6/26/22: Cape Breton's Fortress of Louisbourg National Historical Site

  

After visiting the profoundly moving Miners' Museum in Glace Bay, outside Sydney, Nova Scotia, Steven and I drove along the province's Marcoi Trail to Schooner Pond Cove, en route to Louisbourg.

The very quiet town of Louisbourg was named by the French for Louis XIV, who considered it a "most suitable place" because of its proximity to the area's fishing grounds, its commercial potential, and its strategic military location. More than 300 years later, the majestic fortress continues to welcome visitors from all over the world. 

About a month ago, I wrote about the fun, Hurricane flag-stop train ride we took from Talkeetna, Alaska, in May of 2023.  The Sydney and Louisburg Railway (S&L) was a crucial, primarily coal-hauling railway operating in Cape Breton from the late 19th century until 1972. Nicknamed the "Old Slow & Lazy," it ran 116 miles of track, connecting 30-plus coal mines to shipping piers. 

I'd forgotten that it also ran picnic excursions and blueberry specials, and like the Hurricane train in Alaska, would stop anywhere to let passengers off and pick them up later. Just as we experienced firsthand in Alaska, hunters and vacationers along the route in Cape Breton would flag down a train and get on. During especially foul weather, the S&L sent out a car and a locomotive to take a doctor somewhere or bring a patient to the hospital. By the 1950s, the S&L hauled 4 million tons of freight annually, mainly coal, more per mile than any other railway in Canada. 

During both world wars, the ports of Sydney and Louisbourg were staging areas for Atlantic convoys, and the S&L was a vital link in the supply of fuel and steel. Until regular air service to Newfoundland began, both ports were also termini for rail and passenger traffic between Newfoundland and the rest of Canada. 

The S&L's former Eastern Terminal was built in 1895.

The Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site, the largest reconstruction of its kind in North America, is widely regarded as one of Canada's flagship heritage sites. During the peak summer months, the past is history, and history comes alive with the sound of cannons and muskets. and characters attired in period dress. 

View of the Dauphin Gate:

When Louisbourg was settled by the French in 1713, it was part of Île Royale, which comprises present-day Cape Breton Island and Prince Edward Island. Though the French colony lasted until 1758, the historic site recreated colonial life in a single decade. 

At its peak, Louisbourg Harbour was the busiest port in French North America. It was large enough to contain all the ships and boats that needed to be anchored. Ports, hydrographers, and a lighthouse were supplied by the French Ministry of Marine. During the 1787 siege by the British, French naval forces played an important role in supporting the fortress's defence, as most French warships carried between 64 and 74 cannons. But assaults by British forces set several French warships ablaze, crippling French naval defences. The vessels still lie on the ocean floor to this day. 

When Louisbourg was attacked and fell to the British in 1745 and 1758, it was returned in the treaty following each battle. It was a thriving, cosmopolitan town of about 5,000 at its height, with taverns, clinics, and shops. Though most of the citizens were French, Louisbourg also hosted residents from Germany, Ireland, Scotland, England, and Africa.

Through the ornate Frédéric Gate arch that dominated our view down the length of Rue Toulouse came most of the people, news and merchandise of the colony. As orders from the king arrived here, the important entrance naturally reflected Bourbon majesty in its "proud bulk and careful proportions." Its construction in 1742 completed Louisbourg’s circle of fortifications on the eve of war.

One of the first buildings we came to was the Magazin du Roi, or King's Store. In the 1700s, rum accounted for two-thirds of the alcohol consumed in New France. It was a substantial traded item between the Caribbean and the New World; the fish went south, and the rum came north. When rum arrived at the Fortress of Louisbourg, it was brought ashore in large oak casks through the majestic Frédéric Gate and rolled into the Magazin du Roi, where it sat, waiting, until it was distributed locally or found its way to other parts of New France and New England.

The impressive Hôtel de la Marine reminded me straight away of the beautiful French colonial architecture in the Old Town part of Quebec City. Sailors, soldiers, and workmen gathered here until 1744, when part of it was being used to house prisoners-of-war from captured ships and outposts. Although Louisbourg’s drinkers chose mostly wine from Bordeaux, wines from a score of other regions were represented, along with brandies and liqueurs, and rum from the West Indies. As beer was less common, soldiers and workmen drank sapinette, brewed from an infusion of spruce needles in water and molasses. It sounds dreadful to me!

I was bummed that we arrived too late at the working-class tavern to enjoy a traditional meal that would have been served in Louisbourg. If we had, we would likely have been served only a spoon to eat with, as most people carried their own pocketknives!

The stone house with the rows of dormers belonged to two surgeons, who set bones, stitched wounds, and administered bleedings and potions. Sadly, they were powerless when smallpox struck in 1732-33, and the annual death rate in these years tripled to 75, and half the victims were children.

There was no shortage of fine goods for the well-to-do, with access to fruits from the West Indies, in addition to sugar and chocolate. Women in the upper class spent time weaving lace to adorn both men's and women's clothing as a symbol of status.

Photo courtesy of Halifax Bloggers:

On the corner stood the home of Louis Le Neuf de la Vallière, who was born in French Newfoundland, lived in Louisbourg throughout its existence, and served as a lieutenant in the garrison in 1744.

The Carrerot family had business interests, but they owed most of their success and standing to administrative talent and a knack for befriending the powerful. Like his father and his brother Philippe before him, André Carrerot (c. 1696-1749) supervised the royal storehouse for many years and performed other official functions, while keeping up his interests in shipping and property investments. The original home was hit twice during the siege when a British siege battery began firing mortar bombs into the town. Part of the building's surviving walls were incorporated into the reconstructed cellars. 

A storehouse for a merchant family:

Quebec City's bishop, Saint-Vallier, so profoundly disliked that Louisbourg had no school for 14 years after its 1713 founding that he asked Sister Marguerite Roy of the Congregation of Notre Dame, the first non-cloistered community in the New World, to go to Louisbourg to establish one in 1727. The Sisters were true pioneers in 18th-century Louisbourg, leaving a profound mark on the colony. Undeterred by hardship, their teaching enabled countless young women to achieve a high level of literacy. The Sisters also emphasized religion and domestic arts. I read that their way of life even helped raise moral standards in an otherwise lax society! 

As boarding and day students at the Sisters' school came from a cross section of Louisbourg society, families paid what they could. During the 1732-33 smallpox epidemic, orphans were admitted by the Sisters as an act of charity.

Life at the garrison was regulated within the fortress by signals from its drummers, who called the soldiers to rise at dawn, and each activity was preceded by the drumbeat. Likewise, the last call of the day, La Retraite, was played throughout town by the drummers to summon all soldiers to their quarters for the night. Drums also alerted the townfolk to emergencies, the openings and closings of the gates, auctions, funerals, and public pronouncements.

One of my first thoughts on seeing the immense size of the fortress was what it must have cost the French when construction began in 1719 and continued throughout the 1720s and 30s. However, its yearly construction was never exceeded by the cost of outfitting a large warship for a six-month patrol of the waters. 

In return, France received a naval port, a base for its fishing, and a commercial center which returned much wealth to its empire. In the end, however, France lost its colonies by focusing on Europe, while England deployed a strong navy and a far larger army in North America.

The King's Bastion Barracks:

Everyone could tell the time in the fortress by the morning gun, and the bell and the clock in the Barracks Tower. On foggy days, a signal gun could be fired from the fortress to help approaching vessels find the shoreline. The lighthouse could be seen six leagues out to sea. 

When the fortress was under French control, its chapel was Roman Catholic. It changed to Anglican when the British took over.

Officers' quarters in the Bastion:

As Île Royale was part of the larger New France colony, headquartered in Quebec City, theoretically, the Louisbourg governor was subservient to the governor-general in Quebec City. But the difficulty of travel and communication meant he normally corresponded with his superior in France. 

As the king's official representative in the colony, the governor had both great privileges and grave responsibilities. He enjoyed tremendous social prominence but had ultimate responsibility for the colony's security. The governor was responsible for ensuring that the defences and garrison were always prepared and for maintaining harmonious relations with allies, including the Indigenous Mi'kmaqs. 

The King's Bastion Barracks suffered extensive damage in the 1745 siege and again in 1758, when, during the height of a cannonade, it was struck and set on fire, destroying all but the governor's wing and some of the officers' quarters. 

The receiving room was used for conducting business and hosting private parties. It, and other rooms in the Governor's Apartments, were furnished as they were in the 18th century, according to a detailed inventory of one of Louisbourg's governors, drawn up shortly after his death. 

The dining room was the most public room in the governor's apartments, because it was used to entertain Louisbourg's elite. Although the governor received a large salary, it was often still insufficient to cover the expenses associated with the governor's social position. The last French governor had to borrow money to pay for his return to France!

Prior to the 1960s, visitors to Fortress Louisbourg saw an open landscape, scattered ruins, some monuments, and a museum dating to the mid-1930s.  

When many of Cape Breton's coal mines closed, the former miners were retrained in masonry, carpentry, and other trades to help rebuild the fortress.

The principal goal of Parks Canada in reconstructing the fortress was to focus on a single town during a very narrow period: the 1740s. The aim was to recreate the material surroundings of Louisbourg as they were believed to have been in 1744-45, using a case-study approach of a single New World settlement at a precise moment in time rather than the community's longer history. 

Although most of the original documents have been preserved in French archives, others are in Canada, Great Britain, and even the U.S. The reports produced by the Louisbourg historians were essential in the design and reconstruction decisions, the selection of furniture, publications, and exhibits. 

Although the 18th-century documents were of enormous value, there were limitations, with some subjects not covered in the surviving records, or different sources contradicting each other. Imagine the project historians having to understand, reconcile, and sometimes overcome these weaknesses in the documents!

Fortunately, Louisbourg's terrain offered a site of rare completeness in archaeological terms, as there were no known occupants before the French period. There was also little development for 200 years afterward. 

Excavations took 20 years but uncovered only a small part of 18th-century Louisbourg. I learned that, because future excavations may be needed, what lies buried must also be preserved through a variety of means. 

We visited early in the period garden's growing season, so we didn't see any crops that were traditionally planted during the French era.  

Walking along those old lanes, past authentic 300-year-old buildings, felt like stepping back in time, but what made the tour come to life were the people in costume. I wish Steven and I had had more time to listen to the talented interpreters' stories of what life was like in the mid-1700s. What also greatly impressed me was that the out-of-work miners were literally given the tools to bring history to life again. 

Lighthouse Point was the site of Canada's first lighthouse in 1734. For centuries, countless ships and boats have sailed past this point, and the British waged attacks on the Louisbourg Fortress in both sieges from it. I can almost still smell the salt spray and hear the waves crashing from our walk along the picturesque Lighthouse Trail. I hope my photos will help you imagine it too!

This area of the coast saw intense activity during the sieges in 1745 and 1758, with Brigadier General James Wolfe positioning cannons in coves and then dragging them to the lighthouse to bombard the battery. 

In addition to the many sea creatures and thriving marine life in Louisbourg Harbour, its depths are the final resting place of four French warships wrecked during the 1758 siege to maintain control of the fortress. 

Look how Cape Breton's harsh winters and the salt spray have stunted and misshapen trees.

Low-lying crowberries dominated the exposed headlands and coastal peatlands.

The Acadian Forest, found only in eastern North America, is a blend of northern boreal and southern hardwood forests, creating a remarkable variety that resists disease and supports a wide range of plant and animal life. It is one of just six protected forests identified by the World Wildlife Fund. 

Scientists predict that sea levels could rise by almost three feet by 2100 due to global warming and the resulting melting of polar ice caps, reshaping coastlines as increased storm-driven erosion wears away shorelines. That is why the trail was built further from the shoreline than the original path. 

During the two sieges, the English built artillery batteries on Lighthouse Point so they could fire on French warships and the island battery. Once the island battery was disabled, the English could move their ships closer to the harbor and provide naval reinforcements to the assault on land. 

The wooden lighthouse was erected in 1842 to reduce the many navigational risks and shipwrecks along Canada's eastern seaboard. After fire destroyed it in 1923, this one was built the following year. It had a lighthouse keeper until 1990, when it became automated. 

In front of us lay the ruins of Canada's first lighthouse and North America's second. Built by the French in 1734, it was damaged by fire two years later but was quickly repaired. After providing refuge for thousands of approaching sailors, it was destroyed in the siege of Louisbourg in 1758.

Next post: On to the New Brunswick resort town of St. Andrews, one of Canada's most picturesque towns!

Posted on February 18th, 2026, from our home in Denver, but we're excited to head to Chicago for the weekend to visit our daughter and her family. Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones, whether they are near or further away.