General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

 Sir Frederick Dobson Middleton KCMG

Order of St Michael and St George

The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....

, CB

Order of the Bath

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

 (4 November 1825 – 25 January 1898) was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 general noted for his service throughout the Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

 and particularly in the North-West Rebellion

North-West Rebellion

The North-West Rebellion of 1885 was a brief and unsuccessful uprising by the Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel against the Dominion of Canada...

.

Military career

Educated at Maidstone Grammar School

Maidstone Grammar School

Maidstone Grammar School is a grammar school located in Maidstone, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1549.-Admissions:The school takes boys at the age of 11 and over by examination and boys and girls at 16+ on their GCSE results. The school currently has almost 1200 students and approximately 120...

 and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...

, Middleton was commissioned into the 58th Regiment of Foot

58th Regiment of Foot

Three regiments of the British Army have been numbered the 58th Regiment of Foot:* 47th Regiment of Foot, 58th Regiment of Foot, numbered as the 58th Foot in 1747 and renumbered as the 47th in 1751...

 in 1842.

He served in the New Zealand Wars

New Zealand land wars

The New Zealand Wars, sometimes called the Land Wars and also once called the Māori Wars, were a series of armed conflicts that took place in New Zealand between 1845 and 1872...

 and in 1845, he was mentioned in dispatches

Mentioned in Dispatches

A soldier Mentioned in Despatches is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which is described the soldier's gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy.In a number of countries, a soldier's name must be mentioned in...

 for his part in the capture of the stronghold of Māori chief Te Ruki Kawiti.

In 1848 he transferred to the 96th Regiment of Foot

96th Regiment of Foot

The 96th Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army from 1798 to 1881, when it became the 2nd Battalion, Manchester Regiment. Its lineage is perpetuated by the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, previously the King's Regiment....

 in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and took part in the suppression of the Indian Mutiny

Indian Rebellion of 1857

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...

 in which campaign he was recommended for, but not actually awarded, the Victoria Cross

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

. He went on to be Commandant of the Royal Military College Sandhurst in 1879.

He was appointed General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada

General Officer Commanding the Forces (Canada)

The General Officer Commanding the Forces was the most senior member of the Canadian Army from 1875 until 1904. With to the withdrawal of the majority of British forces in Canada in 1906, the position was replaced by the Chief of the General Staff which title was used until 1964 when the...

 in 1884. In 1885 the North-West Rebellion

North-West Rebellion

The North-West Rebellion of 1885 was a brief and unsuccessful uprising by the Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel against the Dominion of Canada...

 took place and Middleton had to respond. Suffering a defeat at the Battle of Fish Creek

Battle of Fish Creek

The Battle of Fish Creek , fought April 24, 1885 at Fish Creek, Saskatchewan, was a major Métis victory over the Dominion forces attempting to quell Louis Riel's North-West Rebellion...

, he nonetheless proved himself a capable commander by crushing the Métis

Métis people (Canada)

The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...

 resistance at the Battle of Batoche

Battle of Batoche

The Battle of Batoche was the decisive battle of the North-West Rebellion. 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 Middleton's force could not be successfully countered by the Métis ,...

. For his service in the war, Middleton was knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

ed by Queen Victoria

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

 in 1885. He also received the thanks of Parliament

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 and the sum of $20,000.

He resigned as head of the Militia in 1890 when a select committee of the House of Commons criticized him for the misappropriation of furs from a Métis named Charles Bremner during the resistance.

Family

Frederick Dobson Middleton married, as his first wife, Mary Emily Hassall.
He married in February 1870 as his second wife, Marie Cecile Eugénie Doucet, daughter of Theodore Doucet, N.P., of Montreal. She was born in Montreal in 1846, and was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Sault-au-Recollet. The couple had two sons and a daughter. She died at Tateley, Hants, England, November 1, 1899.