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Louisbourg |
Quebec City |
Fort Rodd |
Halifax Citadel |
Prince of Wales |
Fort MacLeod
Fort Steele |
Fort Henry |
Fort Anne
With he establishment of Halifax in 1749,
the Royal Navy had a major naval facility that it could
use against the French to the North and as it turned out
during the American Revolution, against the American
colonies. The natural harbour in Halifax lent itself to
development and with the naval base and town, a fort was
built in order to protect the dockyards and was called
the Citadel. As
with many forts the Citadel was rebuilt many times as
required by progressing military needs. The current
version was built in 1856 and has an excellent view of
the harbour. It is representative of 19th century
bastion fortification design with ramparts, ditches and
signal masts. It's main purpose was as a defensive
bastion against any American aggression which might
occur and during the American Civil war the Citadel
could expect potential action from the US at any time
due to strained relations with Britain.
The fort was turned
over to the Canadian military in 1906 as the British
retrenched in order to prepare for the growing challenge
in Europe against Germany. It was used by the Canadian
military during the First and Second world wars and
housed troops on their way overseas from 1939 to 44.
Parks Canada operates
the Citadel today and the 78th Highland Regiment
demonstrates what life was like in the fortification 100
plus years ago.
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