Citadel Hill
Encyclopedia
Fort George is a National Historic Site in Halifax, Nova Scotia
, Canada
and was established during Father Le Loutre's War
.
A series of four different defensive fortifications have occupied the summit of Citadel Hill since this time, with the construction and levelling resulting in the summit of the hill being dropped by ten to twelve metres. The first fort was simply a small redoubt which stood near the summit with a flagstaff and guardhouse. The first fort was part of the western perimeter wall for the old city which was protected by five stockaded forts. The others were Horsemans Fort, Cornwallis Fort, Fort Lutrell and Grenadier Fort. (The British built Fort Charlotte on Georges Island the following year in 1750.) No traces of any regular or permanent fortification appear on Citadel Hill until the commencement of the American Revolution.
. The war began when Edward Cornwallis
arrived to establish Halifax with 13 transports and a sloop of war on June 21, 1749. By unilaterally establishing Halifax the British were violating earlier treaties with the Mi'kmaq (1726), which were signed after Dummer's War
. Cornwallis brought along 1,176 settlers and their families. To guard against Mi'kmaq, Acadian, and French attacks on the new Protestant settlements, British fortifications were erected in Halifax (1749), Dartmouth (1750), Bedford
(Fort Sackville) (1751), Lunenburg
(1753) and Lawrencetown
(1754).
During Father Le Loutre's War
, the soldiers at Fort George were in a constant state of alert. The Mi'kmaq and Acadians raided the capital region (Halifax and Dartmouth) 12 times. The worst of these raids was the Dartmouth Massacre (1751)
. Four of these raids were against Halifax. The first raid was in July 1750: in the woods on peninsular Halifax, the Mi'kmaq scalped Cornwallis' gardener, his son, and four others. They buried the son, left the gardener's body exposed, and carried off the other four bodies.
In 1751, there were two attacks on blockhouses surrounding Halifax. Mi'kmaq attacked the North Blockhouse (located at the north end of Joseph Howe Drive) and killed the men on guard. They also attacked near the South Blockhouse (located at the south end of Joseph Howe Drive), at a saw-mill on a stream flowing out of Chocolate Lake into the Northwest Arm
. They killed two men. (Map of Halifax Blockhouses)
In 1753, when Lawrence became governor, the Mi'kmaq attacked again upon the sawmills near the South Blockhouse on the Northwest Arm, where they killed three British. The Mi'kmaq made three attempts to retrieve the bodies for their scalps.
Prominent Halifax business person Michael Francklin
was captured by a Mi'kmaw raiding party in 1754 and held captive for three months.
. The Fort was used to help faciltate the Expulsion of the Acadians, many Acadians being imprisoned on Georges Island in Halifax Harbour. During the war, the Mi'kmaq and Acadians resisted the British throughout the province. Acadian Pierre Gautier, son of Joseph-Nicolas Gautier
, led Mi’kmaq warriors from Louisbourg on three raids against Halifax
in 1757. In each raid, Gautier took prisoners or scalps or both. The last raid happened in September and Gautier went with four Mi’kmaq and killed and scalped two British men at the foot of Citadel Hill. There were also numerous raids against the British in the province such as the Raid on Lunenburg (1756).
the most secure and strategic base in eastern North America from its Halifax Dockyard
commanding the Great Circle Route to western Europe and gave Halifax the nickname "Warden of The North". The massive British military presence in Halifax focused through Citadel Hill and the Royal Navy's dockyard is thought to be one of the main reasons that Nova Scotia -- the fourteenth British colony -- remained loyal to the Crown throughout and after the American Revolutionary War
.
While Citadel Hill was not attacked during the American Revolution, soldiers remained on guard because there were numerous American privateer raids on villages around the province (e.g., Raid on Lunenburg (1782)) as well as naval battles just off shore such as the Naval battle off Halifax
.
: the Chesapeake Affair
and the escape from Halifax Harbour
of Confederate John Taylor Wood
on the CSS Tallahassee
.
, is formally known as Fort George and was completed in 1856, following twenty-eight years of construction. This massive masonry-construction fort was designed to repel a land-based attack by United States
forces and was inspired by the designs of Louis XIV's commissary of fortifications Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban
– a star-shaped hillock fortress with internal courtyard and clear harbour view from armoured ramparts. Between 1820 and 1831 the British had constructed a similar albeit larger citadel in Quebec City known as the Citadel of Quebec.
Fort George and its predecessors was the focal point of the British, and later Canadian, military's "Halifax Defence Complex" which included (at various years):
Fort George was constructed to defend against smoothbore
weaponry; it became obsolete following the introduction of more powerful rifled guns in the 1860s. British forces upgraded Fort George's armaments to permit it to defend the harbour as well as land approaches, using heavier and more accurate long-range artillery. The role of Fort George in the defense of Halifax Harbour had evolved by the turn of the 20th century to becoming a command centre for other, more distant harbour defensive works, as well as providing barrack accommodations.
until 1906 and afterward by the Canadian Army throughout the First
and Second World Wars; Fort George having been used as temporary barracks during 1939-1940 and as the coordinating point for the city's anti-aircraft defences.
According to the historian and novelist Thomas Head Raddall
, Citadel Hill was "like Vesuvius over Pompeii, a smiling monster with havoc in its belly". Following the Second World War, the hill and fortifications were designated a National Historic Site of Canada and today is under the responsibility of Parks Canada
. Fort George has been restored to the mid-Victorian
period.
s.
Fort George has a living history program featuring animators portraying life in the fort where soldiers of the 78th Highland Regiment, the Third Brigade of the Royal Artillery
, soldiers wives, and civilian tradespersons re-enact life in 1869.
There are guided and self-guided tours available as well as audio-visual presentations and exhibits which serve to communicate the Citadel's role in shaping Halifax's and North America's history.
The "Army Museum", located in the Citadel's Cavalier Block, displays a rare collection of weapons, medals and uniforms exploring Nova Scotia's army history. It is an independent non-profit museum but works in close partnership with the Citadel staff of Parks Canada.
In July 2006, Halifax Citadel celebrated the 100th anniversary of the withdrawal of the last British military forces from Canada. The citadel hosted over 1,000 re-enactors from around the world.
Approaching the Christmas
season, Citadel Hill annually hosts a "Victorian Christmas". Visitors are treated to crafts, carolers and games.
commissioned a clock tower in 1800 prior to his return to England. The Town Clock
opened on October 20, 1803 at a location on the east slope of Citadel Hill on Barrack (now Brunswick) Street and has kept time for the community ever since.
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and was established during Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre’s War , also known as the Indian War, the Micmac War and the Anglo-Micmac War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the British and New England colonists were led by British Officer Charles...
.
A series of four different defensive fortifications have occupied the summit of Citadel Hill since this time, with the construction and levelling resulting in the summit of the hill being dropped by ten to twelve metres. The first fort was simply a small redoubt which stood near the summit with a flagstaff and guardhouse. The first fort was part of the western perimeter wall for the old city which was protected by five stockaded forts. The others were Horsemans Fort, Cornwallis Fort, Fort Lutrell and Grenadier Fort. (The British built Fort Charlotte on Georges Island the following year in 1750.) No traces of any regular or permanent fortification appear on Citadel Hill until the commencement of the American Revolution.
Father Le Loutre's War
The establishment of Halifax marked the beginning of Father Le Loutre's WarFather Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre’s War , also known as the Indian War, the Micmac War and the Anglo-Micmac War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the British and New England colonists were led by British Officer Charles...
. The war began when Edward Cornwallis
Edward Cornwallis
Lieutenant General Edward Cornwallis was a British military officer who founded Halifax, Nova Scotia with 2500 settlers and later served as the Governor of Gibraltar.-Early life:...
arrived to establish Halifax with 13 transports and a sloop of war on June 21, 1749. By unilaterally establishing Halifax the British were violating earlier treaties with the Mi'kmaq (1726), which were signed after Dummer's War
Dummer's War
Dummer's War , also known as Lovewell's War, Father Rale's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the 4th Indian War or the Wabanaki-New England War of 1722–1725, was a series of battles between British settlers of the three northernmost British colonies of North America of the time and the...
. Cornwallis brought along 1,176 settlers and their families. To guard against Mi'kmaq, Acadian, and French attacks on the new Protestant settlements, British fortifications were erected in Halifax (1749), Dartmouth (1750), Bedford
Bedford, Nova Scotia
Bedford is a community in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was an independent town from 1980-1996. Bedford lies on the northwestern end of Bedford Basin, an extension of the Halifax Harbour...
(Fort Sackville) (1751), Lunenburg
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Lunenburg , is a Canadian port town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.Situated on the province's South Shore, Lunenburg is located on a peninsula at the western side of Mahone Bay. The town is approximately 90 kilometres southwest of the county boundary with the Halifax Regional Municipality.The...
(1753) and Lawrencetown
Lawrencetown, Halifax County, Nova Scotia
Lawrencetown is a Canadian rural community in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality on Route 207. The settlement was established during Father Le Loutre's War.- History :...
(1754).
During Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre’s War , also known as the Indian War, the Micmac War and the Anglo-Micmac War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the British and New England colonists were led by British Officer Charles...
, the soldiers at Fort George were in a constant state of alert. The Mi'kmaq and Acadians raided the capital region (Halifax and Dartmouth) 12 times. The worst of these raids was the Dartmouth Massacre (1751)
Raid on Dartmouth (1751)
The Raid on Dartmouth occurred during Father Le Loutre’s War on May 13, 1751 when an Acadian and Mi’kmaq militia from Chignecto, under the command of Acadian Joseph Broussard, raided Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, destroying the town and killing twenty British villagers...
. Four of these raids were against Halifax. The first raid was in July 1750: in the woods on peninsular Halifax, the Mi'kmaq scalped Cornwallis' gardener, his son, and four others. They buried the son, left the gardener's body exposed, and carried off the other four bodies.
In 1751, there were two attacks on blockhouses surrounding Halifax. Mi'kmaq attacked the North Blockhouse (located at the north end of Joseph Howe Drive) and killed the men on guard. They also attacked near the South Blockhouse (located at the south end of Joseph Howe Drive), at a saw-mill on a stream flowing out of Chocolate Lake into the Northwest Arm
Northwest Arm
The Northwest Arm, originally named Sandwich River, is an inlet in eastern Canada off the Atlantic Ocean in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality.-Geography:...
. They killed two men. (Map of Halifax Blockhouses)
In 1753, when Lawrence became governor, the Mi'kmaq attacked again upon the sawmills near the South Blockhouse on the Northwest Arm, where they killed three British. The Mi'kmaq made three attempts to retrieve the bodies for their scalps.
Prominent Halifax business person Michael Francklin
Michael Francklin
Michael Francklin or Franklin served as Nova Scotia's Lieutenant Governor from 1766-1772.Born in Poole, England, Francklin immigrated to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1752. He worked as a trader and merchant, initially in association with Joshua Maugher...
was captured by a Mi'kmaw raiding party in 1754 and held captive for three months.
French and Indian War
Fort George was also instrumental to the British during the French and Indian WarFrench and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. The Fort was used to help faciltate the Expulsion of the Acadians, many Acadians being imprisoned on Georges Island in Halifax Harbour. During the war, the Mi'kmaq and Acadians resisted the British throughout the province. Acadian Pierre Gautier, son of Joseph-Nicolas Gautier
Joseph-Nicolas Gautier
Joseph-Nicolas Gautier dit Bellair, Joseph-Nicolas Gautier dit Bellair, Joseph-Nicolas Gautier dit Bellair, (b. 1689 at Rochefort, France, d. 1752 at Port-La-Joie (Fort Amherst, P.E.I.) was a merchant trader and a leader of the Acadian militia who participated in war efforts against the British...
, led Mi’kmaq warriors from Louisbourg on three raids against Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
in 1757. In each raid, Gautier took prisoners or scalps or both. The last raid happened in September and Gautier went with four Mi’kmaq and killed and scalped two British men at the foot of Citadel Hill. There were also numerous raids against the British in the province such as the Raid on Lunenburg (1756).
American Revolution
Citadel Hill hosted a three-story octagonal blockhouse from 1776–1789, covering a fourteen-gun battery. Citadel Hill and the associated harbour defence fortifications afforded the Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
the most secure and strategic base in eastern North America from its Halifax Dockyard
Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax
Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax was a British Royal Navy base in Halifax, Nova Scotia from 1759 to 1905. The Halifax Yard was the main year round base of the Royal Navy's North American Station when first established in 1759 during the Seven Years' War....
commanding the Great Circle Route to western Europe and gave Halifax the nickname "Warden of The North". The massive British military presence in Halifax focused through Citadel Hill and the Royal Navy's dockyard is thought to be one of the main reasons that Nova Scotia -- the fourteenth British colony -- remained loyal to the Crown throughout and after the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
.
While Citadel Hill was not attacked during the American Revolution, soldiers remained on guard because there were numerous American privateer raids on villages around the province (e.g., Raid on Lunenburg (1782)) as well as naval battles just off shore such as the Naval battle off Halifax
Naval battle off Halifax
The Battle off Halifax took place during the American Revolutionary War involving the American privateer Jack and a Royal Naval brig Observer off Halifax, Nova Scotia. The American privateer was commanded by Captain John Ropes and the Observer by John Crymes...
.
American Civil War
The soldiers at Fort George were on alert when Nova Scotia became the site of two international incidents during the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
: the Chesapeake Affair
Chesapeake Affair
The Chesapeake Affair was an international diplomatic incident that occurred during the American Civil War. On December 7, 1863 Confederate sympathizers from Canada’s Maritime Provinces captured the American Steamer Chesapeake off the coast of Cape Cod. The expedition was planned and led by...
and the escape from Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...
of Confederate John Taylor Wood
John Taylor Wood
John Taylor Wood was an officer in the United States Navy who became a "leading Confederate naval hero" as a captain in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
on the CSS Tallahassee
CSS Tallahassee
The CSS Tallahassee was a twin-screw steamer and cruiser in the Confederate States Navy, purchased in 1864, and used for commerce raiding off the Atlantic coast.-History:...
.
Victorian Era
The current star-shaped fortress, or citadelCitadel
A citadel is a fortress for protecting a town, sometimes incorporating a castle. The term derives from the same Latin root as the word "city", civis, meaning citizen....
, is formally known as Fort George and was completed in 1856, following twenty-eight years of construction. This massive masonry-construction fort was designed to repel a land-based attack by United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
forces and was inspired by the designs of Louis XIV's commissary of fortifications Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban
Vauban
Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban , commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for his skill in both designing fortifications and breaking through them...
– a star-shaped hillock fortress with internal courtyard and clear harbour view from armoured ramparts. Between 1820 and 1831 the British had constructed a similar albeit larger citadel in Quebec City known as the Citadel of Quebec.
Fort George and its predecessors was the focal point of the British, and later Canadian, military's "Halifax Defence Complex" which included (at various years):
- Fort Needham
- HMC DockyardCFB HalifaxCanadian Forces Base Halifax is Canada's east coast navy base and home port to the Atlantic fleet, known as Maritime Forces Atlantic....
- Fort George (Citadel Hill)
- Fort Massey
- Fort Ogilvie
- Prince of Wales Tower
- Connaught Battery
- York RedoubtYork RedoubtYork Redoubt is a National Historic Site of Canada situated on a bluff overlooking the entrance to Halifax Harbour at Ferguson's Cove, Nova Scotia, originally constructed in 1793. It was a key element in the defence of Halifax Harbour in the 19th and 20th centuries, and underwent many additions to...
- Practice Battery
- Sandwich Point
- Camperdown
- Fort Chebucto
- (Fort Charlotte)
- Fort Clarence
- Devil's Battery / Hartlen Point
- Five forts on McNabs IslandMcNabs IslandMcNabs Island is the largest island in Halifax Harbour located in Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It played a major role in defending Halifax Harbour and is now a provincial park...
:- Fort Ives
- Fort Hugonin
- Sherbrooke Tower
- Strawberry Hill
- Fort McNab
Fort George was constructed to defend against smoothbore
Smoothbore
A smoothbore weapon is one which has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars.-History of firearms and rifling:...
weaponry; it became obsolete following the introduction of more powerful rifled guns in the 1860s. British forces upgraded Fort George's armaments to permit it to defend the harbour as well as land approaches, using heavier and more accurate long-range artillery. The role of Fort George in the defense of Halifax Harbour had evolved by the turn of the 20th century to becoming a command centre for other, more distant harbour defensive works, as well as providing barrack accommodations.
Twentieth Century
Although never attacked, Citadel Hill's various fortifications were garrisoned by the British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
until 1906 and afterward by the Canadian Army throughout the First
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and Second World Wars; Fort George having been used as temporary barracks during 1939-1940 and as the coordinating point for the city's anti-aircraft defences.
According to the historian and novelist Thomas Head Raddall
Thomas Head Raddall
Thomas Head Raddall, OC, FRSC was a Canadian writer of history and historical fiction.- Early life :Born at Hythe, Kent, England in 1903, Raddall was the son of British army officer Thomas Head Raddall and Ellen Raddall...
, Citadel Hill was "like Vesuvius over Pompeii, a smiling monster with havoc in its belly". Following the Second World War, the hill and fortifications were designated a National Historic Site of Canada and today is under the responsibility of Parks Canada
Parks Canada
Parks Canada , also known as the Parks Canada Agency , is an agency of the Government of Canada mandated to protect and present nationally significant natural and cultural heritage, and foster public understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment in ways that ensure their ecological and commemorative...
. Fort George has been restored to the mid-Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
period.
Halifax Citadel National Historic Site
One of the most enduring and recognized symbols of Citadel Hill's role in shaping Halifax is the daily ceremonial firing of the noon gun. The artillery is also used for formal occasions such as 21-gun salute21-gun salute
Gun salutes are the firing of cannons or firearms as a military or naval honor.The custom stems from naval tradition, where a warship would fire its cannons harmlessly out to sea, until all ammunition was spent, to show that it was disarmed, signifying the lack of hostile intent...
s.
Fort George has a living history program featuring animators portraying life in the fort where soldiers of the 78th Highland Regiment, the Third Brigade of the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
, soldiers wives, and civilian tradespersons re-enact life in 1869.
There are guided and self-guided tours available as well as audio-visual presentations and exhibits which serve to communicate the Citadel's role in shaping Halifax's and North America's history.
The "Army Museum", located in the Citadel's Cavalier Block, displays a rare collection of weapons, medals and uniforms exploring Nova Scotia's army history. It is an independent non-profit museum but works in close partnership with the Citadel staff of Parks Canada.
In July 2006, Halifax Citadel celebrated the 100th anniversary of the withdrawal of the last British military forces from Canada. The citadel hosted over 1,000 re-enactors from around the world.
Approaching the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
season, Citadel Hill annually hosts a "Victorian Christmas". Visitors are treated to crafts, carolers and games.
Town clock
Prince Edward, Duke of KentPrince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn
The Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn was a member of the British Royal Family, the fourth son of King George III and the father of Queen Victoria...
commissioned a clock tower in 1800 prior to his return to England. The Town Clock
Halifax Town Clock
The Town Clock, also sometimes called the Old Town Clock or Citadel Clock Tower, is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the historic urban core of Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality....
opened on October 20, 1803 at a location on the east slope of Citadel Hill on Barrack (now Brunswick) Street and has kept time for the community ever since.