Broadway - Assiniboine in Winnipeg, Manitoba — Canada’s Prairie Region (North America)

Ambroise-Didyme Lépine

1840-1923

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 15, 2022

1. Ambroise-Didyme Lépine Marker (English)

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

[English] Born in the Red River Settlement, Ambroise-Didyme Lépine engaged in river-lot agriculture, combining this with hunting and trading as did many other Métis. In the autumn of 1869 he became Adjutant General to Louis Riel and played a prominent role in the Red River Resistance.

Lépine was a member of Riel's Provisional Government, and presided over the court martial which condemned prisoner Thomas Scott to be shot on 4 March 1870. Here, before the wall of Fort Garry, Scott was executed. Lépine was arrested, tried and was to be hanged on 29 January 1875. The sentence was subsequently commuted to two years imprisonment and forfeiture of political rights. Although he remained sympathetic to the Métis cause, Lépine withdrew from active public life. His dictated recollections contributed to the publication of a history of Métis people.

[Français] Ambroise-Didyme Lépine naquit dans la colonie de la rivière Rouge. Comme bien d’autres métis, il vivait d'agriculture riveraine, de chasse et de traite des fourrures. Il joua un rôle important dans la rébellion des métis organisée par Louis Riel dont

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il devint adjudant-major au cours de l'automne de 1869.

Comme membre du gouvernement provisoire de Riel, il présida la cour martiale qui condamna le prisonnier Thomas Scott à être fusillé le 4 mars 1870. C’est ici même, contre un mur du Fort Garry, qu’eut lieu l’exécution. Lépine fut arrêté, jugé, et devait être pendu le 29 janvier 1875. Mais sa peine fut commuée en deux ans de prison avec des droits politiques. Il se retira alors de la vie publique mais demeura attaché à la cause métis. Il dicta des mémoires qui parurent dans une histoire des métis.

Erected by The Historic Sites Advisory Board of Manitoba.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Colonial Era • Forts and Castles • Law Enforcement. A significant historical date for this entry is March 4, 1870.

Location. 49° 53.279′ N, 97° 8.14′ W. Marker is in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is in Broadway - Assiniboine. Marker can be reached from Main Street (Trans-Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 1) just south of Broadway, on the right when traveling south. Marker is located along the walkway at the north end of Upper Fort Garry Heritage Provincial Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 130 Main Street, Winnipeg MB R3C 1A4, Canada. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Fort Garry — Fort Edmonton Trail (here, next to this marker); Upper Fort Garry Gateway / Porte d'entrée d'Upper Fort Garry

Ambroise-Didyme Lépine Marker (<i>Français</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 15, 2022

2. Ambroise-Didyme Lépine Marker (Français)

(a few steps from this marker); The Fort Garry (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); The Fort Garry Hotel / L'hôtel Fort Garry (about 90 meters away); Bonnycastle Park (about 240 meters away); Pierre Gaultier de La Vérendrye (approx. 0.2 kilometers away); Dr. Amelia Yeomans / Le Docteur Amelia Yeomans (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Canadian Northern Railway Freight Lift Bridge, East Yard (approx. half a kilometer away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Winnipeg.

Regarding Ambroise-Didyme Lépine. Some references spell the name as "Ambroise-Dydime Lépine".

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Upper Fort Garry Heritage Provincial Park

Also see . . .
1. Ambroise Didyme Lépine (Find A Grave).

(Saint Boniface Cathedral Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. ) Born in St. Vital, he was the son of a French-Canadian father and a Métisse, brother of Jean-Baptiste Lépine and Maxime Lépine. From the beginning of the Red River
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 15, 2022

3. Ambroise-Didyme Lépine Marker set
(looking north from Upper Fort Garry Heritage Provincial Park walkway • English on right • Français on left • Manitoba Club in background)
Rebellion, he was Louis Riel’s military lieutenant and chief enforcer. He died at the St. Boniface General Hospital on 8 June 1923. He is commemorated by Lepine Avenue in Winnipeg and a plaque near the Upper Fort Garry Gate.

(Submitted on April 11, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. Ambroise-Dydime Lépine.

There is no evidence that Lépine was politically active prior to 1869, when the forthcoming transfer of Rupert’s Land from the HBC to Canada was announced. On his return to the Red River settlement (Man.) on 30 October from a freighting expedition to Fort Pitt (Sask.), he learned that the Métis, led by Louis Riel, had taken steps to delay the transfer and force the Canadian government to negotiate the terms of union with the colony’s inhabitants.

(Submitted on April 11, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

3. Ambroise Didyme Lépine.

His appearance in 1870 was described by Roderick MacBeth as “a man of magnificent physique, standing fully six feet three and built in splendid proportion, straight as an arrow, with hair of raven blackness, large aquiline nose and eyes of piercing brilliance; a man of prodigious strength, a skilled roughrider.”

(Submitted on April 11, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

4. Ambroise-Dydime Lépine

Upper Fort Garry Heritage Provincial Park image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 15, 2022

4. Upper Fort Garry Heritage Provincial Park

(looking east • markers on left • Upper Fort Garry Gate in right background)

On 8 January 1870, the Provisional Government of Manitoba under Riel named Lépine adjutant general of St. Boniface. The following month, Lépine and his troops captured Charles Arkoll Boulton and his Canadian Party militia after their aborted attempt to take Fort Garry. Among the prisoners taken was Thomas Scott, an Irish protestant whom the Métis came to loathe. Riel ordered a court martial of Scott, which Lépine presided over. Lépine sentenced Scott to death, and Riel assented.

(Submitted on April 11, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on April 11, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 10, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 95 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 10, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 4. submitted on April 11, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.