Fortress Louisburg

Friday, September 7
We headed east again this morning toward Fortress Louisbourg on the eastern tip of Cape Breton.
Fortress Louisbourg construction started in 1719 by the French under King Louis XIV. The Fortress took nearly 25 years to complete.

The difference between a Fortress and a Fort is that a Fortress surrounds an entire community with a wall whereas a Fort obviously only walls the military operation itself.

The Fortress at Louisbourg went through two seiges, one in 1745 and the final one in 1758. The British destroyed the town and Fortress after the French surrendered in 1758. For history buffs, you can learn more here.

This is the inlet to Bras d'or Lake from the Atlantic Ocean that you can see in the background. The building with the smokestack that you can just see in the distance is a coal burning generating plant.

Boats in the Bras d'or Lake inlet.

Downtown Louisbourg

Restaurant sign. Certainly caught our attention.

This gorgeous house is a B&B. A small hotel really. It was called.......

....the Cranberry Cove Inn.

Who goes there?? Standing guard at the Dauphin Gate. This gate was the passage from overland into the Fortress.

The guards quarters.

Beautifully restored homes and businesses with the Frederic Gate in the background. Originally built in 1742 it was the last link in Louisbourg's fortification. People and goods that offloaded from incoming ships would pass through this gate.

The King's Bastion. This huge building included the Governor's apartments, the Chapel, the jail, and the barracks for the military. At it's height there were 2000 military personnel within the Fortress.

When the Fortress was rebuilt in the 1960's the re-builders were very fortunate that detailed records on the original construction still existed in France. There were 3/4's of a million records on file!

The Bastion guardhouse.

An enthusiastic re-enactor!

Soldier in the Barracks

                                   

This contraption was used to discipline soldiers. Your hands were tied and they placed you astride of the 'horse'. The combination of wool underwear and the heat of the sun was quite 'uncomfortable'! When the British arrived they would place wheels on the horse and then drag it across the cobblestones with the French soldier astride. Ouch!

A fully outfitted French soldier.

Firing his musket.

Inside the Chapel

Not bad for the mid-1700's

Cannon facing the barrens. No one thought the enemy would arrive from this direction.

They had places for 148 cannon around the Fortress although they never installed all of them.

The grounds inside the King's Bastion

Some livestock within the walls.

Ceremony to fire the noon gun.

FIRE!

Lots of period re-enactors were on hand to explain life in the mid-1700's at Louisbourg.

They used a variety of building techniques. Those brown rounded protrusions from the wall are the floor joists for the second floor.

The Frederic Gate

The Louisbourg Harbour and Fortress in 1731. Not fully walled at this time.

Some of the homes were very comfortable. This one would have belonged to a senior official.

Model of a warship from the period.

One of the warehouses with supplies for the town.

This trail led to the unrestored areas of the park. Only about 25% of the original Fortress and buildings have been restored.

On the coast at the end of the Fortress. This was over one kilometer from the restored portion of the town.

The view back toward the town. Note the stone foundations in the foreground. At its peak there would have been buildings from here to the Kings Bastion in the background. As many as 6000 people lived here, including 2000 soldiers.

Seems to be a disturbance down by the gate!

Some scoundrel being punished in public. They made him dance a jig.

Baking day.

The assembly on the left of the fireplace is an automatic spit-turner. It was run by a counterweight and gear assemblies much like a clock. It would slowly turn the spit that you can just make out in front of the fireplace.

The King's bakery. Essentials of bread making.

This is the original cobblestone floor of the bakery from about 1730. The stories it could tell!

The bake ovens. The re-enactors still bake bread in them every day. We bought a loaf of 'soldier' bread. It was 80% whole wheat and 20% flax. It was hard and dense enough to hammer nails! 

Guards at the Dauphin Gate as we were departing.

Back in the interpretive Centre. This was a mortar. Used for short range fighting they would load it with grape shot to inflict the most damage.

One of the original cannons. This was a French cannon that suffered a direct hit from a British cannon ball breaking the end off the cannon.

We had a great time exploring this iconic old French Fortress. So much history here. I wish I had paid more attention in grade 10 history class!

We left the Fortress and wanted to have a closer look at the Louisbourg Lighthouse. A great little drive through the town and shoreline got us there.

Lots of fishing boats in modern-day Louisbourg.

Very scenic harbour.

The Louisbourg Lighthouse.

This is the fourth lighthouse on this site.

The old foundation of one of the previous lighthouses.

Old foundations.

This lighthouse is in dire need of repair.

The view from the lighthouse to the open Atlantic. So pretty.

One more view of Louisbourg.

A great day exploring our history. A nice drive back to our Baddeck campground for a rest. Tomorrow we head out on a long drive around the Cape Breton Highlands!

A nice sunset to finish our day!

.....and that was Our View From Here!