Thomas Bland Strange

Who was Thomas Bland Strange?

Thomas Bland Strange, known as 'Gunner Jingo', was a British soldier noted for his service with the Canadian militia during the North-West Rebellion of 1885. Strange was a retired Major-General at the time of the rebellion, and was raising cavalry horses near modern Calgary, Alberta. At the outbreak of the rebellion, his old friend Adolphe-Philippe Caron, who was minister of militia and defence in the government of Sir John A. Macdonald, asked Strange to organize a field force for the District of Alberta. This force, consisting primarily of inexperienced militiamen and a few members of the North-West Mounted Police, participated in the Battle of Frenchman's Butte fighting against forces under the command of Cree leader Big Bear.