Commandant of RMC, Brigadier-General Al Meinzinger, shakes hands with Mr. Chris West Chair of the Board of the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes, who presented the Self-Guided Walking Tour of the Royal Naval Dockyard at Point Frederick. The presentation was held at RMC on September 5, 2013.
The official presentation and opening of the self-guided walking tour of the Royal Military College of Canada was held on September 5, 2013. Made possible by Canadian Heritage, the walking tour allows visitors to walk through the history of the War of 1812 through 13 interpretive sign stations which are located throughout Point Frederick.
The presentation of the Walking Tour to the Commandant of the Royal Military College of Canada, Brigadier-General Al Meinzinger, was made by Mr. Chris West, Chairman of the Board of the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes.
The walking tour begins with the first sign which is located in front of Panet House next to the Senior Staff Mess and across from the RMC Parade Square on Point Frederick Drive. RMC is located along Highway 2, Kingston.
Funded by the Canadian Heritage 1812 Commemoration Fund, the RMC Museum Committee has overseen construction of the tour signs in conjunction with the Marine Museum. The sign stations, comprised of detailed and geographically oriented story boards, will fill in a blank which had existed until yesterday of the Kingston Waterfront Walkway between the LaSalle Causeway and Fort Henry. The signs feature spectacular replications of artwork, photos, maps and documents which tell the story of Point Frederick during the War of 1812.
It is hoped that the signs will attract Kingstonians and other visitors to the college grounds and museum.
The signs will tell the incredible story of the Royal Naval Dockyard, which was situated on Point Frederick nearly 200 years ago.
The Royal Navy assumed command of naval facilities operated by the Provincial Marine on Point Frederick in 1813. The Kingston Dockyard had enormous strategic impact on the outcome of the War of 1812. The HMS St. Lawrence was built on the shores of Navy Bay a few short steps from where the walking tour begins. A first-rate ship of the line, construction on her keel began in April 1814 - 199 years ago. She was launched only 156 days later in mid-September. She carried 112 guns, was 194 feet long and displaced and estimated 2, 304 tonnes. Although she never saw a battle, her presence denied the Americans dominance over the lake.