No. 2 Construction Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force Plaque

The No. 2 Construction Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force was designated a national historic event by the federal government on the recommendation of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada in 1992. A commemorative plaque was unveiled in 1993. The plaque was replaced and a new one unveiled on 5 July 2002, a few days prior to the federal government’s official apology on 9 July for the treatment of the Battalion before, during and after the First World War. The plaque was unveiled in collaboration with the Black Cultural Society of Nova Scotia, the Town of Pictou, Parks Canada and the Historic Sites and Monument Board of Canada. Activist, author, and Order of Canada recipient, Calvin Ruck and his granddaughter Lindsay Ruck, a descendant of one of the Battalion members, worked hard to help the No. 2 Construction Battalion receive recognition and have the memorial site established.

Lindsay attended the unveiling as well as Sergeant Gavin Crawford of the 36 Service Battalion, Halifax. Several members of his family were part of the No. 2 Construction Battalion and some were part of the Canadian Forestry Corps. An updated interpretive panel was also unveiled the same day as the plaque and is located next to the No. 2 Construction C.E.F. Memorial. 

After considerable lobbying by Black Canadians and white supporters, Canada fielded one Black battalion during the First World War — but they had to fight with shovels, not rifles. No. 2 Construction Battalion was authorized on 5 July 1916 in Pictou, Nova Scotia and was composed of Black men from across Canada, the United States and the British West Indies. Its officers were white, with the exception of the unit’s chaplain, Honorary Captain The Reverend William Andrew White. The unit moved to nearby Truro after two months in Pictou. 

On 9 July 2022 the Government of Canada officially apologized for the appalling way these patriots were treated.

• No. 2 CONSTRUCTION BATTALION,
  CANADIAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE
• This Battalion reflected the strong
  determination of Black men to
  overcome racism and contribute to
  Canada’s First World War effort. With
  battalions reluctant to accept Black
  people, Militia Headquarters formed
  in 1916 a segregated non-combatant
  unit. Volunteers from across Canada,
  the United States, and the Caribbean
  were based at Pictou and Truro, in Nova
  Scotia, and Windsor, Ontario, before
  going to Europe in 1917. They served
  primarily with the Canadian Forestry
  Corps in the Jura region of France,
  supplying lumber for the front and
  performing supporting tasks. The Black
  Battalion was disbanded in 1920.
• LE 2^e BATTAILLON DE CONSTRUCTION,
  CORPS EXPÉDITIONNAIRE CANADIEN
• Ce bataillon reflète la détermination
  des hommes noirs à surmonter le
  racisme pour contribuer à l’effort du
  Canada lors de la Première Guerre
  mondiale. Les unités étant réfractaires
  à accepter les Noirs, le Quartier général
  de la Milice forme en 1916 une unité
  ségréguée non combattante. Les recrues
  proviennent du Canada, des États-
  Unis et des Antilles et sont basées à
  Pictou et à Truro (Nouvelle-Écosse) et
  à Windsor (Ontario) avant leur départ
  pour l’Europe en 1917. Le bataillon sert
  surtout avec le Corps forestier canadien
  dans le Jura (France), ravitaillant le
  front en bois et effectuant des tâches de
  soutien. Il est dissout en 1920.

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada
Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada