When was francis pegahmagabow born

He was the most highly decorated Indigenous soldier in Canadian military history and the most effective sniper of the First World War. Three times awarded the Military Medal and seriously wounded, he was an expert marksman and scout, credited with killing Germans and capturing more. Later in life, he served as chief and a councillor for the Wasauksing First Nation, and as an activist and leader in several First Nations organizations.

In Ojibwe his name was Binaaswi "the wind that blows off". When Francis was three years old, his father died and his mother subsequently left him to return to her home in the Henvey Inlet First Nation. He was raised by elder Noah Nebimanyquod and grew up in Shawanaga, where he learned traditional skills such as hunting, fishing, and traditional medicine.

Pegahmagabow practiced a mix of Catholicism and Anishinaabe spirituality. In January Pegahmagabow received financial aid for room and board to complete his public school education with the help of the Parry Sound crown attorney Walter Lockwood Haight. He had left school at the age of 12 and worked at lumber camps and fishing camps; he eventually became a marine firefighter.

Francis pegahmagabow nickname

Following the outbreak of World War I, Pegahmagabow volunteered for service with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in August , despite Canadian government discrimination that initially excluded minorities. He was posted to the 23rd Canadian Regiment Northern Pioneers. While there he decorated his army tent with traditional symbols including a Caribou, the symbol of his clan.

In early October he was deployed overseas with the 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion of the 1st Canadian Division—the first contingent of Canadian troops sent to fight in Europe. His companions there nicknamed him "Peggy".

How old was francis pegahmagabow when he joined the army

In April , Pegahmagabow fought in the Second Battle of Ypres, where the Germans used chlorine gas for the first time on the Western Front; it was during this battle that he began to establish a reputation as a sniper and scout. Following the battle he was promoted to lance corporal. His battalion took part in the Battle of the Somme in , during which he was wounded in the left leg.