Historical Society of Ottawa Meeting: March 27

This Friday Bob Garcia is the invited speaker on ­ "The Best Laid Plans of the Royal Engineers: proposed and lost fortifications of Kingston, 1827­-1903"

The presentation will give an overview of the efforts of the Royal Engineers to provide suitable fortifications to protect Kingston, the military depot for Upper Canada, the Royal navy dockyard, and the southern entrance to the Rideau Canal in case of a war with the United States. The execution of their plans was often affected by the political situation back in Britain.

Bob is an historian with Parks Canada’s Cornwall office, with research responsibilities for Parks operated national historic sites across Ontario. He joined Parks Canada in 1991 as a member of the interpretative staff at Fort Malden National Historic Site. Bob has a bachelor’s degree in history from McGill University and a Master’s in library and information science from the University of Western Ontario. He is a past president of the Essex County Historical Society and has had a long ­time interest in Canadian military heritage.

The location is the lounge of the Routhier Community Centre, 172 Guigues Street at Cumberland in Ottawa.