At the end of August I was traveling in the Maritimes of Canada with my sister-in-law, Flavia Morden, and we visited the site of Louisbourg on the east coast of Cape Breton. Two days before our visit, Hurricane Bill had pounded this coastline with punishing waves and torrential downpours, but we enjoyed clear skies and a gentle breeze.
The site is a reconstruction of the French fortress of Louisbourg, first established in 1713. It was the third busiest seaport in North America during the 18th century. Because of its strategic importance it was successfully beseiged first by New England troops in 1745 and then by British troops in 1758. It was abandoned by the British in 1768.
The reconstruction of the site was started in the 1960's under Prime Minister Diefenbaker and became the largest reconstruction project in North America, with nearly one quarter of the original walled town having been rebuilt. First the site was excavated as most of the stone buildings had been robbed away, leaving only their foundations. Then by comparing these results with the detailed accounts in archives in France, England, Scotland, the US and Canada, the fortifications and buildings were reconstructed. In many cases, we know exactly who built each structure, have the original architectural plans and know who lived in them.
Today one arrives at the site in buses provided by Parks Canada in order to keep the sprawling parking lots necessary for the hundreds of visitors away from the site. During its heyday, one would have approached the fortress from the sea, like through the seagate, Porte Frederic, seen in the photo above.
Not only military personnel occupied the fortress and the view below shows several houses on the main street leading up from Porte Frederic, including from left to right, the Hotel de la marine, A L'Epee Royal, and the Maison Benoist. Some of the houses are furnished with period furniture, reconstructing the lifestyles of the various inhabitants, while others are fitted with information displays on different aspects of the life of the community: building techniques, trade, fishing, and military life.
During the summer, the town is populated again by reectors who garden, tend livestock, cook, wash clothes, chop wood, tend fires in period dress. So much is known about the original inhabitants that many of the reenactors know not only the names but the lives of the people they are reviving.
Being a fortress, the military had a visible roll to play both in the past and today. Walking through the fortress, the barracks, the military bakery and the smithy, one talks to officers and enlisted men and enjoys accounts of their lives while living here. It is thrilling to be able to watch muskets and cannon being fired. History really comes to life in this amazing corner of Canada's Eastern shore.
