Canal Locks

 Regiments formed in Ottawa to become part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in World War One. 

Women enlisted to do their part.

This display case features artifacts of that war.

This photograph taken on Armistice Day would have been taken from the grounds of Parliament Hill, close to the east corner.

Two more wider angles from within the top floor of the museum. A delightful place to visit, with a few ghosts of its own.

I departed, taking in a view across the Canal. Colonel By's statue is up there in the park on top of the cliff.

Boats were moving through locks.

On the east side of the locks, nestled at the base of the cliff, is a Celtic cross. This commemorates those who died during the building of the Canal. Each Colonel By Day, a memorial service is held here.

Upheavals

 These are items from the Centre Block Fire of February 3rd, 1916, in which the building was destroyed.

The government was determined to rebuild.

There are several displays here on the South African War, which bridged the 19th and 20th centuries. Canadian soldiers went overseas to join British colleagues in fighting the breakaway Boer republics in a guerrilla war often overlooked in history.

A video display features a series of photos of that war.

A few years later, Ottawa citizens would find themselves involved in the Great War.

Assassin

 This is a print of the original, Fathers of Confederation, by Robert Harris, done in 1885. The original is long gone, destroyed during the fire that brought down Centre Block in 1916. 

Hard work made Confederation a reality. The country was established.

For a number of years after the American Civil War, Irish American veterans of the Union engaged in the Fenian Raids. The Fenian Brotherhood had been founded in 1858, and their objective was to hold Canada for ransom to force the British to given Ireland independence. The ceremonial sword in this case was presented to Lt. Col. Brown Chamberlin for his role during the Raids.

Thomas D'Arcy McGee was a politician, journalist, and lawyer who had once been a Fenian in his native Ireland, but whose world view had changed to see the value of Parliamentary democracy, particularly in the context of Canada with British bonds. The Fenians deemed him a traitor. In 1868, coming home to his Ottawa boarding house from Parliament, he was shot in the back of the head by a Fenian assassin.

He had turned out to be the most eloquent of the Fathers of Confederation, and his loss was deeply felt, particularly by Prime Minister John A Macdonald and his wife, who were his close friends. 

This is the original plaque that marked the assassination spot.

At the time, it was common to do a death mask in plaster. This was not possible due to the damage to his head. A cast of his hand was made instead- a fitting tribute to a writer.

I finish today with a Union flag. This one has particular historical significance. It was flown from the  original Centre Block on the night of the terrible fire of 1916 that saw its destruction.

Country

 The cabinets here are full of curiosities of the Victorian era.

This painting is by Annabella McLeod, titled View Of The Ottawa River Looking Southeast Towards Parliament Hill and the Entrance of the Rideau Canal, painted in the 1880s.

Surgical methods of the era could be strange.

The 1860s saw the Confederation movement and the union of the Canadian colonies into one country as part of the British empire. While the Bytown Museum is by nature a local history museum, because this is the capital, part of its story is national in scope.

One of the most famous photographs of Canadian history- the Fathers of Confederation at the Charlottetown Conference of 1864.

Busts of two of the Fathers, and particularly driving forces of Confederation. John A. Macdonald and George-Etienne Cartier were co-premiers of the Canadas