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Posted by Rich (CT)
on September 25, 2009, 11:06 am
69.120.9.154
Just a interesting article,
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Last updated at 11:50 PM on 24/09/09
No mere mortar
Fortress of Louisbourg gets 251-year-old, 11,000-lb mortar
NANCY KING
The Cape Breton Post
LOUISBOURG — Officials at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site are celebrating the return of a 251-year-old mortar that guarded the town during two sieges.
With its bed, the mortar, now on display in the lower level of the visitor reception centre, weighs more than 11,000 pounds.
“I often marvel that there was the capability to make such things, bring them over here and then when (they) are here, transport them in an age when you’re basically depending on people power and animal power,” said historian Sandy Balcom.
Following the second siege of Louisbourg 1758, the British removed two matching large iron mortars, a type of 18th-century artillery, which had been cast in France. There would have been nine other mortars of similar size at the fortress, and five smaller ones, as well as other types of artillery.
Louisbourg played an important role in the early history of Canada, twice coming under siege from the British, Balcom said, with the second siege in 1758 being particularly significant as it opened the seaway that the British used to attack Quebec the following year.
“The capture of Louisbourg is a very significant event in the Seven Years War, which has a lot to do with Canada’s formation and this piece was here at that siege, it actually was used in the defence of Louisbourg, so you can come here and look at this piece and just imagine the events that it’s been a witness to,” Balcom said.
It’s unclear where else the mortar may have gone during that war, he added. The mortars ended up in Halifax for many years, where they were found on either side of the entrance to the Halifax Citadel.
One of the matching pair of mortars was later transferred to the Canadian War Museum. The second mortar was moved to Royal Artillery Park near the Halifax Citadel, and was recently on display at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic to mark the 250th anniversary of Louisbourg’s second siege.
It is now at Louisbourg on a long-term loan from the Department of National Defence.
Balcom said, given the artifact’s age, it is in excellent condition, and items like it are rare.
The term of the loan is for five years, but Balcom said he’s hopeful that once officials see “how appropriate it is here,” that it will be extended into the distant future.
nking@cbpost.com
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