[4] The skirmish lasted approximately 30 minutes, after which Superintendent Leif Newry Fitzroy Crozier of the NWMP, his forces having endured fierce fire with twelve killed and eleven wounded, called for a general retreat.

Leif Crozier, the newly appointed NWMP superintendent and commander of northwestern Saskatchewan's forces, requested immediate reinforcement to Fort Carlton because he feared the growing instability created by Riel and the ever-growing possibility of a First Nations uprising.

[9] On March 25, in need of supplies for his men and horses, Crozier ordered Sergeant Alfred Stewart, Thomas McKay, and seventeen constables to Hillyard Mitchell's general goods store at Duck Lake.

[10] Unbeknownst to Crozier, however, commander Gabriel Dumont (Riel's right-hand man) and his Métis force had already entrenched themselves on the road to Duck Lake.

After ample harassment, Stewart decided not to risk a physical engagement, and chose to return to Fort Carlton; no shooting occurred.

[12] The forces met about 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) outside Duck Lake on a snowy plateau covered by trees, shrubs, and a few log cabins.

[12] Having spotted Crozier's force, Gabriel Dumont ordered his men to set up defensive positions around the log cabin and lie in wait.

[12] Gabriel Dumont dispatched his brother, Isidore, and an elderly half-blind chief, Assiwiyin, with a white flag in hopes of distracting Crozier's forces.

[14][15] Despite the firepower and training of Crozier's militia, the Métis force were more numerous and their position within the log cabins and the tree line proved to be an efficient advantage.

[24] In the spring of 2008, Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Christine Tell said in Duck Lake, that "the 125th commemoration, in 2010, of the 1885 Northwest Resistance is an excellent opportunity to tell the story of the prairie Métis and First Nations peoples' struggle with Government forces and how it has shaped Canada today.