Samuel Benfield "Sam" Steele (5 January 1848 – 30 January 1919) was a Canadian RCMP Major-General who served in the wars against the Fenian Brotherhood and Native Americans in Canada, in the Second Boer War, and in World War I.
Biography[]
Samuel Benfield Steele was born in Medonte Township, Ontario, Canada in 1848, the son of a Royal Navy captain. He was orphaned at the age of 13 and lived with his half-brother, and he joined the military in 1866 during the Fenian raids, later taking part in the fight against Louis Riel's Red River Rebellion; however, he arrived too late to see any action himself. In 1874, he joined the Freemasons in Selkirk, Manitoba, and, in 1873, he became an RCMP constable. In 1877, he unsuccessfully attempted to persuade Sitting Bull and his Sioux tribe to return to the United States, although they ultimately did so a few years later. He went on to fight against the North-West Rebellion, and, in 1898 - amid the Klondike Gold Rush - he was appointed to oversee the Chilkoot and White Passes, establishing a rule that only "stampeders" carrying a ton of goods would be allowed into Canada to ensure their safety. In 1900, he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of Strathcona's Horse and served in the Second Boer War in South Africa, where he detested the war of attrition waged against the Boers. He served in the South African constabulary until 1907, when he returned to Canada. He then commanded the 2nd Canadian Division in England during World War I, but he was removed from command in 1916 after refusing to return to Canada to serve as a recruiter, as he was too old to lead the division into France. He died in Putney, London in 1918 during the flu pandemic.