Desbarres, Joseph Frederick Wallet National Historic Person
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Joseph Frederick Wallet Desbarres
(© Library and Archives Canada | Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1996-476-1)
Address :
87 Esplanade, Sydney, Nova Scotia
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1925-05-15
Life Date:
1722 to 1824
Other Name(s):
-
Desbarres, Joseph Frederick Wallet
(Designation Name)
Importance:
First Lieutenant-Governor of Cape Breton (1784-87), charted coast of Nova Scotia
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: Across from 87 Esplanade, Sydney, Nova Scotia
A distinguished military engineer, of Huguenot descent, Desbarres served in the British Army in North America during the Seven Years' War, and participated in the capture of Louisbourg in 1758 and of Quebec in 1759. From 1763 to 1773 he was employed by the British Government to survey and chart the coasts of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, and as a result earned great fame as a marine surveyor, second perhaps only to Captain Cook. He was the first Lieutenant Governor of Cape Breton, 1784-87, the founder of Sydney, and Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island, 1804-12. He died in Halifax at the age of 102.