History Browser

The Sleigh Bay entrance to the Rideau Canal is a spectacular sequence of eight locks climbing 25.3 metres from the river to the plateau above. This watercolour of circa 1838 shows the entrance from the Quebec side of the Ottawa River. Construction work on the canal began here in 1827. Alongside the locks can be seen two stone buildings - the Commissariat on the west side (here, to the right) and the Ordnance (or Royal Engineers) Building on the east side. The former survives today as the Bytown Museum. Barracks Hill, just to the west of the locks, is now the site of the Canadian Parliament Buildings, built starting in 1859. (Library and Archives Canada, C-011864)

In 1755, with an army built around his two regular regiments, General Braddock began an attack from Virginia into the Ohio Valley. The 200 kilometre advance towards Fort Duquesne was slowed by the need to build a road and bridges to carry the army through the difficult terrain.

Canadian military personnel evacuating a wounded United Nations soldier in Bosnia, 1994. (DND, 94-501A-4)

Reji Martin has used the tools of today to remember the battles of the past. In this collection of 'Virtual' oil pastels, the terrible beauty of people and places involved in war has been caught using a computer program.

France's 1778 entry into the American Revolutionary War spread fear in several places. The Maritimes worried about a French fleet disrupting shipping in the Gulf of St. Lawrence or attacking Newfoundland. In Quebec, officials worried about Canadian reaction to a French landing.

There is an eye-witness account of the life of a soldier recruited for the Troupes de la Marine in Canada. Joseph Charles Bonin, called 'J.C.B.' joined in 1751, bored with his life as a clerk. After a seasickness filled Atlantic crossing, J.C.B. reached Quebec.

When Canada join World War II, the nursing service was expanded to all three branches of the military; Navy, Army and Air Force. Each branch had its own distinctive uniform and working dress, while all wore the Nursing Sister's white veil and were commissioned officers. The Sisters travelled overseas by ship in convoys, running the gauntlet of German submarine action in the North Atlantic.

During the 18th century, France held huge inland regions in North America with a few men for two reasons. First, land was largely controlled by trade alliances with local Amerindians. Second, tactics were used that combined indigenous methods with European organization and discipline.

Martin Frobisher led unsuccessful English expeditions to find the Northwest Passage. There were conflicts with the Inuit. Other English mariners also voyaged to the region around Labrador.

In September 1944, First Canadian Army fought to liberate the heavily-fortified ports of Boulogne and Calais from Germans in order to allow Britain's desperately-needed supply ships access to dock in Antwerp, Belgium.