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ENGLISH SCHOOL, early 19th century
St. John's New Brunswick
Watercolour over pencil, on early card mount. Inscribed on verso of mount. Sheet size: 12 5/8 x 17 1/8 inches.
A fascinating view of St.John's New Brunswick, showing Fort Howe, with two 'voyageurs' in the foreground.
St. John's, the largest city in New Brunswick, is also the oldest incorporated city in Canada and is situated at the mouth of the St. John's river on the Bay of Fundy
'Following British victory in the Seven Years' War in 1763, the area north of the Bay of Fundy which was formerly part of the territory of the French colony of Acadia was merged into the existing British colony of Nova Scotia. Fortifications were established in the area at the mouth of the St. John River upon the site of Fort LaTour, an abandoned French military outpost located on the east bank of the river ... This facility was renamed Fort Frederick, however it soon became apparent that the site was strategically limited.
The British Army ... decided to establish a more permanent fortification upon the high ground overlooking the area, choosing a site immediately uphill from Fort LaTour. The fortification was located atop a low hill of ancient granite ... which rose approximately 100 feet above surrounding land, affording a commanding view of the narrows and Navy Island, as well as the immediate area upstream ...
By the 1770s ... this isolated fort on the north shore of the Bay of Fundy held 8 cannons, barracks for 100 men, 2 blockhouses, and an outer wall composed of fascines, sticks and sod. By 1778, the fort consisted of a more substantial blockhouse and barracks located within a palisade, as well as an abatis. A further third blockhouse was constructed at the east end of the hill, which was the continuation of a ridge formed by the St. Croix Highlands .... Upon completion of the fort the British Army named it "Fort Howe", after Sir William Howe, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in America between 1775-1778. The fortification provided watch over the strategic river mouth and offered protection for surrounding rural communities from American privateers and marauding forces.
Following the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, numerous Loyalist refugees from the American Revolutionary War moved to the area surrounding Fort Howe because of the protection it afforded, founding the communities of Parrtown and Carleton. Fort Howe became the military headquarters for the area of the lower St. John River valley.
In 1784, the British government responded to the wishes of the Loyalists settling in the area by designating the entire portion of the colony of Nova Scotia north of the Bay of Fundy as the new colony of New Brunswick. The cannons of Fort Howe were fired (on a rare occasion) on November 21, 1784 when they offered a 17-gun salute welcoming the colony's first Governor, Brigadier General Thomas Carleton (officially governor from 1786-1817).
In 1785, Parrtown and Carleton were merged by Royal Charter to form the city of Saint John. Fort Howe served as the first civic jail for the municipality. Fort Howe's cannon batteries were again fired in celebration upon hearing news of Admiral Nelson's 1805 victory at the Battle of Trafalgar.
A series of defences to guard Saint John Harbour were developed in response to the Napoleonic Wars. Fort Howe became the lynchpin in a system consisting of itself (protecting the river narrows), the Carleton Martello Tower, guarding the harbour from another rise on the west side of the River, and Fort Dufferin, guarding the harbour entrance near Partridge Island. Fort Howe's barracks also housed British Army troops and Royal Navy sailors who participated in raids along the coastline of present-day Washington and Penobscot counties in Maine (then part of Massachusetts), and provided support to an important blockhouse guarding the frontier on the St. Croix River at St. Andrews.
...Following the War of 1812, Fort Howe fell into disuse as more modern defence facilities were better able to defend Saint John from attack, notably the Martello Tower on the west side of the harbour. It, like Fort Dufferin were allowed to gradually deteriorate over the ensuing century as nature reclaimed the land and buildings. Following Confederation in 1867, most British troops were removed from the city in favour of domestic militia and remaining harbour defences were largely abandoned in place' (Wikipedia).
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#18847 $12,000.00 
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© 2002-2005 Donald A. Heald
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