Documenting Your Canadian Voyageur Ancestor who served on the Nile Expedition (1884-1885)

By Kenneth G. Cox

This guide is a finding aid for those seeking to document Canadian volunteers who served in the Nile Expedition of 1884-1885. Also included is a nominal list of all Canadians who served, including rank and/or occupation, place of enlistment, plus some extra details of a few individuals. Several photos, document examples, and illustrations fill out the remainder of the book.

Contents include:

• Putting your ancestor in context……The Nile Expedition
• Service records - overview
• Case file……James Deer
• Service Medals……Queen’s Egypt Medal
• Nominal Roll
  • List of Officers by name and rank (two with notes)
  • List of Foremen and Boatmen by name, place of enlistment (a few with notes)
    • Caughnawaga
    • Winnipeg
    • Three Rivers
    • Ottawa
    • Peterborough
    • Sherbrooke
    • Sydney, Nova Scotia
  • Wheelsmen listed by name, place of enlistment
    • Ottawa
    • Winnipeg
  • Reference Texts

About the Nile Expedition:  The Nile expedition of 1884-85 was an attempt to rescue a British Officer, Charles George Gordon, who was besieged in the city of Khartoum in the Sudan region of Egypt. The man charged by Great Britain to do this was Garnet Wolseley. Wolseley had commanded the British troops and Canadian Militia during the 1870 disturbance in Canada’s west and remembered the excellent job done by Canadian ‘voyageurs’ in portaging his boats over the many rapids encountered in reaching the Red River settlement.

He decided that the best way to save General Gordon was to move his troops down the Nile river and the best men to handle the cataracts on the river would be Canadian voyageurs. Wolseley, following the Red River expedition, had referred to his native boatmen as “the most daring and skillful of Canadian Voyageurs” and one of his officers stated that they were “the finest boatmen in Canada”. Eventually 386 men were recruited along with eight wheelmen. The term ‘voyageur’ was of course an incorrect title to apply to the men who served on this expedition. The majority were drawn from the lumber trade and some of the best were the Mohawks of Caughnawaga.

Because the expedition was not sponsored by the Canadian Government, service records of these men are understandably scarce. This research guide highlights surviving records and other resource material for those who are interested in documenting the men who served on this adventure.

The pdf of this book is provided in high definition, including front and back covers, suitable for printing your own physical copy in 8 1/2" x 11" format.

Details:
24 pages
8.5 X 11"
Illustrations (B&W and colour)
Photographs (B&W and colour)
Published by Global Heritage Press, Carleton Place, 2023
ISBN13: 978-1-77240-208-7 (digital)