After fruit picking we headed out to Fort Lennox NHS. We had to take a boat out to the island. Again, i think this proves we are somewhat hitting the off season. The place was very quiet.
We were able to catch a tour of the fort in English. We were the only 4 on the tour so had lots of time for questions. The young man that was our guide was very knowledgable of the fort and history. We learned bout the casemates and ow they served as both food storage and kitchens. They all had curved roofs to help deflect cannonballs if ever attacked. The building to the right in the photo has gun loopholes that were aesthetic and not functional. They aimed right at the casemates!
We toured some rooms that were only available via the tour. The barracks house the soldiers. The beds either slept two soldiers head to foot to avoid the spread of lice or the bed could house an entire family! This fort was unique as they allowed more than the standard 6% of soldiers to be married. The guide told us that 30% were married. This was to help fend of deserters. The barracks were locked at night to make sure people didn’t try to desert. Boys who turned 14 either had to leave the fort or joint army. Girls at 14 were web to soldiers or had to leave. The soldiers made about 1 shilling a day.
We learned the duties of the guards and practiced our abbreviated 50 pace watch.
We loaded and fired cannons. (pretend)
Up next was Canal Chambly NHS. This site is new to the Parcs Canada Explorer program and did not have books of dog tags yet. It was really neat to watch the boats go through the locks. This was much faster than the previous locks we saw.
It was all done by hand crank to open the overflows and then the gates.
To travel through this lock currently it is $1.50 a foot length of your vessel.
We went down the road to Fort Chambly. The fort was nearly completely deteriorated and they rebuilt a structure on the site and preserved a few areas within the new walls of the old fort. The place was crowded. It was more of a city park and people were picnicking and relaxing. The Xplorer program was hurried due to the crowds and we only had to do the first activity. We opted to do more so we could learn more about the fort. Below is the old bread oven.
The Latrines.
Back at the bread oven again. You can see the modern building around the ruins.
We wrapped up quickly and headed back towards the cornfield we are camping in. We are enjoying being on the outskirts of town. May as well enjoy the peace and quiet when we can. The campground is very fancy and mostly seasonal with really nice motorhomes and 5th wheels.
We stopped along the way home and picked up fresh sweet corn for dinner. It was YUMMY on the grill.