Happy New Year 2014-15

I missed making a post for a Victorian Christmas, which the Halifax Citadel Regimental Association does each year, however I may post about it shortly.
Happy New Year. Hogmany would have been what the 78th Highlanders would have been celebrating in garrison of Fort George, Halifax Citadel.

Canadian Militia troops for the period by Hat Industries

Gatling Gun

British Infantry command, Zulu War






British Infantry, Zulu War





Colonial Artillery





These units I do not have as of yet, but hope to be able to acquire in the future.

Riel (1979)

 A very well done movie by CBC from 1979. Riel has been the only Canadian MP to have been executed for treason.

Maritime Civil War Living History Association

www.mcwlha.weebly.com shows the 20th Maine portraying the British subjects of British North America who travelled south the the United States and the Confederate states to fight on both sides.
They visit graves of Maritime veterans of this conflict to remember them.
Several of the members I used to do American Revolution reenacting with back in the 1980s to 1990s before I moved to Asia to be an EFL teacher.

My civil war Reenacting Gear, 20th Maine Co-G Impression

 Despite this regiment being one of the United States Army, many Maritimers went to Maine to join up and fight for the adventure. My ancestor actually served in the Confederate Army, having left the family farm in the Musquodoboit Valley and took a ship to the Southern States. The family learned later that he was lost in the Siege of Fredricksburg.

Sherbrooke Village "It's a fine pickle"

 Traditional foods which would have been found in Canada during the beginnings of Confederation.

Kings Landing Historical Settlement | New Brunswick, Canada

 A typical New Brunswick village at the time of Confederation

Cannon Firing at Fort Henry

 We also did the same drill at the Halifax Citadel.

Fort Henry Guard DRILL SQUAD and ARTILLERY - Sunset Ceremony 2012 - View...

 Another Fort Henry demonstration

Fort Henry Guard DRILL SQUAD - Sunset Ceremony 2012 - View in 1080p HD

 The Fort Henry Guard Drill Squad, using the same drill the 78th Highlanders also use.

Fort Henry Guard Drums Sequence - August 25th 2012

 The Fort Henry Guard, from Ontario, portray a British or Canadian militia regiment of 1867. These are University and High School students similar to the Halifax Citadel Regimental Association at the Halifax Citadel.

Garrison life in Victorian Halifax: Public houses

Soldiers and beer! This was the lot of your average soldier in the garrison.
Alexander Keith, who was a major brewer, make a lucrative business suppling the British Army with India Pale Ale, and other beers to thirsty soldier.
Since Halifax was an important seaport for trade, RUM was also a major source of jollification.
However, as is usually the case, drink and vice came hand in hand.

Most of the historical information found in this posting comes from my reenacting experience as part of the Halifax Citadel Regimental Association, portraying a 78th Highlander, and 3rd Brigade Royal Artillery gunner. As well, Cuthbertson's The Halifax Citadel: Portrait of a Military Fortress (Formac, Halifax, 2001)

One of the more interesting stories we would tell the public while working as a 78th Highlander and RA gunner, was the fact that soldiers would get involved in brawls. The soldier belt, the one we had to constantly buff up with whitner, and polish the brass on, was used as a nasty little weapon in brawls.

To combat this, Oland and Sons, established breweries supplying beer to the army and navy for their messes and smoking rooms. By doing this, the officers were better able to control their soliders and sailors.

Garrison life in Victorian Halifax: SPORTS

To be blunt, Halifax can be a pretty dreary place in the middle of winter. Its cold, lots of snow, and being next to the ocean, can be drapped in fog.
The officers and men of the garrison had to find ways to fight the tedium of boredom. They established several sporting clubs.

From Cutherbertson's The Halifax Citadel: Portrait of a Military Fortress, (Formac, Halifax, 2001)

The main sport which seemed to occupy the garrison, that of the lower ranks was football, or soccer. The garrison grounds at the foot of Citadel Hill provided ample space for surch pursuits.

In the summer months, the officers were interested in horseback riding. Flat racing, began in 1825, where a course would be set out on the Halifax commons, behind Citadel Hill.

The Halifax Polo Club was established by the officers in 1889. Prince George, later George V while a Naval officer, spent several summers on the Halifax station and helped to ensure the popularity of this sport.

Cricket, Rugby, and football (known today as soccer) were all played by officers and men alike.

To help the soldiers find more suitable ways to pass the time, a garrison gymnasium, recreation room was built.

The Crimean War

 This war would have had veterans in Nova Scotia, there is a monument to two of them at the old burial grounds in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Thanks to the producers of this documentary.

The Boer War 1899- 1902: Part 4 of 4

 final episode

The Boer War 1899- 1902: Part 3 of 4

 part 3, important to remember everything about this conflict

The Boer War 1899- 1902: Part 2 of 4

 Part two of this series, thanks to those who produced this.

The Boer War 1899 - 1902: Part 1 of 4

 Canadian troops were sent to South Africa to help the British. Australian, and New Zealand troops were also sent.

Ensign from Boer War presented to army museum

 A Canadian Forces news story about a colour which was in the Boer War

The Last Fenian Raid (1989) Bordertown. Richard Comar, John H. Brennan ...

 From a Canadian TV show in the 1980s, using the Fenians raids as a plot for an episode.

fenian-raids-old-forterie-2011.mp4

 Fort Henry Guard and other reenactors show the Fenians raids on Canada.

Harbor defences and garrisons of Halifax, Nova Scotia 1870-1906

Armstong RML guns at Ives Point Battery, Halifax, 1873

This was one of several batteries guarding the harbour. The guns are mounted on steel traversing platforms. 
This position is on McNab's Island which I was able to visit in the summer of 1994.

Although Britain had removed its troops from Canada in 1871, it maintained garrisons at Halifax and Esquimalt.

 myself on the right coiling the tackle on the 32pdr smooth bore gun on the western bastion of Fort George, Halifax Citadel summer 1995. 

Other batteries on Halifax Harbor consisted of
York Redoubt
Fort Clarance: Was destroyed to make was for the Imperial Oil Refinery during the First World War.
George's Island: Will potentially open to the public in the future once it has been stabilised by Parks Canada.

Fort McNab: now a provincial park, access by private ferry from the Halifax waterfront.
Point Pleasant Battery
Cambridge Battery: both these sites are located within Point Pleasant Park in Halifax. Also within the park are two Naval memorials to the Royal Canadian Navy, as well as a commerative plaque to the HMS Shannon USS Chesepeak battle in 1812.

Osprey Publishing - Queen Victoria's Commanders

Osprey Publishing - Queen Victoria's Commanders



Many a conversation piece in the officer's mess as well as the NCOs and junior ranks canteens in many British Army garrisons in the empire.

Osprey Publishing - Balaclava 1854

Osprey Publishing - Balaclava 1854



The other battle in this war. When I was doing my training for the 78th Highlanders, and 3rd Brigade Royal Artillery, we saw a video production about this battle to give us a bit more information about the British Army in the era.

Osprey Publishing - Inkerman 1854

Osprey Publishing - Inkerman 1854



This war would have been on the minds of the garrison of Halifax. As well, there is a monument to this war in the Old Halifax Burial Ground.

Zulu (1964) PL

 An excellent film on this epic battle. The Zulus are still proud of this action as they were able to show the British they couldn't be pushed around. Also, a recent article on BBC noted that in South Africa, the decendants of these warriors noted that when this film was made, it was one of the only times whites and blacks could work together as it was made during the Apartied era. Glad that parts over and done with.

This event would have shocked many of the British garrisons around the Empire, including Halifax.

North-west rebellion 1885, the Calgary connection

 Canadian militamen and Amerindian warrior

Queen's Own Rifles, from Ontario, who were sent out to the west.

QOR display.

After visiting the Military history museum in Calgary, I took these shots.

Secrets Of The Dead - The Mystery Of Zulu Dawn

 An extremely interesting documentary about the Battle of Isandwhanna (sp) 1879.

Major-General John Inglis, a Nova Scotian in the British Army

From wikipedia


Inglis Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia is named after him. It connects to Lucknow street.


Major-General Sir John Eardley Wilmot Inglis (15 November 1814 – 27 September 1862), born in Nova Scotia, Canada, was an officer of the British Army officer, best known for his role in protecting the British compound for 87 days in the siege of Lucknow.




In 1833 he joined the 32nd (Cornwall) Regiment of Foot, in which all his regimental service was passed. In 1837 he saw active service in Canada in the Lower Canada Rebellion, including the actions at St. Denis and St. Eustache.
During the Second Anglo-Sikh War, in 1848 to 1849 in the Punjab, He was in command at the Siege of Multan and at the Battle of Gujrat.
In 1857, on the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny, he was in command of his regiment at Lucknow. Sir Henry Lawrence being mortally wounded during the siege of the residency, Inglis took command of the garrison, and maintained a successful defence for 87 days against an overwhelming force. He was promoted to major-general and made K.C.B.
After further active service in India, he was, in 1860, given command of the British troops in the Ionian Islands. He died at Homburg on 27 September 1862, aged 47 and was buried in the crypt of Saint Paul's Cathedral, London.

He was born in Nova Scotia, the son of John Inglis, the third bishop of that colony and grandson of Charles Inglis (bishop). In 1833 he joined the 32nd Foot, in which all his regimental service was passed. In 1837 he saw active service in Canada. He was married to Julia Selina Thesiger (1833–1904), daughter of Alfred Thesiger[1] who wrote of her experiences during the siege of Lucknow including extracts from her diary.[2] Their children included Rupert Edward Inglis who was an England rugby international, who was killed at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. His letters home to his wife from the front were published by his widow after the war
(Province of Nova Scotia)

Lord Chelmsford, Halifax, Nova Scotia connection

From wikipedia,
General Frederic Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford Order of the Bath (GCB), Royal Victorian Order (GCVO), (31 May 1827 – 9 April 1905) was a British general, best known for his commanding role during the Anglo-Zulu war. The centre column of his forces was defeated at the Battle of Isandlwana, an unanticipated victory for the Zulu and the British army's worst ever defeat from a technologically inferior indigenous force. He would avenge his defeat at the Battle of Ulundi which ended the Zulu campaign. He was awarded the GCB in August 1879.
Frederic Augustus Thesiger was born 31 May 1827, the son of Frederic Thesiger, a lawyer who later became Lord Chancellor and was created Baron Chelmsford. Thesiger was educated at Eton College.^[1][2]


He wished to pursue a military career, and after unsuccessfully trying to obtain a place in the Grenadier Guards, he purchased (1844) a commission in the Rifle Brigade. He served (1845) with the Rifles in Halifax, Nova Scotia before purchasing an exchange (November 1845) into the Grenadiers as Ensign and Lieutenant. He was promoted Lieutenant and Captain in 1850, and became aide-de-camp (1852) to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Eglinton, and then to the Commander-in-Chief in Ireland, Sir Edward Blakeney, from 1853 to 1854.^[1][2]

Period Piece movies: Cold Mountain

This film by Anthony Minghella shows a side of the American Civil War which hadn't been told much, that of the home front of the American South, as well as Southern society at that time, both the good and bad on all sides.

Period piece movies: Dances with Wolves

This excellent film by Kevin Costner produced in 1990 showed the cruelty of the American West and how the Western tribes of Indians/Amerindians were poorly treated by the American government.
Many of these people tried to flee into Britsh North America, chiefly amoung them was Sitting Bull.

Osprey Publishing - The Canadian Corps in World War I

Osprey Publishing - The Canadian Corps in World War I




While I have listed the end date for this blog as 1906, the uniforms the Canadian Army wore into World War I had not changed much.

The Canadian Army in 1906

By the time the British Army finally left Halifax, the Canadian army was taking on the look of the British Army. All images from www.plasticsoldierreview.com







 (I need to get myself some of these)





By 1916, with the Great War, otherwise known as The First World War (1914-18) they began to look like this.

My Mid 19th century Canadian militia against Fenians.

As mentioned in other posts, the Fenians and Canadian militia squared off several times. Thanks to www.juniorgeneral.org  and www.plasticsoldierreview.com for these images.

















Below are some types of uniforms which could have been seen in this conflict.

Canadian Militia vs Metis warriors

In 1870 and again in 1885, Canada was torn apart by fighting between the new Government of Canada and the Provisional government of Manitoba made up of the Metis people and then again the forces of Louis Riel.


Metis fighters.








 Some of the Amerindian warriors who supported the Metis as well as rising up on their own.


What the Canadian militia regiments wore. (www.plasticsoldierreview.com)

The Crimean War and the Nova Scotia connection.

A British documentary on this conflict which has a very small piece of Halifax in it, as the troops who were there, influenced the defences in Halifax, and two officers were from Nova Scotia. Thanks to Rick H for posting this.


From wikipedia

Welsford-Parker Monument

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Welsford-Parker Monument, Halifax, Nova Scotia by George Lang (builder) (1860)

Inauguration of the Welsford-Parker Monument, 17 July 1860

The Welsford-Parker Monument (also known as the Crimean War monument or Sevastopol Monument) is a triumphal arch that is located in the Old Burial Ground, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. This is the 2nd oldest war monument in Canada (1860) (Montcalm-Wolfe Monument in Québec City erected in 1828) and the only monument to the Crimean War in North America. The arch and lion were built in 1860 by stone sculptor George Lang to commemorate British victory in the Crimean war and the Nova Scotians who had fought in the war.
Britain and France invaded the Crimea and decided to destroy the Russian naval base at the capital Sevastopol. They landed at Eupatoria on 14 September 1854, intending to make a 35 mile triumphal march to Sevastopol the capital of the Crimea, with 50,000 men. To traverse the 35 miles, the British forces fought for a year against the Russians. Inscribed on the monument are names of the battles the British army fought to reach the capital: "Alma" (September 1854), "Balaklava" (October 1854), "Inkerman" (November 1854), "Tchernaya" (August 1855), "Redan" (September 1855), and, finally, "Sebastopol" (September 1855). (During the siege, the British navy made six bombardments of the capital: October 17, 1854; April 9, June 6, June 17, August 17, and September 5, 1855.) Sebastopol is one of the classic sieges of all time.^[1] The culminating struggle for the strategic Russian port in 1854-5 was the final bloody episode in the costly Crimean War.
During the Victorian Era, these battles were repeatedly memorialized. The Siege of Sevastopol was the subject of Crimean soldier Leo Tolstoy's Sebastopol Sketches and the subject of the first Russian feature film, Defence of Sevastopol. The Battle of Balaklava was made famous by Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade" and Robert Gibb's painting Thin Red Line. (Treating the wounded from these battles was celebrated English nurse Florence Nightingale.)
The Nova Scotia memorial is named after two Haligonians, Major Augustus F. Welsford of the 97th Regiment and Captain William B.C.A. Parker of the 77 Regiment, who both died in the Battle of the Great Redan in 1855 during the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855), in present-day Ukraine. The monument was unvieled on 17 July 1860.
During March and April 1855, Nova Scotian Joseph Howe worked tiredlessly to recruit troops for the war effort.^[2]

Battle at the Great Redan[edit]

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Military history of Nova Scotia
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Main article: Battle of the Great Redan

Attack on the Great Redan by Robert Alexander Hillingford

Britain, France and Ottomans invaded the Crimea and decided to destroy the Russian naval base at Sevastopol. They landed at Eupatoria on 14 September 1854, intending to make a 35 mile triumphal march to Sevastopol the capital of the Crimea, with 50,000 men. The Great Russian Redan (Bastion #3) was one of the large Russian fortifications that ringed the city of Sebastopol. The Redan was the centre of the defences the British forces were attacking. It became a symbol of the attempt to capture the city and eventually a symbol of its fall.
The British made two unsuccessful attacks on the Redan. The first attack was on 18 June when a massive assault was made on the Redan, but failed. The Allied troops were easily driven back to their fortification where they stayed for the next two and a half months.
During the second siege, the Battle at the Redan, Nova Scotians Welsford and Parker were on the frontline. The attack was directed against the Redan in two columns. General Sir John Campbell led the left attack with 500 men of the 4th Division and a reserve of 800 under Colonel Lord West; Cornel Yea with a smilar force from the Light Division led the right. General Campbell on the left was killed before he could get a few yards beyond the parapet of the forward trench.
Under the command of Brigadier Charles Ash Windham,^[3] on 8 Sept. 1855, Welsford commanded a ladder party in the initial wave the assault on the Great Redan. He crossed a broad open space of 400 meters while against a hail of bullets. He made it to a ditch in front of the work and proceeded to climb one of the ladders which had been placed against the counterscarp. As he rose above the lip of an embrasure at the top, a gun was fired from within which blew his head off. Welsford was highly regarded in his regiment.^[4] The other Nova Scotian officer, William Buck Carthew Augustus Parker also crossed the 400 meter field under fire, successfully scaled the counterscarp, got inside the work, and made a vain attempt to stem the mounting British retreat before a hail of bullets swept him into the ditch.^[5]

Major Welsford[edit]

Canadian Illustrated News 29 April 1871

Major Augustus Welsford was a native of Halifax. He attended the Halifax Grammar School. He afterwards went to the University of King's College, Windsor. On leaving college he purchased a commission and was gazetted as Ensign to the Ninety-fifth Regiment in February, 1832, became Lieutenant in 1834, obtained his Company in 1838, and was promoted to a Majority in 1850. On the return of the regiment from Corfu about 1848, Major Welsford resumed his acquaintance with his old friends. He was a member of the St. George's Society of Halifax and equally esteemed.
When the 97th Regiment was ordered to England he accompanied the regiment, and after having spent some little time at Chobham camp went to Greece, in the latter part of the year 1854. Colonel Lockyer having been suddenly promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General, the command of the regiment devolved on Major Welsford for some time during the trying winter before Sevastopol.
The Ninety-seventh had furnished three hundred and sixty men — one hundred and sixty for the ladder, and two hundred for the storming party. The former were under the command of Major Welsford, who had always been ambitious to take a foremost part in the assault. As early as six o'clock a.m. the regiment paraded, and each party marched to their respective stations. Eight men were told off to each ladder, and they had orders only to leave the trench when the appointed signal was given from the Malakolff.
Major Welsford waited six hours before the French were victorious. He ordered "ladders to the front." The troops rushed toward the Redan, and reaching the deep ditch, placed their ladders and scaled the parapets in the face of a murderous fire. The storming column followed on. As Welsford led his men, and was endeavoring to enter the ranks, his head was severed from his body. "It was a bitter hour for us all" wrote one of the Sergeants of his regiment," when the poor Major's body was brought back to us. Had he lived he would have been crowned with laurels. Let us hope he has won a brighter crown now." ^[6]

Captain Parker[edit]

Storming of The Great Redan, Sevastopol 1855

Captain Parker was born in Lawrencetown, Halifax County, Nova Scotia, was educated at the Horton Academy, and obtained a commission in October 1839. He was gazetted as Ensign to the same regiment in which his father had obtained his company, and was for a short time stationed at Halifax. He was a member of the Saint George's Society.^[7] In February 1843, Parker became Lieutenant, and was transferred to the Seventy-eighth Highlanders. For twelve years he served in India, and was promoted as Captain to the Seventy-seventh Regiment in January 1855. He enjoyed this rank for only a few months.

Photo of the Great Redan after abandoned by the Russians by James Robertson

On September 3 he accompanied Captain Pechell^[8] of the same regiment to post some sentinels in the advanced trench near the Redan; the whole party, with the exception of Captain Parker and one man, was killed by the enemy. As he sent this man to report the circumstance, a number of Russians rushed out from the ranks to make him a prisoner, whereupon he ably defended himself, shooting two of them with his revolver, and eventually succeeding in bringing into the camp the body of his friend.
For his conduct on this occasion he is said to have received the thanks of General Raglan commanding the Light Division, and was recommended for the Victoria Cross. This brave soldier fell in the final attack on the Redan on September 8, in the thirty-fifth year of his age, leaving a widow and three infant children to lament his death.^[9]
The Russians abandoned the Great Redan in the early morning of 9 September.

Nova Scotians in the Crimean War[edit]

• William Hall (VC) - Hall fought in the Crimean War serving ashore in a Naval Brigade from HMS Rodney at the battles of Inkerman and Sebastapol in 1854.^[10]

• Sir William Williams, 1st Baronet, of Kars - Commander during the Siege of Kars, later became Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia
• William Blackman^[11] - HM 62nd Regt. - fought in the Battle of the Great Redan, the Battle of the Quarries, and the Siege of Sebastopol.
• John Wimburn Laurie

Legacy[edit]

Sandstone lion sculpted by George Lang

The builder of the Welsford-Parker Monument George Lang also built the Federal Building in Halifax (what is now the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia). The larger than life twelve ton lion stands atop the Roman triumphal arch created from Albert County, New Brunswick sandstone. The arch and lion were carved by George Lang.^[12]
The monument was unvieled on 17 July 1860. The ceremony was attended by all the Halifax and Dartmouth Volunteer Companies, particularly those of the Halifax Volunteer Battalion.,^[13] a large number of the Masonic body, and various public officials. His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor, Lord Mulgrave and Rev. George Hill, the Orator of the day. Major General Charles Trollope and Rear Admiral Sir Alexander Milne, 1st Baronet also made a few remarks.^[14]
Major Welsford is also the namesake of Welsford, New Brunswick, Welsford in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Welsford in Kings County, Nova Scotia. (Alma, New Brunswick is named after the Crimean War Battle of Alma.) Welsford Street and Parker Street in Halifax (off Windsor St.) are both named in honour of these two men who died in the war.^[15] Welsford was also the namesake of the Welsford Rangers (1860-1865) of River John (Welsford Village) in Pictou County, Nova Scotia.
At Kings College Welsford was a contributor to the incorporated association of the Alumni. His name is blended for the future with this seat of learning, by the foundation of a prize annually competed for by the students in their first year ; and as each anniversary of his death occurs his gallant and loyal deeds are commemorated in Latin, and in the same hall where his voice was once a familiar sound, the President of the University presents the successful candidate with the Welsford Testimonial Prize (now known as the The Almon-Welsford Testimonial Prize), founded by his old friend and classmate Dr. William Johnston Almon