Civil War

 Close To Conflict: Canada And The American Civil War is the current special exhibit at the Canadian War Museum, taking place until early January. I had attended the opening night event, and came back in June to properly photograph the exhibit. I found it enlightening and very well put together.

Two neighbours, but different in their approach- the United States and the Canadian colonies in the first half of the 19th century.

The Civil War would be the great cataclysm in American history. And it would be hugely influential on shaping Canada's character.

At the time, Canada was a collection of British colonies and territories. The colonies had their own legislatures and leaders, but Britain still signed off on things.

After the War of 1812, Canadians and Americans started getting along better, and free trade helped move goods and people across the border. The Civil War would change that.

There are a series of videos inside the exhibit featuring current day commentary. Quotes from each are found here at the beginning as to what the Civil War meant for Canada.

The Fugitive Slave Act passed in 1850, creating the circumstances where fugitive slaves in the free north could be the subject of hunters looking for escaped slaves. Even free blacks feared for their safety. The Underground Railroad, which had made a point of helping escaped slaves north, extended north into the British North American colonies, as slavery had been abolished completely throughout the British empire a generation before. Thousands of families headed into Canada.

Harriet Tubman was a conductor of the Underground Railroad and one of the giants of the abolition movement. Josiah Henderson, an escaped slave who became a conductor, established a settlement in Ontario for runaway slaves to build a new life in a state of freedom.

Nowhere in the free north states was there safety for black people. The notice from Boston advises caution, even though the state had formally abolished slavery decades before.

This is perhaps the most haunting artifact of the entire exhibit- shackles to restrain a black child by a slave catcher.

Peaceful

Here we have the main stained glass window inside Knox Presbyterian. It was the design of a Scottish artist, William Wilson, and takes as its theme the birth of Christ

I looked back down the aisle.

Another look to the altar.

I headed up to the balcony. This sitting area is found here.

The balcony stained glass is also by Wilson- two decades after he designed the first. He was losing his sight at this point in his life but dictated his design to a colleague, who carried out the work. The theme of this window is Revelations.

A look into the sanctuary below.

I came out into the garden courtyard.

Sanctuary

 Knox Presbyterian Church is downtown, and it is a regular feature for Doors Open. It was founded in 1844. The current church dates to 1932, but looks older. It blends Gothic and Norman influences in its architecture.

In a side room off the entrance hall, historical items of the church were found.

A peek out into the garden. The sanctuary is to the left, and one of the staircases ascending to the balcony is at right.

The sanctuary has these graceful arched columns. Most of the windows are translucent.

A look to the front of the church, and the main altar, with its beautiful stained glass.

Plaques are found at one corner before the altar.

They commemorate the congregation members who fought and died in both World Wars.

Colours of the 207th Battalion are here, placed here after the First World War.

The baptismal font and the pulpit are close by.

Across the way, another pulpit and a grand piano.

Resourceful

The blending of old architecture and new infrastructure in this place works well. All of the infrastructure was installed in such a way that it can be removed with no impact on the building itself.

This is the 150th anniversary for the Library of Parliament. The main building at Centre Block is the only part of the original Centre Block still standing. On the night of the 1916 fire that destroyed the rest of the building, a fast acting clerk saved the library by shutting the heavy iron doors that protected it from the inferno.

One last shot. I was heading elsewhere from here.