The Battle of Batoche was the decisive battle of the North-West
Rebellion. It was fought from 9 May to 12 May 1885 at the ad hoc
Provisional Government of Saskatchewan capital of Batoche. The
greater numbers and superior firepower of General Middleton's force
could not be successfully countered by the Métis. Because of this
the town was eventually captured. The defeat of the Métis led to
the surrender of Louis Riel on 15 May and the collapse of the
Provisional Government.
During the Battle that lasted 3 days there was a Métis army of
250 and an army of 916 for the Dominion of Canada. The Dominion of
Canada managed to kill, wounded, or captured 51 Métis people. The
Dominion of Canada lost only 8 people and had 22 wounded.
The Métis defeat at Batoche practically ended the North-West
Rebellion. Louis Riel surrendered and was hanged for treason in
Regina on 16 November 1885.
Following the battle, several Canadian soldiers from Millbrook,
Ontario, took the bell from the Batoche church back to Ontario as a
prize. The fate of the bell has become an issue of longstanding
controversy, involving several Métis organizations and the
provincial governments of Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.