Sambro is a

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

community on the

Chebucto Peninsula The Chebucto Peninsula is a peninsula located in central Nova Scotia, Canada, entirely within the Halifax Regional Municipality on the Atlantic coast. It is bordered by St. Margarets Bay in the west, the open Atlantic Ocean to the south, and ...

in the

Halifax Regional Municipality Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, Canada. It is on the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

at the head of Sambro Harbour, immediately west of the entrance to

Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural har ...

. Sambro is at the end of Route 306. Sambro Island is within the community southeast of the harbour and is home to the Sambro Island Lighthouse, the oldest operational

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

in the Americas (since 1758). It stands on the top of the rocky island. The original lens from the lighthouse is on display at the

Maritime Museum of the Atlantic The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a maritime museum located in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The museum is a member institution of the Nova Scotia Museum and is the oldest and largest maritime museum in Canada with a collection o ...

in Halifax. Sambro Harbour also has a small pepperpot style lighthouse located at the harbour entrance.

Etymology

''Sesambre'', "an island thus named by some Mallouins, distant 15 leagues from La Héve," says Champlain. Laverdière thus explains the name: "In remembrance of a small island of that name which lies in front of St. Malo (now

Cézembre Cézembre is an island in Brittany, in the Ille-et-Vilaine ''Département in France, département'' of France, near Saint-Malo. The island is uninhabited, with a surface area of approximately 18 hectares (44 acres), a length of , and a maximum w ...

). Sésambre became S. Sambre; and the English sailors, who are not greatly devoted to the saints, have called it simply Sambro. * 1612: Sesembre * 1660: Sesembre * 1733: Sambro (British) * 1741: Sambro (British) * 1744: Sincembre * 1747: Cincembre * 1753: Sincembre * 1755: Sambro * 1761: Sincembre * 1761: Sambro

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

: Meseebakun.uk (`the constant mocker`)

History

Three years after the founding of Halifax in 1752, 26 families settled and worked on Sambro Island after Governor

Edward Cornwallis Edward Cornwallis ( – 14 January 1776) was a British career military officer and member of the aristocratic Cornwallis family, who reached the rank of Lieutenant General. After Cornwallis fought in Scotland, putting down the Jacobite r ...

saw the need to populate the area with

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

settlers to prevent a French attack by sea. The community has evolved into a fishing and tourist community over the centuries, although many residents currently commute into Halifax for employment. On 13 May 1759, Major John Moncrief met Admiral Holmes off of Cape Sambro with two ships, and , before proceeding to

Louisbourg Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. History The harbour had been used by European mariners since at least the 1590s, when it was known as English Port and Havre à l'An ...

, then Quebec, leading up to the

Battle of the Plains of Abraham The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe the North American theatre). The battle, which took place on 13 Sept ...

in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. During the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, Sambro witnessed numerous naval battles, such as the Battle off Halifax. On 10 July 1780, the British

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

''Resolution'' (16 guns) under the command of Thomas Ross engaged the American privateer ''Viper'' (16 guns) off of Halifax at Sambro Light. There was another engagement, described as "one of the bloodiest battles in the history of privateering". The two privateers began a "severe engagement", in which each pounded the other with cannon fire for about 90 minutes. The death toll was 18 British and 33 Americans. On 1 September 1782 the American privateer ''Wasp'' sailed to Pennant Point where they were confronted by three men from Sambro who fired on them, killing one of his crew and wounding three others including Captain Thomas Thompson. Captain Perry took command of the vessel and the privateers took one of the Sambro men prisoner. The privateers buried their crew member on an island in Pennant Bay. They then began their return to Massachusetts by rowing to West Dover, Nova Scotia and then on to Cross Island ("Croo Island") just off Lunenburg ("Malegash"). During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Sambro played a pivotal role in the ''Chesapeake'' Affair. A Union vessel was stolen by a crew Confederate sympathisers who were loading the vessel with coal at Sambro for the journey to the Confederate states. Union Navy warships intercepted the vessel and eventually took it to Halifax.

Shipwrecks

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, on 2 July 1918 SS ''City of Vienna'' hit the rocks on Sambro Island. All on-board were rescued. "the City of Vienna, sank, fully loaded with munitions. It is still a hazard at the sea bottom, not far from Peggy's Cove, 2.6 km from shore near Sambro Island. On 5 August 1918 the British tanker ''Luz Blanca'' was hit by a torpedo fired by the German

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

on her way to Halifax. Her crew took to the

lifeboats Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

and began rowing for the Sambro light, away. All survived In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, on 26 March 1941 caught fire from a wiring issue and abandoned ship south of Sambro Island. 19 died when a lifeboat capsized. On 24 December 1944 was hit aft by a torpedo fired by . Eight sailors were killed. On 16 April 1945 was hit by a torpedo fired by . 44 crew died from exposure. 26 survived. After the war, on 21 October 1947, as part of Operation Scuttled, the surrendered ''U-190'' was scuttled at about the same position as where HMCS ''Esquimalt'' was sunk.

Notes

Citations

{{reflist

External links