15 – Louisbourg, Nova Scotia and the Ferry to Newfoundland

17, 2017 – Our next stop is going to be Newfoundland, but the ferry doesn’t leave until 11:45 PM so first we are going to visit the Fortress of Louisburg.  On the way, we stopped for lunch at this little restaurant on the waterfront in the town of Louisbourg.   I had salted cod fish cakes and beans which is apparently a Nova Scotia favorite.  They were good and reminded me of the cod fish cakes my Mom used to make when I was a youngster.

The Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site is the largest historical reconstruction in North America.  Louisbourg is a fortress not a fort in that its fortifications encloses a town and not just a military installation.  It was founded by the French in 1713, and was named after King Louis XIV.  It was built to protect the very profitable cod fishery.  In 1731 Louisbourg’s cod exports were worth more then 3.1 million French livres and it was one of Canada’s busiest seaports.

As part of the struggle between France and England for supremacy in North America, Louisbourg was attacked and sacked in 1745 and again in 1758 at which time the French were forced to leave and in the 1760s the fortress was destroyed.  It remained a pile of rubble until restoration started in the 1960s, and to date about 25% of the walls and about 20% of the town have been restored.  Luckily, the French documented everything they did, so copies of all the designs of the town and fortification are on file in Paris.  This site reminded me very much of  Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia in the way that it is operated.  It is operated by a non-profit corporation and hires re-enactors to play the part of town residents and soldiers so that the fortress is as realistic as possible.

This first two photos are of the Desroches’ house. The construction is traditional piquet (vertical posts) and sod-roof.  This house is just outside the gates of the fortress and served as a tavern for Basque fisherman who cleaned and salted their catch of cod in this area.

This next photo is of the Dauphin Gate which is the main land gate to the fortress.

And here is a shot of the moat which protected the walls.

Just inside the gate was a barracks.  Here are shots of the barracks and the interesting looking sleeping accommodations for the common soldiers.

The main seaside gate was the Frédéric Gate shown in this photo.

Here is the quay or main street along the waterfront.

This house was owned by Joseph Lartigue who came from Placentia, Newfoundland.  He had been a fisherman and trader but became the Judge of the lower civil court.

And this was the ice house.

Here an interior shot of one of the houses.

Here is the De la Vallière House.  Louis Le Neuf de la Vallièwas born in French Newfoundland and served as a lieutenant in the garrison.

This is the house of military Captain Pierre-Paul d’Espiet de la Palgne, his wife and their four children.

This is the house of Michel de Gannes de Falaise, His wife Elizabeth and their six children.

This is the entrance to the King’s Bastion which was the main military facility and contained the barracks for the enlisted military and the parade ground.

And this is the guard post just outside the entrance.

Inside the King’s Bastion was the military chapel which served the town as no other church ever got built.

We did get to see a small military demonstration and here is a photo of the Fife and Drum Corp that took part.

This is a neat looking house on the quay.  Couldn’t find anything about it.

The French also built a lighthouse in 1734 to guide ships into the harbor.  It was the first lighthouse in Canada.  This photo is of its modern replacement.

After this we drove to North Sydney where we will board the ferry to Newfoundland.  As mentioned earlier in departs at 11:45 PM.  It is scheduled to arrive at Port aux Basques at 7:00 AM.