Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Fitzgerald, Francis J.
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1869-1911
History
Inspector Francis J. Fitzgerald was born in 1869 to Mr. and Mrs. John Fitzgerald in Portuguese Cove, Halifax County. Fitzgerald enlisted in the North West Mounted Police in 1888 and later fought in the Second Boer War as a member of the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles. Fitzgerald was posted to Herschel Island, Yukon in 1903 and stayed there for six years. In 1910, he went to Fort McPherson in the present-day Northwest Territories. In December of 1910, Fitzgerald was sent with three other men on an annual patrol from Fort McPherson to Dawson, Yukon. The patrol was hindered by poor weather and difficulty finding the route and ran out of food and supplies. One man committed suicide and the other three, including Fitzgerald, died from starvation and exposure. This patrol is known as the "Lost Patrol." They were found and buried in March of 1911.