Fort Senneville
Encyclopedia
Fort Senneville is one of the outlying forts of Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada, built by the Canadiens
of New France
near the Sainte-Anne rapids
in 1671. The property was part of a fief ceded to Dugué de Boisbriant in 1672 by the Sulpicians
. A large stone windmill
, which doubled as a watch tower, was built on a hill by late 1686 and featuring machicolation
and other castle
-like features. The fort was burned down by Iroquois
in 1691, with only the mill itself left standing.
Governor-General Frontenac
ordered the construction of a second, more imposing fort in 1692. It was rebuilt in 1702-03 to protect the nearby fur trading post. With extensive cannon
s and swiveling wall guns, it was the "most substantial castle-like fort" near Montreal. It was eventually destroyed in 1776 by Benedict Arnold
, while under American military control, but the ruins have been maintained since then. In 2003, it was classified as a historic site.
. Consequently, a number of Ingénieurs du Roi
("King's Engineers") were appointed to make the colony the best fortified in North America:
Quebec served as the only fortified city in the Americas, centred around the Citadelle of Quebec
. An unusual feature of Montreal
's defence was a string of 30 outlying forts to protect against the constant Iroquois threat to the expansion of French settlements. The majority of these were simple stockades, but as artillery was not as developed as on the battlefields of Europe, some of these were built like the fortified manor houses of France. Roughly four of these were substantial stone forts which served as defensive residences, sometimes considered "true castles", as well as imposing structures to prevent Iroquois
incursions. Initially, Fort Senneville was a French stockaded fort, built in 1671 about half a mile above the Sainte-Anne rapids
. The property was part of a fief ceded to Dugué de Boisbriant in 1672 by the Society of Saint-Sulpice
, and subsequently relinquished in payment of a debt to two of the most significant figures in New France's history: Jacques Le Ber and Charles Le Moyne, who used the site as a fur-trading post.
A large stone windmill was built on a hill by late 1686, doubling as a watch tower over the Ottawa River
, the Lake of Two Mountains and the mouth of the Des Prairies River. This windmill was like no other in New France (although a similar fortified windmill was later built in Quebec), with thick walls, square loopholes for musket
s, with machicolation
at the top for pouring lethally hot liquids and rocks onto attackers.
In October 1687, the nearby Fort Sainte-Anne
and the Senneville mill were attacked by Iroquois, and although several settlers were killed, the attackers were repulsed. A second attack was more successful in 1691, and the fort was burned down. Only the mill itself was left standing.
The attack had come shortly after the 1690 Battle of Quebec
, and an enraged Governor-General Frontenac
ordered the construction of a second, more imposing fort. The fort was rebuilt in 1692 with thick stone walls and corner tower bastion
s. With extensive cannons and swivel wall guns, it was the "most substantial castle-like fort" near Montreal.
It was never attacked again. The windmill was rebuilt in 1700, and was probably still in use until the 1780s. In 1703, Jacques Le Ber
de Senneville constructed a large stone house and fort in order to improve and protect his fur trading operations, and the local seigneural manor house was built in 1706. However, after the fall of New France in 1763, it was not used by the British as a military post. In 1776, Fort Senneville was destroyed during the American Revolutionary War
by Continental Army
troops under Benedict Arnold
, in military maneouvres associated with the Battle of the Cedars
.
In 1865, the property was purchased as a summer residence by John Joseph Caldwell Abbott, former prime minister of Canada and Mayor of Montreal. Sir Edward Seabourne Clouston purchased the domain from Abbott's estate in 1898.
In November 2003, Quebec recognized its historical significance by classifying it a "Site historique". The Ministry of Culture and Communications has commissioned studies on the historical ownership of the fort, and funded archaeological research and repairs to consolidate the structure of the ruin, recognising "the exceptional historic and prehistoric archaeological potential of the ruin and its surroundings".
The site's value today includes its ecological and environmental significance, and its shoreline, which is in a semi-natural state, is part of the habitat
for the rare map turtle. It is situated between the Lake of Two Mountains and the Senneville Forest ecoterritory, as described in Montreal's Natural Spaces Policy. Therefore, it could be considered part of the wildlife corridor (lien faunique) between the lake and the forest.
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada, built by the Canadiens
Canada, New France
Canada was the name of the French colony that once stretched along the St. Lawrence River; the other colonies of New France were Acadia, Louisiana and Newfoundland. Canada, the most developed colony of New France, was divided into three districts, each with its own government: Quebec,...
of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
near the Sainte-Anne rapids
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue is a town located at the western tip of the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is the second oldest community in Montreal's West Island, having been founded as a parish in 1703...
in 1671. The property was part of a fief ceded to Dugué de Boisbriant in 1672 by the Sulpicians
Society of Saint-Sulpice
The Society of Saint-Sulpice is a Catholic Society of Apostolic Life named for Eglise Saint-Sulpice, Paris, in turn named for St. Sulpitius the Pious. Typically, priests become members of the Society of St. Sulpice only after ordination and some years of pastoral work. Uniquely, Sulpicians retain...
. A large stone windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
, which doubled as a watch tower, was built on a hill by late 1686 and featuring machicolation
Machicolation
A machicolation is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones, or other objects, could be dropped on attackers at the base of a defensive wall. The design was developed in the Middle Ages when the Norman crusaders returned. A machicolated battlement...
and other castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
-like features. The fort was burned down by Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
in 1691, with only the mill itself left standing.
Governor-General Frontenac
Louis de Buade de Frontenac
Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac et de Palluau was a French soldier, courtier, and Governor General of New France from 1672 to 1682 and from 1689 to his death in 1698...
ordered the construction of a second, more imposing fort in 1692. It was rebuilt in 1702-03 to protect the nearby fur trading post. With extensive cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s and swiveling wall guns, it was the "most substantial castle-like fort" near Montreal. It was eventually destroyed in 1776 by Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
, while under American military control, but the ruins have been maintained since then. In 2003, it was classified as a historic site.
Background
Thanks to the tireless work of French explorers, the colony of New France covered the largest area, but it was numerically inferior to the neighbouring New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. Consequently, a number of Ingénieurs du Roi
Military engineer
In military science, engineering refers to the practice of designing, building, maintaining and dismantling military works, including offensive, defensive and logistical structures, to shape the physical operating environment in war...
("King's Engineers") were appointed to make the colony the best fortified in North America:
Quebec served as the only fortified city in the Americas, centred around the Citadelle of Quebec
Citadelle of Quebec
The Citadelle — the French name is used both in English and French — is a military installation and official residence located atop Cap Diamant, adjoining the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada...
. An unusual feature of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
's defence was a string of 30 outlying forts to protect against the constant Iroquois threat to the expansion of French settlements. The majority of these were simple stockades, but as artillery was not as developed as on the battlefields of Europe, some of these were built like the fortified manor houses of France. Roughly four of these were substantial stone forts which served as defensive residences, sometimes considered "true castles", as well as imposing structures to prevent Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
incursions. Initially, Fort Senneville was a French stockaded fort, built in 1671 about half a mile above the Sainte-Anne rapids
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue is a town located at the western tip of the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is the second oldest community in Montreal's West Island, having been founded as a parish in 1703...
. The property was part of a fief ceded to Dugué de Boisbriant in 1672 by the Society of Saint-Sulpice
Society of Saint-Sulpice
The Society of Saint-Sulpice is a Catholic Society of Apostolic Life named for Eglise Saint-Sulpice, Paris, in turn named for St. Sulpitius the Pious. Typically, priests become members of the Society of St. Sulpice only after ordination and some years of pastoral work. Uniquely, Sulpicians retain...
, and subsequently relinquished in payment of a debt to two of the most significant figures in New France's history: Jacques Le Ber and Charles Le Moyne, who used the site as a fur-trading post.
A large stone windmill was built on a hill by late 1686, doubling as a watch tower over the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
, the Lake of Two Mountains and the mouth of the Des Prairies River. This windmill was like no other in New France (although a similar fortified windmill was later built in Quebec), with thick walls, square loopholes for musket
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
s, with machicolation
Machicolation
A machicolation is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones, or other objects, could be dropped on attackers at the base of a defensive wall. The design was developed in the Middle Ages when the Norman crusaders returned. A machicolated battlement...
at the top for pouring lethally hot liquids and rocks onto attackers.
In October 1687, the nearby Fort Sainte-Anne
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue is a town located at the western tip of the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is the second oldest community in Montreal's West Island, having been founded as a parish in 1703...
and the Senneville mill were attacked by Iroquois, and although several settlers were killed, the attackers were repulsed. A second attack was more successful in 1691, and the fort was burned down. Only the mill itself was left standing.
Second fort
Battle of Quebec (1690)
The Battle of Quebec was fought in October 1690 between the colonies of New France and Massachusetts Bay, then ruled by the kingdoms of France and England, respectively. It was the first time Quebec's defences were tested....
, and an enraged Governor-General Frontenac
Louis de Buade de Frontenac
Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac et de Palluau was a French soldier, courtier, and Governor General of New France from 1672 to 1682 and from 1689 to his death in 1698...
ordered the construction of a second, more imposing fort. The fort was rebuilt in 1692 with thick stone walls and corner tower bastion
Bastion
A bastion, or a bulwark, is a structure projecting outward from the main enclosure of a fortification, situated in both corners of a straight wall , facilitating active defence against assaulting troops...
s. With extensive cannons and swivel wall guns, it was the "most substantial castle-like fort" near Montreal.
It was never attacked again. The windmill was rebuilt in 1700, and was probably still in use until the 1780s. In 1703, Jacques Le Ber
Jacques Le Ber
Jacques Le Ber was a merchant and seigneur in Montreal, New France.- Biography :Jacques Le Ber was born in c. 1633 in the parish of Pistre, Diocese of Rouen, son of Robert Le Ber and Colette Cavelier. He came to Canada in 1657 from France as a soldier but was mainly a businessman after his arrival...
de Senneville constructed a large stone house and fort in order to improve and protect his fur trading operations, and the local seigneural manor house was built in 1706. However, after the fall of New France in 1763, it was not used by the British as a military post. In 1776, Fort Senneville was destroyed during 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...
by Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
troops under Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
, in military maneouvres associated with the Battle of the Cedars
Battle of the Cedars
The Battle of The Cedars was a series of military confrontations early in the American Revolutionary War during the Continental Army's invasion of Quebec that had begun in September 1775. The skirmishes, which involved limited combat, occurred in May 1776 at and around The Cedars, west of...
.
In 1865, the property was purchased as a summer residence by John Joseph Caldwell Abbott, former prime minister of Canada and Mayor of Montreal. Sir Edward Seabourne Clouston purchased the domain from Abbott's estate in 1898.
The site today
The site remains private property. The 10 acres (4 ha) area today is important part to Montreal's cultural and natural heritage for several reasons.In November 2003, Quebec recognized its historical significance by classifying it a "Site historique". The Ministry of Culture and Communications has commissioned studies on the historical ownership of the fort, and funded archaeological research and repairs to consolidate the structure of the ruin, recognising "the exceptional historic and prehistoric archaeological potential of the ruin and its surroundings".
The site's value today includes its ecological and environmental significance, and its shoreline, which is in a semi-natural state, is part of the habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
for the rare map turtle. It is situated between the Lake of Two Mountains and the Senneville Forest ecoterritory, as described in Montreal's Natural Spaces Policy. Therefore, it could be considered part of the wildlife corridor (lien faunique) between the lake and the forest.