Canadian historical figure in the
Louis Riel uprisings
Thomas Scott was the young
Orangeman executed on March 4, 1870 by Riel's "War Council".
The Toronto Globe would describe his horrifying, botched execution. He was shot, sealed into a coffin, while bleeding and still alive. He was heard 11 hours later, pleading for a merciful death as he slowly froze inside the box. He was shot three more times and died some time later.
His death outraged
Ontario Protestants, who clamoured for Riel's head. Previously, a delicate and uneasy balance existed over Riel, between sympathetic
Catholics in
Quebec and unsympathetic
Protestants in
Ontario. With the execution of Scott, it was no longer politically possible to treat Riel with kid gloves.
Riel would eventually be executed for treason.