B.C., then by steamer ship along the coast north to Wrangell, Alaska
. Once there they transferred to a river ship to Glenora
and then on to Telegraph Creek, B.C., where the trek started. It was a long march but supplies were hauled overland by mule, packers and the soldiers themselves until they reached the south end of Teslin Lake
. There they built scows and small boats and navigated the river to their destination of Fort Selkirk, Yukon.
The entire unit was stationed in at Fort Selkirk for the duration along the Yukon River. A detachment of two officers and 50 other ranks with a Maxim gun were sent to Dawson City in October 1898. Most of the duties were guarding gold shipments, ceremonial duties and some patrolling. The unit was recalled and dispersed in mid-June 1900 for there was a need for troops to serve in South Africa, for the Boer War
was not yet over. Most of the arms and stores of the YFF, less the two Maxim machine guns, had been turned over to the NWMP upon their departure. The unit was replaced with the Non-Permanent Militia unit, the Dawson Rifles of Canada. This unit continued with similar duties from 1900 to 1905 when it was disbanded. Some YFF members took their release in 1900 staying in the Yukon to seek a mining career and served with the Dawson Rifles. At least half of the soldiers served again with the army during the Boer War and First World War. One soldier served during the Second World War reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel but retired in 1943.
Permanent Active Militia
Permanent Active Militia was the proper name of Canada's full-time professional land forces from the 19th century to 1940 when the Canadian Army was so designated....
in formation from 1898 to 1900. The men of the unit comprised infantry, artillery, and cavalry and were based at Fort Selkirk with a detachment at Dawson City to support the Canadian government and the North-West Mounted Police in maintaining law and order during the Klondike Gold Rush
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
. With eight out of ten people being American in the heart of the Yukon, this posed a real threat to the security and sovereignty of Canada.
History
With the discovery of gold in the KlondikeKlondike, Yukon
The Klondike is a region of the Yukon in northwest Canada, east of the Alaska border. It lies around the Klondike River, a small river that enters the Yukon from the east at Dawson....
in 1896, the Canadian Government reinforced the North-West Mounted Police who were first sent into the Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
in 1894. Authorized on 21 March 1898 and commanded by Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Thomas Dixon Byron Evans of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, the force consisted of 5 Staff, 16 Royal Canadian Dragoons, 49 men of the Royal Canadian Artillery and 133 men of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Infantry armed with Lee-Enfield
Lee-Enfield
The Lee-Enfield bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle was the main firearm used by the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century...
.303 rifles, two Maxim gun
Maxim gun
The Maxim gun was the first self-powered machine gun, invented by the American-born British inventor Sir Hiram Maxim in 1884. It has been called "the weapon most associated with [British] imperial conquest".-Functionality:...
s and two bronze seven-pounder cannons.
The YFF travelled by rail across Canada to Vancouver, B.C., then by steamer ship along the coast north to Wrangell, Alaska
Wrangell, Alaska
Wrangell is a city and borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2000 census the population was 2,308.Its Tlingit name is Ḵaachx̱aana.áakʼw . The Tlingit people residing in the Wrangell area, who were there centuries before Europeans, call themselves the Shtaxʼhéen Ḵwáan after the nearby Stikine...
. Once there they transferred to a river ship to Glenora
Glenora
-Places:* Glenora, British Columbia, also Fort Glenora, an unincorporated settlement in British Columbia, Canada* Glenora, Ontario, a community in Ontario, Canada* Glenora, Edmonton, a neighborhood in Edmonton, Canada...
and then on to Telegraph Creek, B.C., where the trek started. It was a long march but supplies were hauled overland by mule, packers and the soldiers themselves until they reached the south end of Teslin Lake
Teslin Lake
Teslin Lake is a large lake spanning the border between British Columbia and Yukon in Canada. It is one of a group of large lakes in the region of far northwestern BC, east of the upper Alaska Panhandle, which are the southern extremity of the basin of the Yukon River, and which are known in the...
. There they built scows and small boats and navigated the river to their destination of Fort Selkirk, Yukon.
The entire unit was stationed in at Fort Selkirk for the duration along the Yukon River. A detachment of two officers and 50 other ranks with a Maxim gun were sent to Dawson City in October 1898. Most of the duties were guarding gold shipments, ceremonial duties and some patrolling. The unit was recalled and dispersed in mid-June 1900 for there was a need for troops to serve in South Africa, for the Boer War
Boer War
The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....
was not yet over. Most of the arms and stores of the YFF, less the two Maxim machine guns, had been turned over to the NWMP upon their departure. The unit was replaced with the Non-Permanent Militia unit, the Dawson Rifles of Canada. This unit continued with similar duties from 1900 to 1905 when it was disbanded. Some YFF members took their release in 1900 staying in the Yukon to seek a mining career and served with the Dawson Rifles. At least half of the soldiers served again with the army during the Boer War and First World War. One soldier served during the Second World War reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel but retired in 1943.