Cadets from the Royal Military College St. Jean parade down McGill College Ave. following Remembrance Day ceremony on the campus of McGill University in Montreal.
Flashback
Fort Saint-Jean National Historic Site of Canada is located on the Richelieu River, about 40 kilometres southeast of Montréal, in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec. Built in the 18th century, remains of the early fort ramparts include the masonry foundations, piling impressions, and stockade trenches. Remains of the 1776 fort can also be seen on the site today, particularly the two bastions. Official recognition refers to the footprint of the forts built in 1748 and 1775�. Fort Saint-Jean was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1923 for the following reasons:
– it is associated with the fort built in 1748 by the engineer Chaussegros De Lery under the orders of the Governor, La Galissonnière. At the time, the fort was the rendez-vous for all the military expeditions towards Lake Champlain;
– following its demolition by Commandant de Roquemaure on August 31, 1760, it was rebuilt by Governor Carleton in 1775; and,
– in 1775, it stood a 45 days’ siege directed by General Montgomery during the American invasion.
Between 1665 and 1666, the French erected five forts along the Richelieu River to counter Iroquois attacks. The location of the first Fort Saint-Jean, built in 1666 and abandoned in 1672, is unknown to this day. The French used the fort again after the War of the Austrian Succession in 1748, when a new fort was built in Saint-Jean by engineer Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry Jr. The fort comprised a stockade built on piles, 3.5 to 4 metres tall (12 to 13 feet), flanked by bastions at each corner with firing slits for cannons. With the exception of its masonry foundation, all components of the fort were made of wood.
In 1760, the French abandoned and burned the fort, but the surrounding area remained sought after for its strategic location on route to Montreal. In the summer of 1775, during the American Revolution, the fort was once again rebuilt, this time to protect against the cannon fire of the American invasion. Styled after the model by Sébastien Le Prestre, Marquis de Vauban, the new fort withstood a 45-day siege led by the American General Richard Montgomery. Following the 1837 uprising, new fortifications were built on the site, which, since 1952, have formed the core of the Royal Military College Saint-Jean.
This 1790 watercolor, pen and ink painting by James Peachey depicts a South West view of Fort Saint-Jean around the time of the 1775 siege of the fort. The Fort, north, south and the detached redoubts, Commanding Officers, officers and soldiers quarters, magazine & artillery storehouses and blockhouse are shown. The ship in the foreground is the HMS Royal George.
MORE FACTS:
Royal Military College (RMC) Saint-Jean is a Canadian military academy located on the site of Fort Saint-Jean (Quebec), originally built 1666. Fort Saint-Jean is a historic fort in the Canadian La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec. The fort is designated as a National Historic Site. Fort Saint-Jean was part of a series of five forts built along the Richelieu River in a region informally known as la Vallée-des-Forts. Name the other four forts: (ANSWER, FOLLOWING THE PHOTO OF THE MAP BELOW.
a) Fort Richelieu; Fort St. Louis; Fort Sainte-Thérèse and Fort St. Anne.
b) Fort St. Pierre; Fort Frances; Fort Rouge and Fort Rouillé
c) Fort Le Jonquiere; Fortress of Louisbourg; Fort Maurepas and Fort Paskoya
d) Fort Senneville; Fort Espérance; Fort Gaspareaux and Fort Kaministiquia
The Map of Fort Saint-Jean and other forts on the Richelieu River circa 1666 was for the campagne of the Regiment of Carignan-Salières
a) Fort Richelieu is at the mouth of the Richelieu River. Fort Chambly formerly known as Fort St. Louis (in Chambly, Quebec); Fort Sainte-Thérèse, and Fort Saint-Jean at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, are on the way. Fort St. Anne (Isle la Motte, Vermont) in Lake Champlain is near its source.