This morning we left our RV at the Walmart of Dartmouth and drove into Halifax to visit Halifax Citadel National Historic Site.  The fort was built in 1749 as a response to the French Fortress of Louisbourg near present day Sydney, Nova Scotia.  The fort was never attacked, and was rebuilt several times, the most recent incarnation being built in 1856.  It is this period that the re-enactors attempt to bring back to life:

Our tour guide:

Barracks:

Between the citadel wall and one of the three ravelins:

Looking over the rampart into downtown Halifax:

This gun is fired every day at noon:

Guard house:

Tailor’s room:

M tried on some of the costumes:

The school room, where soldiers were taught to read and write:

The powder magazine.  Structural components are held together with wood pegs or copper to avoid any chance of a spark:

A model of the citadel:

We went to the second story of the barracks, which today houses as extensive Canadian military museum.  The docent was very excited to show us a display about the Jewish Legion, trained right here in Nova Scotia to fight the Ottomans in World War I:

We heard more stories outside:

There were several exhibit areas in various buildings in the citadel:

The park service has built a mock World War I trench between the citadel walls:

Using trench periscopes:

We watched more demonstrations:

Boom!  But not really, it seems they didn’t ram the charge in far enough, so the fuse couldn’t light the charge.  The crew now has to fill the cannon with water to render the charge inert before they can remove the charge:

The kids completed their Parks Canada Xplorers workbooks and received their tags:

We did some grocery shopping in Halifax, then returned to the RV, hitched up, and drove east to overnight at the Walmart of Port Hawkesbury on Cape Brenton Island, Nova Scotia.  See the trip map for today’s drive and our current location.