Saint John Fortifications examines how the New Brunswick city’s defenses were affected by every major North American conflict over the past three hundred years. The first forts were little more than fortified trading posts, set up to defend land rights granted by the king of France. The famous Acadian civil war belongs to this period, with its conflict between LaTour and D’aulnay and the tragic, romantic story of Madame LaTour. As the settlement grew, structures such as Fort Frederick and Fort Howe were designed to defend the mouth of the river and protect the inhabitants of the town from marauders, particularly the American privateers of the Revolutionary War. The last part of the book focuses on the twentieth century, when Saint John was recognized as a possible target during World War II and was defended accordingly. Stories of German u-boats in the Bay of Fundy make a predominately European conflict strike startlingly close to home.
One aspect of the story of Fortress Saint John shows just how little things have changed over the years. Then, as now, the city was plagued by chronic under funding. The impression one gets is of a military low on resources and lacking vision, as the improvements regularly recommended by experts, first under the British Imperial system, then under the Canadian government, were usually deemed too costly and never carried out. This led to a situation in the Second World War where the military was scrambling to get defenses up to code, and some necessary equipment was not installed until 1943.
The book includes several helps for the reader, such as well-placed illustrations and a comprehensive index. One tool is missed was a glossary, as I looked in vain for definitions for such terms as barbettes and revetments. Perhaps this is the danger of reading a book written by experts and aimed at laymen. On the positive side, the authors can be expected to know what they’re talking about. On the negative, they sometimes expect too much knowledge from their readers. It’s a slight problem that can be readily solved by keeping a dictionary handy.
Saint John Fortifications contains nuggets of trivia for the curious, such as the fact that Fort Howe was pre-fabricated, the buildings being constructed in Halifax and simply assembled upon their delivery in Saint John. The book also creates for the readers a scene very different from the city than is visible today. The blockhouse of Fort Howe still dominates the landscape today, but many of the other buildings have vanished, sometimes with little trace of where they once stood. Most notable among these is Fort Frederick, which once stood on the site of the present-day Harbour Bridge Toll Plaza . Upon finishing this book, I found myself making plans to visit these sites and reconstruct some
history on my own. When I do, I will take this book as a guide and a reference, using it precisely as the authors had hoped.
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