Fort George (Canada)
| Fort George National Historic Site of Canada Lieu historique national du Canada du Fort-George |
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|---|---|
 Lieu patrimonial du Canada |
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| Recognized since | 1921 |
| Type | National Historic Site |
| ID | 7613 |
| place | Niagara-on-the-Lake |
| Coordinates | 43 ° 14 '53.1 " N , 79 ° 3' 54.9" W |
| Recognized by | Government of Canada |
| Approved by | Historic Sites and Monuments Act |
| Entry Canadian List of Monuments | |
Fort George is an early 19th-century fortress on the Niagara River in Niagara-on-the-Lake , Canada that gained strategic importance during the War of 1812 with the United States .
Fort George was built by the British Army after Fort Niagara, on the other side of the Niagara River, had to be evacuated in the summer of 1796 as part of the Jay Treaty of 1794 with the USA. Located within sight of Fort Niagara, fortified with earthen walls and palisades , it was completed in 1802 and was directed against a threat to Canada from the USA. It became the headquarters of the regular troops stationed in the region and the local militia units .
This function continued after the outbreak of the war of 1812, while the US made several attempts to conquer Canada. It served as quarters for Major General Sir Isaac Brock , the British commander in Upper Canada , when he crossed the border on the Niagara River after his successes in the west (conquering Fort Mackinac and Detroit ) against an invasion of the American Army of the Center under Major General Stephen Van Rensselaer tried to secure. In the Battle of Queenston Heights on October 13, 1812, the British were able to thwart an American invasion attempt and inflict a heavy defeat on the outnumbered attackers, but had to pay for this success with Brock's death. After a heavy artillery bombardment in which the fort was largely destroyed, superior US troops under Major General Henry Dearborn succeeded in occupying it on May 27, 1813. The small garrison under Brigadier General John Vincent withdrew inland after the loss of 52 dead and 360 wounded and missing. The attempts of the Americans to conquer Upper Canada from there failed due to the British victories in the battles at Stoney Creek and Beaver Dams on June 6th and 24th. At the end of 1813, the Americans cleared the Canadian bank of the Niagara River and also gave up Fort George under pressure from British troops under Sir Gordon Drummond in December of that year. With the conquest of Fort Niagara shortly afterwards, the British removed the threat to their location, which they expanded with the construction of Fort Mississauga and the Butler's Barracks . This position was successfully held in the summer of 1814 when, after their victory in the Battle of Chippewa on July 5, the Americans again threatened the fort into which British units under Major General Phineas Riall had withdrawn. The British victory in the bloody Battle of Lundy's Lane (July 25th) ended the threat for good.
Fort George remained the site of the British Army and later the Canadian Armed Forces until they abandoned it in 1965. In 1921, Fort George was declared a National Historic Site . In the 1930s, Fort George was restored to its early 19th century state. The historic fortress is now maintained by the Canadian National Park Administration, who uses it for exhibitions, re-enactments and other representations of this time.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Directory of Designations of National Historic Significance: Ontario. (No longer available online.) Parks Canada , formerly the original ; Retrieved July 10, 2010 (English). ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
