Francis Joseph Fitzgerald (12 April 1869 – 11 February 1911) was a Canadian who became a celebrated Boer War veteran and the first commander of the Royal North-West Mounted Police detachment at Herschel Island in the Western Arctic (1903). From December 1910 until February 1911, he led a mail patrol from Fort McPherson southward to Dawson City. When the patrol did not arrive in time, a search party, led by Corporal William Dempster, was sent from Dawson City and found the bodies of Fitzgerald and the other patrol members. The trip became known as "The Lost Patrol"[1] and as "one of Yukon’s greatest tragedies."[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
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Francis Fitzgerald Bridge, Halifax Public Gardens, Nova Scotia (1911) -
Francis Fitzgerald Bridge Plaque -
Tomb for "The Lost Patrol", Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories (right of the flagpole) -
Dempster Highway, south of Inuvik, Northwest Territories, named after Inspector Dempster who found "The Lost Patrol" -
Dempster Highway near the Richardson Mountains
Francis Joseph Fitzgerald | |
|---|---|
 Insp. Francis Fitzgerald | |
| Born | 12 April 1869 |
| Died | 11 February 1911 (aged 41) beside the Peel River south of Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories |
| Resting place | Fort McPherson, Northwest Territories |
| Police career | |
| Country | Canada |
| Department | North-West Mounted Police |
| Service years | 1888–1911 |
| Rank | Inspector |
| Memorials | Francis Fitzgerald Bridge in the Halifax Public Gardens |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Civilization.ca - Historic Inuit Art - Francis Joseph Fitzgerald, collector". civilization.ca. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ^ "Sights and Sites of the Yukon". sightsandsites.ca. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ^ "FITZGERALD, FRANCIS JOSEPH". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XIV (1911-1920). Retrieved 25 September 2015 – via biographi.ca.
- ^ "WarMuseum.ca - South African War - 2nd Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles". warmuseum.ca. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ^ "Yukon: Herschel Island - The Law". museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ^ Morrison, William R. (January 1986). "F.J. Fitzgerald". Arctic. 39 (1): 104–105. doi:10.14430/arctic2056. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- ^ "The Lost Patrol - Royal Canadian Mounted Police". Archived from the original on 2013-06-28. Retrieved 2012-07-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Community marks 100th anniversary of Lost Patrol". nnsl.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
External links
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