FORT GEORGE

National Historic site, situated at Niagara-on-the-Lake

In the early 19^th century Fort George stood guard over transportation on the Niagara River, controlling the supply route essential to the survival of the forts west of Niagara. During the War of 1812, it served as the headquarters for Major General Isaac Brock as well as British regulars, local militia, aboriginal warriors, and Runchey’s corps of freed slaves. Fort George was destroyed by American artillery fire and captured during the Battle of Fort George in May 1813. The American forces used the fort as a base to invade the rest of Upper Canada before they were repulsed at the Battles of Stoney Creek and Beaver Dams. Built in 1802, Fort George was a substantial installation, boasting six earthen and log bastions linked by a wooden palisade and surrounded by a dry ditch. Inside the walls, the Royal Engineers constructed a guardhouse, log blockhouses, a hospital, kitchens, workshops, a stone powder magazine, officers’ quarters and barracks.