Ocean7
Bronze Member
"Evidence presented earlier points to British Government involvement upon Oak Island during the period 1752-54, and
considerable effort has been made to seek documentary evidence from that period in open file.The results though
sketchy, have been adequate enough to forge a link (see Part X) but, nevertheless, insufficient for that link to be
considered indisputable."
Part X
"The concept of the Flood Tunnel, at least in principle, can be associated with Colonel Thomas Lascelles (1670-1751).
Because of his death the task of translating concept into reality would have devolved upon John Henry Bastide, a much
younger man, and one well suited to the task by his already lengthy experience of military works in Nova Scotia.
Because of the secrecy and importance of the project it may be expected that Bastide would have supervised all on-
site engineering while the bulk of the work was in progress. Strangely, Bastide is listed in the records as being ‘on
vacation’ between 1751 and 1754, while other documentation shows him to have written letters from Annaplois Royal.
Other subordinate engineers, such as William Bontein and William Cowley, would have undertaken specific tasks in line
with their specialist engineering capabilities, i.e. tunneling and marine construction respectively.
A support group would have been necessary to provide the general labour, much along the lines of army pioneer corps
today. Evidence has been presented in The Oak Island Treasure: The Military Cover-Up 1752-54 that this was provided
by companies of Lascelles’s Regiment (47th Foot) who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750. The commander of the 47th was
Colonel Peregrine Lascelles, who appears to have been a relative of Colonel Thomas Lascelles, the Chief Engineer of
Great Britain. Another member of the family who appears to have had a connection with the work, but remains a shadowy
individual, was William Lascelles. Three members of the Lascelles family in the same place at the same time is surely
suggestive of clandestine purpose!
The total workforce on Oak Island, during the excavation of the Flood Tunnel and the intake facilities within the
Smith’s Cove Cofferdam, would have amounted to in excess of a hundred persons. Wives and children are also likely to
have been present, swelling the numbers. With an overall project period of two years, or possibly somewhat longer
allowing for initial preparation work and subsequent demolition, the presence of a large number of people on the
island for that period would have left an everlasting legacy in the form of cesspits. These are likely to have been
concentrated in the vicinity of a barracks/stores area. No matter how meticulous the clean up of the island after the
project came to a successful conclusion, the cesspits would have remained. A useful exercise would be to map the
island with this objective in mind."
http://www.chesterbound.com/Oak_Isla....htm#part:3210
considerable effort has been made to seek documentary evidence from that period in open file.The results though
sketchy, have been adequate enough to forge a link (see Part X) but, nevertheless, insufficient for that link to be
considered indisputable."
Part X
"The concept of the Flood Tunnel, at least in principle, can be associated with Colonel Thomas Lascelles (1670-1751).
Because of his death the task of translating concept into reality would have devolved upon John Henry Bastide, a much
younger man, and one well suited to the task by his already lengthy experience of military works in Nova Scotia.
Because of the secrecy and importance of the project it may be expected that Bastide would have supervised all on-
site engineering while the bulk of the work was in progress. Strangely, Bastide is listed in the records as being ‘on
vacation’ between 1751 and 1754, while other documentation shows him to have written letters from Annaplois Royal.
Other subordinate engineers, such as William Bontein and William Cowley, would have undertaken specific tasks in line
with their specialist engineering capabilities, i.e. tunneling and marine construction respectively.
A support group would have been necessary to provide the general labour, much along the lines of army pioneer corps
today. Evidence has been presented in The Oak Island Treasure: The Military Cover-Up 1752-54 that this was provided
by companies of Lascelles’s Regiment (47th Foot) who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750. The commander of the 47th was
Colonel Peregrine Lascelles, who appears to have been a relative of Colonel Thomas Lascelles, the Chief Engineer of
Great Britain. Another member of the family who appears to have had a connection with the work, but remains a shadowy
individual, was William Lascelles. Three members of the Lascelles family in the same place at the same time is surely
suggestive of clandestine purpose!
The total workforce on Oak Island, during the excavation of the Flood Tunnel and the intake facilities within the
Smith’s Cove Cofferdam, would have amounted to in excess of a hundred persons. Wives and children are also likely to
have been present, swelling the numbers. With an overall project period of two years, or possibly somewhat longer
allowing for initial preparation work and subsequent demolition, the presence of a large number of people on the
island for that period would have left an everlasting legacy in the form of cesspits. These are likely to have been
concentrated in the vicinity of a barracks/stores area. No matter how meticulous the clean up of the island after the
project came to a successful conclusion, the cesspits would have remained. A useful exercise would be to map the
island with this objective in mind."
http://www.chesterbound.com/Oak_Isla....htm#part:3210