SINGLE CAMPAIGN MEDALS 110
An important North West Canada Medal awarded to Major Charles Ross, D.S.O., who, having served as a civilian scout for the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars 1877-79, was appointed a Chief Scout during the North-West Rebellion in Canada in 1885: thereafter, he quickly rose to prominence for his gallantry in action, and, after further adventures, was decorated for his bravery with Roberts’ Horse at Sannah’s Post and appointed to command the Canadian Scouts in 1901, prior to forming Ross’ Scouts in the Great War - a remarkable career retold in Neil Speed’s entertaining biography Born to Fight
NORTHWEST CANADA 1885, 1 clasp, Saskatchewan (Chas. Ross, Mounted Police Scout), impressed naming, good very fine £3000-3500
Charles Ross, who was born at Orange, New South Wales, in July 1857, the son of Scottish parents, made his way to America at the tender age of nine years, as a stowaway bound for California, where he attended Santa Clara College. Having then lived with the Indians in Nevada for seven years - ‘voluntarily or enforced is unknown’ - and spent two years with the Mormons in Utah, he served as a civilian scout to the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars of 1877 (against the Nez Pere), 1878 (against the Bannock) and 1879 (against the Ute).
Moving to Canada in the 1880s, he enlisted in the North-West Mounted Police at Regina in August 1884 and served as Chief of Scouts in Colonel Otter’s Column in the North-West Rebellion of 1885, gaining at least one mention in despatches. A glimpse of Ross in action is to be found in Toronto Mail reporter “Eskimo Billy” Fox’s account of the battle of Cutknife Hill that May:
‘Charlie Ross, the Police Scout was there. He had a brother’s death to avenge and anything with a red skin received no mercy from him. He dealt with them in their own fashion. As he was rushing down the ravine he came upon an Indian who, seeing he was discovered, feigned death. But Ross’ quick eye saw through the disguise. Another man might have passed on and received a shot in the back. But he did nothing of the kind, and as he ran past drew his revolver and like a flash a bullet sped into the red skin’s brain. Down in the coulee and close to the heaviest part of the scrub, they came upon four Indian ponies which their owners had left in a hurry. These they captured, Ross recognising one of them as belonging to Chief Little Poplar ... And now there were signs of the enemy crawling down towards the creek again and on towards the guns. The had to be dislodged; at first rush our men would have to expose themselves on the ridge to the full fire of those in ambush.
Ross, who had been through there before, knew just where to go, and shouted, “Come on, boys,” and with a bound he disappeared over the ridge. The boys were there. The way some of ‘C’ Company and the Mounted Rifles “went for” that bush is deserving of every praise ... Colonel Otter therefore ordered Captain Nash to clear the woods in the rear, and this was beautifully accomplished by his company and some Police Scouts, the ubiquitous Ross, as usual, a prominent figure. Then they returned, crossed the creek, and, with the scouts, drove the enemy back from the side also ... ’
Ross was duly singled out for special mention by Colonel Otter:
‘Constable Ross, North-West Mounted Police, our Chief Scout, was always ready to lead a dash or take his place in the skirmish line. In fact, he seemed everywhere and at the proper time.’
On leaving the N.W.M.P. as a Staff Sergeant in 1890, Ross continued on his travels, including an unhappy stint in the Yukon Gold Rush in 1897, when he was backed by a dishonest senior government official.
Next actively employed in the Boer War, he served as a Lieutenant in ‘F’ Squadron, Roberts’ Horse from January-April 1900, with whom he was mentioned in despatches and awarded the D.S.O. for his gallantry at Sannah’s Post (London Gazette 19 April 1901). Neil Speed’s Born to Fight takes up the story:
‘The men of ‘U’ and ‘Q’ Battery and Roberts’ Horse that were on that slope leading down to the drift were now totally exposed at point blank range to 400 riflemen hidden along several hundred yards of the bed of Koornspruit. The ambush in which the British found themselves had been well executed; that triangle of ground between the two drifts was being swept by rifle fire from Koornspruit and rifle and shell fire from the far side of the Modder; it was soon to become a fight to either save or capture the guns.
Both Batteries wheeled and Colonel Dawson, the officer now commanding Roberts’ Horse, immediately gave the same order to his men when he realised what was happening. As the two Batteries turned to flee a four hundred round volley from the Boer riflemen tore into their ranks. ‘U’ Battery being to the fore bore the brunt; the riflemen not wanting such a prize to escape had concentrated on the horses but the gunners and drivers also suffered great casualties. Such a burst of concentrated sound so close to ‘U’ Battery’s horse teams caused those that could still move to stampede, but further intense fire brought all the horses down with the exception of one team that was carried along with ‘Q’ Battery.
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