The Fathers Of Confederation

The views from Parliament Hill are delightful to take in. On the far shore of the Ottawa River is Gatineau, with the rise of the Gatineau Hills in the distance. 

Another of our sterling prime ministers. With the current work going on, most of the statues are behind the fence, but at least somewhat accessible to the photographer. This is John Diefenbaker.

One part of Centre Block is not having work done on it- because restoration work was done at the turn of the century. Nonetheless, it's cut off from access. This is the Library of Parliament.

Before it in this shot is George-Etienne Cartier, a Father of Confederation and co-premier of the United Canadas.

The barge down on the river had to do with a fireworks display going on at the time.

The Library of Parliament is a visual delight.

This next statue is of another Father of Confederation, Thomas D'Arcy McGee.

Here we have a remnant of the former Centre Block. This bell fell from the tower overnight February 3rd, 1916, during the fire that destroyed the original Centre Block. It is now displayed here, with signage in English and French.

Nearby, another statue, recently moved here. John A. Macdonald was co-premier of the United Canadas with Cartier, the strongest voice of the Fathers of Confederation, and the first Prime Minister of Canada.

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.

Roar Of The Rifles

 Louis Riel was one of the leaders of the Metis people in the aftermath of the American Civil War. For years, his relationship with the Canadian government was contentious, and indeed he was hung for treason. Today he has been deemed a Father of Confederation for his role in the development of Manitoba.

Closer to home, the post-Civil War years saw a period of raids by Irish-American veterans of the Union. They were called the Fenian Raids, and they involved insertions into Canada. The objective was to hold the country hostage to force the British to give Ireland its independence. Canadian soldiers and militia drove them back each time. Among the casualties of Fenian activists was the Canadian politician Thomas D'Arcy McGee, the most eloquent of the Fathers of Confederation, who had once been a Fenian in his youth before coming to Canada, but was now deemed a traitor by his former comrades for changing his world view and seeing the value of Westminster style Parliamentary democracy.

Both Canadian and American governments put their efforts into expanding west into the territories nominally under their names in the years following the Civil War. The speed in which they did so would lead to other conflicts- with the indigenous peoples already out there.

In 1868, Ulysses S. Grant was elected president. The hero of the Civil War settled into political life. His two terms would be riddled by scandal, generally because of those around him.

The Fifteenth Amendment granted the right to vote to black men.

In 1871, the Treaty of Washington between the United States and Great Britain settled many of the issues from the Civil War. Prime Minister John A. Macdonald represented Canadian interests, and ended up getting pretty much everything he wanted out of the treaty.

A border was now being established in the West, even with people already out there. The Blackfoot tribe would find themselves on both sides of that border.

Linda Manyguns is a contemporary Blackfoot. I listened to her commentary about the period.

Campaigns

 Returning to where I left off with the exhibit on the Civil War.

A Union soldier had his upper arm shattered by a minie bullet at the Second Battle of Bull Run in 1862. It was amputated a few days later.

When U.S. Grant headed east to take command of all Union armies early in 1864, he left the western theatre under the command of his old friend, William Tecumseh Sherman. It was Sherman who would start driving into the deep south, later saying that war is hell. He systematically dismantled the infrastructure wherever he went, launching an assault on Atlanta.

Grant came east, assuming command over all land forces of the Union. He took the Army of the Potomac and advanced on Richmond, which had no value for him, but which he knew Lee had to defend. A series of ferocious battles at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor ensued, each of them losses. However, Grant kept his army moving. From the moment he took command, Grant seized the initiative and was making the rules of engagement. All Lee could do was respond.

By this point in the war, Canadian leaders were actively discussing uniting as a whole in response to the Civil War. 

By June 1864, the Petersburg siege began in Virginia. The railhead town, south of Richmond, became the last stand for Lee's army. Grant set in for a siege- something he was very good at. With new troops and supplies being shipped in, it was just a matter of time.

Sherman captured and burned Atlanta, and then proceeded on his march to the sea, leaving a swath of destruction on the way to Savannah.

Canadian leaders had started on the road to Confederation, recognizing that they would have to stand together to counter threats from south of the border. In discussing visions of the future, they also recognized the problems south of the border that had been part of the road to the Civil War, and decided they would not make the same mistakes.

This stonework is from the original Centre Block.

This is the throne of the Governor-General at the time when Confederation was being seriously discussed as a concept. Concerns about the intentions of the Union once the war would end drove Canadian leaders to work together. A stronger federal government was seen as key to establishing a new country, something the Americans had failed to do after the Revolution.