The Halifax Citadel: Portrait of a Military Fortress

Richard Wilbur is the author of The Rise of French New Brunswick and
co-author of Silver Harvest: The Fundy Weirmen’s Story.

The Halifax Citadel is a fascinating portrait of Halifax’s most
visible—and visited—historic site. The first three chapters look at
the fort as it is today, with visiting tourists eager to watch the
enactment of garrison life as lived by the 78th Highlanders (one of the
two British Army infantry regiments stationed at the Citadel between
1869 and 1871). We learn details of the drill involved in the daily
noon-day firing of the Citadel’s 12-pounder signal gun. We witness the
austerity of the soldier’s daily routine at the citadel. And we
discover what life was like in 19th-century Halifax.

It is in the two chapters that make up Part 2—a history of
Halifax’s early years when not one but four forts were erected on
Citadel Hill—that Cuthbertson’s academic background and formal
military training come to the fore. He takes us through the colorful
years of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, who improved the facility in
preparation for possible attacks during the Napoleonic Wars.

The Citadel was used as an inefficient prison for Germans during World
War I. When regular Canadian troops were withdrawn in 1931, some
officials suggested that the hill be leveled to make way for a housing
site. Instead, 3000 relief workers earned 20 cents a day restoring the
deteriorating walls and buildings. In 1951, the National Historic Sites
and Monument Board declared the Citadel a national historic site, a
decision that led to a major research and restoration project carried
out over the next three decades.

Razor-sharp and mostly color photographs, either shot or collected by
Julian Beveridge, enhance this engrossing account of one of Canada’s
most famous landmarks.