Editing Optical telegraph (section)

=====Canada=====
In Canada, [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn|Prince Edward, Duke of Kent]] established the first semaphore line in North America. In operation by 1800, it ran between the city of [[City of Halifax|Halifax]] and the town of [[Annapolis Royal|Annapolis]] in [[Nova Scotia]], and across the [[Bay of Fundy]] to [[Saint John, New Brunswick|Saint John]] and [[Fredericton]] in [[New Brunswick]]. In addition to providing information on approaching ships, the Duke used the system to relay military commands, especially as they related to troop discipline. The Duke had envisioned the line reaching as far as the British garrison at [[Quebec City]], but the many hills and coastal fog meant the towers needed to be placed relatively close together to ensure visibility. The labour needed to build and continually man so many stations taxed the already stretched-thin British military and there is doubt the New Brunswick line was ever in operation. With the exception of the towers around Halifax harbour, the system was abandoned shortly after the Duke's departure in August 1800.<ref>{{Citation|last=Raddall|first=Thomas H.|title=Warden of the North|publisher=McClelland and Stewart Limited|place=Toronto, Canada|year=1971|url=http://www.ourroots.ca/toc.aspx?id=6183&amp;qryID=8cbb8294-7361-4fdc-ac50-78627a229b5f}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Rens|first=Jean-Guy|title=The invisible empire: A history of the telecommunications industry in Canada|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press|place=Montreal, Canada|year=2001|isbn=9780773520523|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8kUmt-Q7ySMC&pg=PA7 }}</ref>