The Battle of Fort George

The Battle of Fort George began on the date of May 25th, 1813. The fort was hit by an artillery barrages from Fort Niagara which resulted in the destruction of the log buildings inside of the fort. A few days later, 2,300 American troops disembarked in four waves approximately 3 kilometers from Fort George on the shore of Lake Ontario under the cover of cannonade fire. During the third wave of troops, General John Vincent knew his force of 560 men were at high risk of being outflanked and trapped within Fort George. He gave the order to destroy the fort's ammunition, spiked its guns, and then retreated to evacuate from the fort.

When the Americans successfully occupied the fort, they began quickly on new fieldworks and refortifying the bastions of the fort, extending into a northwest bastion. The fort then served as the U.S Army of the Center's headquarters. Although the fort retained some of its old fieldwork, it was made substantially smaller into a more defensible pentagonal-shape.

When the Jay Treaty was signed, British forces withdrew from U.S territory, including those from Fort Niagara in 1791. The land was set to build new fortifications on high ground next to the Navy Hall at Niagara-on-the-lake. Construction did not begin until 1796, after the Jay Treaty was signed. The fort was completed with a barracks, a stone gunpowder magazine and two small warehouses. In attempts to counter this advantage, American forces built a battery on an elevated river bank opposite of Fort George. Fort George was manned by members of the Royal Canadian Volunteers after British Forces withdrew a number of soldiers from Upper Canada.

The Border of Fort George, Niagara-on-the-lake, Ontario (Photo: Iris Chiu)

Post-war of 1812 & Conversion into a Historic Site

By 1817, American president James Monroe visited the Canadian side of the Niagara River. Fort George's inability to guard the mouth of the Niagara River was criticized by many military analysts after the war. This lead to the construction of Fort Mississauga in the 1820s. The equipment within the fort was auctioned away in 1821 and many of the palisades were moved to other sites within the next year.

On the 21st of May, 1921, the site was deemed a National Historic Site of Canada. During the mid-1930s, the Department of National defense accepted an offer from Niagara Parks Commission where the commission was to reconstruct and restore Fort George to what it is today.

Book your visit today to the historic Fort George to go more in depth and personal with the history! You will have a chance to view the fort, blockhouses, gunpowder magazine, ramparts and the Navy Hall at your own leisure. Guided tours are offered, but not required.

Daily

This location is part of "A Romantic Walk Through Time" tour. Click here for the Tour Overview.

• Parks Canada Agency, G. (2020, October 15). Fort George National Historic Site. Retrieved December 15, 2020, from https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/on/fortgeorge
• Fort George National Historic Site. (n.d.). Retrieved December 15, 2020, from http://www.friendsoffortgeorge.ca/fort-george/