More bright and early than we have been doing of late, we are out of bed and off back to Quebec to a near-by place called Pointe-a-la-Croix where Battle of the Restigouche National Historic Site is located. After briefly waiting for the 9 am opening we are awed by the size of the anchor and the main front and back ‘pieces of wood’ of the frigate ‘Le Machault’. If you look carefully you will see the anchor that Lawrie is standing beside.
In 1760, following the Battle of the Plains of Abraham the previous fall, the French and English exchanged cannon fire yet another time here, on the waters of the Restigouche River. In the interpretive displays we follow the odyssey of the French supply flotilla as it rushed to the rescue of New France in spring 1760. There are a variety of artefacts recovered from the French frigate Le Machault, scuttled during the naval battle. A film retracing the high points of this naval battle is helpful in understanding what happened and why. We got a pretty thorough training in loading and firing a cannon and also an extensive explanation of why there are Canadians who want a different cultural identification. This was an eye opening view and if you are interested, just email us. Another wonderful expenditure of tax dollars! Parks Canada really does a most excellent job. Oh ya, the French didn’t win!
We head off from Campbellton along the Acadian Coastal Drive. New Brunswick is celebrating the 400th anniversary of the first Acadian settlement in Canada, just for your information. Again the drive is scenic enough, but picture opportunities aren’t there, or at least that is our excuse for the lack of them, and we are sticking to that story too! We call it quits for the day near the town of Miramichi on the Miramichi River. The river is a famous Atlantic salmon fishing river attracting fly fishers from all over the world. We aren’t overly impressed with what we saw, but you can always count on churches and bridges for interesting pictures.
I love the shape of that bridge…very cool!