Having recently arrived from the tropics, the troops of the 85th Regiment must have found the New Brunswick winter a bit of a shock. Nevertheless, the soldiers who arrived in Saint John in December of 1837 followed their orders to proceed to Quebec City. They made the trip in open sleighs, watching in disbelief as the temperature dipped as low as -32ºC. Civilians provided billets for them when they passed through settlements. Otherwise, they camped in rough huts or cabanos.
Their trip lasted slightly more than two weeks and was part of a troop movement that delivered over 1500 soldiers to quell the rebellion in Lower Canada. It was a military achievement that aroused the admiration and envy of no less than the Duke of Wellington himself. It was also just one more proof that the Grand Communications
Route was essential to the defense of British North America. The
st. John
River had long been recognized as a main
highway by the local Mi’kmaq and Maliseet tribes. They could travel from the north shore of the Bay of Fundy to the south shore of the Saint Lawrence by way of the river and several portages. The trip measured about 515 kilometres, (435 of them by water) and provided a direct link from the coast to the hinterland. With the arrival of the Europeans, this route only grew in importance. The French relied on it to link the colonies of Acadia and Canada. Ocean-going ships could sail up the Gulf of St. Lawrence and into the St. Lawrence River, but when the seaway was frozen during the winter the St. John River route was the only way for the French to access Canada. Major Gary Campbell, a former transportation officer in the Logistics Branch of the Canadian Armed Forces, has followed the history of this route through both the French and British colonial periods. He describes significant troop movements along the route, beginning with the heroic march of the 104th Regiment, who made the winter passage by foot in 1813 in order to defend Upper Canada against the invading Americans. And he unravels the fascinating tangles of the Aroostook War, an intricate but bloodless conflict over the disputed border territory between Maine and New Brunswick. The history of French and British rule in New Brunswick is familiar ground, but the focus of this book is unique because it’s all related to the river and what the British formally called the Grand Communications Route. The settlements of Saint John and Fredericton, as well as Fredericton’s eventual selection as the capital gain more significance in the light of their relation to the river route. The route even helped determine the present border with Maine, as the British were willing to give up acres of valuable forest land in return for land that would preserve the route entirely within their boundaries. When you drive the Trans-Canada Highway from Fredericton to Edmunston, you’ll notice the heavy traffic on the highway and probably a few leisure craft on the water. Four hundred years ago, the scene would have been reversed: the site of the present road would have been wilderness, and the river would have been the highway. Campbell wrote this book to offer a passage back to a time when the river and the route that followed it was the lifeline of a fledgling colony. Like its companion volumes, this fifth installment of the New Brunswick Military Heritage Series helps make the past more accessible and relevant to the reader of today.
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