Cambridge Military Library

Last updated
Cambridge Military Library Cambridge Military Library Halifax Nova Scotia.jpg
Cambridge Military Library

Cambridge Military Library is a library building in Royal Artillery Park in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada which was built in 1886. The building was created to house the garrison library collection, which had been moved from various locations in the city since its creation in 1817. It is the oldest non-university public library collection in Canada. (When the library was established, there were still no bookstores in the Atlantic region.) [1] This building was the social and literary centre of military Halifax. In 1902, the officers of the garrison requested the library be named after the Prince George, Duke of Cambridge.

Contents

History

Along with Dalhousie College, Lord Dalhousie established the book collection with the Castine Fund, established from the fortune taken from New Ireland (Maine) during the War of 1812. Dalhousie housed the collection in "The Seedsman's House" on Spring Garden Road, and it was later moved to building in the Glacis Barracks, on the north side of the Halifax citadel. It was later moved to a building on Water Street before being established in its current location.

The original membership of the library in 1818 included:

By 1835, the library included the best works published in the English language. In the 1860s the library holdings were considerably augmented by a very valuable collection of books transferred from Corfu, which had originated from the Garrison Library at Messina in Sicily in 1810. By 1886, by the time the Cambridge Military Library was built, the library collection totaled 3,000 volumes.

Commemoration

Cambridge Military Library Plaque Halifax Nova Scotia Cambridge Military Library Plaque Halifax Nova Scotia.jpg
Cambridge Military Library Plaque Halifax Nova Scotia

On October 29, 1934 a tablet was unveiled by Lt. Gov. Walter Harold Covert. The historic importance of the library is reflected in those who attended the ceremony:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fenwick Williams</span> 19th-century Nova Scotian officer of the British Army

General Sir William Fenwick Williams, 1st Baronet was a Nova Scotian military leader for the British during the Victorian era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Technical University of Nova Scotia</span>

44°38′33″N63°34′22″W The Technical University of Nova Scotia (TUNS) was a Canadian university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British North America</span> Former British imperial territories

British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, Virginia, and more substantially with the founding of the Thirteen Colonies along the Atlantic coast of North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Coape Sherbrooke</span> British Army general

General Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, was a British soldier and colonial administrator. After serving in the British army in Nova Scotia, the Netherlands, India, the Mediterranean, and Spain, he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia in 1811. During the War of 1812, his policies and victory in the conquest of present-day Maine, renaming it the colony of New Ireland, led to significant prosperity in Nova Scotia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Province House (Nova Scotia)</span>

Province House in Halifax is where the Nova Scotia legislative assembly, known officially as the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, has met every year since 1819, making it the longest serving legislative building in Canada. The building is Canada's oldest house of government. Standing three storeys tall, the structure is considered one of the finest examples of Palladian architecture in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commander-in-Chief, North America</span>

The office of Commander-in-Chief, North America was a military position of the British Army. Established in 1755 in the early years of the Seven Years' War, holders of the post were generally responsible for land-based military personnel and activities in and around those parts of North America that Great Britain either controlled or contested. The post continued to exist until 1775, when Lieutenant-General Thomas Gage, the last holder of the post, was replaced early in the American War of Independence. The post's responsibilities were then divided: Major-General William Howe became Commander-in-Chief, America, responsible for British troops from West Florida to Newfoundland, and General Guy Carleton became Commander-in-Chief, Quebec, responsible for the defence of the Province of Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Andrew Hamond, 1st Baronet</span> British politician

Captain Sir Andrew Snape Hamond, 1st Baronet was a British naval officer and Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia from 1781 to 1782 and Comptroller of the Navy from 1794 to 1828.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Governor of Bermuda</span> Representative of the British monarch in Bermuda

The Governor of Bermuda is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Bermuda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's-Edgehill School</span> Independent co-educational secondary school in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada

King's-Edgehill School is a Canadian private university-preparatory boarding and day school located in the town of Windsor, Nova Scotia. It is the oldest English independent school in the Commonwealth outside the United Kingdom, founded by United Empire Loyalists as King's Collegiate School in 1788, and granted Royal Charter by King George III in 1802.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)</span>

44.996397°N 64.1354°WFort Edward is a National Historic Site of Canada in Windsor, Nova Scotia, and was built during Father Le Loutre's War (1749-1755). The British built the fort to help prevent the Acadian Exodus from the region. The Fort is most famous for the role it played both in the Expulsion of the Acadians (1755) and in protecting Halifax, Nova Scotia from a land assault in the American Revolution. While much of Fort Edward has been destroyed, including the officers' quarters and barracks, the blockhouse that remains is the oldest extant in North America. A cairn was later added to the site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Paul's Church (Halifax, Nova Scotia)</span> Church in Nova Scotia, Canada

St. Paul's Church is an evangelical Anglican church in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, within the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island of the Anglican Church of Canada. It is located at the south end of the Grand Parade, an open square in downtown Halifax with Halifax City Hall at the northern end.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Burying Ground (Halifax, Nova Scotia)</span> Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

The Old Burying Ground is a historic cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Barrington Street and Spring Garden Road in Downtown Halifax.

The Battle of Hampden was an action in the British campaign to conquer present-day Maine and remake it into the colony of New Ireland during the War of 1812. Sir John Sherbrooke led a British force from Halifax, Nova Scotia to establish New Ireland, which lasted until the end of the war, eight months later. The brief life of the colony yielded customs revenues which were subsequently used to finance a military library in Halifax and found Dalhousie College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Museum of Halifax</span> Naval museum in Nova Scotia, Canada

The Naval Museum of Halifax is a Canadian Forces museum located at CFB Halifax in the former official residence of the Commander-in-Chief of the North America Station (1819–1905). Also known as the "Admiralty House", the residence is a National Historic Site of Canada located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The museum collects, preserves and displays the artifacts and history of the Royal Canadian Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military history of Nova Scotia</span> Provincial military history

Nova Scotia is a Canadian province located in Canada's Maritimes. The region was initially occupied by Mi'kmaq. The colonial history of Nova Scotia includes the present-day Maritime Provinces and the northern part of Maine, all of which were at one time part of Nova Scotia. In 1763, Cape Breton Island and St. John's Island became part of Nova Scotia. In 1769, St. John's Island became a separate colony. Nova Scotia included present-day New Brunswick until that province was established in 1784. During the first 150 years of European settlement, the colony was primarily made up of Catholic Acadians, Maliseet, and Mi'kmaq. During the last 75 years of this time period, there were six colonial wars that took place in Nova Scotia. After agreeing to several peace treaties, the long period of warfare ended with the Halifax Treaties (1761) and two years later, when the British defeated the French in North America (1763). During those wars, the Acadians, Mi'kmaq and Maliseet from the region fought to protect the border of Acadia from New England. They fought the war on two fronts: the southern border of Acadia, which New France defined as the Kennebec River in southern Maine, and in Nova Scotia, which involved preventing New Englanders from taking the capital of Acadia, Port Royal and establishing themselves at Canso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Artillery Park</span> Military installation in Halifax, Canada

Royal Artillery (RA) Park, a military installation in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, forms part of Canadian Forces Base Halifax. It is home to the headquarters of 36 Canadian Brigade Group and the official residence of the Commander of the 5th Canadian Division. On the grounds of RA Park are the oldest military officers' mess in Canada (1816) and the Cambridge Military Library, which houses one of the oldest library collections in the country (1810). Royal Artillery Park was initially funded from the conquest of present-day Maine, which was renamed the colony of New Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Sackville (Nova Scotia)</span>

Fort Sackville was a British fort in present-day Bedford, Nova Scotia. It was built during Father Le Loutre's War by British adjacent to present-day Scott Manor House, on a hill overlooking the Sackville River to help prevent French, Acadian and Mi'kmaq attacks on Halifax. The fort consisted of a blockhouse, a guard house, a barracks that housed 50 soldiers, and outbuildings, all encompassed by a palisade. Not far from the fort was a rifle range. The fort was named after George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Ireland (Maine)</span> Crown colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain c.1779-83; reprised 1812

New Ireland was a Crown colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain twice established in modern-day Maine after British forces captured the area during the American Revolutionary War and again during the War of 1812. The colony lasted four years during the Revolution, and eight months during the War of 1812. At the end of each war the British ceded the land to the United States under the terms of the Treaty of Paris and the Treaty of Ghent, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Rifles (Nova Scotia)</span>

The Victoria Rifles was a military unit of black soldiers in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that was established in 1860 in the wake of the Crimean War and on the eve of the American Civil War. It was one of the oldest black units established in Canada. On January 30, 1860, at a meeting of the Victoria Rifles, George Anderson was elected Captain and John H. Symonds elected First Lieutenant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nova Scotia in the American Revolution</span>

The Province of Nova Scotia was heavily involved in the American Revolutionary War (1776–1783). At that time, Nova Scotia also included present-day New Brunswick until that colony was created in 1784. The Revolution had a significant impact on shaping Nova Scotia, "almost the 14th American Colony". At the beginning, there was ambivalence in Nova Scotia over whether the colony should join the Americans in the war against Britain. Largely as a result of American privateer raids on Nova Scotia villages, as the war continued, the population of Nova Scotia solidified their support for the British. Nova Scotians were also influenced to remain loyal to Britain by the presence of British military units, judicial prosecution by the Nova Scotia Governors and the efforts of Reverend Henry Alline.

References

  1. MacAlister, Sir John Young Walker; Pollard, Alfred William; McKerrow, Ronald Brunlees; Francis, Sir Frank Chalton (January 28, 1895). "The Library". Oxford University Press via Google Books.
  2. Marshall, John (January 28, 1835). "Royal Naval Biography; Or, Memoirs of the Services of All the Flag-officers, Superannuated Rear-admirals, Retired-captains, Post-captains, and Commanders, Whose Names Appeared on the Admiralty List of Sea Officers at the Commencement of the Present Year, Or who Have Since Been Promoted; Illustrated by a Series of Historical and Explanatory Notes ... With Copious Addenda: Commanders, flag-officers, captains". Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown via Google Books.

Sources

See also

44°38′40″N63°34′37″W / 44.64432°N 63.57690°W / 44.64432; -63.57690